Book
Final theory : a novel / Mark Alpert.
Détails de la notice
- ISBN : 9781416572879 (hc)
- ISBN : 9781416590019 :
- ISBN : 1416572872
- ISBN : 9781416590019
- ISBN : 9781416572879 :
- ISBN : 1416572872 (hc)
- ISBN : 9781439109410 (pbk.)
- ISBN : 1416590013
- Description physique : 359 p. ; 24 cm.
- Éditeur : New York : Simon & Schuster : 2009, 2008.
Descriptions du contenu
- Note générale :
- "A Touchstone Book."
Chercher des documents connexes par sujet
- Sujet :
- Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955 > Influence > Fiction.
Physics teachers > Fiction.
Unified field theories > Fiction. - Genre :
- Suspense fiction.
Suspense fiction.
Copies disponibles
- 3 de 3 exemplaires disponibles à BC Interlibrary Connect. (Afficher)
- 1 de 1 exemplaire disponible à Vanderhoof Public Library.
Réservations
- 0 réservations en cours avec 3 exemplaires.
| Localisation | Cote / Notes | Code à barres | Localisation | Réservation possible? | Disponibilité | Échéance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderhoof Public Library | AF ALP (Text) | 35193000057788 | Adult Fiction | Réservation d’un volume | Disponible | - |
More information
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2008 May #1
*Starred Review* Although David Swift wanted to become a scientist like his beloved professor, Dr. Hans Kleinman, he couldn't manage the math. Instead, he wrote a best-selling book about Albert Einstein. Now Swift is shocked to learn that his elderly mentor has been brutally tortured. With his dying breaths, Kleinman tells Swift that, contrary to common knowledge, Einstein did complete his unified field theory, but the consequences were so catastrophic, he kept it secret. Now the feds and the sadistic Chechnyan who attacked Kleinman will do anything to secure Einstein's secret formula. Accordingly, Swift must live up to his name, outrun his vicious assailants, and find Einstein's hidden notebooks. With the help of cool-under-pressure Monique Reynolds, a resourceful African American physicist, Swift leads a wildly choreographed chase. Alpert, an editor for Scientific American, laces his high-IQ doomsday thriller with clearly explicated and hauntingly beautiful scientific theories and delivers readers to such intriguing locations as Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute and the Fermi National Acceleration Laboratory. An ingenious scientist turned evil mastermind, a snake handler, a stripper, a video-game-obsessed autistic teen, and sly digs at a certain presidential administration add up to a strikingly sweet-natured yet satisfyingly barbed high-tech, high-stakes adventure. Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2008 April #1
Disappointing debut thriller sends scientists, the FBI and a hired killer scrambling for Einstein's last, unpublished theory.Alpert works from a Hitchcock template that promises a breathtaking cross-country chase in the tradition of Saboteur and North by Northwest. The story takes off when David Swift, a professor and science writer, learns from a dying physicist the details of a theory Einstein left unpublished. Put into action, this "final theory" could lead to the destruction of the universe. A man who knows too much, Swift finds his life imperiled. Terrorists want to know what Swift knows, as does the U.S. government, who sic the FBI on him. Dodging the Bureau boys and their tactics, which equal the Gestapo's in violence and treachery, Swift heads to Princeton to uncover the full details of Einstein's theory. There he teams with a former girlfriend and soon they're off to Carnegie Tech, the hills of Western Pennsylvania, then to West Virginia and Georgia. Alpert sets a brisk pace and laces his lean prose with refreshing wit. Blowsy FBI agent Lucille Parker, a Texan who shoots from the hip, will make a great part for an actress of a certain age and girth should the book ever become a movie. But prospective movie sales may have led the author to the letdown that comes in the book's second half. After sketching out promising characters and relationships, Alpert, it seems, aims for action-movie fans. As Armageddon draws nigh, he brings on the Delta Force, helicopters and all, for a series of sober, over-the-top action scenes. Alpert's plotting, meanwhile, turns facile. In particular, he undermines suspense by almost never letting anyone get cornered without a quick escape readily at hand.Hard-action fans may turn the pages, but others will sense a missed opportunity, especially after the sharp first half.Agent: Daniel Lazar/Writers House Copyright Kirkus 2008 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2008 June #2
On the run from the U.S. government and a ruthless assassin, science historian David Swift tries to uncover the meaning of a series of numbers whispered to him by his dying mentor. David hurtles from the Northeast to Appalachia to solve the puzzle that may be tied to Einstein's final theory, but the answer takes him by surprise. First-timer Alpert, a Scientific American editor, executes the action sequences with enthusiasm, although his hero performs some incredible feats for a civilian. Alpert also lays out the science without overwhelming the casual reader. Recommended, especially for Michael Crichton fans.
[Page 56]. Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2008 March #4
Alpert's exciting debut takes the premise that Albert Einstein succeeded in discovering a unified field theory, but hid the result, fearing it could lead to weapons far more powerful than the atom bomb. In the present day, several contendersâthe U.S. government, a savage mercenary bent on revenge, various scientistsâall scramble to uncover the theory. Theoretical physicist Hans Kleinman, once one of Einstein's assistants, is tortured by an intruder who demands he divulge the theory. Columbia University professor David Swift is at Kleinman's bedside when the old man makes a few cryptic statements, imparts a string of numbers and then dies. Soon David is off and running for his life, as all the theory seekers give chase. David stays one step ahead with the help of the beautiful Monique Reynolds, another physicist. Alpert, a Scientific American columnist, sticks to proper thriller structure while imparting interesting and accessible science. The relentless action, including one giant twist and plenty of smaller ones, builds to a pulse-pounding conclusion. (June)
[Page 51]. Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.