The Son of Man

I am not a fast reader and it turns out that reading steadily through the phases of this book reaped dividends since there are many twists and different layers. Nevertheless I was gripped and constantly tempted to delay when I turned off the light and went to sleep. Although the story is set in the context of tension between faith and science I didn't consider being on one side or the other, or neither, being an obstacle to being absorbed by the way the lives of the six key characters and others around them played out. And by the way the sex is described really sensitively unlike many other authors' cackhanded attempts. Will there be sequel? And in which dimensions will it take place?

The book is a useful primer to quantum physics and forensic bible study. A love story spanning millennia and sympathetically trying to address many important, but currently neglected issues. I predict it will lead to many ‘spicy’ book club discussions….

"The Son of Man" is a really enjoyable, thought-provoking read. Set about 30 years in the future, with a back drop of how technology may then serve us, it's a compelling story with clever twists. Time taken building the main characters' traits helped me identify with them as strong individuals - each driven by their different values as they experienced the highs and lows of relationships, working at the cutting edge of new technology, and illness. I liked the way a lot of the story was told through conversations between the main characters. These often provided easily understandable explanations of some scientific/ biblical references that were part of the story. This background information made it easy to appreciate the book's finer details as well as its subtle humour ... and in the process I learnt quite a lot about quantum mechanics, Christianity and AI ! I recommend "The Son of Man" to anyone looking for a book that has a love story at its heart, is light sci-fi, and painlessly stretches your understanding as you follow the mysteries within.

It’s 2058 and Fermilab 5’s four teams each want to be the first to crack open the fifth dimension - in physics the fifth dimension is beyond the three spatial dimensions (length, width and height) and time that we experience. There have been two centuries of climate change that have now been reversed and energy is in abundance. However there is a mysterious disease DMS (Defective Mitochondrial Syndrome) that causes the death of females before they reach age 27. These early deaths are bringing people back to the Western Church, which, having been in decline, is now growing again as people find they want to believe in God, in the hope that their daughters and wives can be saved from DMS. Can a cure for DMS be found? Can we go back in time and meet our younger selves? Does time travel exist? And of course, who is The Son of Man? This is a mystery thriller with themes of love and sacrifice, science and faith running throughout. The characters are strong, the narrative is well written and easy to read - and although I don’t normally like books set in the future, I thoroughly enjoyed The Son of Man.

Against the backdrop of a near future world that has met many of today's major challenges, the Vatican believes that the Messiah has returned and is living and working as a physicist in Chicago. Notwithstanding that their suspect is born to a Jewish mother, father unknown, or that he seems to be attendant when a number of New Testament miracles are apparently replicated, or that he is religiously donating blood to support victims of a new disease ravaging the planet, they have even more compelling evidence (no spoilers). The "is he or isn't he?" mystery is interwoven with the more fundamental questions of how the universe really works and whether the church ultimately is a force for good or evil, a question held both delicately and deftly in balance. As with the gospel writers, the story is told from the third person perspectives of Matheus, Marcia, Lucas and (yes you've guessed it) Jon, with each contributing slight biases to the narrative. The protagonist of the title also contributes his own perspective on events and these are some of the most interesting passages: short and profound. While developing some really interesting ideas and observations on both science and religion, The Son of Man is an entertaining read and moves at a good pace. And the twists at the end, when you really think about their implications, are both explosive and devastating. A thoroughly good read.