Customer Reviews

Conquest Of Paradise: An End-times Nano-Thriller

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Apocalyptic literature always fascinates me. The rich congeries of differing scenarios makes reading nearly any entry in this voluminous genre immensely entertaining. Some writers choose to write from a fundamentalist Christian view, using the Book of Revelations as a checklist of doom and gloom. Others infect the world with killer viruses, nasty alien invaders, or earth-shattering natural disasters. A few stories incorporate several of these themes into a depressing account of our ultimate demise. Britt Gillette's "Conquest of Paradise" falls firmly in the latter category, a story that fuses Christianity with science. In this author's nightmare scenario, the bogey of molecular nanotechnology skillfully welded with biblical prophecy produces a frightening scenario of death and destruction.

Throughout this 300-page book, Gillette manages to juggle numerous characters and storylines with great élan. The opening chapters of the book introduce us to characters that will play significant roles throughout the story. There is Garrison Nance, a young man from Atlanta heading to Chiapas, Mexico to work for a Christian mission. Nance meets Poyner and Raphael Vicente during his stay there, where the three become involved in a peasant revolution against the Mexican government. As the book progresses, Islamic terrorists, a sinister Frenchman, a dangerous Chinese agent, and other characters big and small emerge to play their part in the unfolding dilemma.

From these lengthy introductory chapters, in which Gillette reveals much about Raphael's background, each chapter jumps ahead in time. Raphael becomes a significant figure on the world stage, first as a champion of the third world poor, then as a Nobel Prize winner, to his eventual assumption of the presidency of United Europe. Raphael's sole goal in life is to instill democracy and human rights throughout the world, and he will do anything within his power to realize that actuality. But in the course of trying to be the world's champion, he runs the risk of plunging the globe into eternal chaos.

The 400-pound gorilla in this story is the assembler breakthrough, a development that threatens to change the world as we know it forever. What assemblers are and their potential to restructure the world is best left unrevealed here. It is sufficient to say that this technology, as elucidated in Gillette's book, is both awesome and fearsome. In an author's note at the end of the book, Gillette explains that molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is real and imminent; he believes that by the end of this decade MNT will arrive whether we want it or not. The author wrote this book to expose the inherent dangers of this new technology, a technology that offers a promise of nearly infinite good, but also a danger beyond reckoning if it falls into the wrong hands. Gillette lists several website addresses for those who wish to discover further information about this potentially dangerous technological development.

What spooked me the most about this book was reading it during the countdown to the invasion of Iraq. Gillette made sure to keep his story up to date, so references to Saddam Hussein, the terrorist attacks of September 11th, and the threat of radical Islamic terrorism added a significant dimension of immediacy to the story.

I think the overarching theme Gillette is searching for here was best expressed by Benjamin Franklin, who once wrote, "Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." In order to make the world "safe" for Raphael's democratic dream, everyone must eventually give up his or her liberty. Raphael's quest against Islamic fanaticism leads to a dangerous fanaticism about democracy. In other words, absolutes, whatever their stripe, will always resort to totalitarianism in order to succeed.

"Conquest of Paradise," whether its message of out of control technology is true or not, should find a place on the shelf of anyone interested in the apocalypse genre. The first third of the book moves slowly, but by the time you pass page 100, the story starts to zoom. Books like this one justify the "publish it yourself" industry.

With a very small niche of 'fictional' books based upon the biblical end times, and usually dominated by the easy reading kid glove series of 'Left Behind', Britt Gillette's 1st attempt is outstanding.

While loosely interpreting prophetic events, Gillette makes this novel plausible to those that like to read a more technically and smart novel. However, it is not so advanced that only rocket scientists can follow. Imagine if you will biblical events crossing over into a Twighlight Zone and Star Trek episode...friendly, technical, and action packed.

Some criticize the first few chapters as being slow, however, I think it does a great job in fleshing out the main characters as we look at their specific origins. Though the events of the 1st few chapters don't necessarily tie into the main plot, they plant the seeds on how characters will react to certain situations during the main events.

After events of September 11th, many of the most powerful leaders of the free world take on a secret project to develop a new type of weapon, to stamp out terrorism once and for all. Nanotechnology promises to be the ultimate unstoppable force in which it has the potential to make nuclear weapons and all other conventional military obsolete.

To make nanotechnology a reality, the heads of many European countries form a new United Europe and elect Raphael Vicente as its new President. During his early months as President, the 'assembler' breakthrough is achieved, and one of his first goals is to stamp out all terrorists. Without giving the novel away, the nanotechnology becomes a force to reckon with and causes people to disappear, earthquakes, devastation on the oceans, while also providing many 'miracles'...curing the blind, making the lame walk, feeding the world and so on. Is Raphael the antichrist and he doesn't even know it?

Realizing that this is a fictional interpretation of Revelations will help the reader out quite a bit. My reason for not being 5 stars, was even though climax was great, I felt it was hurried in the end and then just stopped. The very last chapter threw me, and not quite sure how it fit in to the rest of the book, otherwise it almost demands a sequel and really deserves to be recognized as a great read.

The last six months has seen the appearance of novels that make use of nanotechnology as a major plot tool. This book, in spite of its ties to Christian religious eschatology, is actually one of the best of these. I found the first 140 pages or so of the story as somewhat "tiring", but the story quickly picked up after that, and I found myself totally engaged in the subsequent events as they unfolded. This book, like others that have preceeded it, could be interpreted as a sign of the anxiety that many feel regarding present and future developments in nanotechnology. And like these other books, the author includes an afterword that lists URLs for informational websites on nanotechnology. The author cautions the reader as to the enormous power of nanotechnology as he believes it to be.

Since the book is (science) fiction and is written to entertain rather than inform, one should not expect to find total conformance to scientific principles or facts. For example, in the story the nanobots engage in the complete dissolution of a human being. But this would entail the breaking of molecular bonds, mostly hydrogen bonds in water molecules since the human body is mostly water. This is not troubling from a scientific standpoint in and of itself, given the size of the nanobots and the fact that they are designed to carry this out. However, in the story the nanobots do this within a time period of just over two minutes. This would result in a rapid release of heat, which would destroy the nanobots themselves. Further, in the story the nanobots engage in both replication and destruction at a global scale, and at timescales that are short enough that the subsequent release of heat would act as a deterent to further activity by the nanobots. Nanobots and the processes they engage in of course are subject to the second law of thermodynamics. Also, in the story the nanobot's mobility is extremely sophisticated, since they are capable of traveling through the air at high speeds. This is also troubling from a scientific standpoint, since the turbulence in the atmosphere at the scale of the size of the nanobots would disrupt their ability to navigate coherently and efficiently.

The author wants to stay close to a particular doctrine of Biblical prophecy. This is apparent in the use of a newly created European Union, which, say some interpreters of Biblical prophecy, was predicted to happen in the "final days" before the advent of the second coming of Christ. The major powers of the world are engaged in an intense research effort to develop a "nano-assembler" and the race ends with an assembler controlled by Raphael Vicente, the leader of the new European Union. His altruism and ambition results in an apocalyptic horror of global proportions, only to be alleviated by the second coming of Christ.

Indeed the story is very entertaining and worth reading, and as a eschatological/science fiction hybrid, it might also be interpreted as a sign of current attempts to justify the Christian religion scientifically. Ideas from all the branches of science, such as physics, biology, and chemistry are being used to give Christian more substance and credibility. Some may frown on this strategy, believing that science and religion never have any intersection. But historically science and religion have coexisted, with the tension between them have varying degrees of intensity. There are many fine scientists alive now that profess to be born-again Christians, and they make excellent contributions to scientific knowledge. Whether these individuals are Christians who sometimes practice science, or scientists who sometimes practice Christianity is a matter of debate possibly, but the truth of their scientific results are certainly independent of the their belief in Christianity.

... and the status of this book as good fiction, which it is, is also independent of the author's Christian beliefs.

This book is classifed as "fiction" but as it continued, I realized its fundamental truths were far from imaginary. The hypocrisy of humans, the desire to always have more power, more control...both points were subtle and provacative discussion topics. "Conquest of Paradise" was an enticing look at a very scary near-future that lurks much closer than we think. I am not a great reader of what others are calling "Christian" novels, but no matter, I think this novel is applicable in many environments, both religious and secular. Also, I traditionally, as a rule, skip the quotes at the beginning of book chapters, but Britt Gillette's Biblical references were so astoundingly well-selected and appropriate that I could not resist reading them. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thought-provoking novels that are well-researched. A great idea for book clubs.

Not only is Britt Gillette's "Conquest of Paradise" the most intellectually engaging of the apocalypse novels I've read, but it also stands out as the most thrilling and believable. The novel takes a biblical view of the "great tribulation", but unlike LaHaye and Jenkins' "Left Behind", it covers the prophetic events of the Bible in a style that opens up the story to a more secular audience. You won't find the pretentious preaching that drips through the pages of the Left Behind Series. The reader is left to develop his own opinions. In addition, the book sticks closely to the scriptures, something you won't find in many great apocalyptic fiction novels like Stephen King's "The Stand". The only complaint I could register against this novel is that it takes a while to zoom. The suspense is present from the first page, but the seminal event - the assembler breakthrough - doesn't take place until halfway through the book. But I guess "Jaws" doesn't show the great white shark in the first scene either. No doubt, "Conquest of Paradise" has one of the most original plots of thrillers in its genre. This isn't a cookie cutter spy/political thriller, and it blows away the Left Behind books. If you enjoy reading about Armageddon, then you can't afford to miss this book.

"Conquest of Paradise" is a thriller that transcends the apocalyptic fiction genre by creating a world all too real for its reader. Following September 11th, the world unites to fight international terrorism, and Europe, concerned with American unilateralism and the security of its borders, integrates into a global superpower. Universally trusted, Raphael Vicente is appointed to be United Europe's first president. On his first day in office, he learns of the existence of a modern day Manhattan Project and an international race to create a weapon of unimaginable power - a self-replicating assembler. Able to construct any object to atomic precision, assemblers - and the nanomachines they construct - provide the only sure defense against weapons of mass destruction.

When a massive and well-coordinated terrorist strike decimates America and threatens to end modern civilization, Vicente uses its awesome power to create an overwhelming military force (literally overnight!) and closes in on the realization of his grand utopian vision - a world devoid of war, disease, poverty, and suffering.

One of the most enthralling books I've ever read, this novel is impossible to put down. Throughout the book, select verses from end times prophecies in the Bible are interspersed with alarming relevance. From the first horseman of the apocalypse "riding out on a white horse to conquer many nations" to the Book of Revelation's assertion that one man will have "power over people of every nation and language and tribe", "Conquest of Paradise" creates a doomsday scenario that will concern even the most skeptical critics.

At the book's conclusion, the author points out that "just as December 7th catapulted the world into the Nuclear Age, September 11th will plunge it into the Nanotechnic Age". Let's just hope "the assembler breakthrough" is the only event from "Conquest of Paradise" to move off the pages of fiction and into reality. For if its vision proves correct, the world is in for a rude awakening. Five stars, and a book no one can afford to miss.

After reading most of the Left Behind books and several other end times books I found this entry into the genre to be the most refreshing. Enter the NanoTech Age where Jews, Christians, Muslims and Hindus cannot live in peace, a world where China, the United States and a United Europe(does it begin with currency?) are all vying for world dominance, where SPIDERS and LOCUSTS are the weapons of control, where the H.O.L.E. could be an environmentalists dream machine, where there is a humane shield and Operation Infinite Justice is rooting out the bad guys. Sound familiar? Some parts are so close to reality that it is hardly fiction. First time author Britt Gillette has created a very engrossing storyline that is bound to captivate audiences with superb mini-plots happening on an international level. Travel the globe to witness events in Tiananmen Square, the jungles of Guatamala, visit King Solomons Temple as never seen before, and witness the transformation of the world as we know it. The book is hauntingly reflective of current events especially in the ever troublesome Middle East. Reading this book during the height of the Iraq War was a bit of a distraction as it made the lines between fiction and reality even more blurred. Considering the War on Terror will continue for a long time the events in the book are bound to continue to strike a parallel with current events in the future as it did now. There are plenty of reviews here that give a synopsis of the book so seek and you shall find. For what it is worth, my opinion is that the ideas put forth are extremely thought provoking and intellectually engaging. It is not neccessary to know about nanotechnology but it helps to at least have a clue. If you are unaware of this on the horizon technology than the book will stimulate you to learn about this potentially world changing technology. This book is a suspenseful, high intrigue thriller with a science fiction touch that is put to the backdrop of the end times. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and the character devlopment. The science matter was presented in such a way so as not to bog down the audience in "hard science." Rather the assembler breakthrough revealed a frightening scenario that entertained and created a mood for the story to become a real page burner. Although not overtly preachy there are passages from the Bible to start every chapter that coincide with the story. This book is a terrific blend of fact and fiction that could be transformed into a good movie with the proper adaptation. If you like end times books based on prophesy than you will love this book with it's unique twist. The book is both scary and joyfull in it's message that reflects the best and worst in humanity. Britt Gillette has created a wonderfull book that is food for thought in these troubled times. Many of the scenarios presented are developing or happening now. Definitely recommended good reading now before fiction becomes reality.

Have you ever read a self-published book and wondered why any publisher in their right mind would turn it down? Nope, me neither. Although most of these books are odes to dedication and good intentions, they are not always well done.

"Conquest of Paradise" comes close to bucking the trend.

Britt Gillette proves that he can complete a story and with writing flare that improves as the book progress. Occasionally clumsy, and not without grammatical errors, the narrative still moves along nicely.

The basic plot: nanotechnology is on the verge of a breakthrough, thus making all other weapon-systems obsolete. Raphael Vicente, leader of a successful revolution and surprise nominee for the guidance of United Europe, finds himself at the helm of the planet. With good intentions, he sets out to disarm terrorism and bring global peace. Of course, things never work out that easily; a lone terrorist is on the loose ready to pull the nano-trigger himself. To further complicate issues, Britt Gillette sets out to follow loosely the end-time prophecies of the Bible.

The first 100 pages are the biggest problem here. In a word: boooring! I almost gave up, but other reviews here encouraged me to persevere. I'm glad I did so because Gillette does pull off some nice prophetic twists, and he opens our eyes to some frightening realities on the technological horizon. While never breaking down nanotechnology with the ease of Michael Crichton's "Prey," Gillette does communicate effectively the inherent dangers. He forms this idea into a workable "end-times nano-thriller," as the front cover boldly proclaims.

I'm impressed by Gillette's concept and realization. However, in "Conquest of Paradise" he tries to do too much back-story up front, then leaves us without much characterization as his nano-plot takes over. If he continues to write, I'll give another book a shot. I believe that with back-story and character woven throughout the plot instead of before it, he could have himself a winner. And a publishing deal, as well!

Although I agree that this is a fairly quick read, I found it difficult to like, whether looking at it as a techno or political thriller, technical exposition on nanotechnology, or Revelations allegory. To get an idea of where I'm coming from, I tend towards books (when reading for fun) from authors that are relatively "well researched"* such as Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy, Umberto Eco, or (a little ashamed to admit :) Dan Brown. And to be quite frank, I found "Conquest of Paradise" to be, well, quite pedestrian -- there was simply not enough details, technical or otherwise, to make sense of the characters and their motivations, the various plot twists, and, most of all, the nanotechnology that is used as a plot device.

For example, there is a character in the book who serves as a leader of several of the Latin American Contra movements. It is straining (at best) when this character becomes an ardent opponent to Isamic terrorists without so much of an explaination except that he "fights for freedom and liberty." That is a nice sound-bite from our world leaders when they talk on CNN, but even those with cursory knowledge of the contra movements would think that this character would have at least somewhat of an understanding behind the motivations of "modern day" terrorists. To leave out even a discussion of the subject leaves leaves me thinking that either this character doesn't even express his true motivations on pages the author writes, or that the author hasn't done anything more than cursory research on the current fundamentalist movements and their roots.

In addition, given that we are observing the harrowing events in the book from the perspective of the leaders at the highest levels of world government, the lack of technical detail in the procedural processes that occur, the locations in the novel, and the outright colloquial nature of the characters' conversations and speeches (even the ones that are supposed to be "awe inspiring") makes it all very hard to take seriously. It feels like a B-grade "TV-movie" depiction of the people and processes in the government. This would have played out much better if it was told from the perspective of, say, an ordinary person living in such times; lack of details and technicalities then would be understandable.

Further, perhaps due to the fact that I am a scientist (though not in this field), the cursory treatment of nanotechnology, especially given its central role to the plot (and its use as analogy to events in Revelations), really makes it difficult for me to suspend disbelief at all. If it was some purely science fiction technology, then that would be one thing, but Gillette is trying to pass off these scenarios as realistically plausible, and anyone with a rudamentary eduction in high school physics (i.e. conservation of energy, momentum, etc.) should find the events in the book very, very difficult to believe even *with* an accompanying technical explanation. But even that is lacking. The "scientists" and engineers in the book use vague non-techical terms like "active shield" which may suffice for those without technical background, but even if you have only read the popular literature on the subject (such as Drexler's Engines of Creation and Levy's Artificial Life, both excellent, accessible tomes), the fact that everyone in the book talks about nanotech the way only a lay politician would is disturbing. Nonetheless, I must admit that even despite Crichton's amazingly well thoughtout lay-explainations in Prey, I still found events in Prey to be a bit unbelievable.

Finally, I had a couple of nitpicks: First, although all authors have their political persuasions, there seem to be several scenes littered throughout this book with no point other than to express a political opinion (for example, there is a scene involving the International Criminal Court which I can't fit in the plot at all, a NAFTA conversation involving a not-so-subtle poke at a particular American president, and a completely extreneous scene involving a particular diamond company). Second, although many reviewers disliked the opening 100 page exposition, I found this section to be the high point of the book -- although nothing really "happens," the characters do develop and the smaller scale of the events allow us to appreciate them much more than the later 200 pages, where they are essentially black-and-white protagonists with unchanging, singular goals acting at the mercy of the larger-than-life plotline. Third, I think part of the "muddled" feeling other reviewers got is from the interspersed "cut scenes" that introduce characters which never (or rarely) show up ever again. Fourth, though this might be an intentional lapse used to essentuate particular characters, the discussions of different religions and cultures is a very, very underdeveloped and is a simplified view of the world that is representative of almost no modern government leaders (even those who the media paint in such ways) -- these people went to school, they deal with multitudes of faiths and backgrounds on a day-to-day basis; they know that there is much more to the world than Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Hindus. But then this is just a 300-page novel, so perhaps that can be excused. And finally, I don't understand why Gillette makes up names for characters that are clearly direct analogs of figures in real life. Maybe it is polite, but when their details match those of the people we know so directly, it is a bit weird (makes you snicker a bit :).

It is certainly not a terrible read, though not one I can recommend either.

* By "well researched" I do not mean 100% (or even near 100%) technical accuracy; just enough emersive details in order to suspend disbelief in the lay (but educated) reader.

Based on biblical end times prophecies, "Conquest of Paradise" weaves an end-of-the-world scenario that places it among some of the best novels in its category. The story contains several notable characters, but focuses mainly on the life of a single man, Raphael Vicente. A young revolutionary, Vicente harbors grand ambitions of a world at peace and believes he alone can destroy injustice and evil in the modern world.

As the war on terror plunges the world deeper into an abyss of horror and death, a top secret project yields a weapon of enormous power, a device that controls atoms brought about by "the assembler breakthrough" - an event apparently akin to splitting the atom. As the first president of a powerful United Europe, Vicente finds himself in the unique position of dictating the policies of a new world order shaped by this technological breakthrough.

However, early mistakes in implementing this worldwide governmental framework lead to an enormous oversight - a loophole for terrorists to threaten world security. The idea that a terrorist may already have the technology possessed by Vicente drives him to institute ever more stringent security and safety measures, leading to an assault on First Amendment freedoms and driving the world closer to totalitarianism.

A bit slow at first, the novel takes time to develop (a good 100+ pages), but the author uses that time to build suspense, develop characters, and set up the reader for the book's heart-throbbing conclusion. By the time the assembler breakthrough occurrs, the reader is totally wrapped up in the story and its plot twists that offer original ideas I've never before read in any book. "Conquest of Paradise" is a story that refuses to leave the reader's head after he puts the book down, and those who enjoy Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy, or LaHaye and Jenkins' Left Behind Series will certainly love it. Highly recommended.