I recently completed PARADIGM by Robert Taylor. The book follows Nicholas Shepard and his wife, Cassandra, as they try to piece together the mystery behind an ancient Egyptian relic's ability to predict world financial markets and who was willing to keep the secrets hidden by killing Nicholas' brother, Alex. The Egyptian relic is a curious box that seems to be able to measure the effects of lunar and solar tidal gravity. Further research of documents found with the box indicates that these measurements can be used as a predictive tool for various financial markets. As with all matters of power and money there are dark forces at work behind the scenes -- and in an apparent effort to keep the secret of gravity's effect on the financial markets Alex is murdered.
The villain is a man by the name of Malachi Foust -- a man corrupted by power and money and somehow tied to the legacy of the Knights Templar. He controls vast wealth and as a result has half of the Western World in his back pocket. In spite of this seemingly overwhelming advantage, Malachi has surrounded himself with servants that are unable or unwilling to carry out his power mad plans. His agents are unable to chase down Nicholas and Cassandra as they put together the story of the history behind the box. The story does have a happy ending with the good guys triumphing and the bad guys being inconvenienced. If you're really interested, there is an appendix after the story on the science that underpins the plot -- "The Taylor Effect".
This book follows along in the new arcane thriller genre that has been popularized by The Da Vinci Code and its ilk, a story set in the modern age with ties to a historical mystery. The suspense builds nicely here with enough science fact to keep readers engaged. If I had a complaint it was that the story was a bit long winded and lacked the willingness to get to the point - I like my mysteries to take me on a ride, but not for a ride. Skip the pseudo-science at the end of the book as well. If the science was sound -- Mr. Taylor wouldn't be writing for a living -- he'd be safely away on his island fortress smoking a fat Cuban cigar and counting his billions.
When a mysterious granite and cypress Egyptian box is found
hidden away in a secret room in the palatial Biltmore
Estate, twin scientists Alex and Nicholas Shepard work to
unlock the secret of its intricate dials, gauges, crystals,
and carvings. What they discover has the potential to make
them rich beyond their wildest dreams. But it could also
collapse financial markets, bankrupt corporations around the
globe, and destroy many of the world's most powerful
families. As the twins quickly find out, people will not
only kill to make money, but will kill to keep it.
What begins as a simple scientific experiment in the stock
market quickly descends into a nightmarish intrigue of
murder, deception, and mystery. When one Shepard brother is
killed, the surviving twin and his wife find themselves in a
desperate gambit to learn the truth about the box's legacy.
Using ancient documents found with the box, they unearth
clues to trace its history through the ages, from the
catacombs of Paris to the Knights of the Templar in
Scotland. Their investigation takes them from London to
Paris, Venice, and finally, to the Vatican itself, where
they uncover the greatest deception ever perpetuated by man.
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