Blasphemy by Douglas Preston

This was an interesting read. I learned a bit in the feature interview following the book.

Jacket: "The world's biggest supercollider, hidden deep in an Arizona mountain will probe what happened at the very moment of creation: The Big Bang!

[Will] Isabella, the most expensive machine ever built, divulge the mysteries of the creation of the universe? Or is it, as the powerful televangelist, Reverend Don T. Spates thunders, a Satanic attempt to disprove Genesis and challenge God Almighty. The team of scientists who created Isabella make a discovery that must be hidden from the world at all costs. Wyman Ford, ex-monk and CIA operative, is tapped by the U.S. government to wrest from the team their secret, a secret that will either destroy the world ... or save it. The countdown begins."

Author, Douglas Preston: "The book deals with a much larger conflict. People say that religion and science operate in two separate spheres. That's completely false. Science for the last couple of centuries has been systematically disproving the central tenets of the world's great religions. For example, where do we come from? Well, evolution has shown that we are not created by god, but have [evolved] from animals. How was the Universe created? The Big Bang Theory says that the universe was created without the guiding hand of god. That it seems to burst out of nothing. The Big Bang Theory is far more blasphemous.

These are questions that religion used to deal with and the religion answered and answered wrongly. And now science has answered correctly."

Watch: Blasphemy Book Trailer

Podcast Interview: Douglas Preston speaks with noted Scientific American Editor in Chief John Rennie about the science behind the book, Blasphemy

"This baby roars... the pages simply fly."--Publishers Weekly

"Highly recommended... Preston joins Michael Crichton as a master of suspenseful novels that tackle controversial issues in the realm of science."--Library Journal"

An unusually alarming and thoughtful thriller... Clever and terrifying."--Kirkus

“A superb read! Blasphemy is both thoughtful and flat-out entertainment--a page-turning thriller about science and religion in which good and evil collide at the speed of light. You'll be up all night with this book.”--Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author of The Sleeping Doll

Next on my list of books to read, "The Monster of Florence."

FROM PRESTON:

Dear Readers,

Some of you who can’t get to a booksigning have asked how you can obtain a personalized, signed copy of The Monster of Florence. Here’s how:

Call my local bookstore, The Maine Coast Book Shop, at (207) 563-3207, or toll free at (888) 563-3207. You can buy the book over the phone and give them instructions on how you want me to sign it. I will sign your book on my next visit to the bookstore, and they will mail it to you.

Best wishes,

Douglas Preston