The Big Bang that is. First off, I have to admit that when I heard about this book, I was picturing something along the lines of the Davinci Code or The Dante Club... You know, one of those action, mystery novels centered around a famous historical figure and their curious heritage. In this case, Albert Einstein was that central figure.
This novel does seem to start out that way. There is action, and there is mystery, and it all starts off with a bang. It seems exciting, but it also seems a bit too high paced, lacking in description, and then... everything screeches to a halt. The action isn't over, but the writer diverts into a discussion of philosophy and science, which seems out of place, at first. Ultimately, it becomes the central focus of the story.
The reality is that the action story is really a vehicle for a narrative about the ties between philosophy, religion, science, and mathematics. In some regards this is a good thing because the action story is the weak part of the book. The plot of it isn't bad, but the writing leaves a lot to be desired, and the progression feels disorganized at times. There-in lies a catch. As the philosophical side of the story increases in breadth, the action side all but disappears with just enough info so that you know you aren't reading a different book..
This isn't necessarily a horrible thing. Where the action story lacks, the philosophy side exceeds. The central focus of the philosophical discussions is creation and the universe and the meaning of God. The author weaves a narrative that ties everything we know of science and religion into one universal matter that is related from culture to culture and religion to religion. The author does a good job, but as anything related to this topic, it all boils down to a matter of opinion, and that is what we get. We are not really treated to references or sources, and the action story that carries the narrative detracts a bit from the valid bits of non-fiction that may be interspersed. The end notes at the conclusion do suggest a solid background behind the novel and given enough interest may influence the reader to form his own opinion.
I have to admit that if this is what the author was going for, he did a good job. However, if you are reading this expecting an action-mystery novel, you may be disappointed. However, if you are open to a bit of a philosophical discussion, the underlying topics don't take much work to understand and are even quite educational. The main character of the novel is a history professor with little background in the sciences. The result is an explanation of most scientific and even religions topics that are brought to a level that most people will understand. The summaries and lessons go from the Theory of Relativity to the Big Bang and beyond...
While I didn't necessarily understand all the underlying details, the novel made the broader scheme of things simple enough to see the big picture. I really enjoyed the discussion underlying, and I enjoyed the fact this book made me think about my own views of the universe no matter how real or unreal the author's point of view was. You don't have to agree with the author's opinion, but it has its own valid support and makes it easy for the reader to think about their own beliefs. As a result, I give this book 4 stars taking away only due to the less than perfect action story that somewhat fails as a vehicle for an otherwise great philosophical narrative.