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The Wrong God

Paul Guthrie (Goodreads Author)

3.63 · Rating details · 19 ratings · 7 reviews

Since the beginnings of history people have believed in magic, but California science writer Andy Taggart is not one of them. Until the day that John Chalk, his old friend from grad school, makes a ballpoint pen rise to stand on end – untouched. From that moment Andy is caught up in John’s mystery. Is this an illusion or is it new physics? Why can John do things that other ...more

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Published August 18th 2010 by Smashwords

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Dec 13, 2010 David Welch rated it it was amazing

I’m writing this review because I like this book. I believe I’m qualified to write a review because I’ve read a lot. In my 65 plus years I’ve easily read more than 4,000 books and a large part of them, perhaps as many as 1,000, have been in the Science Fiction genre. So as an avid reader of Science Fiction I’d like to say the following about Paul Guthrie’s book:

I look for four things in a Science Fiction novel: Does it maintain my interest beyond the first few pages? Do I feel strongly about the I’m writing this review because I like this book. I believe I’m qualified to write a review because I’ve read a lot. In my 65 plus years I’ve easily read more than 4,000 books and a large part of them, perhaps as many as 1,000, have been in the Science Fiction genre. So as an avid reader of Science Fiction I’d like to say the following about Paul Guthrie’s book:

I look for four things in a Science Fiction novel: Does it maintain my interest beyond the first few pages? Do I feel strongly about the characters ie. either like or dislike them a lot? Is the ‘science’ plausible? Last, and by far most important, is there a meaningful message in the story? In other words something that causes me to think after I’ve finished the book.

I believe The Wrong God scores highly on all four counts. To begin with I was quickly intrigued by the story line and once I started reading I couldn’t put it down until I finished it the same day. It wasn’t that I didn’t have other things to do, it’s just that I wanted to find out where the story went and what happened to the characters.

The main character, Andy Taggart, was a rather likable guy and I could relate to his divorce and relationship with Rachel, his new girlfriend. I found the secondary ‘good guy’ John Chalk even more likable and would have preferred more definitive and positive news about his ‘condition’ at the end of the story. The bad guy, Wendell Murchison, was despicably bad and thus an interesting character as well. I was quite satisfied when he met his end.

The science seemed to be based on real physics, except for the mental control element, and thus gave the story a certain credibility.

The message in The Wrong God was one of tolerance which I consider important and useful. Religious intolerance is, and has been for a long time, a major problem in our world. Logic would suggest that belief in a creator and in a purpose for mankind would make people respect others no matter what they happen to believe. After all if there is a creator he/she/it created us all and it is illogical to assume that some of us are to kill or harm others. Yet the fact is a great deal of the killing of other human beings in the last few thousand years has been the direct result of religious intolerance. This killing seems senseless to me and I gave the matter considerable during and after reading the book thus I believe the message in The Wrong God is a powerful one.

I highly recommend The Wrong God to anyone who likes thought provoking Science Fiction.

David Welch
Avid reader and author of Mankind’s End ...more

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Feb 18, 2011 Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB rated it it was amazing

As the opening synopsis states "Since the beginnings of history people have believed in magic, but California science writer Andy Taggart is not one of them. Until the day that John Chalk, his old friend from grad school, makes a ballpoint pen rise to stand on end – untouched. From that moment Andy is caught up in John’s mystery. Is this an illusion or is it new physics? Why can John do things that other people can’t – things that will mark him in some eyes as a worker of miracles? And why does ...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Bobby Barkett rated it it was amazing

This book was simply outstanding! Paul Guthrie writes superbly blending magic, politics, and power into a phenomenal story sure to resonate with 21st century challenges. Excellent choice. I look forward to the sequel...

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Dec 01, 2010 Paul Guthrie added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: written

What can I say? Carlos Cortes used the word "superb"...nice word. ...more

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Oct 21, 2016 Mike rated it it was ok

The prologue of this book introduces Ea a female oracle, the Roman Volantus who can levitate, and Dror a fake using wires to levitate objects – fictional characters used to remind us that people with “special powers” have historically been sacrificed as witches and devils. Not sure why this prologue was necessary, and as I read it I was hoping the main story would be better written. Fortunately it was.

This is the story of John Chalk, a physicist who late in life develops skills for moving things The prologue of this book introduces Ea a female oracle, the Roman Volantus who can levitate, and Dror a fake using wires to levitate objects – fictional characters used to remind us that people with “special powers” have historically been sacrificed as witches and devils. Not sure why this prologue was necessary, and as I read it I was hoping the main story would be better written. Fortunately it was.

This is the story of John Chalk, a physicist who late in life develops skills for moving things like pens and bricks using telepathic abilities. Despite all the experiments and technical mumbo jumbo thrown in (the author is a scientist), we learn that he most likely developed this skill by being in the “aura” of someone else that had the power.

Chalk is helped throughout the book by an old college classmate (Andy) and Andy’s new girlfriend (Rachel). I think we are supposed to like Andy and feel sorry for the situations that John Chalk gets him into. I did not find his character particularly likeable. For starters, Andy is not someone I would share any really big secrets with - which is funny since he is one of the few people Chalk thought he could trust to help him. Under the guise of “not keeping secrets” from his girlfriend – Andy tells her about experiments he was asked to keep secret. Thus, he gets her involved in all the shenanigans that follow, and he spends a lot of time whining about the things happening to him.

I had issues with all the major characters in this book. Chalk is supposed to be a very gifted physicist. But both scientists seem to lack common sense. They can’t think of just one innovative use for these telepathic skills? They can’t think of anywhere to hide that gives you the remote chance of not getting caught? Chalk is pitted against a very rich man who allegedly controls most of America. He is bad, but he is a one-dimensional character. Not much surprise or suspense in the bad things he is willing to do to get his way. If only the scientists were smart enough to outwit him occasionally.

Midway through the book – there’s a pretty implausible plot twist – which sidelines Chalk and throws Andy into the spotlight. For me, the writing and plot took a downward spiral from this point, and the story line seemed rushed to a conclusion. To his credit, the author does tie up all the loose ends before the book ends.

The premise of a scientist conflicted over using his telepathic skills for the religious right in a battle against Muslim terrorists is timely and could have been an interesting story. Could an atheist be convinced to be a Christian prophet for America’s sake? I would have preferred that story line to what I got – chases across America, scientific experiments and torture chambers.
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About Paul Guthrie

Paul Guthrie

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I am a scientist by training and vocation. I received a BA in Physics from Cornell University, followed by a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Massachusetts. After graduation I went to work for NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt MD. My work was primarily in the development of computer models to simulate the chemistry of the Earth’s atmosphere in order to understand ozone depl ...more