CyberChrist - Paperback

Ashley Butler, a prize winning journalist at the San Diego Times receives an email from a man who claims to have discovered immortality by turning off the aging gene in a 15 year old boy with an aging disorder. The email has pictures showing a reversal of the aging process and the names of a scientist and a company to investigate. Thinking it a hoax, she forwards the email to friends. Though skeptical, she calls to investigate and gets a no longer in service message. When she leaves her office she overhears a news story about the death of the scientist mentioned in the email. Ashley checks out the company mentioned in the email and discovers a gutted building. At the deceased scientist's address she has a confrontation with an unfriendly federal investigator. Returning to her office she finds him, subpoena in hand, confiscating her computer. He tells her that the scientist who sent the email is a killer that they need help catching. When her own investigators do more checking, none of them return. The forwarded email becomes the basis for an online church built around the boy, calling him the CyberChrist. The church claims that the Internet is the physical manifestation of the group mind of humanity and the boy is the second coming of Christ online. The federal government tries to shut down the church, but its website replicates faster than they can stop it. While church and state battle over religious freedom online, the media and the state battle over freedom of speech.Ashley battles to stay alive.

CyberChrist By Author Matthew J Pallamary - Book Review - THE BOOK DRAGON

CyberChrist by Author Matthew J Pallamary is a well written and executed mystery thriller about a prize winner journalist, Ashley Butler, who is drawn into a conspiracy involving a scientist who alleges to have discovered immortality by turning off the ageing gene. With the government trying to silence this discovery and calling it a hoax, and a fanatical church group who thinks this miracle marks the second coming of Jesus Christ, its a race against time for Ashley to expose the truth and stay alive in the process. Both the Government and the Church Group resort to desperate measures for the information, and the Scientist and his living proof have both mysteriously disappeared, along with critical written evidence, and others directly involved in this discovery are suddenly turning up dead.

Although the title and cover did initially give me pause, I have to say that I am so glad that I read this book. The plot is gripping and fast paced, with lots of drama, excitement, and twists & turns along the way. The characters are very credible and engaging and the dialogue relevant, pulling you into the story and keeping you guessing throughout as to who is friend and who is foe. There are no significant editorial issues to distract the reader, and its definitely a book you will want to read in one sitting! The ending provides a hint of there being a possibility of a sequel which I'd love to read. My only critique would be the cover, as I feel that it does not give this fantastic story the credit it deserves.

Having read a couple of Matthew's titles now, I am really looking forward to reading some of his other works. But this is my favourite so far!

I award 5 stars!