The Omega Theory: A Novel by Mark Alpert
David Swift, our hero, is a science historian and his wife Monique Reynolds is a quantum physicist, so you already know this is going to be full of science based fact and fiction. In the first book, The Final Theory, David is the one doing the running as he evades the FBI who accuse him of murder. This time around David is the one doing the chasing. His adopted autistic son has been kidnapped because he has a mathematical mind and knows the code for The Final Theory from the first book.
In this book, two scientists on opposite sides of the world have invented a machine that can spot disturbances in space-time and they discover such a shift after a nuclear test in Iran. This all points to someone else knowing The Final Theory. David's son is then abducted and the chase begins.
We are taken on a rollercoaster ride from North America to Israel, Iran and Turkmenistan as David evades insurmountable odds to rescue his son but eventually all the baddies get killed and David and his small team of helpers save the day though miraculously David, Monique and their adopted son are 3 of not many more survivors.
The science is almost overwhelming yet Alpert manages to make it all understandable and the storyline is gripping, a real edge of your seat page turner. The baddies are religious and believe they are saving the world and everything on it and for the most part, the goodies seem fairly non-religious. Though a lot of the action takes place in the Middle East, the baddies are American that have managed to co-opt other nationals to their cause.
This is good fun to read as long as you take none of it seriously, otherwise certain people may be upset by the stereotypes that are used throughout the book.
One interesting geological fact within the story is the piece set around the Darvaza gas crater in Turkmenistan. I had to check if this was a real place and sure enough I found the Wikipedia entry. Alpert also mentions it at the end of the book.
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