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

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.

I was making excuses to listen.

I liked the book, the narration and the story a lot. He drags you on a trip using the characters as mules. It's hard to stop listening and you just want to keep seeing what's around the next corner.

Preston has a way of writing that is similar in all of his books. I like his style a lot, however I begin to get board with it if I listen to a number of his books in a row, sometimes you just start to sense the cadence and it becomes more predictable.

Great story

Great story, fabulous author and great performance. Completely fiction even though the interview with the author will leave you to understand his personal atheistic views were an underpinning of his overall theme.

Another great Preston novel

I’m a huge fan of the techno-thrillers , so obviously Crichton is the pinnacle for this type of book. However DP is a clear 2nd! This book was a great page turner keeping you glued. Would high recommend his wyman ford series

Not MY favorite, but may be for others.

I have become a fan of Mr. Preston, but came away disappointed a bit. The story went well enough and I found it typical of his work ... full of mystery, odd characters, and a well-painted backdrop in which to play out the story. I must say I found the narrator's voices for some of the characters didn't quite seem to match the situations, but this is a small distraction. But, when it became apparant what the plot truly was, I began to lose interest. I found it just too far-fetched to be satisfying. I suspect this is just MY personal perspective, and would not be surprised to find others who were as excited as I was dismayed. But, once I had accepted the plot, I continued to listen. However, I was truly let down with the ending. It felt like the author had painted himself into a corner with this story-line, and was in as much of a hurry to finish it as I was. I am not saying this was a bad book or story. I have a very singular view on God and faith and all things spiritual. It was on this level that I felt at odds with this story. It felt like the author was rationalizing or sterilizing the essence of faith and justifying the pragmatic scientific approach to our existance and our faith. For many, perhaps even most, his story may be satsifying. For me, it just felt lame. I have not given up on Douglas Preston, but I will view his work a bit more skeptically for a while.

Who says this is blasphemy?

Really a fantastic story that will make a great movie. It shows basically how easy it is to capture the total minds of people, especially those with simple minds. As a westerner, I can appreciate and see the setting. I loved it.

Science Meets God

Very well read and fast paced story. I could not put it down.

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.