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The Nephilim Seed
A fast-paced thriller in the style of John Grisham takes you through a web of deceit and darkness with medical technological advances in the hands of an evil genius.
375 pages
First published April 1, 2001
3 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
James Scott Bell
132 books1,032 followersJim is a former trial lawyer who now writes and speaks full time. He is the bestselling author of Try Dying, No Legal Grounds, Presumed Guilty, Glimpses of Paradise, Breach of Promise and several other thrillers. He is a winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Inspirational Fiction, and was a fiction columnist for Writers Digest magazine. He has written two books in the Writers' Digest series, Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure and Revision & Self-Editing.
Jim has taught writing at Pepperdine University and numerous writers conferences. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver.
Series:
* Shannon Saga (with Tracie Peterson)
* The Trials of Kit Shannon
* Ty Buchanan
Jim has taught writing at Pepperdine University and numerous writers conferences. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver.
Series:
* Shannon Saga (with Tracie Peterson)
* The Trials of Kit Shannon
* Ty Buchanan
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 29, 2011
This is a book I reviewed about a decade ago, when it was first published, for The Christian Librarian. I volunteered for the task, since I like speculative fiction, and thought that, coming from a Christy Award winning author, this ought to be a quality read. That was definitely not the case, unfortunately. It proved to be a shallow and implausible pot-boiler that I regretted wasting time on.
Bell's principal villain is Christian-bashing celebrity Harvard biology professor Bentley Davis, controlling partner in the secretive, sinister biotechnology firm Unigen, which has developed a secret addictive treatment that transforms human subjects into Nietzsche-quoting sociopaths with glowing eyes. (I told you it was implausible.) His two principal opponents are professional bounty hunter Jed Brown, whose brother was killed on Davis' orders to keep him from going public with vague and unproven suspicions about Unigen (do I have to remind you about the "i" word?) and Christian lawyer Janice Ramsey, whose ex-hubby is an associate of Davis. He's also kidnapped their small daughter, on the eve of a custody hearing (yes, you read that right), so that Unigen can experiment on her. Jed and Janice are pretty much on their own here, except for an eccentric computer hacker friend of his; the police are portrayed as uniformly indifferent/totally inept, if not corrupt.
Not only are the premise and plot far-fetched, but the execution here is really poor. Jed and Janice's romance feels like it's just tacked on to check off an item in a formula. The dialogue ranges from techno-babble (when Janice's ex is talking to his 10-year-old!) to simplistic statements of dumbed-down elementary positions/arguments when characters with PhDs are speaking. (Speaking of techno-babble, the science here, which involves virus-borne artificial genes and computer nanochips, is murky and not very convincing, though to be fair that could often be said of "soft" science-fiction premises in general.) At times, Bell forgets what he wrote in a previous chapter (or previous page!), creating grating inconsistencies. Numerous pop-culture references and brand-name descriptors are probably designed to create a feeling of realism (as opposed to creating it the hard way, by just actually writing realistically), but the strategy doesn't work. Like Janice, Bell is himself a lawyer, but he doesn't make successful use of that background here; the supposedly bombshell legal precedent he has Janice cite near the end to confound a Harvard legal professor is actually something I'd expect first-year law students would learn, if they didn't pick it up earlier in an undergraduate class. (I also thought it was unrealistic for Jed to carry a Taser instead of a gun; I got the impression that Bell was simply afraid that letting him actually pack heat, as virtually anyone in his job would do, might be perceived by a Christian publisher as potentially too violent.)
When I wrote my original review some ten years ago, I felt a bit guilty afterwards, thinking that perhaps I'd been too unkindly caustic --even though the book WAS a waste of paper, the author is a human being with feelings. But the intervening years have given me a harder perspective. Bell was not then, after all, a budding author with no experience or training, innocently offering up a flawed book to fulfill his easily-crushed dreams of authorship. Rather, he was a seasoned writer who'd won a major award, and who apparently thought he could coast on the strength of that by throwing together something he apparently gave little time or thought to, but figured people would pay money to buy anyway. That's not cool; it wouldn't be cool even from a writer who professed no ethical values, and it's even less so from a professed servant of Christ. Martin Luther, speaking of serving God through our vocation in life, once observed that a Christian shoemaker isn't called to make shoddy shoes with little crosses on them, but rather to make good, durable, serviceable shoes. The same obligation applies to those of us who are called to write fiction. Unfortunately, Bell gives us an example of the former. Christian SF writers are uniquely situated to bring spiritual insights to the study of the universe's profoundest mysteries and questions, and there's a long-standing and vibrant tradition of Christian writing in this genre. Regrettably, this book doesn't add to it. :-(
Bell's principal villain is Christian-bashing celebrity Harvard biology professor Bentley Davis, controlling partner in the secretive, sinister biotechnology firm Unigen, which has developed a secret addictive treatment that transforms human subjects into Nietzsche-quoting sociopaths with glowing eyes. (I told you it was implausible.) His two principal opponents are professional bounty hunter Jed Brown, whose brother was killed on Davis' orders to keep him from going public with vague and unproven suspicions about Unigen (do I have to remind you about the "i" word?) and Christian lawyer Janice Ramsey, whose ex-hubby is an associate of Davis. He's also kidnapped their small daughter, on the eve of a custody hearing (yes, you read that right), so that Unigen can experiment on her. Jed and Janice are pretty much on their own here, except for an eccentric computer hacker friend of his; the police are portrayed as uniformly indifferent/totally inept, if not corrupt.
Not only are the premise and plot far-fetched, but the execution here is really poor. Jed and Janice's romance feels like it's just tacked on to check off an item in a formula. The dialogue ranges from techno-babble (when Janice's ex is talking to his 10-year-old!) to simplistic statements of dumbed-down elementary positions/arguments when characters with PhDs are speaking. (Speaking of techno-babble, the science here, which involves virus-borne artificial genes and computer nanochips, is murky and not very convincing, though to be fair that could often be said of "soft" science-fiction premises in general.) At times, Bell forgets what he wrote in a previous chapter (or previous page!), creating grating inconsistencies. Numerous pop-culture references and brand-name descriptors are probably designed to create a feeling of realism (as opposed to creating it the hard way, by just actually writing realistically), but the strategy doesn't work. Like Janice, Bell is himself a lawyer, but he doesn't make successful use of that background here; the supposedly bombshell legal precedent he has Janice cite near the end to confound a Harvard legal professor is actually something I'd expect first-year law students would learn, if they didn't pick it up earlier in an undergraduate class. (I also thought it was unrealistic for Jed to carry a Taser instead of a gun; I got the impression that Bell was simply afraid that letting him actually pack heat, as virtually anyone in his job would do, might be perceived by a Christian publisher as potentially too violent.)
When I wrote my original review some ten years ago, I felt a bit guilty afterwards, thinking that perhaps I'd been too unkindly caustic --even though the book WAS a waste of paper, the author is a human being with feelings. But the intervening years have given me a harder perspective. Bell was not then, after all, a budding author with no experience or training, innocently offering up a flawed book to fulfill his easily-crushed dreams of authorship. Rather, he was a seasoned writer who'd won a major award, and who apparently thought he could coast on the strength of that by throwing together something he apparently gave little time or thought to, but figured people would pay money to buy anyway. That's not cool; it wouldn't be cool even from a writer who professed no ethical values, and it's even less so from a professed servant of Christ. Martin Luther, speaking of serving God through our vocation in life, once observed that a Christian shoemaker isn't called to make shoddy shoes with little crosses on them, but rather to make good, durable, serviceable shoes. The same obligation applies to those of us who are called to write fiction. Unfortunately, Bell gives us an example of the former. Christian SF writers are uniquely situated to bring spiritual insights to the study of the universe's profoundest mysteries and questions, and there's a long-standing and vibrant tradition of Christian writing in this genre. Regrettably, this book doesn't add to it. :-(
April 16, 2016
A pleasant read that sounds like the lead up to tomorrow's headlines.
Lawyer Janice Ramsey's ten-year-old daughter is kidnapped. Local police are unimpressed to act swiftly—it's just another case. Ramsey, aided by Jedediah Brown, a mysterious, one-eyed bounty hunter with his own checkered past, set out to rescue the woman's daughter. Brown has his own reasons to assist, which come out as the story progresses.
Meanwhile, the little girl escapes her captors, trusting God to help her get away.
The non-existent father finds his daughter and returns her to the kidnappers. He is a research company employee and wishes to continue receiving his injections. Encouraged by innovative nanoparticle research that wipes out any moral link to Godly teachings—and provides a quantum leap in higher thinking powers—both the father and the private company researchers believe a brighter future for humankind is on the biological horizon.
The company's next step is to inject a child. They use Ramsey's daughter, infusing her with the nano-virus, producing "higher mental powers and a God negating enhancement" in the young girl.
The project almost succeeds.
The story came off as a slow-paced thriller to this reader, although the expected stress and worry from the mother was present to heighten the story. Fleshed out in fully rounded characterizations, the characters of Ramsey, Jed Brown, and a nerdy computer geek named Data, become the fun parts to this story. The daughter Lauren is sweet and trusting—the way any adult reader would like her child to be. And to this reader, she came off as a pleasant reprieve to what is considered normal on television shows of today. Author Bell has a lawyer background, and Ramsey's lawyer-laced dialogue is evidence of it.
The science behind the nano research is thin to none existent.
Overall, The Nephilim Seed is an enjoyable, non-gory, curse word free, family friendly read.
Lawyer Janice Ramsey's ten-year-old daughter is kidnapped. Local police are unimpressed to act swiftly—it's just another case. Ramsey, aided by Jedediah Brown, a mysterious, one-eyed bounty hunter with his own checkered past, set out to rescue the woman's daughter. Brown has his own reasons to assist, which come out as the story progresses.
Meanwhile, the little girl escapes her captors, trusting God to help her get away.
The non-existent father finds his daughter and returns her to the kidnappers. He is a research company employee and wishes to continue receiving his injections. Encouraged by innovative nanoparticle research that wipes out any moral link to Godly teachings—and provides a quantum leap in higher thinking powers—both the father and the private company researchers believe a brighter future for humankind is on the biological horizon.
The company's next step is to inject a child. They use Ramsey's daughter, infusing her with the nano-virus, producing "higher mental powers and a God negating enhancement" in the young girl.
The project almost succeeds.
The story came off as a slow-paced thriller to this reader, although the expected stress and worry from the mother was present to heighten the story. Fleshed out in fully rounded characterizations, the characters of Ramsey, Jed Brown, and a nerdy computer geek named Data, become the fun parts to this story. The daughter Lauren is sweet and trusting—the way any adult reader would like her child to be. And to this reader, she came off as a pleasant reprieve to what is considered normal on television shows of today. Author Bell has a lawyer background, and Ramsey's lawyer-laced dialogue is evidence of it.
The science behind the nano research is thin to none existent.
Overall, The Nephilim Seed is an enjoyable, non-gory, curse word free, family friendly read.
September 8, 2017
I've read two other books by James Scott Bell and I absolutely loved them... Full of suspense.
I have to say though, The Nephilim Seed fell a little short for me. The beginning of the book was all over the place, switching between characters, that I had a very hard time getting everything straight. I was honestly confused.
The middle of the book things started coming together a bit and the characters places in the story started to flow a bit better, but I still found sections odd at times.
The end of the book was exciting! Full of suspense and drama and really gripped my attention Everything finally tied together and made sense and the story was wrapped up nicely!
Overall, this book by James Scott Bell was good, but definitely not my favorite by him.
I have to say though, The Nephilim Seed fell a little short for me. The beginning of the book was all over the place, switching between characters, that I had a very hard time getting everything straight. I was honestly confused.
The middle of the book things started coming together a bit and the characters places in the story started to flow a bit better, but I still found sections odd at times.
The end of the book was exciting! Full of suspense and drama and really gripped my attention Everything finally tied together and made sense and the story was wrapped up nicely!
Overall, this book by James Scott Bell was good, but definitely not my favorite by him.
February 2, 2009
This book is really kind of warped and scary. Again, a Christian writer uses a little girl in the middle of the plot to carry out the scheme of the book in the midst of evil people. I have heard of a lot of things in today's world that are mentioned is this book and makes me wonder if there couldn't be a twinge of truth to this twisted, sick, and scary book. When you start indulging information about "There is no God" and trying to pursuade others into believing there is no God, even for those who DO believe, it really makes me question the validity of the author's own belief in the one true God and his Son Jesus. Perhaps, too, maybe the author knows more than the public knows and this is his way of trying to inform the world of what might yet to come or is happening.
April 24, 2019
Couldn’t put it down.
June 9, 2010
I really liked this book. It shows what could happen when people think they are better than God and deny God's existence. A HArvard professor decided he has found the secred to an implant which will help him become a god. The story centers artound a woman whose husband has fallen under this man's spell, and has abducted their daughter with plans to use her in the project. A non-conformist bounty hunter helps her to find her daughter and destroy the professor and his company.
February 5, 2016
Good novel. Scary and suspenseful. Enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews