Rating: 
Summary: Vision, humanity and a great love story.
Review: I suspect the fellow who didn't think this book was worth his time was looking for something a little ligher. This book is a page turner. It has energy, depth, excitement and damn good drama. As a Virtual Human Designer, I know this subject and Greg did his research. It's not really a question of "If" this kind of virtual human will arise, but "when". This book really entertains you while it makes you think and introduces a cutting edge vision of the future.
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.
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: Yet ANOTHER winner from Greg Iles! This guy rocks!!
Review: I discovered Greg Iles right after his original novel, 'Spandau Phoenix' was released, and I have been VERY fortunate I discovered this talented author at the beginning of his career. I have seen him mature as a storyteller and I have also found out first hand that he is no one-hit-wonder, either.
While I long for the day that Greg will write another Historical Thriller like he did with 'Spandau Phoenix' and 'Black Cross', I am happy to enjoy everything he writes in the meantime simply because he refuses to be categorized simply by one type of novel. You want a courtroom thriller better than anything that Grisham has written? Try 'The Quiet Game'. How 'bout a supernatural thriller? Iles has done that, too with 'Sleep No More'. This guy has also written some pretty fantastic Techno-thrillers as well. He can do it ALL.
With 'Footprints of God' we see him at his creative best. The storyline of 'Footprints' is a dandy one, too: Is it possible to create a computer that is self-aware, with Artificial Intelligence that can grow and exceed that of the human brain? Sounds like science fiction -- until you read this book I assure you. Unless you are an absolute computer GENIUS, you will become totally absorbed by this incredible novel. The US Government wants a computer that can help us crack any and all computer codes on the planet, and one that is self-aware would be able to do that within mere seconds. But, a rather large problem exsists: we don't know HOW to build one. One of the super-computer age creators of the past 50 years submits that maybe we can build one without HAVING to understand how it works. Sounds hard to believe, right? What if we could use a Super MRI Scanner to essentially digitally COPY your brain into a computer...wouldn't that do the trick? It seems that yes, it could -- but the ethical problems this causes is the real plot to 'Footprints'.
Dr. Tennant and his co-worker, Dr. Fielding have grave concerns about the Trinity Project, yet as scientists, they also are insatiably curious as to whether or not this type of project can actually SUCCEED. When Dr. Fielding suddenly dies of a stroke, Tennant immediately KNOWS it was NO accident. He also knows that his life is now dangerously close to and end as well because of the information he knows, and because Trinity's leaders also know he believes Fielding was killed. One part conspiracy theory, two-parts thrills, 'Footprints of God' is a slam-bang amazingly creative 'what if' scenario that also manages to bring in the life of Jesus of all things. Exactly HOW does Iles pull it off? For the answer to that, you will have to read the book -- but don't worry, you will be doing yourself a pretty big favor by doing so.
All in all, this novel contains pretty much everything I look for in a modern thriller, first and foremost, it contains an exceptionally creative plot...second, well there IS no second. It just WORKS. Greg Iles is without a doubt, one of the most gifted storytellers writing today and I am a VERY lucky reader indeed to have been able to discover his variety of novels over the years. I am also grateful that he is young enough that I can look forward to reading a whole lot more of him in the future.
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: 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: 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: 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: Definitely food for thought.
Review: When David Tennant was assingned to Project Trinity by the US President himself, he never suspected life and existance as he knew them would be over soon. And why should he, he's just a doctor who had decided to take on a project a little diferent than what he was used to. He had recently emerged from a terrible depression caused by the death of his wife and daughter and he was not practicing medicine, but he levels of morality where science is concerned are unsual, broad, yet high.
So he decided to join the team of 6 top scientist in quatum physics, neurology and others, toward achieving the goal of creating the first form of artificial intelligence, a computer capable of thinking on its own and even feeling, but not as strongly as us humans, a computer named Trinity. But when David and another top notch scientist decide to oppose project Trinity based on morality issues, all hell broke loose, and now David is running for his life.
Joining David, is Rachel his psychotherapist, who thinks him crazy at best, schizophrenic at worst. Despite this she gets involved and now she as well must run with David in order to stay alive. And to top it all off David has been having strange dreams/visions since his brain was scanned for project Trinity.
A fairly number of characters appear in the book to make the story more intrecate. This other characters help shape the main character as well as the story and at the same time, they give us, as readers, a more broad view of human nature in all its glory. The good, the bad and the ugly.
David's, or rather the author's view of God is a rather non-common one, might border on plain scary.
The struggle between science vs God presented here was thought provoking. Wether you are more leaned toward one than the other, this book is worth a try and worth some analyzing right after you are done with it.
Major kudos for Iles, for bringing such an intricate, yet simple novel, for "biting nail" good suspense, and for trying to push his readers to anilyze and re-think our view on the magnificence of science and the mightiness of God.
Highly recommend.
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