The Footprints of God: A Novel

Greg Iles is a really fun mystery writer. In addition, he always interjects some literary or philosophical issues in his books. This one is highly suspenseful along with having some of the more profound philosophical issues of our time woven into the narrative such as the ethics of nuclear weaponry, the existence of god, and the morality of machines usurping human judgement and intelligence.

It was fair. The value of it's biblical references was very mystical!!! What was Iles trying to prove? His spiritual beliefs ? A very sad attempt using biblical passages!!! I'm a avid greg Iles fan. Don't demean your writing skills!

The author should stick to things he is familiar with, or really put some effort on the related technologies before writing a book on this topic. The story is terrible, largely because the scenario being painted is so far from reality that it is totally amateurish.

Interested in artificial intelligence? Science? Philosophy? Religion? Life and death? This book is for you. It covers them all, but without vast amounts of technobabble. It's very approachable, very understandable, yet also mystical. The author acknowledges the work of Ray Kurzweil (The Singularity) as fundamental to creating this fascinating fiction. Anyone at all familiar with Kurzweil will recognize this essential link.
A great introduction to Greg Iles that stands alone for those not wanting to jump into a series.

What a great vehicle to think about God, life and death and the return to consciousness. This book is an adventure and thought-provoking. I've read it several times and always enjoy it every couple of years. Greg Iles is one of my favorite authors due to the humanity in his characters. These are not stories of one action sequence to another, there is development of the characters. Thanks, Mr. Isles! This book always makes me think of our mortality and what happens after death and I absolutely recommend it.

Thrillers are not what I usually read. I saw this book at my parent's house and decided to pick it up after reading a few romances and young adult books. I figured that I'd give a different genre a try to mix things up and I liked the premise because I am fascinated with Artificial Intelligence and the idea of the singularity. I don't know anything about quantum mechanics or computing, but I might look into that now.

I couldn't put this book down. I found it fascinating. I thought the mixture of psychology, science, and spirituality was fascinating. I love to hear people's ideas about life and the reasons we are here, so it was great to read a book that explores that. I liked all of the characters, especially Geli because the idea of a woman sociopath/psychopath made me cringe, which was a good thing.

I don't think this book will be everyone's cup of tea because it does talk about some technical ideas that some might think are looney and are beyond them, but they aren't. Many high profile people in the tech industry, like Elon Musk, are very wary of the future of artificial intelligence. It is scary to think about how our whole society relies on technology to work now. The book tackles these ideas and more while maintaining its entertainment value. There were parts that I had to slow down to read to understand what was being said, but I didn't mind. I liked the book. Check it out.

Good book. Somewhat weird at times, but a good book. At times a very good book.

A combination of computers, technology, science fiction and theology with a little sex thrown in for good measure...Again, something for everyone...

To get a sense of this book, think of Hal in "2001 A Space Odyssey," the command computeer that develops the ability to think for itself as humans think and takes over the misson. Hal is in complete, total control and what he does, nobody knows. Such is the Trinity Computer in "The Footprints of God, a computer actually becomes "God" controlling the world and mankind as he (it)sees fit. When asked who he (the computer) it answers, straight from the Bible, "I am..."

Weird, interesting and at times a "far-out" read. The plot structure seems stretched at times amd strains credibility, but it a good read, a very good read.

Everytime you might think about putting it down--and there may be some of those times--you'll look forward to the next chapter to see what happens next.

In the endm, the "real" God gets involved, and in a most unusual way...There is theological thought here to a degree that is rarely found in books of this type.

All in all, a good, provocative read.

Since the earliest years of Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence has been heavily speculated upon.

Robots are of course one of the natural progressions for this, and the same goes with computers. After all, you can't really have a robot without a computer; it's kind of like having a human without a brain.

They just have to go together. In the case of humans, we can't survive without our brain, and visa versa, however, with robots, the computer can exist outside the robot... eh, never mind.

The interesting thing about Greg Iles The Footprint of God is that it deals with the creation of the worlds first and most powerful Artificial Intelligence.

And the novel also delves into an aspect of society that many people find uncomfortable... the mixing of religion and science.

As is the case, I can't really go into too much detail about the novel because that would end up giving away some spoilers, and I loath to do that.

The story revolves around Dr. David Tennant, a man hired specifically to be the ethical heart of Project Trinity, the group tasked with the creation of this powerful computer system.

The problem is that his friend and co-worker recently died of a stroke... but he knows it wasn't a stroke, the man was murdered. He just doesn't have any way of proving this fact.

And, there is also this little problem... He keeps having visions, always brought on by his bouts of Narcolepsy.

Once again, I can't go into any details about these visions, as it would give away far too much when it comes to the plot of the novel.

Between his visions, and his knowledge, he finds himself on the run from the NSA, the group responsible for the creation of the Trinity Project.

Caught up in this race is his psychiatrist, Rachel Weiss, who harbours a secret of her own, and who wants to believe what is happening to Tennant, but her training keeps standing in the way.

The novel is a race, one of keeping a single step ahead of those who want to stop him from revealing what he knows to the world. Paranoia runs rampant in the book and for good reason.

I'll say this; it was very fast paced and quite the thriller. I had a hard time putting it down, even when it got into the whole religion aspect. I'm not big on religion, as those who know me understand.

Still, despite this, the book had a very unique take on religion and things that cause one person to turn away from god, and another to embrace their faith.

The whole aspect of the artificial intelligence was also a unique take on the time honoured plot device. Something that I've never seen before used in a book, and it was quite refreshing.

Of course, as one would expect, the book comes to quite the explosive climax that had me sitting on the edge of my seat as I read the events that led up to it.

I also liked how the novel ended. Again, I can't say anything without giving away hints that would lead you, the reader, to guess at what happened.

Worth reading, no doubt about it. I will probably look for Greg Iles other novels and pick them up to read in the near future.

4 out of 5

When David Tennant was assingned to Project Trinity by the US President himself, he never suspected life and existance as he knew them would be over soon. And why should he, he's just a doctor who had decided to take on a project a little diferent than what he was used to. He had recently emerged from a terrible depression caused by the death of his wife and daughter and he was not practicing medicine, but he levels of morality where science is concerned are unsual, broad, yet high.

So he decided to join the team of 6 top scientist in quatum physics, neurology and others, toward achieving the goal of creating the first form of artificial intelligence, a computer capable of thinking on its own and even feeling, but not as strongly as us humans, a computer named Trinity. But when David and another top notch scientist decide to oppose project Trinity based on morality issues, all hell broke loose, and now David is running for his life.

Joining David, is Rachel his psychotherapist, who thinks him crazy at best, schizophrenic at worst. Despite this she gets involved and now she as well must run with David in order to stay alive. And to top it all off David has been having strange dreams/visions since his brain was scanned for project Trinity.

A fairly number of characters appear in the book to make the story more intrecate. This other characters help shape the main character as well as the story and at the same time, they give us, as readers, a more broad view of human nature in all its glory. The good, the bad and the ugly.

David's, or rather the author's view of God is a rather non-common one, might border on plain scary.

The struggle between science vs God presented here was thought provoking. Wether you are more leaned toward one than the other, this book is worth a try and worth some analyzing right after you are done with it.

Major kudos for Iles, for bringing such an intricate, yet simple novel, for "biting nail" good suspense, and for trying to push his readers to anilyze and re-think our view on the magnificence of science and the mightiness of God.

Highly recommend.

After reading the first 100 or so pages I though, why am I reading this but I continued and then got so immersed in the story that I didn't want to stop. No matter what anyone says about Greg Iles, he is one of the most gifted storytellers writing today. This novel was well researched and Iles made it almost believable at times.

The Trinity project involves using superior MRIs to scan people's brains so they can be loaded into a quantum super-computer. A computer that has Artificial Intelligence that can learn more effectively and faster. Decipher codes instantaneously, even missile launch codes, etc.

Since this novel is a departure from most of his previous books, it opens the gate for some to wring their hands and review it negatively Others will give it accolades. There is no question that this body of work is loaded with controversial subject matter.

Most of the positive reviews will go into great depth about the details of the plot. On the other hand the negative reviews will find fault with every thing. It is amusing that the characters in this book are described as either, believable, interpersonal relationships ring true, I loved all the characters, characters well written, versus uninteresting, over the top, cartoons, one dimensional, cardboard.

This novel captured my attention and I give it four stars and recommend it.

Scientists try to create artificial intelligence by replicating the human brain via circuitry. When they succeed, it runs amuck. As absurd as that first sentence sounds, Iles makes it almost believable. Certainly Iles gets some brownie points for an interesting theology/philosophy. The problems with this book are that the villians are just a bit too villanous to be believed, and the capability of computers is a bit too extraordinary to be creditable. I generally don't consider Iles a technical writer, just extremely capable of providing suspense. Certainly there's suspense here, but his presentation of technical matters needs to be improved a bit. If you're not highly technically savy, then this book will work just fine. If you're an engineer in a Dilbert world, then you might want to close one eye and sing na, na, na while glossing over some of the details.

I just finished reading The Footprints of God and I was thoroughly entertained. If you enjoy reading a tech-thriller similar to a story by Chrichton or Cook then you'll enjoy this story. In the author's note, Iles expresses his attempt to balance technical details with a general storyline. Iles does a very decent job. He provides just enough details to manage the story. I work in Electromagnetic Theory and applications. I found this story to have just the right detail concerning EMP attacks and the effects of nuclear explosion without sounding like total fantasy. Keeping this in mind it might be more adequate to place this book in the science fiction genre rather then general fiction. I can see how this story might be a little over the top for those adverse to Sci-Fi stories.
Iles managed to do what most Sci-Fi writes fail to do; write a story about advancements in technology that question the fundamental and philosophical beliefs of mankind. A story that takes the reader and forces him/her to ask questions about the nature of reality. Forcing the reader to consider the impacts of our exponentially technological development. When you read this novel I'm sure you wonder if technology is our salvation or our damnation. With all this in mind and the fast paced nature of the story I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. Have fun reading this book and don't be surprised if your next book is something by Crichton or Cook...

Iles tries to imitate Michael Crichton with bits of Dan Brown's Digital Fortress in this book. Unfortunately this book does not make it. The NSA is backing a project called Trinity which is to develop a super quantum computer that is controlled by a brainscan of a human mind. Two of the individuals involved with the project want it halted and one dies in an apparent stroke which was actually induced by the NSA bad guys (why does the NSA always have to be portrayed as the bad guys in these books?). David Tennant is the other individual and he gets away by stopping an unstoppable hitman and then persuades his psychiatrist to run with him, even though she thinks he is mentally unstable.

The plot really gets out of hand with Tennant having visions of being Jesus, being portrayed to the Secret Service as the next Oswald and escaping the entire Washington DC police and SWAT units and ultimately getting out the country with a false passport, going to Israel and then persuading the head of the Moussad to help him. As crazy as it sounds the end is literally unbelievable that would even make a James Bond fan cringe.

The author has written some great tense books (24 Hours, Sleep No More) so I just chalk this one up to an experiment gone awry.

The late Philip K. Dick spent the greater balance of his literary career dealing with questions of perception and reality, leading to a penultimate trilogy --- VALIS, THE DIVINE INVASION and THE TRANSMIGRATION OF TIMOTHY ARCHER --- which dealt with the concept of God and divine intervention in affairs of humanity.
Greg Iles in THE FOOTPRINTS OF GOD undertakes issues evocative of, though certainly not imitative of, Dick's work, combining the divine with elements of quantum physics and the ever-evolving world of computers. While other authors have explored this territory --- Arthur C. Clarke comes most immediately to mind with both the 2001 books and his award-winning short story "The Nine Billion Names of God" --- THE FOOTPRINTS OF GOD has an immediacy to it that adds tension to the mix. The events taking place here could be happening now, at least with respect to Artificial Intelligence, or "A.I."
I've been of the opinion that laptop and desktop computers have a rough A.I. that leads to the performance of what we humans would call a practical joke. I'm referring to the things that computers occasionally do that cause the SYSOP guys to shrug and roll their eyes when asked for a cause of the irritating effect that has manifested itself in the middle of some task. What is discussed here, however, involves a bit more than that.
THE FOOTPRINTS OF GOD concerns Project Trinity, an attempt to construct a computer that will surpass the power of the human mind. Rather than trying to replicate the human brain, Project Trinity is attempting through an advanced MRI procedure to upload a "map" of the brain, with images, memories and thought processes, into the computer itself. Each member of the Project Trinity team has undergone this procedure and has experienced unique side effects. Dr. David Tennant is attached to the team as an ethicist, with his presence tolerated --- or not --- to varying degrees by the others on the team. Tennant, since undergoing the MRI scan, has experienced somnambulism, with dreams and visions that include the memories of the experiences of Jesus.
When a friend and fellow scientist on the project dies suddenly and unexpectedly, Tennant quickly realizes that he was murdered and that the individual responsible for the murder is the head of Project Trinity. Tennant turns to Dr. Rachel Weiss, the psychiatrist who has been treating him for the nightmares and visions that he reports. Weiss at first believes that the nightmares and Tennant's interpretations of them are an extreme result of a prolonged grief reaction to the deaths years ago of Tennant's wife and daughter. When an assassin attempts to kill Tennant and Weiss, they are forced to leave Project Trinity in a chase that winds across the country and around the world. By the time they uncover the truth behind Project Trinity, however, the computer is operational, indestructible and holding all of humanity hostage.
Iles has acquired a well-deserved reputation for writing intelligent, suspenseful thrillers, and he has outdone himself once again with THE FOOTPRINTS OF GOD. Iles's introduction of quantum physics and the concepts of God and creation into THE FOOTPRINTS OF GOD is perfect. He throws in just enough to whet the reader's appetite, explains the concept simply enough to avoid any confusion, and jumps back into the story. A lesser writer would have bogged down the narrative with the hows, whys and wherefores that at this point are all unknowns anyway. Iles's suspenseful ending is just about perfect as well, combining a satisfactory resolution with just a hint of the unknown.
THE FOOTPRINTS OF GOD is ultimately more than just a novel of speculation; it may be a roadmap to what is just around the corner.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

In "the Footprints of God", Iles may remove himself from the familiar home terrain of Louisiana and Mississippi that has hallmarked him as a writer of contemporary suspense, but his protagonists, in this case, Dr. David Tennant and love interest, Dr. Rachel Weiss, remain basically the same troubled smarter-than-average life-burdened humans already encountered in his other books.

Joined by an ensemble cast of other supposed media stars, like two Nobel winning physicists, a megalomaniacal computer hardware/software genius, the President of the United States, and an emergency war council responsible for the safety of the North American continent, Tennant, renowned in the field of medical ethics, and Weiss, the world's foremost Jungian analyst, fight off the baddies who want to turn a project developing the first real artificially intelligent computer into a game of global domination.

Despite some interesting details revolving around concepts of quantum physics and MRI-induced hallucinations experienced by Tennant where he relives the life of Jesus from a first person perspective, this 500+ pager falls sadly short of its intended mark---to entertain.

Burdened by the losses they have experienced, Tennant and Weiss just aren't interesting enough. Iles offers no revelations about them as people, nor does he tweak the usual formulaic chase scenes and behind the main action narratives where we get a glimpse into the minds of the opposition, with any intriguing plot twists. Iles touches on a few themes that could have changed the book's overall feel and tone, but like most thriller/suspense novels that capture the general public's attention, this one seems to move in the direction of adaptability to screenplay rather than a vehicle that could make us actually think.

And---its not as if Iles does not possess the skills, he has a moment where as Christ he answers a question with a riddle from St. Thomas' Gospel (Dead Sea Scroll): "Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone and find me." If Iles really wanted to follow in the footsteps of God, why didn't he make a quantum physics connection to this cryptic statement? Most likely, the answer is a simple one---many of these new science based novels start out with a Big Bang of golly-wow information that peters out simply because the cutting edge technology spoken about isn't fully understood or isn't advanced enough to provide startling revelations.

On another level, the broad threat to international security scope of this novel was just too big to lend any insight into inner mystery. The focus on the disabling of nuclear warheads and the annoying worthless interplay between Geli Bauer and her father, the General, takes up more than half the book. In addition, the hokey ending ala 'Contact' meets "The Wiz" disappointed rather than impressed this reader. Tennant's enlightenment seemed, pardon me, an inexcusable Deus ex machina ; his grim demeanor counteracts his common sense message to the computer at the novel's denouement. While Ile's comments regarding the nature of Christ will surely supercharge Christian fundamentalists, they surely won't get the air-time of the more popular "DaVinci Code." Tsk,tsk---even when trying to be upbeat, Iles crumbles under his self-created burdens--putting too much action in what could have been a cerebral experience--- my overall rating is not even a C minus.

Iles' latest action-driven thriller opens with a classic line, "...if you're watching this tape, I'm dead." It closes in time-honored fashion too and in between the pages just fly by as the chase accelerates.
Narrator David Tennant, M.D., ethicist on a secret government project to develop a supercomputer using the human brain as a template, never does finish his videotape. First, it's a FedEx delivery from a dead colleague, complete with anthrax scare, then it's a narcoleptic collapse in which he relives the sudden death of his friend, and finally it's a surprise visit from his new psychiatrist, Rachel Weiss, who doesn't know where he lives. And all this is just the first chapter.
The pace picks up as Tennant tries to stop the project before he too is killed and the artificial-intelligence is activated. Iles, bestselling master of the thriller ("24 Hours," "Dead Sleep"), blasts off in crisis mode and pours on the speed. Tennant manages to fill in the back-story as he goes, accompanied now by the beautiful, enigmatic and possibly treacherous Weiss, who considers Tennant paranoid/delusional at a minimum.
Project Trinity is near completion and its originator, the dying billionaire genius scientist, Peter Godin, wants to cheat death by loading his mind into the computer, creating an intelligence quantum leaps (literally - there's a quantum physics subplot that complicates the speculative possibilities) beyond the human. As National Security Operatives hunt Tennant with the latest military technology, and his narcoleptic visions become intense visions of Christ's last days, hair's breadth escapes and slippery twists keep the story buzzing, despite the cartoonish characters of the villains, particularly the security boss, a beautiful, scarred and oversexed killer with a daddy complex.
The New Agey ending, though predictable, just about spoiled the whole thing for me, but other readers may enjoy the slightly offbeat speculation. High marks for Crichton-like pacing and plot, but disappointing characters and resolution. Still, it'll keep you up late reading, though you might throw the book at the wall when you're done.

Suspense, action, politics, religion, philosophy, even a bit of romance. Very well done, Greg. A techno-thriller and page turner that grabs you right at the beginning. It lags just one little bit in the first quarter of the book but then picks up speed and is a hard one to put down. I am amazed at the authors versatility in his writing. I have read every one of his books and they are all different, with one exception - they all keep you turning those pages.
The author makes a statement at the end of the book that may help the reader before he starts the book: "Writing about science and philosophy in a commercial novel is problematic. Write about them at their natural level and you leave the masses behind. Simplify too much, and you offend those individuals conversant in those subjects. I trust you will enter this book as an exercise of the mind and not judge too harshly either way. If we have learned anything in the past ten thousand years, it is that nothing is certain."
Greg Iles writes a riveting yet believable story about artificial intelligence and a Super Computer developed by the greatest minds in science, a team of nobel-prize winning scientists. Known as "Trinity" the super computer is a merger of man (his mind) and machine, and what can be done with it. The possibilities are fascinating and frightening. Yet the story line explores religion, conscience, military strategies, philosophy and much more.- the reader is cognizant that this is a conceivable achievement in the light of today's advances in technology.
I can see why Dan Brown (author of DaVinci Code) liked this book. It is written in the same fast-paced way and with a lot of factual research and information. It takes you through some of our actual military bases and research sites, and references actual events that have happened in our history with nuclear development. The novel takes the reader to Israel as well, where I found that part of the book fascinating as the main character searched for answers in the life of Jesus and His resurrection. I disagree with the reviewer, ("booklover 10) that didn't recommend this - it may be Iles best work to date. It gives you a lot to think about, yet it entertains you - like I said at the start - what more can you ask for in a book?

I have enjoyed all of Greg Iles' novels, including Footprints of God, though it does not meet the quality of suspense in his previous books. It addresses questions about mankind, mind, consciousness, religion, etc. in a metaphysical way. The dream sequences of medical ethicist Dr. David Tennant that lead him to an increasing relationship with psychiatrist Dr. Rachel Weiss are a central element. Tennant is overseeing the progress of a top-secret information project codenamed Trinity, and he becomes suspicious of the project's future and his colleagues' motives when a leading Trinity scientist dies suddenly. How the plot is resolved regarding Trinity and national security comes across as secondary to the ideas mentioned above that Iles is playing with. The author has tackled something very different in most of his books, including classic World War II-based historical thrillers, serial killer and legal dramas, and even spirit possession. For me the suspense did not quite measure up to what he's achieved before. I wanted to finish the book more because the ideas were interesting rather than wanting to find out if Tennant and Weiss would escape their pursuers. So I enjoyed the first half of the book better and thought the conclusion was mediocre. Tennant and the dead scientist are the most interesting characters, so it's up to Tennant to keep the reader interested. Usually Iles uses several primary characters to tell the story, but this is pretty much a one-man show. Iles indicates in the acknowledgments that he had a hard time striking a balance between complex ideas and mass market fiction; I think he did fine on this point. Though Iles resolves these ideas differently than I might, I still enjoyed reading the book overall. For pure suspense, I would recommend Spandau Phoenix, Mortal Fear, or The Quiet Game.

I discovered Greg Iles right after his original novel, 'Spandau Phoenix' was released, and I have been VERY fortunate I discovered this talented author at the beginning of his career. I have seen him mature as a storyteller and I have also found out first hand that he is no one-hit-wonder, either.

While I long for the day that Greg will write another Historical Thriller like he did with 'Spandau Phoenix' and 'Black Cross', I am happy to enjoy everything he writes in the meantime simply because he refuses to be categorized simply by one type of novel. You want a courtroom thriller better than anything that Grisham has written? Try 'The Quiet Game'. How 'bout a supernatural thriller? Iles has done that, too with 'Sleep No More'. This guy has also written some pretty fantastic Techno-thrillers as well. He can do it ALL.

With 'Footprints of God' we see him at his creative best. The storyline of 'Footprints' is a dandy one, too: Is it possible to create a computer that is self-aware, with Artificial Intelligence that can grow and exceed that of the human brain? Sounds like science fiction -- until you read this book I assure you. Unless you are an absolute computer GENIUS, you will become totally absorbed by this incredible novel. The US Government wants a computer that can help us crack any and all computer codes on the planet, and one that is self-aware would be able to do that within mere seconds. But, a rather large problem exsists: we don't know HOW to build one. One of the super-computer age creators of the past 50 years submits that maybe we can build one without HAVING to understand how it works. Sounds hard to believe, right? What if we could use a Super MRI Scanner to essentially digitally COPY your brain into a computer...wouldn't that do the trick? It seems that yes, it could -- but the ethical problems this causes is the real plot to 'Footprints'.

Dr. Tennant and his co-worker, Dr. Fielding have grave concerns about the Trinity Project, yet as scientists, they also are insatiably curious as to whether or not this type of project can actually SUCCEED. When Dr. Fielding suddenly dies of a stroke, Tennant immediately KNOWS it was NO accident. He also knows that his life is now dangerously close to and end as well because of the information he knows, and because Trinity's leaders also know he believes Fielding was killed. One part conspiracy theory, two-parts thrills, 'Footprints of God' is a slam-bang amazingly creative 'what if' scenario that also manages to bring in the life of Jesus of all things. Exactly HOW does Iles pull it off? For the answer to that, you will have to read the book -- but don't worry, you will be doing yourself a pretty big favor by doing so.

All in all, this novel contains pretty much everything I look for in a modern thriller, first and foremost, it contains an exceptionally creative plot...second, well there IS no second. It just WORKS. Greg Iles is without a doubt, one of the most gifted storytellers writing today and I am a VERY lucky reader indeed to have been able to discover his variety of novels over the years. I am also grateful that he is young enough that I can look forward to reading a whole lot more of him in the future.

I had read and enjoyed several other book by Iles before this one, so I expected it to be good, however, I wasn't sure how well he would do with the subject matter which seemed quite a bit different from his previous novels. The story had the fast-paced feel of a thriller, with the in-depth subject matter of a good science fiction sotry, and I thought Iles handled this very well.
I was most impressed with how well Iles defined and explained the concept of God as it relates to the story. In most similar stories that I've read, this kind of thing usually comes off sounding pretty silly, but Iles handled it very well, without getting too incredibly abstract. I also really liked the concept that the Trinity computer when done would have to be something elegant and simple, rather than a complicated mess of machinery. I enjoyed the book all the way through for the interestig subject and the fast-paced storyline, but at the end, I was left a little unsatisfied by the conclusion. Not to say that it was bad, but I was hoping for something more spectacular considering events leading up to it.
I would recommend this book for any fans of Iles' or anyone who likes a good fast-paced story. I have read most of his previous novels and am very interested to see what he comes up with next.

Greg Iles' Footprints of God is a taut page-turner that has much competent high-tech research backing it up. Unfortunately, there were research lapses in three areas: First, the reference to Robert Oppenheimer, the top nuclear scientist of the Manhattan Project, being "persecuted for years for his opposition to (Edward Teller's) hydrogen bomb." Actually, Oppy was mainly opposed to the technical aspects of the H-Bomb production, not its moral aspects. His being persecuted and stripped of his high security clearance after the McCarthy witchhunts was mainly the result of his having known communists earlier in his career, and having misled investigators about it. He was done wrong, yes, but after his public career was ended he headed for Princeton, to the Center for Advanced Study where Einstein had presided.

Second, every ambitious novel will have a bad patch of flawed reasoning. This one occurs on page 359 (hardcover):

"And the miracles (of Jesus)? Walking on water? Raising the dead?"

"Jesus was a healer, not a magician. Those stories were useful to those who built a religion around him."

Well, Duh, and Duh again! Sure "those stories were useful," but at least 25 of Jesus' miracles were healings. So was he also not a healer?

Third, on page 454 we get a reference to "the Antichrist predicted by the Book of Revelation." Well, actually the Antichrist is only predicted as such in the canonical books of John 1 and 2. Too bad those "long nights discussing philosophy and religion" mentioned in the Ackinowledgments didn't catch that.

Nevertheless, this is a mind-bending, thought-provoking epic that tells us all what adversities might happen in the future from the artificial intelligence forces developing around us. For that reason, it is highly recommended reading.

"Footprints of God" by Greg Iles is a perceptive and inventive novel that speculates on the possibilities when science and spirituality combine in a government project to develop the ultimate super computer.
Project Trinity is established to devise a computer that will meld with the human mind and think exponentially faster than the human brain.
Ethics Professor David Tenant has been appointed to oversee possible ethical issues---is man attempting to play God?
Tenant recognizes the negative side effects that have afflicted the Trinity principles and wants a shut down, a Trinity colleague is murdered, Tenant narrowly escapes the same fate and the chase is on.
The pursuit is led by a relentless, ruthless and savage female killer hired by the NSA. NSA wants nothing to interfere with the project.
The good vs evil, cat and mouse, destiny vs chance tale is a well-executed suspense thriller as Tenant eludes his pursuers.
The intricate plot, leading Tenant to the showdown with the "brain" of the computer is both troubling and believable---educating and entertaining.
It is addictive reading.

If even one person is fooled into buying this book then it is a shame. This book is the Footprints of God book that Iles released a few years ago. Iles is probably one of my favorite authors and all of his books are great, except this one. I don't know whose idea it was to rerelease an old book with a new title to try and sucker people into buying the same book twice. I hope it wasn't the author's idea. In conclusion, this is a rerelease of "The Footprints of God," written only a few years ago.

This story is a great example of what happens when a writer earns his publishing industry stripes through the solid craftsmanship and consistently creative spark of a solid body of work: he gets to tell us a story from his heart and soul, a story too complex and risky for anyone without a readership (Patterson did it with "When The Wind Blows", Grisham with "A Painted House"), free of formula and the short-sighted fear of people wearing suits who would otherwise constrain his vision within a branded box. And he does it while delivering a kick ...ride for thrill seekers and deep thinkers alike. This novel defines what is possible in speculative fiction, it reflects our own questions and poses alternative answers that are as provocative as they are sometimes disturbing. Reflecting on the occasions when our storytelling styles have been compared (we were "discovered" by the same publisher, Louise Burke), I am humbled by what he has achieved here. Too bad "The DaVinci Code" reached the market first (I enjoyed that book, as well), since this covers some of the same ground and almost perfectly mirrors the arc of that storyline, though with a much more resounding finish. "The Footprints Of God" is courageous and original, and well worth the time of anyone who reads not for escape, but for engagement and enrichment.