14-7

The US government has poured several billions of dollars into building a supercollider out in the Arizona desert, and they're now running out of patience because the scientists trying to use it can't get it to work. Or so they say. Something fishy seems to be going on out there, so the feds send in Wyman Ford (a former FBI agent with a history with one of the scientists) to see if he can suss out what's really going on. As it turns out, what's really going on is that the scientists think they may have contacted God when they turned the machine on... Meanwhile, the Navajo people living nearby aren't happy with how their deal to let the government use the land to build this thing hasn't turned out in their favor (and why are they shocked, one has to wonder). Also, a nearby evangelical preacher teams up with a Washington televangelist (who has teamed up with a DC lobbyist, who in turn is using the televangelist to try to exploit the Navajo nation) in an attempt to destroy the newfangled machine that's trying to disprove God exists. It all ends up in a hot mess, as you may well imagine.

Kind of like the book itself. I mean, there's a *lot* going on here, and in general I like a book that gives me various sub plots that eventually all tie in together, but this one felt too disjointed and the eventual tying together seemed oversimplistic. Also, it felt like Preston couldn't decide which genre he wanting to be writing in: is this an FBI thriller? a social commentary on the corrupt nature of Christianity/religion itself (this, by the way, was the best part of the thing, in my opinion)? straight-up sci-fi? or a mystery? If you're gonna blend genres, fine, but find a way to hide the seams, or at least smooth them out enough that your readers aren't constantly tripping over them. Now, having groused about all that, I did kind of enjoy it. It's a good-enough story that at least kept me interested enough to want to know what happens, and honestly I was happily surprised at the end with how it all shook out. ( )

Scientists investigate the big bang and find God; Christian extremists search for Armageddon and find the antichrist, killing him and many others, including the head scientist who was bringing God to earth. In the middle is Wyman Ford, who doesn't accept the God or the antichrist; he just wants to try to keep too many people from dying.

A page-turner with lots of suspense and a somewhat strange ending. I liked it. ( )

Tried to get into this and failed. Too many cliches: scientists out of control, government agencies doing secret stuff, caricatured characters.

Blasphemy: A Novel (wyman Ford Series Book 2) is a book that is Sci/Fi thriller. The story is based upon Christian zealots who believe in their hearts that they are doing the right thing in the eyes of their savior. The problem is that many people lost their lives in their battle to save the world from a Demigod. This book is not for the timid. Four stars were awarded to the book in this review because the book had a beginning, middle and end as well as kept its feeling throughout. A lot of research went into the writing of this book. ( )