Blasphemy

By: Douglas Preston

Narrated by: Scott Sowers

Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

In Douglas Preston's Blasphemy, the world's biggest supercollider, locked in an Arizona mountain, was built to reveal the secrets of the very moment of creation: the Big Bang itself.

The Torus is the most expensive machine ever created by humankind, run by the world's most powerful supercomputer. It is the brainchild of Nobel Laureate William North Hazelius. Will the Torus divulge the mysteries of the creation of the universe? Or will it, as some predict, suck the earth into a mini black hole? Or is the Torus a Satanic attempt, as a powerful televangelist decries, to challenge God Almighty on the very throne of Heaven?

Twelve scientists under the leadership of Hazelius are sent to the remote mountain to turn it on, and what they discover must be hidden from the world at all costs. Wyman Ford, ex-monk and CIA operative, is tapped to wrest their secret, a secret that will either destroy the world…or save it.

The countdown begins…

©2007 Splendide Mendax, Inc. (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Listeners are in exceedingly capable hands - Sowers never lets us down. He weaves together the complex subplots of what happens when science and religion collide.” —AudioFile

“When a talented reader narrates a spellbinding story by a consistently powerful author, great things happen in the audio world. Scott Sowers nails the suspense of Preston's latest novel; listeners will be grabbed from the very first line of this 'ripped from the headlines' story of science and religion clashing, with tragic results...Preston never fails to deliver a first-rate thriller, and with Sowers providing the outstanding narrative, listeners are in for a non-stop - and thought-provoking audio experience.” —Library Journal, starred review

Narration AWFUL (Book good)

Scott Sowers has ruined several books by some of my favorite authors. He repeatedly mispronounces the same words (if you're not sure, Scott, LOOK IT UP). And he always sounds a little nasal and sing songy.

I hope that one day I can forget the plot of the novel, then I will buy it print and read it - so that maybe I can enjoy it.

(The story was very good, but it was buried beneath the awful delivery.)

Well done!

I liked this book. It is typical of Preston's books in that it develops interesting characters and puts them in exciting and plausible situations. Most of his books feel like they need a sequel, but that is because I am having so much fun I want to find out what happened after the story ended. There were a couple of places where I thought the author was off a bit, but mostly, the story is well researched and full of fun technicalities.
Scott's performance was excellent. I became aware on occasion that Scott seemed to be inside the story with the characters, telling it to us as a blow by blow. I think Scott is a good matchup with Preston. He seems to flow right through the technology stuff without a hitch.

good but not great

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes. I would listen to while biking to work and it made the journey go by quickly.

What does Scott Sowers bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He made the crowd scenes more dynamic.

Was Blasphemy worth the listening time?

yes.

I read straight through the night

I could not put this down. I wish everyone could read this so timely story.

tiresome

This novel poses some big questions that we can ponder about till the end of time, but nearly all the characters are despicable. Between the religious zealots and their lengthy preaching and then the violence in the name of religion this novel really highlighted the worst of humanity and religion. It made me wish the end of the novel would come sooner.

Fun

I found this book enjoyable and outright funny at times. The author does rely on some character stereotypes in the story, but remember the reason most stereotypes exist is because there is a bit of truth in them. I found the locations and characters particularly interesting in this book because I live and work 10 minutes from Pat Robertson's compound and my best friend taught English on the Navajo reservation in Ganado, AZ for 3 years.

A quick note: If you are the type that accepts a fundamental or literal interpretation of the lore and writings of any religion you won't enjoy this book, so don't bother with it. I've never been able to understand why "born again" types would fiddle with science fiction anyway- there's a lot of cookie-cutter fantasy out there tailored to that point of view that won't upset you with facts, logic, or reality.

Also important to mention that anyone calling this writer's point of view godless or atheist is dead wrong. I've always thought, for instance, that the mechanics of evolution were perhaps the best evidence in all of my scientific training that there might be a higher power involved in the running of the universe. If you understand that statement and why I find those that fight science on religious grounds to be so humor-inspiring, then you probably have the right mindset to enjoy this book.

Oh, and don't forget- Satan put fossils in the rocks to confuse us and test our faith. What fun!

Great listen

I'm a huge fan of Douglas Preston and this book did not disappoint what so ever.

Typical Preston

This book is pretty much typical of Preston. His characters, with only a couple of exceptions, are generally flat. Preston is not a great writer. He does, however, tell a pretty darn good story, and that is also the case here. I expect many of the negative reviews seen here actually stem from Preston's straight-forward approach to the nature of human faith and religious belief. It is certainly a book which pulls no punches in this regard. It would be admittedly difficult for most religious persons to look at this book from "the outside" and give it a fair review.

It should be noted however, that although Christianity in particular is the religion Preston chooses to oppose rationality and science in this work, the actual point of the book is much broader and more disturbing. It is actually a very sobering look at human gullibility, stupidity, mob-mentality, "The God Gene", etc.

Definitely a worthy read for anyone who looks a the world around us and wonders where it all went wrong.

Good Story but...

The story is good and intriguing. It's right up there with other good thrillers that are creative with coming up with stories one would never think of.
But, yes there is a but, the reader Scott Sowers has a good voice when he is using his natural voice for the main character, but when he has to put on a different voice for other characters the voice was very annoying. I found many of the voices were either a derative of some one fom Bill & Ted's Excllent adventure, or the voice sounded like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons.
I almost stopped listening early on, but like I said the story is good and I toughed it out, and it was worth while.

Excellent story.

I love science thrillers, keep up the good work Douglas Preston. This was a riveting book.