The Ninth Cube [Perfect Paperback]

Victor Grippi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2008

First in the TimeLine series, The Ninth Cube is a science thriller that explores a surreal bending of fate, tragedy, and happenstance. Filled with drama and profound insight, author Victor Grippi creates a modern day fable of personal limits and the quest to solve the mystery of life. The brilliant physicist Dr. Daniel Lamb unveils the secrets of what lies beyond the fourth dimension—and how it can be used for time travel. In a rush of action, one thing is certain: time travel proves to be unnatural and incredibly dangerous when the technology falls into the hands of a ruthless band of terrorists. As the fate of the world hangs in the balance, Daniel and his team of top-notch scientists, including the lovely and intelligent Tanya, enlists the help of The Knights Templar and Albert Einstein. Daniel is ultimately faced with a horrible dilemma as he tries to save the woman he loves. Based on the science of Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, and Carl Sagan.

Editorial Reviews

Review

What starts out as a race for the Nobel Prize ends in a race to save the planet in this physics-packed techno-thriller.

"Anyone who has a flair for the research of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan will appreciate Grippi's use of physics throughout the novel..." -- Kirkus Discoveries Review

About the Author

Victor Grippi is an independent consultant developing software for the computer industry. He is also a fiction writer, known for mixing literary style with speculative science fiction; The Ninth Cube is the culmination of a lifetime of scientific study and inquiry. The goal of his debut novel, and as a writer, is to inspire and expand the boundaries of his readers by asking the big “what if” questions. He lives in Pasadena California and information on his current projects can be found at www.atomicwriter.com.

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Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 422 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (August 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419697706
• ISBN-13: 978-1419697708
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,918,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Science Thriller!, August 30, 2008

By 

E. Stratton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ninth Cube (Perfect Paperback)

Fresh and original, hard core science thriller. Not for the faint of heart!

Wow, I was totally immersed and enthralled in this story. Author does an excellent job of explaining complex scientific theories like string theory and relativity and intertwines a spiritual symbolism that is very reminiscent of the late Carl Sagan. Some of the dialogue is very scientific, but is written in present tense, and this really put me into the beat of the story. Characters are vivid and have depth, something most techno-thrillers lack. The relationship between Daniel and his chief scientist, Tanya, is very entertaining and realistic.

The story line is heavily based on research and speculation, and moves very fast at times, but again this adds to the present tense realism that drew me into the story. I look forward to Book 2 in the series, and after the ending in this one, I can't wait to see the next one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A diamond in the rough, September 20, 2009

By 

D. C Smith (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ninth Cube (Perfect Paperback)

I found some obscure reference to this book linked from someone's personal blog, and it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try. I will say it IS an interesting story, and kept my attention the whole way through. This is the "diamond" part. But it was a bit plodding at times and I just wished they would get on with their "discoveries". The personal affairs and drama in between (if you can call it that) was, unfortunately, not very compelling. Nor was the dialog, which was as flat and boring as a piece of wood. This is the "rough" part. And, yes, there are a lot of typos and more than a few grammatical issues. I found it distracting a couple times, but since it's clear this is a self-published book, I tried to give the author the benefit of the doubt and tried not to let it bother me.

The end of the book was VERY bizzare, not what I was expecting, but not altogether bad. It was one of those endings I kept thinking about for hours afterwards and may have to re-read to understand (I just finished it last night). And towards the very end there were a lot of scientific gaps all of the sudden that the author must have injected just to make the story work. For example, and this is the only part I will give away, as the book concludes and the scientists start tweaking the timeline and therefore altering their own pasts and the past of Earth, they are somehow not affected by everything, even though the rest of the world is. The author just says they are in a bubble because of their proximity to the lab. And some of the characters start behaving oddly as their personal timelines change, i.e., they become "un-born" yet do not disappear, just become comatose. But if they are supposed to be in a bubble then why would they change at all? Or why does one guy forget what he used to know, and the others do not? It was just very inconsistent and unbelievable. As with movies, if you can suspend belief for a while and just go with the flow, then it's pretty interesting.

So, a diamond in the rough. If Aurthur C. Clark, Asimov, Vernor Vinge, or even Crichton had written it, it would have been true diamond all the way through. My advice, as with most books, is to find it at the library.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely STUNNING Thriller!, December 3, 2008

By 

Tony Knight (Leeds) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ninth Cube (Perfect Paperback)

VERY READABLE! Nicely written as a techno thriller true to the genre, The Ninth Cube, takes the reader on a journey into the world of high energy physics and the quest of one man to solve the theory of everything. We first meet Dr. Daniel Lamb as he prepares to send a message parchment back in time by placing it in a higher dimensional device known as a hypercube. We learn that hypercubes can traverse the event horizon of a black hole, created in the CLA or Casimer Laser Accelerator. As Daniel and his team delve deeper into this technology they discover secrets to what really happened at the Trinity Site and what the government has been hiding ever since.

Daniel also transforms during this journey when he realizes his life is not complete. He grows closer to his chief scientist, Tanya Galen, and is drawn to her through the synergy they share. Just when it looks like Daniel and Tanya have solved a problem another one appears to challenge them. When a band of ruthless terrorists gains CLA technology, Daniel is forced out of his lab and into the secret world of the Sterling Foundation. We meet Lee Sterling who worked on the Manhattan project and has links to the League of Concerned Scientists. As the story unfolds, the team creates a secret society in the past to help safeguard the hypercubes in a race throughout time.

This original story is like nothing you have ever read before. Written in a fresh style, this book will entertain readers with an open mind who have a quest to solve some of their own mysteries.