This book is a contemporary novel about an atheistic Philosophy professor named Nicholas Mackenzie. Nicholas and one of his co-workers, Annie, get involved in a sociology experiment that is spearheaded by Nicholas’s brother, Travis. This project involves the creation of a computer-generated world that is to be used for research purposes, studying how societies react to various commercial and political variables. However, the people in this computer world never survive much longer than a generation. Travis and his team need Nicholas & Annie’s help to figure out, basically, how to keep their CGI people from killing each other for ‘survival.’ Since Nicholas is a staunch atheist, he wants to try every other philosophical belief out there before he tries anything close to a world with a loving, Creator God. The story revolves around this virtual world and the people who are trying to keep it ‘alive’ and also those who are trying to sabotage it.
I think the best part of this book is the story of the virtual world and the relationship between the virtual world and Nicholas. Even though the characters in this world are not real, the experiment does make you think about what truly is the driving force in our lives. I also thought the book was an easy read. Although the scene changes were abrupt at times (each scene change flips to another ‘voice’ or ‘story’), I didn’t find myself bogged down, and I finished the book quickly (as did my husband).
As for criticisms, I think that the people trying to sabotage the Experiment were just unnecessary. I think that part of the story was added to give the book some action sequences, but the virtual world scenes had enough action to make for an interesting book. I also didn’t like the very end of the book. Even though this book might be considered science fiction, the ending was just too far-fetched, especially since the story had been pretty much spot-on theologically up until then.
Overall, this was a fun read that gave a good viewpoint of what our Creator has done for us in order to save us from ourselves. I would enjoy reading more books by Bill Myers in the future.
For more information about this book, please click here.
For more information about this book, please click here.
I will give “The God Hater”… 3 ½ BookWorms!
***SPOILER ALERT***
I just have to put the following in my review for those of you who have read this book (or don’t care to have part of the plot of the book spoiled), but be aware that it does reveal a ‘surprise’ in the book.
If you are ever in a dangerous situation, and you meet someone who says he is an FBI agent, and he gives you his card with a cell phone number on it, please, please, PLEASE check him (and the number) out through some other means before you just blindly trust him! Don’t be like Annie in this book. Give your local FBI office a call instead of endangering your life (and the life of your son) even more by believing some strange dude claiming to be a government agent. Has this Annie person never watched a James Bond movie?
***END OF SPOILER***
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Howard Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Howard Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
I enjoyed reading this book. The parallels between the virtual world and our world (and how God works in both) fell short in several places. But, the author admits that in his forward, so at least he is aware of it. Honestly, no metaphor is going to fully describe God, so there are going to be holes.
ReplyDeleteBut, having said that, this book really did make me think. I liked how "God" was portrayed in this book and it really gave me pause to think about my relationship with God and what he has done for me.
I also agree that the secondary story of the bad guys (basically, anything not in the virtual world) was unnecessary. And, the computer nerd in me popped up a few times with errors that made no sense. All in all, though, a very good book.