Review: Looking outside the box: A mixture of science and fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 28, 2014
British author Daniel Danser is one of the few authors of contemporary science fiction novels who knows that very thin line between science and fiction so well that his books inform as much as they entertain. His credentials include reading (with honors) English Literature at Manchester University, a brief commitment to journalism with the Manchester Evening News, followed by joining the powers of IBM creating state of the art computer programs - training and experience that led him to create his own Internet entrepreneur company. Given all that background he now is a freelance writer. Of interest to all who read this, his debut novel, the nidus for the story was initiated by a business trip to Geneva, where he overheard two technicians from the nearby CERN institute discussing the Hadron Collider. What follows is a brief summary of the terms (for those of us less informed) and the book's plot.First the terms: CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is one of the world's largest and most respected centers for scientific research. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. The `God particle' is the nickname of a subatomic particle called the Higgs boson. And as Daniel Danser tips his hand about the novel, `Although the book is a work of fiction there are a lot of `what-ifs' in there to make the reader think - `What if there's something behind the spate of so called natural disasters we've seen recently?' `What if humanity has reached a tipping point of developing technology so profound, that it can destroy the human race?' `What if the motives for scientific discovery are not necessarily for the benefit of mankind?' So much for Danser's extensive research and thought behind this book. The complex plot is best described by the brief PR information that comes with the book.`CERN's Large Hadron Collider is the world's most powerful machine; its sole purpose is to prove the existence of the mysterious God Particles - the essential building blocks of the universe. But after a series of global catastrophes, suspicion arises as to whether they are occurring naturally or are somehow connected to the Collider's experiments. After the sudden death of the project's director general, professor of physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tom Halligan is headhunted by CERN's governing council to continue the search for the elusive particles. He is soon embroiled in a titanic struggle against sinister forces that are intent on creating a chain of events, the outcome of which will determine the fate of civilization. The battle to save the planet from annihilation is being fought by the most unlikely of heroes.' Those are the bare bones (the `god particles'!) of the novel and suggest the magnitude of the book. The author makes the tension almost unbearable by introducing a prologue taking place in 1942 in Nazi occupied Norway so that the foundation for tale in contemporary times is grounded. To reveal more of the story would be a disservice except to share that Danser deals with the possible implications of dabbling with the basic building blocks of nature and the potential devastating implications if an admittedly extremely low probability event were to occur. He leaves us scratching our heads while at the same time being tremendously impressed with the quality of writing this fine book demonstrates. This is a very intelligent, challenging and engrossing novel. Grady Harp, April 14