Rating: Summary: Da Vinci Code , Please !!!! Review: The reason I picked this book up was due to the comparisons to the Da Vinci Code written on the cover. The Da Vinci Code is like an illuminated text compared to this book. Have you ever started reading a book wondering when something excited was going to happen? I was asking myself this by the time I got to page 100. The plot was paper thin, but worse, boring!! I gave this book one star for the premise, but idea that the main character was really Jesus, was ridiculous at best.
Rating: Summary: Lot of Stuff Going On Review: Footprints of God is like a romp through a funhouse with many doors leading to computer science and nuerology, religion with an interesting twist on mainstream beliefs, cosmology and the birth of the universe, a worldwide chase, a romantic sub-plot, and finally a dailogue between a human and a computer reminiscent of James T. Kirk and Nomad (but deeper). Basically, this is a story of the next step of computer intelligence gone awry with nasty government bueaucrats trying to cover their behinds while pursuing the hero and his love interest on an unpredictable course. Iles is a great story-teller who kept me wondering what would come next. This unpredictability made Footprints of God especially fun to read and it did not fall flat at the end as is the case with many techno-thrillers and mysteries. Iles imagination in setting up the novel's cosmological/religious "reality" is something to be admired. Give Footprints of God a spin and you are unlikely to be dissappointed.
Rating: Summary: Well done... Review: When his best friend is killed, Dr David Tennant knows that his own life is in jeopardy. The two men had been working on a super secret computer with the capability to take over the world. Trinity, unlike other computers, could think like a human but with machinic efficiency and speed. With human mental patterns as its operational template, the possibilities of what the wrong mind controlling it could do were a nightmare. David has no one to turn to; the heads of the project are ruthless; the president inaccessible. His only ally is his psychiatrist, Rachel Weiss, the woman who has been helping him cope with his narcolepsy that has taken on a bizarre aspect. David is dreaming of Jesus the Christ, as if he is the Lord Himself.Pursued by killers, David and Rachel flee to Jerusalem. David's dreams have lead him to the Passion week, and he is drawn to complete the circle. Will the Cross lead him to redemption or death? **** While at first blush, "The Footprints of God" might be compared to the more popular "da Vinci Code" , but there is actually little resemblance. Mr Iles escapes the charge of blasphemy with a turn of phrase that leaves any such allegations in doubt, and in fact, this book is far better written and more compelling than the bestseller. The influence of science fiction tales such as Highlander, the Matrix, and Star Trek are apparent, but not to the point of being able to say it's a rip off of them. It's a book that will draw you in and won't let you rest until it's done. **** Amanda Killgore
Rating: Summary: Not even close... Review: Please don't mention this book in the same breath as THE DAVINCI CODE! And where in the world did Iles get the notion that there are armadillos in North Carolina/Tennesee?
Rating: Summary: Great Thriller in Da Vinci Code style Review: From its masterly opening line, Iles's (24 Hours) latest thriller is impossible to put down. We find Dr. David Tennant contemplating his life after friend and mentor Andrew Fielding is found dead in his lab. A stroke is the suspected cause, but David knows better because both men were part of an ultra-top-secret project known as Project Trinity, a quantum leap in the future of supercomputing and artificial intelligence. Both men had warned their managers about the experiment's dangers, and now David believes that he is next on the hit list. But he is starting to show strange side effects from the treatment he undertook for the project and is experiencing vivid visions of being Jesus Christ. His psychiatrist thinks that he should be institutionalized, until she, too, is targeted to be killed. The reader must make a great leap of faith in the final third of the book, and while not everyone will agree with Iles's conclusions, the work as a whole is extremely compelling. This is Iles's best book yet and should be a major best seller.
Rating: Summary: "What's it all about?" Review: Taking on the fundamental questions of "why are we here" and "who is God" in a sci fi novel is a daunting task that Greg Iles handled reasonably well, resulting in an exciting, very readable and thought provoking novel. We all have our own ideas about these things and likely will not agree with his on all points, but he makes it interesting to rethink. The Science is a little thin but it is told in the book by an MD who is not expected to be up on the latest theories of the expanding universe. From love interest to government war secrets, to super computer, to Jesus' purpose on earth and the nature of God: it has an amazingly broad scope. Nice try, Mr. Iles!
Rating: Summary: Words can't describe how bad Review: This book had promise. It had an interesting premise. It started slow, but then picked up quite nicely beforing coming to a crashing halt toward the end. The climax of this book is actually a philosophical discussion between a man and a computer. Read that again. A tense situation is going on around them, but a 50 page philosophical discussion about the existence of God is the climax of this book. Anytime the tension or action starts, we switch back to the discussion and everything grinds to a halt. All in all, this book has to be one of the most uneven I've read in a long time. Avoid this one.
Rating: Summary: Another masterpiece by Iles Review: Great book. At times it seems like Iles is pushing the limits of science and religion a bit to far, but at the end it all resolves beautifully leaving the reader with a lot to think about. I find it refreshing when an author writes about what he likes and not necessarily what people expects him to write. The book makes reference to Ray Kurzweil's "The age of spiritual machines". If The Footprints of God gave you something to think about, I suggest you follow Iles' recommendation to read this book. It's not fiction and it will sure make you see The footprints of God from a totally different light.
Rating: Summary: Great "techno-thriller"! Review: I've read several other of Mr. Iles books, but this has to be one of his best. Very interesting, and thought provoking. You have to be into apocolyptic type of books, with some understanding of computer technology without being a total geek to appreciate this read. Thanks Mr. Iles for writing a great novel! Joe
Rating: Summary: An "Out There" Greg Iles Review: I have been reading Greg Iles since Spandau Phoenix and I have loved all of his books, admiring his versatility. However, "The Footprints of God" was just a bit much for me. I felt like I was reading a hybrid of Steven Hawking/Michael Crichton/Robert Ludlum (still writing from the grave). The book centers around Dr. David Tenant, a doctor brought into the Trinity project for ethical monitoring. The Trinity Project centers around one man's vision for the development of artificial intelligience. Dr. Tenant finds his colleague, Dr. Fielding, murdered and he begins to fear for his life. The result is a plot filled with chases, hallucinations and a final showdown in the desert with a Max-style (2001: A Space Odyssey) computer. While I admire his flexibility in subjects, my desire is for Greg Iles to come back to the mainstream.
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