A review by liberrydude
Blasphemy by Douglas Preston

4.0

My library classified this as sci-fi but I consider it a thriller. It's an interesting take on science and religion set in the American Southwest. A 40 billion dollar particle accelerator buried in a mesa on Navajo land becomes the scene of intrigue and religious like fervor that makes Pakistan's NWF look tame. Inside the government site scientists have fallen behind schedule so the President's Science Advisor sends in a spy under the guise of public relations to see what the delay is. Meanwhile a disgruntled lobbyist gets a sordid tele-evangelist to make waves over the government's attempt to find the God particle from the Big Bang, etc. It's like Michael Crichton meets Tony Hillerman with shades of Stephen King's "The Stand." It's believable at times and other times not so. I had a hard time believing the ease with which a rabble can get the better of trained troops occupying superior positions but, hey it's a novel.