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Year Zero
In his sensational novel The Descent, Jeff Long created a world of stunning terror and adventure, "an imaginative tour de force" (Jon Krakauer). Now he imagines a scenario so vivid, so haunting, it anchors his place among storytelling masters.
YEAR ZERO
An archaeological manhunt is raging in the holy land -- a hunt for the historical Jesus. For Nathan Lee Swift, a young American field researcher and expectant father, the line between noble discovery and the plunder of ruins is sacred -- until the night he crosses it. At a Roman landfill beneath the crucifixion grounds known as Golgotha, Nathan Lee yields to his professor's greed and turns common grave robber. His world -- his unborn daughter -- seems lost to him.
Hundreds of miles away, on the remote Greek island of Corfu, a wealthy collector pries open his latest black-market purchase -- a fourteen-inch holy relic containing a vial of blood dating back to the first century -- and unleashes a two-thousand-year-old plague. As the pandemic explodes from the Mediterranean basin and threatens to devour humankind, Nathan Lee gets a chance at redemption. He embarks on an Odyssean journey back to the United States to find his family.
Skirting the edges of the world, Nathan Lee's path finally leads him to New Mexico, where the greatest minds of science have converged at Los Alamos to find a vaccine. There Nathan Lee meets Miranda Abbot, a nineteen-year-old prodigy. As the cure continues to elude them, Miranda launches a desperate final strategy: the use of human lab rats cloned from the year zero. Nathan Lee, the thief of bones, comes face-to-face with men made from the very relics he looted, one of whom claims to be Jesus Christ, but may also be Patient Zero.
Combining the scientific precision of The Andromeda Strain with the intensity of classic adventure epics, Jeff Long takes readers on a riveting voyage through the rubble of earthquake-torn Jerusalem, the serenity of the high Himalayas, and the eerie sanctuary of Los Alamos. With Long's characteristic originality, Year Zero races against the apocalyptic clock, creating a maze of twists, astonishing atmosphere, and the clash of science and faith.
YEAR ZERO
An archaeological manhunt is raging in the holy land -- a hunt for the historical Jesus. For Nathan Lee Swift, a young American field researcher and expectant father, the line between noble discovery and the plunder of ruins is sacred -- until the night he crosses it. At a Roman landfill beneath the crucifixion grounds known as Golgotha, Nathan Lee yields to his professor's greed and turns common grave robber. His world -- his unborn daughter -- seems lost to him.
Hundreds of miles away, on the remote Greek island of Corfu, a wealthy collector pries open his latest black-market purchase -- a fourteen-inch holy relic containing a vial of blood dating back to the first century -- and unleashes a two-thousand-year-old plague. As the pandemic explodes from the Mediterranean basin and threatens to devour humankind, Nathan Lee gets a chance at redemption. He embarks on an Odyssean journey back to the United States to find his family.
Skirting the edges of the world, Nathan Lee's path finally leads him to New Mexico, where the greatest minds of science have converged at Los Alamos to find a vaccine. There Nathan Lee meets Miranda Abbot, a nineteen-year-old prodigy. As the cure continues to elude them, Miranda launches a desperate final strategy: the use of human lab rats cloned from the year zero. Nathan Lee, the thief of bones, comes face-to-face with men made from the very relics he looted, one of whom claims to be Jesus Christ, but may also be Patient Zero.
Combining the scientific precision of The Andromeda Strain with the intensity of classic adventure epics, Jeff Long takes readers on a riveting voyage through the rubble of earthquake-torn Jerusalem, the serenity of the high Himalayas, and the eerie sanctuary of Los Alamos. With Long's characteristic originality, Year Zero races against the apocalyptic clock, creating a maze of twists, astonishing atmosphere, and the clash of science and faith.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Jeff Long
23 books379 followersLong is a veteran climber and traveler in the Himalayas rock climbing often manifests in his writing. He has also worked as a stonemason, journalist, historian, screenwriter, and elections supervisor for Bosnia's first democratic election.
Many of his stories include plot elements that rely heavily on religious history or popular perceptions of religious events.
Many of his stories include plot elements that rely heavily on religious history or popular perceptions of religious events.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews
January 3, 2008
Reading this was like waiting for a mystery package from UPS. I sat waiting for it to deliver on some fairly interesting ideas but we kept missing each other and I kept getting those damned yellow stickers and then when it all finally came together it turned out to be one of those nasty nut-covered cheese ball things dropped off by a guy wearing brown socks.
July 14, 2021
Surprised that I enjoyed it this book so much. Its not quite what the blurb make it out to be. But I liked the way the book was. An 2000 year old Plauge is released back into the world and a lot of problems arrives and people have to fight for survival. Not the most action packed or thrilling book I've read but I highly enjoyed it anywho
December 26, 2016
I think I read a different book to the one that was advertised on the back cover blurb. The book sounded really interesting and a bit different to most other 'end of the world' scenarios I've read but mostly it's just not that gripping once you get into it. It's a steady story which kept me turning pages - but only to try and get to the tale that was promised. I don't usually quote a synopsis in my reviews but I'm going to break with tradition here so that you know what the story wasn't about.
"An archaeological manhunt is raging in the holy land -- a hunt for the historical Jesus. Nathan Lee, the thief of bones, comes face-to-face with men made from the very relics he looted, one of whom claims to be Jesus Christ, but may also be Patient Zero."
Sounds like Jesus is an integral part of the story, no? Nope. Blink and you'll miss it and even if you catch it it's not what you're expecting/hoping for.
The synopsis sounded good to me and the first few chapters were really promising but very quickly I lost interest in the main character, which isn't really what you're looking for in a book.
My indifference to Nathan Lee (for some reason even his name gets on my nerves) meant that I never really got involved with his struggles and/or experiences.
There are also a few characters we meet and I'm still not sure why or how they figure in the story. They're given fairly large chunks of storyline but if they were removed I can't say that it would take much away from the tale.
It's not the worst book I've ever read, but I'm a bit disappointed that the fabulous story I was looking forward to wasn't forthcoming. I think that if I wasn't misled into looking for a story that wasn't there, then I might have got involved more. But, before I knew it I was at the end and left wondering if I'd missed a chapter or 3. The conclusion when it comes seems so rushed that I had to go back and re-read the last few chapters because I was sure I'd missed a crucial pivotal moment. I hadn't....and there wasn't...
It's a bit of a mish-mash of ideas going on actually and not all of it gels when thrown together into a single story. The worst part is the the virus itself, which the book revolves around....it's just madness. Utter tripe!
For fans of apocalyptic plague fiction, give it a whirl....just don't expect what's written on the back cover.
It's not a book I'd go back to, but since it belongs to a genre that I'm very fond of, I'm glad I read it.
"An archaeological manhunt is raging in the holy land -- a hunt for the historical Jesus. Nathan Lee, the thief of bones, comes face-to-face with men made from the very relics he looted, one of whom claims to be Jesus Christ, but may also be Patient Zero."
Sounds like Jesus is an integral part of the story, no? Nope. Blink and you'll miss it and even if you catch it it's not what you're expecting/hoping for.
The synopsis sounded good to me and the first few chapters were really promising but very quickly I lost interest in the main character, which isn't really what you're looking for in a book.
My indifference to Nathan Lee (for some reason even his name gets on my nerves) meant that I never really got involved with his struggles and/or experiences.
There are also a few characters we meet and I'm still not sure why or how they figure in the story. They're given fairly large chunks of storyline but if they were removed I can't say that it would take much away from the tale.
It's not the worst book I've ever read, but I'm a bit disappointed that the fabulous story I was looking forward to wasn't forthcoming. I think that if I wasn't misled into looking for a story that wasn't there, then I might have got involved more. But, before I knew it I was at the end and left wondering if I'd missed a chapter or 3. The conclusion when it comes seems so rushed that I had to go back and re-read the last few chapters because I was sure I'd missed a crucial pivotal moment. I hadn't....and there wasn't...
It's a bit of a mish-mash of ideas going on actually and not all of it gels when thrown together into a single story. The worst part is the the virus itself, which the book revolves around....it's just madness. Utter tripe!
For fans of apocalyptic plague fiction, give it a whirl....just don't expect what's written on the back cover.
It's not a book I'd go back to, but since it belongs to a genre that I'm very fond of, I'm glad I read it.
June 7, 2024
A book that combines horror, adventure, science and religion. It's a medical mystery reminiscent of Michael Crichton and an apocalyptic thriller reminding me of Stephen King's "The Stand." I'll keep this brief (I'm not providing a summary of the book) and state that I give this book published in 2002 4 stars, although I felt like giving it a 3 or 2 when I finished it. This was due to my disappointment in the book. On the back, we're told that scientists clone Jesus Christ, so that's no spoiler. But nothing happens concerning bringing Jesus back....( sorry, that was a spoiler). Having said that, I give this book a big 4 stars as I like Long's style of writing, especially in his describing the atmosphere of apocalypse, as humankind is dying from plague ( I actually read this before the start of the covid).
January 29, 2010
Okay, don't go by the nonsense on the front or back cover. Some idiot at the Publishing House tossed that on to sell more books. This is a decent enough novel, although boring in a few spots, but terribly misleading based upon first glance. Fortunately, I had already read "The Descent" (excellent!) and "Deeper" (meh) by Jeff Long, so I gave it a shot.
Forget the whole "cloned Jesus" garbage. This is an apocalyptic thriller about a plague that drives people crazy, then blissful, before finally killing them. And by them, I mean pretty much everyone. Think of Stephen King's "The Stand" told from a more scientific standpoint.
Forget the whole "cloned Jesus" garbage. This is an apocalyptic thriller about a plague that drives people crazy, then blissful, before finally killing them. And by them, I mean pretty much everyone. Think of Stephen King's "The Stand" told from a more scientific standpoint.
September 11, 2007
Hmmm, this book was kind of like a banana- it needs the outsides to hold it together but the part worth consuming is in the middle. Pardon the bad simile but you get the idea, right? :-P
It took me 50 or so pages to get into the book, and then I was pretty intrigued, but the last 100 pages or so (the climax and wrap-up) weren't as sharp and punchy as I'd hoped for.
In a few years when I think of this book I'll probably remember glassy people, clones, and a cranky jesus.
Memorability Factor 7/10
It took me 50 or so pages to get into the book, and then I was pretty intrigued, but the last 100 pages or so (the climax and wrap-up) weren't as sharp and punchy as I'd hoped for.
In a few years when I think of this book I'll probably remember glassy people, clones, and a cranky jesus.
Memorability Factor 7/10
September 6, 2016
The marketing for this book blaringly declares it a thriller—which frankly (with no disrespect intended to thrillers) does it a terrific disservice. This is not a thriller. This is an elegiac, literary, almost floatingly dreamy examination of humanity in a time of world-ending crisis (it reminded me, in a not-so-stark way, of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road). The writing is poetic and beautiful, the characters accurate without misstep, and storytelling as a whole a tremendous example in restraint and realism. That said, it’s not a perfect book. The premise never quite meets the theme, and the entire Year Zero aspect and its religious and historical significance never quite come full circle in any deeply meaningful way. Still, it’s an excellent book by a powerful author.
August 29, 2008
I LOVED this book. It features a series of characters with entertwining lives. One is an archaeologist who is in disfavor after a dig goes very wrong in Jerusalem. However when an antique collector opens a speciman from Biblical Time (the year zero, the time of Christ), he unleashes a plague. Soon most of the Earth is dead or dying and scientists are racing to save it with the help of some clones from the Golgotha mound in Jerusalem. It's fascinating and engrossing. Highly recommended because my review is not doing justice.
June 9, 2013
NO SPOILERS!! Another winner from Jeff Long. Having read The Descent and Deeper, I was very much looking forward to this book…and I was not disappointed. Again, as with other books I've thoroughly enjoyed, I loved the premise of the story and the writing was excellent. The characters were well thought out and the story itself involved religion, politics, globalism, tragedy, hope, family and many more themes that were all interwoven extremely well by Mr. Long. The premise itself was pretty inventive/creative although I'm not sure really how far it is out of the realm of real scientific possibility…which itself is an unsettling thought. The author gave us just enough detail for the stories fundamental pieces to be believable…which isn't easy. BOTTOM LINE: this was an excellent book and continues the tradition of great story telling from Mr. Long.
August 7, 2009
A science fiction piece reminiscent of Michael Crichton, though less intense as a thriller, but with the same kind of smart, heroic but flawed characters who confront the destructive power of science. It's billed as a story about the conflict between science & faith, & the incident that initiates the devastating plague at the center of the story is a byproduct of a search for the historical (physical) Jesus, but that's pretty incidental; the heart of the story is less about a conflict between science & faith than about a struggle to maintain the human soul at the heart of scientific research rather than allowing the scientific goal, however crucial, to justify any means to attain it. It took almost half the book to set up the story, but it was engaging & provocative.
August 25, 2015
Γενικά, περίμενα να εκμεταλλευτεί με το γνωστό, τον εκνευριστικό τρόπο το τέρμα μη-πρωτότυπο εύρημα της εύρεσης οστών στο Γολγοθά (Τζίζαζ Κράιστ, γουίνκ-γουίνκ). Τελικά έδωσε περισσότερη βάση στους χαρακτήρες του, κρατώντας ταυτόχρονα σε ενδιαφέροντα επίπεδα την πλοκή. Θα το σύστηνα σαν ενδιαφέρον ανάγνωσμα και σε εκείνους που δε διαβάζουν πολλές περιπέτειες.
July 25, 2013
It’s time for another book review! How excited are you? Yeah, me too. Today I’ll be reviewing Year Zero, by Jeff Long. You may also recognize Jeff as the author of The Descent, one of the most influential books on my budding writing career. Someday I will meet Mr. Long and we will talk…after I gush some. Right. I’m supposed to be reviewing a book. Here goes.
From the publisher:
An archaeological manhunt is raging in the holy land — a hunt for the historical Jesus. For Nathan Lee Swift, a young American field researcher and expectant father, the line between noble discovery and the plunder of ruins is sacred — until the night he crosses it. At a Roman landfill beneath the crucifixion grounds known as Golgotha, Nathan Lee yields to his professor’s greed and turns common grave robber. His world — his unborn daughter — seems lost to him.
Hundreds of miles away, on the remote Greek island of Corfu, a wealthy collector pries open his latest black-market purchase — a fourteen-inch holy relic containing a vial of blood dating back to the first century — and unleashes a two-thousand-year-old plague. As the pandemic explodes from the Mediterranean basin and threatens to devour humankind, Nathan Lee gets a chance at redemption. He embarks on an Odyssean journey back to the United States to find his family.
Skirting the edges of the world, Nathan Lee’s path finally leads him to New Mexico, where the greatest minds of science have converged at Los Alamos to find a vaccine. There Nathan Lee meets Miranda Abbot, a nineteen-year-old prodigy. As the cure continues to elude them, Miranda launches a desperate final strategy: the use of human lab rats cloned from the year zero. Nathan Lee, the thief of bones, comes face-to-face with men made from the very relics he looted, one of whom claims to be Jesus Christ, but may also be Patient Zero.
Combining the scientific precision of The Andromeda Strain with the intensity of classic adventure epics, Jeff Long takes readers on a riveting voyage through the rubble of earthquake-torn Jerusalem, the serenity of the high Himalayas, and the eerie sanctuary of Los Alamos. With Long’s characteristic originality, Year Zero races against the apocalyptic clock, creating a maze of twists, astonishing atmosphere, and the clash of science and faith.
If you’ve read The Descent, you’ll probably like Year Zero as well. Mr. Long unleashes an ancient strain of virus on the modern world. Societies collapse, governments scramble, and people die. Whole countries perish–Greece, France, China. Eventually the US is left to search for a cure before the entire globe is infected. That was one of my pet peeves about this book. I thought some of the other countries would have tried a little harder to set up labs and brain trusts to combat the virus. I would have liked to have seen more of a shared global knowledge, instead of leaving most everything up to the US.
Anyway, the star of this story is Nathan Lee Swift. He’s a man pushed to the shady side of archaeology by his brother-in-law, becoming nothing more than a grave robber and looter in order to support is new baby. With Nathan Lee, Mr. Long does a wonderful job creating a flawed, yet very human, character. I enjoyed following Nathan Lee across the globe as he desperately tried to get back to the US and his family only to run into roadblock after roadblock. He was an easy character to root for from the very beginning.
Our other main character is Miranda Abbott, the genius daughter of Dr. Paul Abbott. We first meet her as a rebellious teen who lives to thwart her father who has done nothing but feed her mind with the best tutors and mentors money can buy. Later she becomes an important figure in America’s attempt at finding a cure, and Nathan Lee’s life. Her character grew on me. Often times her youthful energy kept the moral high ground, the light shining in dark times. Which is funny because she’s the one who comes up with cloning dead folks from two thousand years ago. Basically, she’s a scientist with a heart…which gets her into trouble along the way.
This book takes on the always touchy subject of religion too. At first, the common people worship the plague victims thinking them to be angels. When the cloning begins, humanity can’t help but wonder if one of them is the actual Jesus from the Bible. If you read any of the reviews for this book, you’ll see plenty of people complain about the cloning and religious aspects of this book. I didn’t have a problem with either. Mr. Long goes out of his way to show both the scientific and the religious aspects of everything in Year Zero. Not only that, but he does it in respectful and intelligent ways. You can tell he did tons of research.
For me, this book constantly got better. The beginning took a bit to get going, but that’s to be expected with so many pieces needing attention and a world on the brink of destruction. Trust Mr. Long to take you where you need to go…until the end. Unfortunately, I felt the ending fizzled out instead of exploding in awesomeness. While there were satisfactory conclusions to most of the character and story arcs, the ending just sort of happened. It didn’t feel satisfying.
If you’re a fan of Jeff Long, quality thrillers, or great writing, this book will appeal to you. Be forewarned, Mr. Long has a tendency to take his readers on grand adventures. Year Zero is no different. Be sure to check it out. You won’t be sorry.
What I liked:
•Superb characters. Nathan Lee was an easy character to root for. I found myself wanting to see how his tale unfolded early on.
•The science behind the virus added layers to the story. It was easy to see Mr. Long took his time researching.
•The religious aspect was appealing in context to the story. I feel like Mr. Long took great care in incorporating a religious storyline, which is no small feat considering how fanatical people can be. I especially like how when the chips were down, even the most scientific minds turned to religion. Very believable.
•How big this story felt. Readers are taken to places like Nepal, China, and Russia. Did I believe the entire world was dying off? Yes. This is a grand story that affects billions of people. Apocalypse, anyone?
•The antagonists were just as believable as the protagonists. Brilliant minds are often egotistical and hardened. Readers believe these people would do anything to be the first to discover a cure, even murder and betrayal.
•I loved how this book challenges our idea of what it means to be human. I often found myself wondering what I would do in the face of tough choices like these characters. Do the ends justify the means in terms of searching for a cure? Would I put the needs of the human race before those of my family?
•The pace kept me turning pages long after I knew I should have been sleeping.
What I didn’t like:
•It takes a bit for all the pieces to come into play. The beginning is a touch slow but not enough to make you want to stop reading.
•The ending fizzles out. While I didn’t find it unsatisfactory, I would have liked it to flow more smoothly. After a certain key scene, the next thirty pages or so felt lacking.
•Nathan Lee reminded me a little too much of Ike from The Descent.
•I would have like to see more of a global effort in finding a cure.
Overall: I’d give Year Zero four out of five stars. Top notch characters and plot lines make it an easy read. If religion is a touchy subject, you may want to steer clear. Although I believe Mr. Long does a fantastic job taking religious concepts and creating compelling fiction, others may take issue. With that being said, Year Zero is definitely worth your time and money.
From the publisher:
An archaeological manhunt is raging in the holy land — a hunt for the historical Jesus. For Nathan Lee Swift, a young American field researcher and expectant father, the line between noble discovery and the plunder of ruins is sacred — until the night he crosses it. At a Roman landfill beneath the crucifixion grounds known as Golgotha, Nathan Lee yields to his professor’s greed and turns common grave robber. His world — his unborn daughter — seems lost to him.
Hundreds of miles away, on the remote Greek island of Corfu, a wealthy collector pries open his latest black-market purchase — a fourteen-inch holy relic containing a vial of blood dating back to the first century — and unleashes a two-thousand-year-old plague. As the pandemic explodes from the Mediterranean basin and threatens to devour humankind, Nathan Lee gets a chance at redemption. He embarks on an Odyssean journey back to the United States to find his family.
Skirting the edges of the world, Nathan Lee’s path finally leads him to New Mexico, where the greatest minds of science have converged at Los Alamos to find a vaccine. There Nathan Lee meets Miranda Abbot, a nineteen-year-old prodigy. As the cure continues to elude them, Miranda launches a desperate final strategy: the use of human lab rats cloned from the year zero. Nathan Lee, the thief of bones, comes face-to-face with men made from the very relics he looted, one of whom claims to be Jesus Christ, but may also be Patient Zero.
Combining the scientific precision of The Andromeda Strain with the intensity of classic adventure epics, Jeff Long takes readers on a riveting voyage through the rubble of earthquake-torn Jerusalem, the serenity of the high Himalayas, and the eerie sanctuary of Los Alamos. With Long’s characteristic originality, Year Zero races against the apocalyptic clock, creating a maze of twists, astonishing atmosphere, and the clash of science and faith.
If you’ve read The Descent, you’ll probably like Year Zero as well. Mr. Long unleashes an ancient strain of virus on the modern world. Societies collapse, governments scramble, and people die. Whole countries perish–Greece, France, China. Eventually the US is left to search for a cure before the entire globe is infected. That was one of my pet peeves about this book. I thought some of the other countries would have tried a little harder to set up labs and brain trusts to combat the virus. I would have liked to have seen more of a shared global knowledge, instead of leaving most everything up to the US.
Anyway, the star of this story is Nathan Lee Swift. He’s a man pushed to the shady side of archaeology by his brother-in-law, becoming nothing more than a grave robber and looter in order to support is new baby. With Nathan Lee, Mr. Long does a wonderful job creating a flawed, yet very human, character. I enjoyed following Nathan Lee across the globe as he desperately tried to get back to the US and his family only to run into roadblock after roadblock. He was an easy character to root for from the very beginning.
Our other main character is Miranda Abbott, the genius daughter of Dr. Paul Abbott. We first meet her as a rebellious teen who lives to thwart her father who has done nothing but feed her mind with the best tutors and mentors money can buy. Later she becomes an important figure in America’s attempt at finding a cure, and Nathan Lee’s life. Her character grew on me. Often times her youthful energy kept the moral high ground, the light shining in dark times. Which is funny because she’s the one who comes up with cloning dead folks from two thousand years ago. Basically, she’s a scientist with a heart…which gets her into trouble along the way.
This book takes on the always touchy subject of religion too. At first, the common people worship the plague victims thinking them to be angels. When the cloning begins, humanity can’t help but wonder if one of them is the actual Jesus from the Bible. If you read any of the reviews for this book, you’ll see plenty of people complain about the cloning and religious aspects of this book. I didn’t have a problem with either. Mr. Long goes out of his way to show both the scientific and the religious aspects of everything in Year Zero. Not only that, but he does it in respectful and intelligent ways. You can tell he did tons of research.
For me, this book constantly got better. The beginning took a bit to get going, but that’s to be expected with so many pieces needing attention and a world on the brink of destruction. Trust Mr. Long to take you where you need to go…until the end. Unfortunately, I felt the ending fizzled out instead of exploding in awesomeness. While there were satisfactory conclusions to most of the character and story arcs, the ending just sort of happened. It didn’t feel satisfying.
If you’re a fan of Jeff Long, quality thrillers, or great writing, this book will appeal to you. Be forewarned, Mr. Long has a tendency to take his readers on grand adventures. Year Zero is no different. Be sure to check it out. You won’t be sorry.
What I liked:
•Superb characters. Nathan Lee was an easy character to root for. I found myself wanting to see how his tale unfolded early on.
•The science behind the virus added layers to the story. It was easy to see Mr. Long took his time researching.
•The religious aspect was appealing in context to the story. I feel like Mr. Long took great care in incorporating a religious storyline, which is no small feat considering how fanatical people can be. I especially like how when the chips were down, even the most scientific minds turned to religion. Very believable.
•How big this story felt. Readers are taken to places like Nepal, China, and Russia. Did I believe the entire world was dying off? Yes. This is a grand story that affects billions of people. Apocalypse, anyone?
•The antagonists were just as believable as the protagonists. Brilliant minds are often egotistical and hardened. Readers believe these people would do anything to be the first to discover a cure, even murder and betrayal.
•I loved how this book challenges our idea of what it means to be human. I often found myself wondering what I would do in the face of tough choices like these characters. Do the ends justify the means in terms of searching for a cure? Would I put the needs of the human race before those of my family?
•The pace kept me turning pages long after I knew I should have been sleeping.
What I didn’t like:
•It takes a bit for all the pieces to come into play. The beginning is a touch slow but not enough to make you want to stop reading.
•The ending fizzles out. While I didn’t find it unsatisfactory, I would have liked it to flow more smoothly. After a certain key scene, the next thirty pages or so felt lacking.
•Nathan Lee reminded me a little too much of Ike from The Descent.
•I would have like to see more of a global effort in finding a cure.
Overall: I’d give Year Zero four out of five stars. Top notch characters and plot lines make it an easy read. If religion is a touchy subject, you may want to steer clear. Although I believe Mr. Long does a fantastic job taking religious concepts and creating compelling fiction, others may take issue. With that being said, Year Zero is definitely worth your time and money.
January 1, 2022
"Biblical archaeology...." The engineer pounced at the clue. "Project Year Zero," he said. "The search for Jesus Christ."
It's not anywhere close to The Descent, but it had quite a lot of interesting moments. I just feel like he didn't quite manage to execute certain plots and events in a "properly" satisfying way. Nonetheless, it was a good read.
It's not anywhere close to The Descent, but it had quite a lot of interesting moments. I just feel like he didn't quite manage to execute certain plots and events in a "properly" satisfying way. Nonetheless, it was a good read.
December 5, 2017
Not too interesting...2star
October 23, 2021
3.5 stars review to come
November 7, 2008
OK, I finished it. Rather a slog - not worth the bother, really. Not a *bad* book, just not any good. Not suspensful enough to warrant the disorganized plotlines, shifting focus, complete unbelievability, shallow charactizations, etc.
Why are biothrillers so reliant on stereotypes? The female scientists are always beautiful, the males amazing athletes. You can tell who one of the villains will be immediately, because he's obese and gay (at least he's not mincing). The other one, of course, is in a wheelchair. Little other diversity is described (I think one family is African, and there is a Neanderthal who gets sympathetic treatment....)
Why are biothrillers so reliant on stereotypes? The female scientists are always beautiful, the males amazing athletes. You can tell who one of the villains will be immediately, because he's obese and gay (at least he's not mincing). The other one, of course, is in a wheelchair. Little other diversity is described (I think one family is African, and there is a Neanderthal who gets sympathetic treatment....)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2008
Ever since Jurassic Park I thought a book about the cloning of Jesus Christ coule be quite interesting. I was wrong ... sort of.
My major problem with this book was its misleading premise. The book makes you think you are getting a story about the cloning of Christ, but that is far from the truth. The overall book is a fine historical science fiction about an ancient plague re-released on an unsuspecting earth, but under the circumstances for which I picked it up I was extremely disappointed. I mean, the alleged cloned Christ doesn't even appear until near the end!
Had I no pretenses for a story about cloning Christ I probably would give this book 3 to 3.5 stars.
My major problem with this book was its misleading premise. The book makes you think you are getting a story about the cloning of Christ, but that is far from the truth. The overall book is a fine historical science fiction about an ancient plague re-released on an unsuspecting earth, but under the circumstances for which I picked it up I was extremely disappointed. I mean, the alleged cloned Christ doesn't even appear until near the end!
Had I no pretenses for a story about cloning Christ I probably would give this book 3 to 3.5 stars.
March 13, 2013
Archaeological black market, Golgotha, plague, pestilence, human cloning, and desperation to save the human race will keep your eyes glued to this fast moving story. This is the first book I've read by Jeff Long, but now I want to rush out and buy everything he's written. His writing style is tight and fast paced and never seems to flag anywhere along the way. I can absolutely give this book my very highest recommendation!
October 19, 2012
This book started out okay. Every hundred pages of so it got a little worse. The last fifty pages were a chore. I found myself reading just for the sake of finishing. Don't bother with this one. Jeff Long has no ability to end a story. He's basically a Crichton wannabe. I won't be reading anything of his again. PU!
November 14, 2011
Though I had a hard time getting through the first few chapters to the meat of the story, this book definitely ranks as one of my favorite apocalypse stories. It has some religious undertones and a lot of genetic experimentation combined with a heartfelt story of love, loss and redemption.
February 8, 2023
I thought it was an interesting perspective on religion. Since I am a Christian, I reject his premise but the "what if" element of the story is still clever. It wasn't as dark as some of his books, maybe because it took place above ground for a change.
July 22, 2009
Thriller with religious themes. A clone is grown from material found in an old bone, dated two thousand years, and the resukting human claims to be Jesus.
September 9, 2019
I just couldn't get into it. I kept thinking that it would get better, that there would be a point. But there wasn't.
April 26, 2020
As many have pointed out, Year Zero has little to do with the blurb written on the flap of the hardcover edition. Year Zero is really an apocalyptic look at what happens to humanity as a virus (actually a prion) decimates pretty much the entire population of the world. This premise of the book checks a lot of boxes for me. Hard science (I'm a biology major and teach biology, so anything that deals with that area interests me), virology, apocalyptic scenarios, archeology - this should have been a home run for me. However, the deeper I got into the book, the more disjointed it felt. It wasn't until I literally hit the acknowledgements page in the back of the book that I figured out what the problem was.
Author Jeff Long says "Year Zero began as a medical mystery set at Los Alamos...then changed. As my research broadened I began to see how the old analogy of religion as a plague has its counterweight in plague as a religion."
Yup, just like that, Long nails my experience with his book. I'd felt throughout that I was reading two different books with little indication at which points we were switching between the two. There are both some cool biological ideas here and some good apocalypse writing but then there's also a lot of religious mumbo-jumbo seemingly crammed in that gets only partially fleshed out. In fact its not until the last third of the book (roughly) that the year zero / clone of Jesus Christ makes an appearance and when he does, its sort of silly and garbled and I felt myself making that face I make when I smell something bad but cant put my finger on what it is. Y'all know that face, right?
There's also the issue of smart-people-doing-dumb-things and that's one that often breaks books for me. You've got the elite science community at Los Alamos literally being run by a genius but those people often choose to follow stupid, amoral, crazy people in their path to trying to develop a cure. I'm not saying that scientists can't be stupid, amoral or crazy but in this story, the scientific community becomes a caricature of some Machiavellian nightmare society, fighting among themselves for no particular reason with endlessly changing allegiances which suddenly changes to benevolent heroes doing the hard work of saving humanity before changing back to the dark side again.
I kinda just wish Jeff Long had stuck to his original plan for this book - I think it would have been a stronger story. This was the first book I've read by this author, and while this one was just okay, I'd probably give him another shot.
Author Jeff Long says "Year Zero began as a medical mystery set at Los Alamos...then changed. As my research broadened I began to see how the old analogy of religion as a plague has its counterweight in plague as a religion."
Yup, just like that, Long nails my experience with his book. I'd felt throughout that I was reading two different books with little indication at which points we were switching between the two. There are both some cool biological ideas here and some good apocalypse writing but then there's also a lot of religious mumbo-jumbo seemingly crammed in that gets only partially fleshed out. In fact its not until the last third of the book (roughly) that the year zero / clone of Jesus Christ makes an appearance and when he does, its sort of silly and garbled and I felt myself making that face I make when I smell something bad but cant put my finger on what it is. Y'all know that face, right?
There's also the issue of smart-people-doing-dumb-things and that's one that often breaks books for me. You've got the elite science community at Los Alamos literally being run by a genius but those people often choose to follow stupid, amoral, crazy people in their path to trying to develop a cure. I'm not saying that scientists can't be stupid, amoral or crazy but in this story, the scientific community becomes a caricature of some Machiavellian nightmare society, fighting among themselves for no particular reason with endlessly changing allegiances which suddenly changes to benevolent heroes doing the hard work of saving humanity before changing back to the dark side again.
I kinda just wish Jeff Long had stuck to his original plan for this book - I think it would have been a stronger story. This was the first book I've read by this author, and while this one was just okay, I'd probably give him another shot.
April 15, 2021
Read this for a book club.
I have a lot of good to say about Jeff Long's writing. The sentences are concise, at times fragrant, and always strongly considered. It's obvious Jeff has done a lot of thinking into every word he's telling you. This leads to some of the best prose I've seen this side of 2000.
That said, this same consideration is not often applied to the pacing. There are a lot of chapters that I feel are entirely irrelevant. I think I would have loved the 200 page version of this story. Instead, it's double that and yet has a somewhat disappointing end. Ambiguity is not necessarily bad, but we have really intriguing characters in Adam, Nathan Lee, and Miranda. **Major Spoilers** NL dies, Adam kills everyone in the Salt Compound - himself included, and Miranda never finds the cure.
I don't need Jesus handed to me. Because of reading this in a book club, we were able to discuss this and avoid the trappings of the negative reviews. These reviews say Jesus never or barely shows up - not true. He's one of the key characters lol. "Ben Elohim" is not an accidental turn of phrase regarding Jesus. But people say it's a "Blink and you'll miss it" moment -- sorry buddy, you just missed it it seems.
And that's ok. Sometimes we miss critical details. Sometimes that's the author's fault, sometimes it's our own. Regardless, what IS the author's fault is that this novel is too long. It's gripping throughout, but the ending doesn't give me enough to not dock the novel accordingly. Otherwise quite happy with it.
I have a lot of good to say about Jeff Long's writing. The sentences are concise, at times fragrant, and always strongly considered. It's obvious Jeff has done a lot of thinking into every word he's telling you. This leads to some of the best prose I've seen this side of 2000.
That said, this same consideration is not often applied to the pacing. There are a lot of chapters that I feel are entirely irrelevant. I think I would have loved the 200 page version of this story. Instead, it's double that and yet has a somewhat disappointing end. Ambiguity is not necessarily bad, but we have really intriguing characters in Adam, Nathan Lee, and Miranda. **Major Spoilers** NL dies, Adam kills everyone in the Salt Compound - himself included, and Miranda never finds the cure.
I don't need Jesus handed to me. Because of reading this in a book club, we were able to discuss this and avoid the trappings of the negative reviews. These reviews say Jesus never or barely shows up - not true. He's one of the key characters lol. "Ben Elohim" is not an accidental turn of phrase regarding Jesus. But people say it's a "Blink and you'll miss it" moment -- sorry buddy, you just missed it it seems.
And that's ok. Sometimes we miss critical details. Sometimes that's the author's fault, sometimes it's our own. Regardless, what IS the author's fault is that this novel is too long. It's gripping throughout, but the ending doesn't give me enough to not dock the novel accordingly. Otherwise quite happy with it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2018
Although this book abounds in the usual Leftists tropes (weak minded, card carrying NRA member falls for fraudulent messiah during a plague brought on by some weirdo Christofascist who likes to inhale blood reliquaries of ancient saints), the book itself rises above its self-imposed PC mire and delivers an extremely well constructed example of a classic horror adventure apocalypse novel.
I decided if Miranda did not resurrect Nathan Lee, or if Long did not betray his readers by tacking on some other kind of supposedly happy ending, I would get on Goodreads and 5 star this thing.
Also, this a page turner. I just read in nonstop, basically, with a pause for a few hours sleep. Unless there is a wide genre of such books I am unfamiliar with, this is an exceptionally creative and erudite novel. Long knows a lot about a lot of different topics, and this makes this book rewarding on several levels.
The profound takeaway here is that Biblical prophecy is self fulfilling. The Rapture occurred, but was an artificial event, induced by one of Christ's more misguided followers. Anyway, here's hoping Long is a not a messenger for the darker members of the New World Order, because this is some serious Georgia Guidestones fulfillment here as well, layed out in a fairly plausible manner.
I decided if Miranda did not resurrect Nathan Lee, or if Long did not betray his readers by tacking on some other kind of supposedly happy ending, I would get on Goodreads and 5 star this thing.
Also, this a page turner. I just read in nonstop, basically, with a pause for a few hours sleep. Unless there is a wide genre of such books I am unfamiliar with, this is an exceptionally creative and erudite novel. Long knows a lot about a lot of different topics, and this makes this book rewarding on several levels.
The profound takeaway here is that Biblical prophecy is self fulfilling. The Rapture occurred, but was an artificial event, induced by one of Christ's more misguided followers. Anyway, here's hoping Long is a not a messenger for the darker members of the New World Order, because this is some serious Georgia Guidestones fulfillment here as well, layed out in a fairly plausible manner.
July 28, 2023
This novel is a tale about a possible plague event caused by exposure in a present-day setting of a virus that had affected previous generations in a mild non-lethal form. It was in a vial of blood cells found in a relic container. Over the years it was contained in the relic, and the virus mutated into a more viral form again once the relic was opened exposing humanity to it.
The story is told from the main character's viewpoint and emphasizes the deadly use of potential bioweapons for population control. He, Nathan Lee, was an American field researcher, with a child and a wife, who works for a man who is a plunderer of artifacts, especially those containing DNA for a secret facility in New Mexico, US, where they are trying to find wither the source of the virus or create a vaccine to help humanity develop immunity to it. The facility was trying to find the immunity patterns in previous humans who had been alive when the virus first showed up and were not lethally hurt by the exposure because their bodies had a natural immunity gene.
It was an interesting read concerning the possible scientific developments of cloning, retention certain ingrained memories in cells and who has the right to chose who lives and dies. Very appropriate discussion with the way human population is growing on Earth today 2023.
The story is told from the main character's viewpoint and emphasizes the deadly use of potential bioweapons for population control. He, Nathan Lee, was an American field researcher, with a child and a wife, who works for a man who is a plunderer of artifacts, especially those containing DNA for a secret facility in New Mexico, US, where they are trying to find wither the source of the virus or create a vaccine to help humanity develop immunity to it. The facility was trying to find the immunity patterns in previous humans who had been alive when the virus first showed up and were not lethally hurt by the exposure because their bodies had a natural immunity gene.
It was an interesting read concerning the possible scientific developments of cloning, retention certain ingrained memories in cells and who has the right to chose who lives and dies. Very appropriate discussion with the way human population is growing on Earth today 2023.
May 30, 2023
This novel was not what I expected. It is not a thriller at all, only in premise. More than anything it was a philosophical, very thematic, exploration of human nature and religion. It was way more thematic than I expected, more thematic in fact than there was actual plot. I don't even think I understood everything that transpired at the end, which is a shame, since this book is not difficult in any shape or form.
I, however, couldn't stop reading, despite not getting a thriller with the same plot premise that was promised to me by the back blurb. I need one.
I, however, couldn't stop reading, despite not getting a thriller with the same plot premise that was promised to me by the back blurb. I need one.
March 6, 2024
I'm a Jeff Long fan so I may be biased but I loved this piece of speculative/science fiction. I continue to enjoy the religious elements he adds through his books, and I don't understand other reviews complaining about clone Jesus. It was never established that the dude WAS Jesus - and the characters all had much bigger things to worry about wrt their upcoming annihilation. What would the rebirth of Jesus truly mean for a doomed people at that point in their history? Much better book than I expected.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2020
This is my third Jeff Long book. I wasn't thrilled at the synopsis so I just had it sitting on my shelf but after reading some reviews on here about how the synopsis was misleading I took a shot and from start to finish I loved it as I have loved his others I have read. He is definitely my favorite author, on par with Michael Crichton, I love the science he uses to make his book world so real and reading it during the current setting the world is in made this book all the more scarier.
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