Slashdot Mirror
Decipher
What it's about: Tag line: Mankind had 12,000 years to decipher the message. We have one week left ...
Let me make something clear. Although this is my first Slashdot review, I do not give this book a 10 lightly.
March 2012. The whole world is experiencing unusual weather. A commercial research ship is drilling in Antarctica when the drill breaks against something hard. The pressure sends up chunks of C-60 (Fullerene) with glyphs on them. Cameras show a wall miles under Antarctica: Atlantis has been found.
A linguist, a geologist, a physicist and an engineer convene at CERN, invited by the U.S. military to analyze the C-60 and the writing on it. They discover that the mysterious molecules can create standing waves to temporarily solidify liquids. The government wants them to go on an expedition to the site, assisted by some U.S. marines.
In the meantime, the earth is being hit by gravity waves emanating from the sun, and astronomers predict massive solar flare activity that will practically destroy earth.
And home by dinner time ... Natural disasters are occurring everywhere because of the solar activity, and a plasma cloud is being sucked into a hole in Antarctica. Atlantis is sucking in all that energy without any trouble. Everyone is hoping that the answer to the coming cataclysm lies in Atlantis. Just to round things up, the Vatican wants Atlantis blown up with an atomic bomb, and the U.S. president agrees. The marines will be carrying a warhead; if Atlantis does not yield its secret, it will be blown away.
The linguist and the physicist figure out that every 12,000 years the sun goes through a massive coronal mass ejection (it's a pulsar, but with a 12,000 year period) and last time this happened Atlantis was destroyed. They were building equipment to prevent the destruction, but could not do it on time. However, the Atlanteans left automated nanobots to complete the task for the next time it happened. The time is now.
The expedition reaches the core of Atlantis, but the nanobots, as a result of over 12,000 years of artificial intelligence evolution, do not want to help humanity. They know that if humanity dies, they will take over; but if humanity survives they will have to go. Last-minute tension, the hero gives his life for humanity, the earth is turned solid for a second by standing waves generated from structures all over the earth, the gravity wave passes safely and then earth and all its creatures are returned to normal form. All is well.
I strongly recommend this book, but note that this is not a quick read: you have to assimilate this book to appreciate the wide scope. Good reading!
You can purchase Decipher from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
A linguist, a geologist, a physicist and an engineer
go into a bar and the bartender says...
I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
Nice review. I'd like to submit my review the book (and eventual movie) "Planet of the Apes". Here goes... A spaceship crash lands on a planet after a big space-storm thing. Something has gone horribly wrong. The astronauts escape (and some of them die) and see other people running. They follow them and find out that this planet is ruled by apes. There is some harrowing stuff and lots of adventure. In the end though, the remaining astronaut discovers that he is on earth! The apes of the planet have taken over. I recommend this as the best book I've ever read. Granted, it's the only book I've ever read. Plus, you'll never believe the shocking ending.
Ah, I remember relieving myself on you in Chapter 8....
Eric Aitala
www.f1m.com
Which one of you would be willing to wear this duck? So the geologist says ...
The Crying Game: It's not a woman!!!
Matrix: Neo's world is a computer simulation!!!
The Usual Suspects: Kevin Spacey is Kaiser Soze!!!
The Sixth Sence: Bruce Willis is already Dead!!!
Presumed Innocent: The Wife did it!!!
Sightings: Water kills the aliens!!!
Soylent Green: Soylent Green is People!!!
The Wizard of Oz: It was all a Dream!!!
Wow, this sounds like the worst book ever. I'm kind of glad you gave the ending away so that no one will be tempted to read it.
"Yahoo News has the story. He's best remembered for the book review of Decipher by Stel Pavlou. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon."
No point in reading this now...
Good thing I wasen't really interested in the first place or I'd be upset.
Hey, what does this button do? Woops....
And where else are you going to get fresh penguin-sicles?
You must be new here...
*cough* Lone Gunmen spoiler *cough*
What is this! Constructive Critisism on Slashdot!
Go away!
Although at least Bart had the good sense not to spoil it by telling us the name of the pirate in the book. ;)
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
In other news:
Soylent Green is People! Peeeeeeeople!
demi
Well, not much suspense in the book anymore, might as well skip it.
That's too bad, but you could always buy it for a friend who doesn't know the ending yet.