The Fourth Law [Kindle Edition]

Paul Stein (Author)

Book Description

The Fourth Law centers on the invention of the world’s first antigravity machine. The book explores the Grand Unified Theorem of astrophysics and the fourth fundamental law of the Universe—Gravity. But the new antigravity technology is stolen by a wealthy and ruthless industrialist who plans to use the antigravity machine to break into Fort Knox, Kentucky. The theft is blamed on the inventor’s estranged cousin, Ryan Marshall, who must embark on a nationwide search for the real criminals, hoping to clear his name and reunite his family. This is a fast paced white-knuckle thriller leading law enforcement officials on weeklong chase that begins at Stanford University and ends at Fort Knox. Readers who enjoy a genre mixing corporate espionage, mystery, and science fiction should enjoy this book. There is also a strong psychological element as longtime, bitterly estranged family members must overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to fight the darkest most sinister evil. It’s a classic good versus evil winner-takes-all thriller. This theme should appeal to both genders in an age group from thirty years old to seniors.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Stein received a degree in biology from the University of San Francisco. He is the developer of a rainbow trout hatchery and became the Chief Deputy Director of the California Department of Fish & Game. Paul served two terms as County Supervisor and maintains strong ties in the California political landscape. Paul lives and writes from his ranch along the Mokelumne River in Calaveras County, a region in the gold country made famous by Mark Twain's story: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

Product Details

• File Size: 699 KB
• Print Length: 436 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1452820600
• Publisher: CreateSpace (December 28, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004HIM3J2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #434,480 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #20 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Gravity
  • #20 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Physics > Gravity

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars nice idea, fantastic start, development of characters forced and unbelievable April 19, 2011

By Dr. Dirk Husemann

Format:Paperback

starts out in a fantastically thrilling way and i was looking forward to reading it through. i particularly liked the idea of the anti-gravity device as a central piece of the story -- unfortunately the "physics" described in this book were a bit too wishy-washy. about a third or so into the book we all of a sudden get treated to bursts of religion that seem grafted on and are not really required to advance the plot. also, the development of the characters is a bit sudden and too binary in places, rendering their actions a bit wooden.

great start, nice idea, not so thrilling execution.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A good concept with serious flaws May 1, 2012

By David A. Duke

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The overall concept for this story is good, with an element of advanced science mixed with corporate espionage, a master-mind criminal, and mercenary antagonists. The element of conflict between family members was a good touch, though somewhat unbelievable in the way it moved from one stage to another. Most of the action sequences were entertaining, if you are a fan of Ludlum's style of overplaying things. Overall, the idea behind the book and the storyline was good.

The writing style was overblown. Descriptive phrases and explanations got in my way. Reading was slowed, and the overuse of adverbs and adjectives, especially superlatives, were too overused to give a clean, flowing reading experience. Instead of building connections to the characters, the characters tended to come off as cardboard mockups of the real thing. And, like many other action books, even by some of the most successful authors, much of the action was outside the range of believability.

There were two major flaws that disturbed me. First, in the product description on the product page in the Amazon kindle store, there was no reference to any religious aspect of the book, but religion played a major part in the story. The main charachter's Christian faith was pushed hard in the plot, and though that is fine with me, it should have been noted in the product description. The second major flaw was the use of such a religious emphasis along with graphic sex. If the author wanted to include a message honoring the Christian faith, the ssxual aspect in the book would not sit well with Christian readers. In the same way, readers who enjoy sexual scenes would probably find the numerious Christian references offensive. While it is true that both sexual activity and religion are very real parts of our society, the indiscriminate use of both in one book seems unwise.

In the end, the story was closed out in a way that would never have been possible in any real world. The entire scenario was not believable, which took away from the hopes I had had when I picked the book to read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars worst book ever? May 7, 2012

By realm58

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

My mother always used to say that if I didn't have anything good to say I should just stay quiet. Well, there comes a time when the waste of the few hours it took to read, or more accurately, be reduced to skimming looking for something that moved the story along needs comment. The author proposed an interesting plot but then immediately got lost in innumerable expositions that failed to move the plot in any way. Perhaps he should be given credit for thinking so much about the background of his characters and locations but he would have been better served, as would the reader, if he gave a little more thought to the story. Further, it seemed the author simply inserted personal experiences into the story line. Perhaps it was a cathartic experience for him after losing his son to MD (which became clear thru some of the expositions) but it didn't belong in this book. The author failed to maintain either an active voice or a passive voice which creates more than a little jarring to the reader trying to obtain any sort of flow to the book. As a matter of style his prose is obnoxious - note to author - a lawn is not "verdant" it is green. Using the word verdant does not make one erudite much less an author. Finally for this review although the critique here could last as long as the book itself, there is the suspension of disbelief that is required in all fiction. Here one cannnot suspend disbelief enough to allow the story to proceed. One glaring example: the author has the grandson of a sitting US Senator kidnapped and then a couple hours later the Senators' daughter suffers the same fate. The Senator calls upon the Secret Service to investigate. Ridiculous. This type of case is the jurisdiction of the FBI and to have a Senator not know that is simply ridiculous. To have two high profile kidnappings and the FBI not involved at any time in the book further strains credulity. To have local law enforcement leave the residence of the grandson and its occupant alone right after the kidnapping so a third one could happen is even more ridiculous as that is where the expected ransom call would come in to. Unbelievable. Lastly, I wonder as my days slowly wind to an end, if when facing St. Peter and he asks if I have any regrets this small resentment of wasting my time reading this book will pop up. It clearly is a waste of time that I caution any future reader to avoid if you have anythng better to do.