★ 08/04/2014
The pseudonymous Galt, the author of two crimes series under his real name of Craig Russell, successfully juggles a wide cast of fully developed characters in this inventive near-future thriller. Around the world, people in all walks of life begin having unusual visions—of the immolation of Joan of Arc, or, in the case of U.S. President Elizabeth Yates, of William Taft, in shirtsleeves, walking a dog on the White House lawn. Yates’s hallucinations have national security implications, as they call her fitness to govern into question, and psychiatrist Josh Hoberman is summoned to a secret meeting in D.C. to offer his guidance. The ante is upped when people begin to have tangible manifestations of the visions (e.g., a woman who believes she survived an earthquake that never happened has her arm broken by masonry that never fell). Few readers will anticipate the jaw-dropping conclusion, and fans of thoughtful scientific thrillers will hope Galt will continue in the genre. Agent: Noah Ballard, Emma Sweeney Agency. (Oct.)

A gruesomely gripping tale. It had me hooked.

Craig Russell is a great writer at the very top of his game.

If you're looking for a distinctive and exciting new voice in crime fiction, then look no further than Craig Russell. This is gritty, authentic and disturbing stuff.

Picture a collaboration between the science-based work of Michael Crichton and the reality-questioning novels of Philip K. Dick, and you get a pretty good overview of what the book is about.

Storytelling at its very best!

Readers with an insatiable desire for thrillers with apocalyptic themes may find this one worth their time.

The first tale I found myself comparing to "Biblical" was Jean-Paul Sartre's "Les Jeux Sont Faits"... because of how both authors pose the question of existence. Of course, "Biblical" also hits classic sci-fi notes.

2014-08-14
A convoluted tale involving a U.S. president who's a religious fundamentalist, a worldwide "epidemic of hallucinations" and earthquakes that leave no physical damage. Much of the book's first half establishes elements of Galt's fragile new world and shadows his theme of unintended consequences. His protagonist, Dr. John Macbeth, is an American-trained psychiatrist at Denmark's "Copenhagen Cognitive Mapping Project." That enterprise is replicating the human brain in a computer in spite of worries that it might lead to "the Singularity, when technology and artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence." Macbeth has traveled to Boston, his former home, for a conference. While there, he visits with his brother, Casey, who has his own conference to attend soon. He's scheduled to go to London and a scientific meeting about the "Prometheus Answer…the definitive, elegant solution that solves, once and for all, the way the universe works." Meanwhile, another psychiatrist is called to Camp David to consult with President Elizabeth Yates, who is experiencing visions of past presidents long-dead. Yates is not alone in her supposed delusion. Around the world, bizarre psychic phenomena are unfolding: A French teenager believes she's watching Joan of Arc's execution; a Dutch boy observes a Viking raid; a Boston woman experiences a Paleozoic jungle. All this "Temporary Non-Pathological Hallucinatory Syndrome"—"a feeling of inexplicable resonances"—comes with a grocery list of complicated psychiatric and quantum physics terminology and regular references to a mysterious author and his book that is—or isn't—buried somewhere deep in the Internet. Characters are hard to care about, and narrative threads (the president's, the Mapping Project originator's, etc.) fall by the wayside. Although offense might be taken because of derogatory references to religion, the intellectual premise and cautionary philosophy in Galt's complexly plotted novel are worthy subjects. Be prepared for some heavy reading on the hubristic hypothesis that "[s]cience will make us God." A complex thriller with a cagey "what'd I miss?" conclusion.