Rating: 
Summary: ambitious
Review: A friend lent me this book, and I found it very suspenseful and well-written for the most part. I felt the plot was a little too ambitious to hold up at the end, but I give Iles a lot of credit for his idea. I'd recommend it for those who enjoyed The DaVinci Code.
Rating: 
Summary: very entertaining
Review: Great summer read! I finished it in a day - quick, but lots of fun. More interesting if you have some background in science (particularly physics) and religion (particularly Protestant Christianity) but great book anyway. It also really makes you think about artificial intelligence and the future of computers. I wouldn't call it a literary classic by any means, but if you're looking for an entertaining and thought-provoking adventure, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Quick Read
Review: I found this book by accident at the bookstore and picked it up on a whim, wondering how long it would take me to get through 560 pages. I read the entire book in a week! It was very well written and a fun read. I did think it was about 100 pages too long but still a fantastic book overall. I have since read Spandau Phoenix and loved that one as well. Now I'm on to Sleep No More. This author has a very broad range.
Rating: 
Summary: Crichton Lite
Review: I picked up this book after a long break from the techno-thriller genre and now I find myself inclined to take another long one. At first, there seemed to be a lot of promise in the premise. The summary on the back cover and the initial chapters promise a clash between science and religion, technology and faith. It's a promise that it is never fulfilled in any satisfying way.
See, unfortunately this novel is lacking the primary ingredient in any good fiction: realistic and interesting characters. You can write a novel centered around anything at all... needlepoint... birdwatching... whatever. If you have good, interesting characters, it can work. This novel has none of that. I found myself not caring whether armageddon was averted or not... it was all so dull.
The plot leaves much to be desired as well. It has its interesting moments, especially in the middle chapters when Dr. Tennant goes to Israel searching for the meaning of his visions, but it all culminates in a climax that is so convoluted it's almost parodical. The seams are showing everywhere and nowhere are they more apparent than in Mr. Iles' main hook: the aforementioned clash between science and religion.
The technology here is also suspect. Unlike the masters of the genre, Iles never manages to fully suspend your disbelief. I just didn't buy the technology behind Trinity.
So what do we have? A techno-thriller with suspect techno, minimal thrills, and a plot and characters that will ultimately have you rolling your eyes.
Rating:
Summary: thriller/sci-fi/techgeek book.
Review: My dad and I have fairly common tastes in reading material, so when he loaned me The Footprints of God with this recommendation, "Just keep an open mind. This one makes you think", I figured I would enjoy the book. Keep an open mind, indeed. The premise of the book is the creation of a quantum super-computer ... taking AI to the next level - perhaps a level we shouldn't be considering. While I didn't agree with much of the theological-speak in the book ... I don't have to agree with everything in a book to enjoy the story. That's what fiction is all about, right?
The powers behind the Trinity Project (the name of the research project developing the quantum super computers) force the main character, Dr. David Tennant, to flee for his life when he becomes aware of what Trinity might eventually accomplish - and the realization of what that might mean for the world. A computer who could think faster than the human brain .... decipher codes instantaneously .... if this computer was hooked up to the internet ... what could it be capable of?
All in all, a good book. At times the pace drags a bit, but I still read it in two sittings ..... it was a gripping thriller/sci-fi/techgeek book.
Rating:
Summary: What else can you ask for in a book? This one has it all.
Review: Suspense, action, politics, religion, philosophy, even a bit of romance. Very well done, Greg. A techno-thriller and page turner that grabs you right at the beginning. It lags just one little bit in the first quarter of the book but then picks up speed and is a hard one to put down. I am amazed at the authors versatility in his writing. I have read every one of his books and they are all different, with one exception - they all keep you turning those pages. The author makes a statement at the end of the book that may help the reader before he starts the book: "Writing about science and philosophy in a commercial novel is problematic. Write about them at their natural level and you leave the masses behind. Simplify too much, and you offend those individuals conversant in those subjects. I trust you will enter this book as an exercise of the mind and not judge too harshly either way. If we have learned anything in the past ten thousand years, it is that nothing is certain." Greg Iles writes a riveting yet believable story about artificial intelligence and a Super Computer developed by the greatest minds in science, a team of nobel-prize winning scientists. Known as "Trinity" the super computer is a merger of man (his mind) and machine, and what can be done with it. The possibilities are fascinating and frightening. Yet the story line explores religion, conscience, military strategies, philosophy and much more.- the reader is cognizant that this is a conceivable achievement in the light of today's advances in technology. I can see why Dan Brown (author of DaVinci Code) liked this book. It is written in the same fast-paced way and with a lot of factual research and information. It takes you through some of our actual military bases and research sites, and references actual events that have happened in our history with nuclear development. The novel takes the reader to Israel as well, where I found that part of the book fascinating as the main character searched for answers in the life of Jesus and His resurrection. I disagree with the reviewer, ("booklover 10) that didn't recommend this - it may be Iles best work to date. It gives you a lot to think about, yet it entertains you - like I said at the start - what more can you ask for in a book?
Rating:
Summary: A Bit of a Disappointment
Review: The Footprints of God is a story about a secret government funded, project to create artificial intelligence (AI) in a computer called Project Trinity.
The main characters of The Footprints of God are:
Dr. David Tennant - Project ethicist
Dr. Rachael Weiss - Psychiatrist
Peter Godin - Project creator and administrator
John Skow - Project Manager
Geli Bauer - Project security chief
PLOT
The Project creator Peter Godin, a long time supercomputer mogul, had an idea to circumnavigate the barriers others were discovering in trying to create Artificial Intelligence. Only his idea wasn't really artificial. He proposed to the President his concept, where he would develop a super powerful MRI machine and use it to map the human brain and insert it as the controling device in a new ultra powerful computer. It was sold to the President as a new super weapon which would make our forces invincible and that other countries were working on AI and we had better be the first. (I never could figure out how this would fit in as a weapon) The President authorized the project but seeing a potential conflict with the creation of Artificial Life insisted on placing an Ethicist (Tennant)on the project.
THE STORY
The Chief Physicist Andrew Fielding died in minutes of a massive stroke. Dr Tennant, also an Internist, witnessed his friend Fielding's death and knew it was murder and if it was, he was next. Together they had made the powers that be unhappy.
He was in his office making a video recording to give to his attorney, to be released in case of his death, when Rachael Weiss came to his office. He had missed several appointments, so she came to his office to find out why.
Fearing for both of them, he implored her to leave with him so he could explain but they have to be very careful, the walls and virtually everything else has ears.
Geli Bauer is disgusted that Godin and Skow did not let her kill Tennant as well as Fielding. As she saw it there were two distinct threats to the Project and gettng rid of one leaves one and now he's left with his shrink. She would have to increase surveillance on him and as soon as she gets the word she would send her favorite pit bull, a German named Ritter, who was also her lover after them.
It should be explained that Dr Weiss was treating Dr Tennant for Narcolepsy, a condition he inherited after being scanned by the new super MRI. Accompanying these bouts are dreams, sometimes prescient and sometimes memories from a distant past. Tennant and the four other major researchers have been scanned and all have received some form of side effects, though each has a different side effect.
After Dr. Tennant wakes up after one of his episodes and finds Ritter about to shoot Dr. Weiss, he shoots and kills Ritter. Dr. Weiss who thought Tennant's story was insane now must give credulity to their predicament.
Hence we enter a period or hide and chase across the East coast, even going to Israel and ending in White Sands, New Mexico.
CONCLUSION
If you have never heard of Greg Iles or read one of his books, I find him to be one of the best novelists around. His writing style is fluid and direct with an economy of words which is good, as Ile's plots tend to be involved and lengthly. Even so his books tend to run between five and seven hundred pages. This book at 578 pages is one of his average length novels.
With that said, I did not find this book to be up to his high standards. As usual the structure and delivery of the story were fine. Also I had no problem with character development, though it could have been done better.
The problem I had was with the premise of the book. I thought it was a little contrived and simple, not well thought out. I thought the idea of being able to recreate ones brain with the use or even a super Magnetic Resonating Machine a bit absurd. MRI's take pictures. Even in layers as the indicated way it was done, I don't see how it could transfer the essence of thought. To me it would be like trying to clone a person from a photo.
I also thought the ending was weak if not silly, plus some really weird scientific concepts of the Universe and God are put forth in the story.
That being said if you are willing to go along with the things that were a problem for me, you may find the book enjoyable. Heck, I found the book enjoyable for it does keep you guessing and the action is fast and furious. (where did I hear that?)
Rating:
Summary: Page-turning techno-thriller could use a bit more editing
Review: The plot, pacing, and technological premise of this novel are compelling. With a bit more finesse and precise editing, Iles could be the next Michael Crichton. I did not connect with the spiritual overtones of the story, but that may be my bias. Iles captures his settings precisely (whether North Carolina, Jerusalem, or the desert of New Mexico). Unfortunately, the only part of Asheville that he mentions is Wal-mart!
Rating:
Summary: A decent read, not quite as good as hoped.
Review: This book has all the latest ideas and tech in it: Quantum supercomputers, artificial intelligence (but give the author credit for his ideas about how to achieve it!), transfer of consciousness into a machine. The pacing was good, the book never bogged down. The characters were interesting. However, the book reminded me of "Colossus" by D.F. Jones, and the rest of that trilogy (you might recall the movie from the early 70's). The novel never "grabbed" me that hard, but it did keep my interest. A decent read overall.
Rating:
Summary: chilling, thrilling, interestingly filling!
Review: This book has so many appealing elements in it. You have a techology based thriller, and it also touches on ethical and moral questions that everyone ponders from time to time. The book also has characters that really pull you in, you pull for them and their survival, and are generally concerned for their well being. There are a host of characters, and you are forced to hear several different stories of the same events, and you are given options of who to trust. The book pulls you this way and that way, always keeping you guessing. There is also a love interest that makes you care even more that things work out for the main characters. While it is a 'sci-fi' type of book, the topics discussed are done so in a very believable manner, and with what is discussed, it is something we could see actually happeneing within the relativly near future. The author seemed to research things well, and it was written very well. It is easy to read, and keeps you turning pages as soon as you start. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone that is interested by thrilling mystery type of books, as well as people that also like techno-trillers based around feesable technology.
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