New release! The God Patent by Ransom Stephens
“Science + Art = Soul” -San Francisco Chronicle
Sex, drugs, and quantum physics collide with artificial intelligence, faith and free will in this perspective-altering story.
The memo said they’d get bonuses for submitting patents, so why not? Money came easily during the dot-com boom. Concealed in engineering jargon, Ryan McNear submits a patent for the soul disguised as a software algorithm and his best friend Foster Reed rewrites Genesis and calls it a “power generator.”
A few years later, amid the fallout of a ruptured technology bubble, his career ruined and family shredded, a desperate Ryan discovers that a company headed by his old friend Foster is developing his patent. What he thought was a joke is generating stacks of money amid claims that it will provide a source of limitless energy and prove the existence of God.
Willing to try anything to rebuild his life, Ryan stakes a legal claim to the patent but soon discovers a sinister undercurrent in the venture. Racing against time and aided by a motley group of assistants that includes an attorney/conman, a beautiful and passionate physicist and a death-obsessed adolescent math prodigy, Ryan gets caught in a battle between hard science and fundamentalist religion that threatens his sanity, his freedom and his son. Before long Ryan will test the limits of faith and free will, evaluate the nature of desire, and comprehend the human soul in a way that requires a single step, rather than a great leap, of faith.
“Hard charging plot and vivid characters wrapped around one of the central conflicts of our time: faith in science versus faith in religion. Ransom, to his credit, avoids easy or didactic answers. Instead he pulls readers into a dense and nuanced argument that leaves us buzzing with questions.”
-Tamim Ansary, bestselling author of Destiny Disrupted and Director of the San Francisco Writers Workshop
June 20th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
The God Patent has over 70 4 and 5 star Amazon reviews, if you’re wondering… check them out.
We’re very happy to (finally!) release the audio version of Ransom Stephens’ The God Patent to you for free, right here. Thanks for everything!
June 26th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
I just finished downloading; Is it a coincidence that the book is 666 megabytes in size? Heh heh.
July 25th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Delightfully intriguing surprise of a read it gets double a WOW from me!
I was lucky enough to interview Ransom Stephens for Podioracket.com. I was so intrigued with his story concept I ran right over to Amazon and bought The God Patent not wanting to wait for the audio version to be released at Podiobooks.com. From page one this story was a blend of science and biblical extremism that makes for a plot I could really wrap my head around. The big question, “Does man have a soul or a spark that we call GOD?” This was a thought provoking read steeped in well developed characters and a plot that had me rooting for them.
Ryan the damaged techy captured my interest not because he was lost in his troubles but because his troubles were lost within him. Bad choices and non-ownership of those choices build this character into someone worthy of a second chance at life. Oddly enough, Katarina is that chance, the goth/hippy skate rat headed for trouble after the loss of her father to death and her mother to grief surprises even the renowned particle physicist Emmy with her brilliance. Dodge the greedy landlord/lawyer works the angles for personal gain and he is a character you will love to hate right along with the evangelical nut bags who are playing at being god.
Ransom took his time developing the characters, but I loved that about the read. I felt like I knew them or that they could be people I have known. I feared I would be in over my head with the quantum physics aspects we had discussed in the interview but the way in which Stephens created this story even made that easy and the ending was a total surprise.
Defiantly worth the read.
August 8th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
I just finished listening to your audio book, “The god patent”, and I thank you for something that was more than a mere distraction. I came across your work by some odd quirk of a search string: I was in fact looking for an audio podcast on quantum physics! I have no idea why you came up in the iTunes search results, and why I rejected all the other perfectly tomeish objects of my intended research, but it’s summer, my department chairman is out of town, so let the good times roll!
I’m doing some research for a final animation portfolio project involving the harvesting of Helium 3 from the moon, producing what might be called an “investor pitch video” for the development of a large scale lunar transportation system (yeah, this is really involved). I have studied physics, but am most comfortable in the world of classical mechanics,
( once called myself “An Evangelical Newtonian “: Principia said it, I believe it, an’ that’s that!), so the orbital mechanics part was fine, but anything involving the uncertain viability of cats in boxes? Well, I need to be consistent in my science as well as my art ( I’m in the process of “reinventing” myself, I was Dilbert-style IT guy who got tired of companies blowing up under me, and decided to go back to my first love, which is animation and film making. I can still be broke, but have WAY more fun).
Anyway, I was smitten by “Kat”, and engaged by the sub plot of the “culture war” underway in this country against science. I work with a number of foreign students (work study job), and many are astonished by American religiosity, and by the virulence of the debate. I don’t know how the right can keep denying climate change in the face of overwhelming evidence, particularly when there have been DOD white papers calling climate change a national security threat. I can only conclude that we have a generation of leaders largely unschooled in the sciences, and perhaps basic qualifications should be passing exams in science, math and history before any can run for office. If you can’t pass a freshman physics exam, how can you make policy?
Sorry for the ramble.
I’m done now.
Except,
I’ve cast Jack Nicholson as “Dodge”.
August 13th, 2012 at 8:55 am
I have just finished listening to the author’s reading of “The God Patent.” I must say, I loved it. I downloaded it on a whim, but now I can’t wait to recommend it to others. The author has a very pleasant speaking voice, and it made for a good couple of days at work!
Your view of the soul is a wonderful way to see it.
Keep up the wonderful work, and thank you so much. I can’t wait to see what else I can find of yours.
August 29th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Three cheers (and five stars) for The God Patent. Ransom and I were tied together through our shared PodioRacket interview #73, and since that promo I’ve wanted to listen to his podcast audiobook. Stripped down to the author’s voice and highly-developed story, Ransom crafts masterful characters while weaving a balanced representation of both science and religion as these philosophies and theologies collide behind more personal quests for meaningful relationships.
Or, more precisely, you’ll love the nearly orphaned skate-rat named Cat. You’ll cheer for the washed-out Ryan with his second chance at everything on the line. Foster–the self-appointed servant of God–comes off far more three-dimensional than preachy. And best-supporting character goes to Dodge, the cantankerous counselor and schemer pulling strings. Ransom Stephens handles each of their voices with distinction, and this story is well worth your investment in time. Add a double bravo to my three cheers and five stars.
Cheers, Mark L Berry
September 27th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
While this isn’t the most heavy handed christian novel on this site it is strong contender. The plot gets stalled in back story and theology. If you don’t embrace a conservative cristian worldview this isn’t the book for you.