Saturday, March 01, 2008

Blasphemy By Douglas Preston


A Nobel prize winner and self acclaimed "smartest man in the world" with an ego to match, puts together an elite group of scientists to create the world’s largest supercollider and most powerful computer in an attempt to recreate the tremendous energy conditions that caused the creation of the universe. "The Big Bang Theory".
A Navajo Indian tribe that leased a five hundred square mile table land called Red Mesa with a huge mountain to the Government for millions of dollars of yearly income is beginning to have concerns about the activity on Red Mesa and that the scientists are not treating the sacred land with respect.
A powerful, Washington lobbyist, who received substantial fees from the Indians for helping them get the lease wants more fees so he devises a plan to frighten the Indians into thinking the supercollider project might be closed. He hires an influential, Television and Radio evangelist to get on the airways and talk against the secular government spending forty billion dollars to disprove the book of Genesis and challenge God Almighty himself.
The TV evangelist is in his element; he talks about the "Godless scientists". Evolution, and the "antichrist’. He hires a local preacher to spy on complex in order to get ammunition for his ravings.
The President of the United States was a supporter of the supercollider project and is concerned about delays and lack of communication from the scientists as well as the negative media.
Douglas Preston has taken these and other elements and put together an excellent drama, thriller. It moves fast and while I think the plot got a bit edgy and far fetched, the controversy was enjoyable. Preston brought Wyman Ford, a character from his earlier novel "Tyrannosaur Canyon" into the story; Wyman added a lot.

No comments: