Customer Reviews

What If...?

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The story begins at midnight on Christmas Eve with a woman named Mary. Sound familiar? But this Mary is a woman of our times: educated enough to be skeptical of anything that doesn't fit the norm but, as a journalist, open-minded enough to want to know more. Mary is lying on a Manhattan sidewalk as her life bleeds out; the victim of an automobile accident caused by her intoxicated boyfriend. But suddenly she is touched by a disheveled-looking homeless man and life returns to her body. This is our introduction to John Connolly, who disappears into the cold night.

Mary next awakens in a hospital with no lacerations or hemorrhaging; yet her clothes are covered with her blood. She has been diabetic since she was a small child; but tests show she isn't. Mary has been brought back from the brink of death and cured of an incurable disease. The book continues with other stories of the mysterious man who heals people without fanfare or explanation. What if this homeless man is more than he appears to be; a lot more? Mary sets out to find John and is completely surprised by her reaction to him when she does. Other people also have strong feelings about John, and not all of them are favorable. The government is afraid of the feelings he is stirring in the populace. What will they do if they find he cannot fulfill the promise he seems to offer? Why are some people being healed while others die? Is he Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or some other faith?

What If...? presents the reader with a question. What would humanity do if presented with the opportunity to end suffering, poverty, disease, and all the other evils of the world?

Surely all people would jump at the chance to be part of a better world where everyone has what they need and people co-exist in a caring, loving atmosphere...wouldn't they?

Author Steve Lee has created an intriguing group of characters in a thought-provoking story. As I read his novel, I often found myself wondering what I would do if I found myself in the same circumstances as Mary or Rashid or President Stevens or Al Qaeda. This is a book that invites the reader to put him or herself in the minds and hearts of the characters. There are no truly good guys or bad guys, only people reacting to circumstances. Would I have reacted any differently? But What If...? is not a preachy diatribe about the evils of the world. It is an exciting fictional adventure story that keeps you wondering what will happen next, and what is really happening now.

So, what if some homeless guy starts healing the sick one day, a fellow who remains anonymous as long as he can and asks nothing in return from those whose lives he has saved? Would you believe that he was performing miracles or would your skeptical nature make you certain that he was involved in one of the biggest scams ever pulled on a gullible public? But then what if he healed one of your children, granting that child the future that was about to be lost to some terminal illness? Then would you believe?

When one skeptical New York reporter survives a terrible automobile accident despite losing so much blood that she could not have possibly lived through it, she decides to find the man who reportedly molested her in the street as she was bleeding to death. And when she walks out of the hospital just hours after doctors gave up on saving her life, that is exactly what she does.

It soon becomes obvious to Mary that the man was, in fact, healing her injuries, not molesting her, and she suddenly realizes that she has been handed every reporter's dream story. She comes to understand that she has become part of something much bigger than just a career-making newspaper story, however, and finds herself falling in love with the man and his mission, a turn of events that places her in more danger than she ever could have imagined.

A man like John, a healer and a visionary who wants to change the world forever, is a threat to some powerful people who like things just the way they are. John has a plan, after all, that would end poverty everywhere in the world and allow mankind to live the Utopian lifestyle that has been dreamed of for centuries. His very existence is a threat to those on top of the heap who do not want to lose their power and economic dominance. When the governments of countries such as China and Russia demand that the U.S. put a muzzle on John, he literally becomes a threat to world peace, and there are plenty of people suddenly willing to do whatever it takes to shut him up.

What If? is quite a ride and it has one of the strangest endings I have encountered in a long time. It is a provocative look at what might happen if a true miracle worker were to suddenly appear in the modern day world, a hopeful, but sad, story about the most likely "what if" scenario that would develop from such an event.

Steve N. Lee has written an unusual thriller that will have the reader quickly turning pages almost all the way through it. My only quarrel with Lee's storytelling is the excessive number of pages he used on a rather anticlimactic court trial toward the end of the book. That section, in fact, stalled the book's momentum to such an extent that it became somewhat of a chore to get through it. But that is a small complaint when compared to the pace maintained in the rest of the book.

WARNING: Do not succumb to the temptation to read the book's ending first because this is one time that I can guarantee that you will regret doing that.

Seldom do you see a work of fiction that you not only can't put down, but one that makes you think.

I picked up this novel and could not put it down until I finished it. Keeping you on the edge of your seat, it also makes you take a world that we live in, where we might be heading and the consequences of getting there.

The characters were vivid and developed fully to where you almost miss their presence as the novel ends. I really hope that Lee decided to write another novel, this debut was extraordinary.

I usually go for gut-wrenching action movies, thumping rock music, books overflowing with big guns, blood, explosions... I like it loud, fast, and in your face! So, at first sight, Lee's 'What if' should be a gigantic No-No. However...

This book is fantastic.

I'll warn you now - if all you want from a thriller is a no-brainer with millions of bullets zipping everywhere and body bags piling up like confetti at a gangland wedding, boy, have you come to the wrong book. Yes, there's some gunplay, some fighting, some cars tearing up a city street, but the thrills here come more from intrigue, deception, double crosses, and, frankly, Lee managing to keep you in the dark about what's going on then dropping sudden bombshells. And believe me, are there some bombshells here! You want suspense? This book will blow you away!

But the thriller aspect is only half the story. Around the action is some of the coolest philosophy and insight into religion that you're ever likely to find anywhere. No fooling. The suspense might blow your socks off, but the spirituality will blow your mind! Anyone old enough to remember the 70s show 'Kung Fu' will get this straight off - remember how Kwai Chang Caine used to kick butt every week, but there'd be tranquil interludes in the mystical Shaolin temple where the priests dazzled you with incredible philosophy on life? Well, Lee does the same kind of thing. And all wrapped around a Christian mystery that rivals anything you'll read anywhere.

I don't recommend books lightly, but this I have no hesitation about - if you want an intelligent thriller, buy this!

So, so much more!

This is one of the best books I've read in the past few years. As a thriller, it really gets your blood pumping as it whisks you away on a whirlwind adventure. But it's also a stunning commentary on the times we live in. Interwoven throughout the story is a damning indictment of how we treat not just the environment and world about us, but our fellow man. It's one of those books that while you're reading it you're caught up in the action, but the instant you put it down (if you can put it down!), it really makes you contemplate life and how you live it.

Don't get me wrong, you don't have to be some hippy, bleeding heart or rocket scientist to enjoy this book, there's enough action, car chases, fights and shootouts for anyone, but it can be so much more of a rewarding read if you allow it be.

If you like a good suspenseful thriller, you'll love this book.

If you like a book that'll make you look at life, you'll love this book.

In fact, you'll love this book, period!

I wasn't too sure about this book because books that feature religion always suck. Fortunately this one's very different. How? Is it all 'praise the Lord' and trying to convert the wicked?

Yeah, right!

I can imagine the more right-wing Christian element calling for book burnings once they get a hold of this!

Lee really explores the heart of religion, warts and all, and isn't backward in showing you just how uncharitable and narrow-minded it makes people if they don't consider the philosophical dimension themselves but simply buy everything every snake-oil salesman throws at them. Not that Lee bashes religion, in fact there's some beautiful ideology here that's taken directly from religious teachings but Lee has a way of making it relevant to today, which makes it truly uplifting.

All the characters, Mary, Ben, Vincent, Rashid, John, Tom, all of them are well drawn, have plenty of color and play their parts well - villain, devil's advocate, loyal friend, fish out of water, etc. It's great to get inside their heads and get their take on what they think is going on as this provides endless opportunities for Lee to play with your mind about where the story's going and how it mirrors the real world. Talk about twists and turns!

As for the story? It's a weird mish-mash of thriller, supernatural, religious mystery, philosophical treatise, and yet it all fits together perfectly. The story of a guy traveling the country to heal the sick and extending that into wanting to heal today's poverty-stricken, environmentally-ravaged world is absolutely fascinating. Of course that brings him into conflict with corruption-rife corporate America and the stupid single-mindedness of politicians, and that's when the story really lets rip.

As I said, I don't like `religious' books, but this is like a thinking man's Da Vinci Code. If you want thrilling entertainment with a brain look no further!

I was looking forward to reading this book - until it appeared in the post... The cover of the book is really bad - possibly the worst I've ever seen - just something about text with a drop shadow and the religious painting filled me with dread! My plea to Steve is this - if there were ever a book that the saying never judge a book by its cover was meant for it is this one. If you want people to pick this book off the shelf in the store then get a new cover artist for the paperback!

Luckily my initial fears were quelled as soon as I started reading.

At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to Mary; a New York journalist who experiences a horrific car accident and to the surprise of witnesses and doctors alike lives to tell the tale. Before too long she hooks up with John Connolly, a vagrant who has a powerful gift, and plans to make the world a better place.

This isn't another DaVinci Code - the characters are not on a search for the Holy Grail - instead Steve builds a fast-paced story around one man's dream to create Utopia, a world where there is no poverty or disease, where people prosper and live in peace. While many people believe that this could become a reality and rally their support their are others who believe Connolly is some kind of Anti-Christ, sent to destroy America if not the World with his actions.

This book has all of the hallmarks of an action-packed novel; conspiracies, shootouts, double-crosses and car chases - throw in religious unrest and a presidential election and you'll find yourself caught up in an exciting tale that also forces you to think about the way we live our lives and whether we are killing the planet with our actions.

Mary should have been dead. The fact that she isn't sends her on a quest for answers in "What If...?". The world is falling into chaos and a stranger appears with the power to stop it - or so he says. Some follow, some don't, Mary tries to find out who exactly saved her and how. Deftly and intriguingly written, "What if...?" is a thriller that fans of other novels such as "The DaVinci Code" will relish. Highly recommended to thriller fans everywhere and should enjoy a spot on every fiction thrillers shelf.

i did not like it. all people r different.

i could not understand the book.