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Babylon
When violent Johadists bomb a Masonic lodge in Istanbul, the Turkish military enlist maverick British agent Toby Ashe to find the cause of the attack. Hurled into a tense race against the CIA to solve an intelligence puzzle encompassing genetic research and the true origins of Freemasonry, Ashe must travel the globe in pursuit of answers.
Unknown Binding
First published September 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 11, 2019
This was at times a difficult book to read. Unlike some other reviewers I've seen, I did finish the book, mostly out of respect for the author. Though I'm sad to say that I was not really rewarded for the perseverance. I think the author simply tried too hard to make this complicated, intricate thriller but possibly due to lack of technique and experience in fiction, sadly it fell short of the mark. Too many sparsely described characters, some built entirely upon a cliché, made investment in the story difficult. Description of events were empty; hollow - several times I found myself re-reading whole paragraphs not because I couldn't believe an exciting new story development, but because I was struggling to build a mental picture of what was actually occurring. The author confuses rapid, quip-lines that miss any real description with exciting, fast-paced writing. And the blatant attempts to frame the hero as some sort of James Bond didn't really hit the mark for me, I'm afraid. It was cheap, didn't offer any real substance to the story and may have been an excuse for the author to have a go at some subtle, almost-sex scenes. It's a shame, really. This book has the ingredients of a thrilling novel, but something went wrong in the mixing.
December 21, 2025
This book has such a promising premise and the research that has gone into it seems to be extensive. The overall theme was interesting and could have formed the basis for an excellent story.
Unfortunately, there is just too much going on. The story jumps from one scene to another without any smooth transition. One moment you are in England, next you are in the mountains of a distant country with no idea why you’re there. It tries to be too much. Instead of taking a select few characters and developing them, this book tries to include every character in the universe and doesn’t really flesh them out fully.
I believe if the author has just slowed himself a little and not tried to include so much in the book, it could have been an interesting and enlightening story. Unfortunately just not for me.
Unfortunately, there is just too much going on. The story jumps from one scene to another without any smooth transition. One moment you are in England, next you are in the mountains of a distant country with no idea why you’re there. It tries to be too much. Instead of taking a select few characters and developing them, this book tries to include every character in the universe and doesn’t really flesh them out fully.
I believe if the author has just slowed himself a little and not tried to include so much in the book, it could have been an interesting and enlightening story. Unfortunately just not for me.
August 29, 2021
Overall, not a bad story. Mysticism, ancient races, science, war... it's got it all. Even some random sex scenes (why???) Most irritating was the short chapters. 6 pages in, you're beginning to identify the characters, when you're hurled across to new continents and new countries to meet new characters - and new subplots. It made the first 1/3 of the book quite confusing.
July 30, 2018
That book was a little too much of everything, for my taste at least. Was it history of the Middle East? Was it mystery of the Masons? Was it a love story? Was it a battlefield book? Was it a spy novel? Was it a sci-fi? Just too many things at once and not one was developed fully in my opinion.
February 16, 2018
Not my cup of tea. Gave up with this after just a couple of chapters. Too detailed politics foe me.
September 19, 2022
Too incoherent, was very hard to keep track of all the story lines, and most of them did not seem to work with each other.
May 5, 2025
Lastig te volgen, rode draad ontbreekt. Veel referenties naar geschiedenis, mythes en natuurkunde maakt het lezen lastiger.
December 3, 2013
October 8, 2013: Unghhh... If anything, this book has piqued my interest with regard to finding out more about the Yezidis as a people. Mostly, I feel this book tries to do too much. Lots and lots of exposition.
December 3, 2013:
Freemasonry certainly provides a fascinating theme to treat in fiction, and it’s clear that Churton is knowledgeable about his subject. Equally fascinating is the Yezidi tribe – an ancient culture predating Islam that has often faced persecution – and it’s obvious Churton has done his research on the topic here too.
Added to this heady mixture is contemporary Middle Eastern conflict – terrorists, dodgy super-scientists and military action – all with plenty of explosions, bullets flying all over the place and the prerequisite bloodshed.
Enter Toby Ashe, our suave, brainy British secret agent. James Bond has nothing on this intellectual. As he is part of a special task force that deals with what they term “oddballs” – essentially a licence for them to indulge in conspiracy theories and solve global mysteries.
Right now he has his hands full looking into the bombing of a Masonic lodge in Istanbul, and very soon he’s wading through an international situation involving illegal genetic research and terrorism, all laced with a healthy dose of religious fundamentalism.
This is Churton’s first novel, and it shows. While he’s previously published non-fiction, and is evidently a gifted scholar, this hasn’t translated as successfully into fiction. Granted, if you’re completely drawn into the aforementioned topics of Freemasonry, Yezidi culture and international espionage, you’re probably not going to be bothered by the massive chunks of exposition Churton inserts throughout the novel.
By contrast, there are parts where the text is stripped down to snatches of dialogue that imply that there is some sort of action happening, but it’s left to our imagination. This adds distance to a story, which might work just fine in film but doesn’t translate well to fiction.
The bottom line is that The Babylon Gene suffers from a serious case of “Too Much Awesome” – Churton tries to take on too much instead of focusing and building on a narrower band to produce a tighter, more engaging novel.
There’s some good stuff here, but it gets lost in the crossfire.
December 3, 2013:
Freemasonry certainly provides a fascinating theme to treat in fiction, and it’s clear that Churton is knowledgeable about his subject. Equally fascinating is the Yezidi tribe – an ancient culture predating Islam that has often faced persecution – and it’s obvious Churton has done his research on the topic here too.
Added to this heady mixture is contemporary Middle Eastern conflict – terrorists, dodgy super-scientists and military action – all with plenty of explosions, bullets flying all over the place and the prerequisite bloodshed.
Enter Toby Ashe, our suave, brainy British secret agent. James Bond has nothing on this intellectual. As he is part of a special task force that deals with what they term “oddballs” – essentially a licence for them to indulge in conspiracy theories and solve global mysteries.
Right now he has his hands full looking into the bombing of a Masonic lodge in Istanbul, and very soon he’s wading through an international situation involving illegal genetic research and terrorism, all laced with a healthy dose of religious fundamentalism.
This is Churton’s first novel, and it shows. While he’s previously published non-fiction, and is evidently a gifted scholar, this hasn’t translated as successfully into fiction. Granted, if you’re completely drawn into the aforementioned topics of Freemasonry, Yezidi culture and international espionage, you’re probably not going to be bothered by the massive chunks of exposition Churton inserts throughout the novel.
By contrast, there are parts where the text is stripped down to snatches of dialogue that imply that there is some sort of action happening, but it’s left to our imagination. This adds distance to a story, which might work just fine in film but doesn’t translate well to fiction.
The bottom line is that The Babylon Gene suffers from a serious case of “Too Much Awesome” – Churton tries to take on too much instead of focusing and building on a narrower band to produce a tighter, more engaging novel.
There’s some good stuff here, but it gets lost in the crossfire.
November 14, 2014
This book starts with a bang – literally! – when the Istanbul police are called to investigate the bombing of a masonic lodge. The story then moves at rollercoaster pace, involving Jihadists, Freemasonry, the CIA, the SAS and the Yezidis, that persecuted and misunderstood religious group that has been much in the news recently. Underlying the story is a mind-boggling conspiracy and an age-old secret for which the superpowers are contending. There is a quirky hero, the British intelligence agent Toby Ashe, and some nice touches like the eccentric SIS department known affectionately as Oddballs. Its founder, Major General Maxwell Fuller-Knight KCVO, had “realised that interest in ersatz occultism was a significant characteristic of both present and incipient dictators and terrorists”. This may sound reminiscent of Dan Brown, but Churton writes much more intelligently and with a depth and breadth of knowledge that Brown lacks. A thoroughly gripping and enjoyable read. I am hoping for further Toby Ashe adventures.
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July 21, 2016I wanted to like this more than I did. But there was too much politics and present day manouvering going on and not enough about the secret they were supposedly searching for.
I gave up about 3/4 of the way through. I just couldn't stand slogging through it any more. At that point, we hadn't even discovered the secret yet and by that stage I didn't care any more. It was hard work.
I gave up about 3/4 of the way through. I just couldn't stand slogging through it any more. At that point, we hadn't even discovered the secret yet and by that stage I didn't care any more. It was hard work.
September 30, 2012
This book seems to want to go ten directions at once, so it didn't keep my
attention. I tried to keep reading because some of the plot lines were
interesting, but in the end I gave up at the half way point.
attention. I tried to keep reading because some of the plot lines were
interesting, but in the end I gave up at the half way point.
January 3, 2013
It does want to go in several directions at one time, but that's the beauty of the plot. A lot of foreign names to try to keep track of, but it all boils down to one mitigating factor. We're all brothers/sisters under the skin.
April 5, 2013
I tried to "get into" this book, but I just couldn't find it interesting. It was an interesting concept, but the pacing seemed to drag. I got to about 100 pages in, but couldn't make myself go any further.
September 14, 2013
I struggled through this book and the story seems to have something missing in the story but i'm not sure what. I liked the Toby Ash character and if there's a follow up book maybe we will see his character built apon.
April 19, 2016
very good book. the book gives you more insight in yezidi and kurds culture. The setting is europe and iraq and the forces that battle against eachother. The main character is an british intelligence officer.
February 4, 2017
Dit was niet wat ik ervan verwacht had. Saai begin met teveel verschillende plot lijnen. Gelukkig waren de laatste 100 pagina's beter. Teleurstellend.
February 8, 2013
After reading over 200 pages, I still didn't understand what was going on. Too many sub plots and not much connection.
April 3, 2013
Couldn't get into this book and that takes a lot of doing gave up about a fifth of the way through
February 4, 2014
A well thought out book that I would recommend.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews