The Nephilim Seed: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: You Won't Be Able to Put it Down!
Review: If you love suspense and enjoy the precariouis position of sitting on the edge of your seat, you MUST read The Nephilim Seed! The scary thing is that in today's world, the scenario James Scott Bell has written about COULD happen. I was literally breathless as I raced through this book.If you read one book this year, you have to read this one!

Rating:
Summary: The Nephilim Seed
Review: Jim Bell has knocked one over the far fences with this one! The characters fairly leap off the pages and the plot is, as in all of Jim's books, relentless. His theme is torn right off today's headlines as he has explored areas new to Christian fiction. Can a movie treatment be far behind? Get the "Seed", and bring it home. But a caveat...prepare to lose sleep for a few nights; it's that good.
So move over, Grisham..."The Nephilim Seed" cooks!

Rating:
Summary: The Nephilim Seed
Review: Jim Bell has knocked one over the far fences with this one! The characters fairly leap off the pages and the plot is, as in all of Jim's books, relentless. His theme is torn right off today's headlines as he has explored areas new to Christian fiction. Can a movie treatment be far behind? Get the "Seed", and bring it home. But a caveat...prepare to lose sleep for a few nights; it's that good.
So move over, Grisham..."The Nephilim Seed" cooks!

Rating:
Summary: Broad Ideas in a Narrowing Box
Review: My first encounter with James Scott Bell's fiction was "Final Witness." I loved the book. The characters dealt with real emotions in real ways, and the Christian elements didn't seem forced.

In "The Nephilim Seed," although Bell takes a while to unveil the intents of the villian, he creates passable suspense, particularly through the eyes of a young kidnapped girl. Her simple faith is, for the most part, believable. Her mother's casual reliance on prayer is less credible. As a father of two girls, it was difficult for me to believe her response. In particular, she puts little pressure on the authorities to find her daughter; in fact, the police are almost entirely missing from that element of the story. Every time the mother thinks about her missing daughter (not as often as you might suppose), a quick prayer seems to ease her fears.

Unfortunately, Bell's books are becoming increasingly pedantic even as they continue to explore broader ideas. As always, he comes up with an intriguing enough plot. Here, he deals with the issue of the "God Spot" in the brain, and whether it's a true desire for God, or an evolutionary result of our need for comfort. His characters and dialogue are fairly believable. This time, though, he makes sure to let us know his Christian viewpoints within the first few pages.

James Scott Bell can write well. He has the ability to put me on the edge of my seat. He's capable of making spiritual points. Since he deals with sometimes violent situations in his fiction, perhaps his publishers and/or readers have asked him to infuse his books with more straightforward spiritual statements. This might please the general audience of Christian fiction, but there really are many of us out here who want a story that deals with tough issues head-on while refusing to whitewash the difficulties. Bell gives a decent story here, but fails to deal with the true problems he presents. Instead, he trusts cliches and knee-jerk Christian sayings to settle the characters' struggles.

I'll still look for his books, but I hope he goes back to the nitty-gritty. John Grisham displayed that element in "The Testament." T. Davis Bunn did so in "The Great Divide." I believe James Scott Bell can do the same again--as long as he doesn't worry about the rumblings of dissent from the choir. Ignore the naysayers, I ask. Give it to us straight from the heart.

Rating:
Summary: Broad Ideas in a Narrowing Box
Review: My first encounter with James Scott Bell's fiction was "Final Witness." I loved the book. The characters dealt with real emotions in real ways, and the Christian elements didn't seem forced.

In "The Nephilim Seed," although Bell takes a while to unveil the intents of the villian, he creates passable suspense, particularly through the eyes of a young kidnapped girl. Her simple faith is, for the most part, believable. Her mother's casual reliance on prayer is less credible. As a father of two girls, it was difficult for me to believe her response. In particular, she puts little pressure on the authorities to find her daughter; in fact, the police are almost entirely missing from that element of the story. Every time the mother thinks about her missing daughter (not as often as you might suppose), a quick prayer seems to ease her fears.

Unfortunately, Bell's books are becoming increasingly pedantic even as they continue to explore broader ideas. As always, he comes up with an intriguing enough plot. Here, he deals with the issue of the "God Spot" in the brain, and whether it's a true desire for God, or an evolutionary result of our need for comfort. His characters and dialogue are fairly believable. This time, though, he makes sure to let us know his Christian viewpoints within the first few pages.

James Scott Bell can write well. He has the ability to put me on the edge of my seat. He's capable of making spiritual points. Since he deals with sometimes violent situations in his fiction, perhaps his publishers and/or readers have asked him to infuse his books with more straightforward spiritual statements. This might please the general audience of Christian fiction, but there really are many of us out here who want a story that deals with tough issues head-on while refusing to whitewash the difficulties. Bell gives a decent story here, but fails to deal with the true problems he presents. Instead, he trusts cliches and knee-jerk Christian sayings to settle the characters' struggles.

I'll still look for his books, but I hope he goes back to the nitty-gritty. John Grisham displayed that element in "The Testament." T. Davis Bunn did so in "The Great Divide." I believe James Scott Bell can do the same again--as long as he doesn't worry about the rumblings of dissent from the choir. Ignore the naysayers, I ask. Give it to us straight from the heart.

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: The Nephilim Seed had me in suspense. I recommend it to Christians looking for engaging reading without the typical and undesireable themes and issues so often found in today's fiction. You should check out his other books - especially "Final Witness" and "Blind Justice."

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: The Nephilim Seed had me in suspense. I recommend it to Christians looking for engaging reading without the typical and undesireable themes and issues so often found in today's fiction. You should check out his other books - especially "Final Witness" and "Blind Justice."

Rating:
Summary: An absorbing, intelligent thriller
Review: The Nephilim Seed is among the best Christian novels I have ever read, and one of the only Christian novels that I would recommend to my non-Christian friends. The book was obviously written expressly for the Christian market - the characters are quick to pray, quick to talk about what church they attend, and wear their faith on their sleeves - but despite the typical propagandizing, the book's characters are much more finely drawn and believable than those you find in your typical thriller from Tami Hoag or Sue Grafton. The story line is one of the most intelligent plots I've read in a long time, and the characters are as likely to talk about Nietzche and modern philosophy as they are about the Bible. The book explores the disturbing possibilities of genetic technology wedded to post-modern thought (a topic explored chillingly in the non-fiction book The Biotech Century by Jeremy Rifkin). I recommend it heartily.

Rating:
Summary: The Nephilum Seed
Review: The Nephilim Seed is one wild ride through Scott Bell's illustrious imagination. I gave it 5 stars because I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do than race to the finish line of The Nephilim Seed. I was hooked on the first page; swept into every scene by characters so well imagined I'll remember them forever. I wanted to protect Lauren, hunt down her father, encourage her mother and go to the police academy so I could personally arrest Davis and all those involved in UniGen. If this isn't a movie--I don't know what is. Man! James, where's the sequel? Facsinating! P.S. Circumstancial Evidence, Blind Justice are great reads too.

Rating:
Summary: The Nephilum Seed
Review: The Nephilim Seed is one wild ride through Scott Bell's illustrious imagination. I gave it 5 stars because I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do than race to the finish line of The Nephilim Seed. I was hooked on the first page; swept into every scene by characters so well imagined I'll remember them forever. I wanted to protect Lauren, hunt down her father, encourage her mother and go to the police academy so I could personally arrest Davis and all those involved in UniGen. If this isn't a movie--I don't know what is. Man! James, where's the sequel? Facsinating! P.S. Circumstancial Evidence, Blind Justice are great reads too.