What do you think?
Rate this book
La ecuacion dante
Long ago, Yosef Kobinski wrote an enigmatic book which has been lost for centuries. A group of friends follow his steps near Auschwitz.
827 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
56 people are currently reading
857 people want to read
About the author
Jane Jensen
25 books191 followersJane Jensen is the game designer of the popular and critically acclaimed Gabriel Knight adventure games and author of the novels Judgement Day and Dante's Equation.
Jane Jensen was born Jane Elizabeth Smith, the youngest of seven children. She received a BA in Computer Science from Anderson University in Indiana and worked as a systems programmer for Hewlett-Packard. Her love of both computers and creative writing eventually led her to the computer gaming industry and Sierra Online where she worked as a writer on Police Quest III: The Kindred and EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus. After co-designing King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow with veteran game designer Roberta Williams, Jensen designed her first solo game: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, which was released in 1993. The dark, supernatural mystery was a departure for Sierra but the game was enthusiastically received, with the strength of Jensen's writing, along with the game's horror and gothic sensibilities coming in for particular praise from the gaming press and earning the title Computer Gaming World's "Adventure Game of the Year" title.
Jensen followed up Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers with two sequels: The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery in 1995 and Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned in 1999. Somewhat unusually for an adventure game series, each Gabriel Knight title was produced in an entirely different format to the others. Whereas the original was a traditional 2D animated game, the sequels were realised through full motion video and a custom built 3D engine, respectively. Despite further acclaim for Jensen's design in both cases (The Beast Within was Computer Gaming World's "Game of the Year"), the large expenses associated with making the sequels, coupled with the declining marketability of adventure games (especially within Sierra) meant that a fourth in the series was not commissioned.
In 1996, Jensen published a novelization of the first Gabriel Knight game. A second Gabriel Knight novelization followed in 1998. In 1999, Jensen published her first non-adapted novel, Millennium Rising (later retitled Judgment Day). Her fourth book, Dante's Equation was published in 2003. Dante's Equation was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award.
Jensen has been involved in designing casual online games at Oberon Media, of which she is a co-founder. Her work in the Hidden Object/light adventure category can partially be credited with moving casual games in the direction of full adventure games in puzzle and story sophistication. Some of her more notable recent hits include Deadtime Stories (2009) and Dying for Daylight (2010). After leaving Oberon in 2011, she briefly worked at Zynga.
Jensen's most recent full adventure game was called Gray Matter, which was developed by Wizarbox and published by dtp entertainment in 2010. On April 2, 2008 the game, originally intended to be developed by Hungarian software house Tonuzaba, switched to another developer, French company Wizarbox: as a result, the tentative release was changed and shifted to 2010.
Jane Jensen owns a farm in Pennsylvania where she lives with her husband, composer Robert Holmes, who composed the music for the Gabriel Knight series and for Gray Matter. On April 5, 2012, the couple announced the formation of Pinkerton Road, a new game development studio to be headquartered on their Lancaster, Pennsylvania farm. The studio will use a Community Supported Gaming (CSG) model to give subscribers direct access to the games they produce, similar to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) where small farms provide consumers with regular produce deliveries. With this announcement, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to raise funds for the studio's first year of game development.
Jensen is also a story consultant on Phoenix Online Studios' adventure game Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller.
Jane Jensen was born Jane Elizabeth Smith, the youngest of seven children. She received a BA in Computer Science from Anderson University in Indiana and worked as a systems programmer for Hewlett-Packard. Her love of both computers and creative writing eventually led her to the computer gaming industry and Sierra Online where she worked as a writer on Police Quest III: The Kindred and EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus. After co-designing King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow with veteran game designer Roberta Williams, Jensen designed her first solo game: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, which was released in 1993. The dark, supernatural mystery was a departure for Sierra but the game was enthusiastically received, with the strength of Jensen's writing, along with the game's horror and gothic sensibilities coming in for particular praise from the gaming press and earning the title Computer Gaming World's "Adventure Game of the Year" title.
Jensen followed up Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers with two sequels: The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery in 1995 and Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned in 1999. Somewhat unusually for an adventure game series, each Gabriel Knight title was produced in an entirely different format to the others. Whereas the original was a traditional 2D animated game, the sequels were realised through full motion video and a custom built 3D engine, respectively. Despite further acclaim for Jensen's design in both cases (The Beast Within was Computer Gaming World's "Game of the Year"), the large expenses associated with making the sequels, coupled with the declining marketability of adventure games (especially within Sierra) meant that a fourth in the series was not commissioned.
In 1996, Jensen published a novelization of the first Gabriel Knight game. A second Gabriel Knight novelization followed in 1998. In 1999, Jensen published her first non-adapted novel, Millennium Rising (later retitled Judgment Day). Her fourth book, Dante's Equation was published in 2003. Dante's Equation was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award.
Jensen has been involved in designing casual online games at Oberon Media, of which she is a co-founder. Her work in the Hidden Object/light adventure category can partially be credited with moving casual games in the direction of full adventure games in puzzle and story sophistication. Some of her more notable recent hits include Deadtime Stories (2009) and Dying for Daylight (2010). After leaving Oberon in 2011, she briefly worked at Zynga.
Jensen's most recent full adventure game was called Gray Matter, which was developed by Wizarbox and published by dtp entertainment in 2010. On April 2, 2008 the game, originally intended to be developed by Hungarian software house Tonuzaba, switched to another developer, French company Wizarbox: as a result, the tentative release was changed and shifted to 2010.
Jane Jensen owns a farm in Pennsylvania where she lives with her husband, composer Robert Holmes, who composed the music for the Gabriel Knight series and for Gray Matter. On April 5, 2012, the couple announced the formation of Pinkerton Road, a new game development studio to be headquartered on their Lancaster, Pennsylvania farm. The studio will use a Community Supported Gaming (CSG) model to give subscribers direct access to the games they produce, similar to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) where small farms provide consumers with regular produce deliveries. With this announcement, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to raise funds for the studio's first year of game development.
Jensen is also a story consultant on Phoenix Online Studios' adventure game Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
August 15, 2023
4,5 ⭐
Relectura conjunta.
Un libro que me sorprendió en su día y me ha vuelto a sorprender ahora. La versión que he releído incluye un epílogo ampliado, que no figuraba en la primera edición en papel. Su inclusión ha sido un acierto ya que mejora con mucho el final.
Dice la sinopsis:
La pericia del rabino Aharon Handalman con el codigo de la Tora (al volver a disponer las palabras y las letras de la Biblia) ha descubierto el nombre de un hombre. Quién es Yosef Kobinski y por que escondió Dios su nombre en su texto sagrado? Para encontrar las respuestas Aaron empieza una investigacion y descubre que Kobinski un rabino polaco no solo era un místico sino tambien un físico brillante que escribió "El libro de los tormentos" lo que quizá haya sido la obra perdida más importante de la historia de la humanidad. Ahora, un grupo de amigos siguen las huellas de Kobinski hasta un claro de los bosques cercanos a Auschwitz. Y en ese claro se enfrentan cara a cara con lo inexplicable.
Mis impresiones.
El libro está dividido en tres partes muy distintas entre sí. En la primera, titulada "La uno menos uno", estamos en el terreno del thriller de Ciencia Ficción. En ella nos presentan a los personajes, así como las dos líneas argumentales. Por un lado, las investigaciones Jill Talcott sobre mecánica de ondas y por otro los descubrimientos del rabino Aharon Handalman sobre Yosef Kobinski. Ambas líneas confluyen al final de esta primera parte de modo sorprendente.
La segunda, titulada "La escalera de Jacob", muy diferente de la primera, está a caballo entre la Ciencia Ficción y la fantasía. Me ha sorprendido la originalidad del planteamiento de la autora al mezclar con acierto ambos géneros.
La tercera, titulada "Síntesis", es justamente eso, la síntesis de las dos primeras. Combina de nuevo Thriller de Ciencia Ficción con dosis de acción y aventuras.
Es una novela que se subdivide en apartados cortos, dentro de cada capítulo, dedicados de forma rotatoria a los distintos personajes. El ritmo es ágil y se lee bien.
Los personajes principales están bien construidos. Representan arquetipos muy diferentes, cosa que se entiende a la hora de encarar la segunda parte del libro. Mis preferidos siguen siendo Jill, Nate, su becario y Hannah Handalman, la esposa del rabino.
El final es bueno y sobre todo coherente. Si en la primera versión en papel, me pareció un poco abrupto, en la que he leído, el epílogo soluciona este problema.
En conclusión. Una novela de Ciencia Ficción poco corriente, que fue superventas en EEUU y que me ha gustado mucho, aunque no sabría precisar bien el porqué. No es un libro clásico del género y creo, que ese mismo toque arriesgado de originalidad, que a mí me ha enganchado, se les puede atragantar a otros asiduos de la CF. Al final va a depender de cada uno.
Relectura conjunta.
Un libro que me sorprendió en su día y me ha vuelto a sorprender ahora. La versión que he releído incluye un epílogo ampliado, que no figuraba en la primera edición en papel. Su inclusión ha sido un acierto ya que mejora con mucho el final.
Dice la sinopsis:
La pericia del rabino Aharon Handalman con el codigo de la Tora (al volver a disponer las palabras y las letras de la Biblia) ha descubierto el nombre de un hombre. Quién es Yosef Kobinski y por que escondió Dios su nombre en su texto sagrado? Para encontrar las respuestas Aaron empieza una investigacion y descubre que Kobinski un rabino polaco no solo era un místico sino tambien un físico brillante que escribió "El libro de los tormentos" lo que quizá haya sido la obra perdida más importante de la historia de la humanidad. Ahora, un grupo de amigos siguen las huellas de Kobinski hasta un claro de los bosques cercanos a Auschwitz. Y en ese claro se enfrentan cara a cara con lo inexplicable.
Mis impresiones.
El libro está dividido en tres partes muy distintas entre sí. En la primera, titulada "La uno menos uno", estamos en el terreno del thriller de Ciencia Ficción. En ella nos presentan a los personajes, así como las dos líneas argumentales. Por un lado, las investigaciones Jill Talcott sobre mecánica de ondas y por otro los descubrimientos del rabino Aharon Handalman sobre Yosef Kobinski. Ambas líneas confluyen al final de esta primera parte de modo sorprendente.
La segunda, titulada "La escalera de Jacob", muy diferente de la primera, está a caballo entre la Ciencia Ficción y la fantasía. Me ha sorprendido la originalidad del planteamiento de la autora al mezclar con acierto ambos géneros.
La tercera, titulada "Síntesis", es justamente eso, la síntesis de las dos primeras. Combina de nuevo Thriller de Ciencia Ficción con dosis de acción y aventuras.
Es una novela que se subdivide en apartados cortos, dentro de cada capítulo, dedicados de forma rotatoria a los distintos personajes. El ritmo es ágil y se lee bien.
Los personajes principales están bien construidos. Representan arquetipos muy diferentes, cosa que se entiende a la hora de encarar la segunda parte del libro. Mis preferidos siguen siendo Jill, Nate, su becario y Hannah Handalman, la esposa del rabino.
El final es bueno y sobre todo coherente. Si en la primera versión en papel, me pareció un poco abrupto, en la que he leído, el epílogo soluciona este problema.
En conclusión. Una novela de Ciencia Ficción poco corriente, que fue superventas en EEUU y que me ha gustado mucho, aunque no sabría precisar bien el porqué. No es un libro clásico del género y creo, que ese mismo toque arriesgado de originalidad, que a mí me ha enganchado, se les puede atragantar a otros asiduos de la CF. Al final va a depender de cada uno.
May 2, 2023
La pericia del rabino Aharon Handalman con el codigo de la Tora al volver a disponer las santas palabras y las letras de la Biblia ha descubierto el nombre de un hombre.
¿Quién es Yosef Kobinski y por qué escondio Dios su nombre en su texto sagrado? Para encontrar las respuestas Aaron empieza una investigacion y descubre que Yosef Kobinski, un rabino polaco no solo era un mistico sino tambien era un fisico brillante que escribio "El libro de los tormentos".
Lo que quizá sea la obra perdida más importante de la historia de la humanidad. Ahora un grupo de amigos siguen las huellas de Kobinski hasta un claro de los bosques cercanos a Auschwitz.
Y en ese claro se enfrentan cara a cara con lo inexplicable. La novela ha vendido mas de un millon de copias solo en Estados Unidos.
"La ecuación de Dante", de Jane Jensen, es un buen y complejo thriller de ciencia ficción.
Mezcla rara y muy arriesgada. Pero sorpresa, lo logra. Muy instructivo e informativo. Está plagado de datos.
El primer tercio y el último tercio del libro son un thriller que involucra la teoría cuántica, la mecánica ondulatoria, el misticismo hebreo y el funcionamiento siniestro del Departamento de Defensa de los Estados Unidos.
El tercio medio es una combinación inusual de metafísica y elementos de ciencia ficción que, sorprendentemente, funciona bastante bien cuando se juntan.
Es una locura de libro que te engancha y te interesa seguir aún con la gran cantidad de información. Es ágil aún en su complejidad.
Los personajes están bien desarrollados y la trama no es tan rara como puede sugerir ya que logra que sea de lo más normal. La novela fluye bien y se lee bastante rápido. Algo que quizás fue lo que más me sorprendió.
Se marca un "Dan Brown". Pero acertado y de lo más entretenido.
Un buen thriller de ciencia ficción con ciertos matices místicos.
No se puede contar más. Historia cóctel de lo más original, lograda, compleja, correcta con una trama bien llevada y mejor escrita. Es de lo más ágil para lo que pueda aparentar y con muchos personajes en los que todos aportan algo.
Recomendable.. ✍️🎩
¿Quién es Yosef Kobinski y por qué escondio Dios su nombre en su texto sagrado? Para encontrar las respuestas Aaron empieza una investigacion y descubre que Yosef Kobinski, un rabino polaco no solo era un mistico sino tambien era un fisico brillante que escribio "El libro de los tormentos".
Lo que quizá sea la obra perdida más importante de la historia de la humanidad. Ahora un grupo de amigos siguen las huellas de Kobinski hasta un claro de los bosques cercanos a Auschwitz.
Y en ese claro se enfrentan cara a cara con lo inexplicable. La novela ha vendido mas de un millon de copias solo en Estados Unidos.
"La ecuación de Dante", de Jane Jensen, es un buen y complejo thriller de ciencia ficción.
Mezcla rara y muy arriesgada. Pero sorpresa, lo logra. Muy instructivo e informativo. Está plagado de datos.
El primer tercio y el último tercio del libro son un thriller que involucra la teoría cuántica, la mecánica ondulatoria, el misticismo hebreo y el funcionamiento siniestro del Departamento de Defensa de los Estados Unidos.
El tercio medio es una combinación inusual de metafísica y elementos de ciencia ficción que, sorprendentemente, funciona bastante bien cuando se juntan.
Es una locura de libro que te engancha y te interesa seguir aún con la gran cantidad de información. Es ágil aún en su complejidad.
Los personajes están bien desarrollados y la trama no es tan rara como puede sugerir ya que logra que sea de lo más normal. La novela fluye bien y se lee bastante rápido. Algo que quizás fue lo que más me sorprendió.
Se marca un "Dan Brown". Pero acertado y de lo más entretenido.
Un buen thriller de ciencia ficción con ciertos matices místicos.
No se puede contar más. Historia cóctel de lo más original, lograda, compleja, correcta con una trama bien llevada y mejor escrita. Es de lo más ágil para lo que pueda aparentar y con muchos personajes en los que todos aportan algo.
Recomendable.. ✍️🎩
August 24, 2023
4/5 Estrellas
Pues me lo he pasado muy bien. En plenas vacaciones he tenido que sacar tiempo de lectura de debajo de las piedras para poder avanzar, pero es que me ha tenido enganchadísimo. Si hasta me he puesto a leer a las 04:00 de la mañana, tras volver de la verbena....después de alguna cervecilla.....jeje. Pero creo que todo estaba bajo control y no debo haberme perdido nada importante, espero.
Bueno, en realidad la parte más interesante son los 2/3 finales del libro. El primer tercio con los códigos secretos de la Biblia, la Torah, la Cábala, temática que me desagrada bastante, se me ha hecho un poco cuesta arriba. Luego se ha empezado a enfocar, y las historias escondidas que viven nuestros protagonistas me han encantado.
Curiosa mezcla de misticismo judío, el holocausto, teorías físicas, juegos de espías convencionales y ciencia ficción, que increíblemente funciona y funciona muy bien. Hasta la tensión sexual entre Nate y su jefa Jill "la fría", está bien conseguida y da bastante juego al desarrollo de la historia.
Interesante la teoría ondulatoria de la materia y de la 5ª dimensión. Aleccionadora la teoría del bien y del mal. Muy buena la evolución de los personajes tras las increíbles peripecias que les toca vivir, muchas derivadas de sus propios actos y convicciones. Es decir, que de cómo es cada personajes , de su forma de ser, de su forma de comportarse en su vida y con los demás va a derivar su papel en la historia. Me ha sorprendido mucho esta evolución y las implicaciones religiosas, científicas y filosóficas que va dejando caer la autora.
Lo dicho, original e interesante thriller que te enganchará sin remedio..si logras superar la primera parte ya no podrás parar.
Pues me lo he pasado muy bien. En plenas vacaciones he tenido que sacar tiempo de lectura de debajo de las piedras para poder avanzar, pero es que me ha tenido enganchadísimo. Si hasta me he puesto a leer a las 04:00 de la mañana, tras volver de la verbena....después de alguna cervecilla.....jeje. Pero creo que todo estaba bajo control y no debo haberme perdido nada importante, espero.
Bueno, en realidad la parte más interesante son los 2/3 finales del libro. El primer tercio con los códigos secretos de la Biblia, la Torah, la Cábala, temática que me desagrada bastante, se me ha hecho un poco cuesta arriba. Luego se ha empezado a enfocar, y las historias escondidas que viven nuestros protagonistas me han encantado.
Curiosa mezcla de misticismo judío, el holocausto, teorías físicas, juegos de espías convencionales y ciencia ficción, que increíblemente funciona y funciona muy bien. Hasta la tensión sexual entre Nate y su jefa Jill "la fría", está bien conseguida y da bastante juego al desarrollo de la historia.
Interesante la teoría ondulatoria de la materia y de la 5ª dimensión. Aleccionadora la teoría del bien y del mal. Muy buena la evolución de los personajes tras las increíbles peripecias que les toca vivir, muchas derivadas de sus propios actos y convicciones. Es decir, que de cómo es cada personajes , de su forma de ser, de su forma de comportarse en su vida y con los demás va a derivar su papel en la historia. Me ha sorprendido mucho esta evolución y las implicaciones religiosas, científicas y filosóficas que va dejando caer la autora.
Lo dicho, original e interesante thriller que te enganchará sin remedio..si logras superar la primera parte ya no podrás parar.
June 7, 2023
Novela de aventuras, thriller y ciencia ficción, todo ello unido y bien construido, con buenos personajes y buena ambientación. He estado de lo más entretenida e intrigada. 👌
Gracias M. Carmen y Over, por la recomendación. 🤩
Resumiendo mucho, digamos que esta vertiginosa novela trata sobre el conocimiento de la quinta dimensión. Existen las tres dimensiones del espacio y después la dimensión tiempo. La quinta dimensión sería, supuestamente, cómo se interactua en el espacio-tiempo, algo que, a día de hoy no se sabe con certeza cómo se puede realizar.
Dividida la historia en tres partes, en la primera parte, con un ritmo de thriller, conocemos a diversos personajes que, sin tener relación con los demás, se ven involucrados todos en la misma investigación. Tenemos: a la doctora Jill Talcott, investigadora en física cuántica y su becario Nate, en USA; al rabino cabalista Aharon Handalman, en Jerusalén; a Denton Wyle, reportero de la revista Mundo Misterioso en USA; a Calder Farris, del Departamento de Defensa de USA; al Mosad en Tel Aviv y a Kobinski, desaparecido en el campo de concentración de Auschwitz, durante el holocausto. Todos ellos en la época actual, excepto Kobinski.
En la segunda parte, hay un cambio radical, después de todo lo ocurrido hasta el momento. Y nos encontramos en diversos universos paralelos, con varios de los personajes. Son mundos muy diferentes al nuestro. Esta parte es ciencia ficción. La intriga de cómo se va a revertir la historia hacia nuestro mundo nos hace querer seguir leyendo, porque según esta trama en esos mundos, no va a ser fácil escapar y volver atrás. Hay cuatro escenarios distintos en otros mundos y muy interesantes, bien construidos.
La tercera parte se desarrolla de nuevo en nuestro mundo. Nuestros protagonistas se encuentran con ciertos problemas, cuando vuelven a la realidad.
Finalmente, la trama se cierra muy bien, con una gran moraleja.
Me ha gustado mucho y la recomiendo a quienes les guste la aventura y la imaginación. 👍
Gracias M. Carmen y Over, por la recomendación. 🤩
Resumiendo mucho, digamos que esta vertiginosa novela trata sobre el conocimiento de la quinta dimensión. Existen las tres dimensiones del espacio y después la dimensión tiempo. La quinta dimensión sería, supuestamente, cómo se interactua en el espacio-tiempo, algo que, a día de hoy no se sabe con certeza cómo se puede realizar.
Dividida la historia en tres partes, en la primera parte, con un ritmo de thriller, conocemos a diversos personajes que, sin tener relación con los demás, se ven involucrados todos en la misma investigación. Tenemos: a la doctora Jill Talcott, investigadora en física cuántica y su becario Nate, en USA; al rabino cabalista Aharon Handalman, en Jerusalén; a Denton Wyle, reportero de la revista Mundo Misterioso en USA; a Calder Farris, del Departamento de Defensa de USA; al Mosad en Tel Aviv y a Kobinski, desaparecido en el campo de concentración de Auschwitz, durante el holocausto. Todos ellos en la época actual, excepto Kobinski.
En la segunda parte, hay un cambio radical, después de todo lo ocurrido hasta el momento. Y nos encontramos en diversos universos paralelos, con varios de los personajes. Son mundos muy diferentes al nuestro. Esta parte es ciencia ficción. La intriga de cómo se va a revertir la historia hacia nuestro mundo nos hace querer seguir leyendo, porque según esta trama en esos mundos, no va a ser fácil escapar y volver atrás. Hay cuatro escenarios distintos en otros mundos y muy interesantes, bien construidos.
La tercera parte se desarrolla de nuevo en nuestro mundo. Nuestros protagonistas se encuentran con ciertos problemas, cuando vuelven a la realidad.
Finalmente, la trama se cierra muy bien, con una gran moraleja.
Me ha gustado mucho y la recomiendo a quienes les guste la aventura y la imaginación. 👍
September 1, 2007
This is one of those rare books that when I'm finished, I say: "Wow! How did she come up with THAT??!!" I hesitate to label this book 'science-fiction' for fear that it may scare some readers off. I would hope not. Jensen only really uses the 'science fiction' to get where she's going, and where she's going is very unique in our world of 'seen-it-all' books and movies. To say Jensen has a vivid imagination would be a major understatement. And she has the writing skills to back it up.
The first half of this book combines science thriller, espionage thriller, and religious codes thriller into a messy web of human drama. But then the web implodes, sending the characters into bizarre and absolutely fantastic directions. This is almost two books in one. All the characters here are as different as you can imagine. They are complex and well defined, and I really cared about them all, even the not-so-good ones. The pacing is a bit slow at first, but Jensen is setting the stage and letting us get to know her people. Because although this is an excellent science-fiction-thriller, it's really about these people. And boy do they have things to learn.
I hardly ever read fiction books a second time, but this one will be an exception.
The first half of this book combines science thriller, espionage thriller, and religious codes thriller into a messy web of human drama. But then the web implodes, sending the characters into bizarre and absolutely fantastic directions. This is almost two books in one. All the characters here are as different as you can imagine. They are complex and well defined, and I really cared about them all, even the not-so-good ones. The pacing is a bit slow at first, but Jensen is setting the stage and letting us get to know her people. Because although this is an excellent science-fiction-thriller, it's really about these people. And boy do they have things to learn.
I hardly ever read fiction books a second time, but this one will be an exception.
May 10, 2025
As a longtime fan of Jane Jensen's brilliant game design (Gabriel Knight remains a landmark in narrative-driven gaming and is still one of my favorite point’n’click adventure games), I approached Dante’s Equation with high expectations. One has to when you read the blurb as it has to be one of the wildest ideas you’ll ever read about. Jensen’s talent for weaving mystery, science, mysticism, and rich dialogue is undeniable in the gaming world. Sadly, her transition from interactive storytelling to the linear structure of a novel doesn’t quite carry the same magic, which was visible from the novelization of Sins of the Fathers. However, I can forgive her that as it was a fun read, with all its flaws. I expected she’ll improve in the meantime and provide us a remarkable sci fi thriller, one for the ages.
Published in the same year as Dan Brown’s The da Vinci Code, Dante’s Equation starts with a fascinating premise: a theoretical link between good and evil as literal forces within the universe, rooted in Jewish mysticism and quantum physics. The concept is bold and imaginative, and Jensen’s ability to construct thought-provoking scenarios shines throughout the book. There are moments when you can feel the gears of a great story turning, especially in the banter and emotional beats, which reflect her signature strength in crafting compelling character interactions. Some wild ideas, images and worlds are being presented to us.
However, where Jensen excels in setting up an intriguing premise, she struggles with pacing, character development, and narrative cohesion. The plot juggles multiple storylines that don’t always mesh organically, and some characters feel underdeveloped or too archetypal. The novel occasionally gets bogged down in exposition or tangents that would work better in an exploratory game format than in a novel’s tighter structure. For the sake of me, I have no idea why she didn’t start the novel with a scene of Kobinski’s disappearance from Auschwitz, which is the obvious hook for a reader to continue turning pages. Instead, she decided to go ahead with a start so slow that makes snails world champions in 100 m running. To make things worse, just when she starts picking up the pace, Jensen decides to branch storylines one more time, only now in multiple universes. Not a bad idea per se, however, this was a poor execution.
In short, Dante’s Equation is a novel full of ambitious ideas and flashes of brilliance, but it never fully realizes its potential. Fans of Jensen’s games will recognize the voice and the creative spirit, but may find themselves wishing the story had been told in a more interactive medium, where her true genius flourishes. I can’t shake away the feeling that she was rushed by an editor (if there was any) and a publisher to publish this mess and ride the success of Da Vinci Code by false advertising.
Published in the same year as Dan Brown’s The da Vinci Code, Dante’s Equation starts with a fascinating premise: a theoretical link between good and evil as literal forces within the universe, rooted in Jewish mysticism and quantum physics. The concept is bold and imaginative, and Jensen’s ability to construct thought-provoking scenarios shines throughout the book. There are moments when you can feel the gears of a great story turning, especially in the banter and emotional beats, which reflect her signature strength in crafting compelling character interactions. Some wild ideas, images and worlds are being presented to us.
However, where Jensen excels in setting up an intriguing premise, she struggles with pacing, character development, and narrative cohesion. The plot juggles multiple storylines that don’t always mesh organically, and some characters feel underdeveloped or too archetypal. The novel occasionally gets bogged down in exposition or tangents that would work better in an exploratory game format than in a novel’s tighter structure. For the sake of me, I have no idea why she didn’t start the novel with a scene of Kobinski’s disappearance from Auschwitz, which is the obvious hook for a reader to continue turning pages. Instead, she decided to go ahead with a start so slow that makes snails world champions in 100 m running. To make things worse, just when she starts picking up the pace, Jensen decides to branch storylines one more time, only now in multiple universes. Not a bad idea per se, however, this was a poor execution.
In short, Dante’s Equation is a novel full of ambitious ideas and flashes of brilliance, but it never fully realizes its potential. Fans of Jensen’s games will recognize the voice and the creative spirit, but may find themselves wishing the story had been told in a more interactive medium, where her true genius flourishes. I can’t shake away the feeling that she was rushed by an editor (if there was any) and a publisher to publish this mess and ride the success of Da Vinci Code by false advertising.
April 25, 2008
Dante's Equation, by Jane Jensen, is a wonderful little sci-fi thriller. The first third and last third of the book are a Ludlum-esque thriller involving quantum theory, wave mechanics, Hebrew mysticism, and of course the sinister workings of the US Department of Defense. The middle third is an unusual combination of metaphysical self-examination and sci-fi elements that, surprisingly enough, works quite well when put all together.
The characters are well developed and the plot is not as hokey as my description above may suggest. The novel flows well and is a fairly quick read.
Don't let the title fool you, this is not a quick knock-off of the Davinci Code. This is a respectable sci-fi thriller with certain mystical overtones. This is also the first spy novel I have read that paints the Mossad as the evil bastards I've always believed them to be. (Of course I don't read many spy novels, so just ignore that comment if it is your preferred genre)
Recommended for: fans of Robert Ludlum, Neal Stephenson, Richard K. Morgan, Stephen Hawking, and rebellious torah scholars.
The characters are well developed and the plot is not as hokey as my description above may suggest. The novel flows well and is a fairly quick read.
Don't let the title fool you, this is not a quick knock-off of the Davinci Code. This is a respectable sci-fi thriller with certain mystical overtones. This is also the first spy novel I have read that paints the Mossad as the evil bastards I've always believed them to be. (Of course I don't read many spy novels, so just ignore that comment if it is your preferred genre)
Recommended for: fans of Robert Ludlum, Neal Stephenson, Richard K. Morgan, Stephen Hawking, and rebellious torah scholars.
October 12, 2018
un libro que merece estar entre los más entretenidos, con un ramo pequeño de personajes crea historias increíbles. Extrañaré a todos, mis amigos de estos días, Jill, Nate, Dentón y hasta a Farris. No hay villanos en esta historia, lo que hay son víctimas de sí mismas y con un diamante cierra cada historia, la excelsa Jane J.
October 25, 2014
5 Stars
What do you get when you cross Judaism, Christianity, Physics, Meglomania, Cult Worshipping, Work Worshipping, and more Physics??? If you throw in a great deal of good versus evil, Heaven and Hell, and yes more physics, you get a taste of what you will be getting yourself into when you read Dante' s Equation.
The first two thirds of this book are some of the most thought provoking and amazing look at good versus evil and how it fits into our Newtonian world... I was blown away. I mean, holy crap, Jane Jensen is really on to something special. If you want to read an intellectual look at the science behind good and evil, this is the book for you. I loved it.
The book does take a turn that although necessary for a piece of fiction, it does not seem like it was absolutely necessary. That being said, it does not detract from this original piece of fiction.
I loved this bold novel...
What do you get when you cross Judaism, Christianity, Physics, Meglomania, Cult Worshipping, Work Worshipping, and more Physics??? If you throw in a great deal of good versus evil, Heaven and Hell, and yes more physics, you get a taste of what you will be getting yourself into when you read Dante' s Equation.
The first two thirds of this book are some of the most thought provoking and amazing look at good versus evil and how it fits into our Newtonian world... I was blown away. I mean, holy crap, Jane Jensen is really on to something special. If you want to read an intellectual look at the science behind good and evil, this is the book for you. I loved it.
The book does take a turn that although necessary for a piece of fiction, it does not seem like it was absolutely necessary. That being said, it does not detract from this original piece of fiction.
I loved this bold novel...
February 12, 2008
When I started reading this book I was enthralled. Since I absolutely love fiction that involves hidden codes, sought-after manuscripts that hold keys from the past that affect the future, conspiracies, and especially all of that in a religious setting, I figured I had hit the mother lode. And the book kept up its fascination for me through the entire first part, but after that I was thinking...this is so disappointing! It was all I could do to remain focused because it seemed to me that the book lost steam at that point. I can't say why without giving away details that would spoil it for others, so I guess you're going to have to take my word for it. Overall, it was a pretty okay read; I think she could have been a lot more forceful in the middle & end parts of the book like she was at the beginning.
brief plot review.
There are five main characters in this story. Denton Wyle is a spoiled rich kid man who works for a tabloid-type magazine which investigates everything from the Bermuda Triangle to aliens. His main focus is mysterious disappearances, because much like Fox Mulder of X-Files fame, he was right there when his sister (I think) disappeared mysteriously. The next character is Dr. Jill Talcott from the University of Washington, who has been working on a project using wave technology and whose main goal in life is making something of herself to erase the negative effects of her childhood. Jill's graduate student assistant is Nate Andros, who is also a philosophy student and who is in love with Jill. Next is Rabbi Aharon Handelman, who teaches Torah at a school in Jerusalem. Handelman also studies Torah Code arrays in which he has found the name of a rabbi Yobinski who was an inmate at Auschwitz during the Holocaust. Not only has he found Yobinski's name (and he is a lesser Rabbi compared with many other famous rabbis) over 300 times, but he has found several words linked to Yobinski's in the array: weapon, weapon loosens demons, weapon looses angels, etc etc, along with the sequence of letters TLCTT. He doesn't quite understand the TLCTT sequence,though, until he passes by a television store where TVs are on and CNN is talking about a basement blowing up at the UW, the site of where Dr. Jill Talcott was doing some experimentation. The final character comprising the main core is Calder Ferris, who is nothing but a lean, mean, fighting machine. He has no use for sentimentality; he is on a mission with the Department of Defense and his mission is his life. As we meet Farris, his mission is to gather intelligence on scientific research for the DoD which might lead to the development of weapons technologies.
But truly, the main focus of Jensen's novel is the Rabbi Yosef Yobinski, physicist & well-known expert in Kabbalah. Yobinski, it seems, had persuaded other inmates to come with him one night to try to escape to a spot just a few hundred yards behind the camp. The attempt failed, all who went with him were captured, but Yobinski, according to one witness left behind, disappeared in a cloud of fire and was never seen again. It is the work of this man entitled The Book of Torment, left behind and in the hands of several different people, which ultimately will lead the five main characters to come together, each pursuing Yobinski's work either in Kabbalah or physics for his or her own personal motivations. Eventually all converge at the spot behind Auschwitz and discover that the forces behind Yobinski's disappearance are still at work.
Beyond this I won't say a thing, because it will totally wreck it for the reader. However, I will say that in getting the reader to this point, the author has done a great job in building character development, drawing a great mystery together & adding suspense. It is after this point (where they converge at Auschwitz), imho, that the suspense and the excitement just go limp.
Try it for yourself -- it was definitely fun to read & a great few hours of entertainment.
read: 08/30/2004
brief plot review.
There are five main characters in this story. Denton Wyle is a spoiled rich kid man who works for a tabloid-type magazine which investigates everything from the Bermuda Triangle to aliens. His main focus is mysterious disappearances, because much like Fox Mulder of X-Files fame, he was right there when his sister (I think) disappeared mysteriously. The next character is Dr. Jill Talcott from the University of Washington, who has been working on a project using wave technology and whose main goal in life is making something of herself to erase the negative effects of her childhood. Jill's graduate student assistant is Nate Andros, who is also a philosophy student and who is in love with Jill. Next is Rabbi Aharon Handelman, who teaches Torah at a school in Jerusalem. Handelman also studies Torah Code arrays in which he has found the name of a rabbi Yobinski who was an inmate at Auschwitz during the Holocaust. Not only has he found Yobinski's name (and he is a lesser Rabbi compared with many other famous rabbis) over 300 times, but he has found several words linked to Yobinski's in the array: weapon, weapon loosens demons, weapon looses angels, etc etc, along with the sequence of letters TLCTT. He doesn't quite understand the TLCTT sequence,though, until he passes by a television store where TVs are on and CNN is talking about a basement blowing up at the UW, the site of where Dr. Jill Talcott was doing some experimentation. The final character comprising the main core is Calder Ferris, who is nothing but a lean, mean, fighting machine. He has no use for sentimentality; he is on a mission with the Department of Defense and his mission is his life. As we meet Farris, his mission is to gather intelligence on scientific research for the DoD which might lead to the development of weapons technologies.
But truly, the main focus of Jensen's novel is the Rabbi Yosef Yobinski, physicist & well-known expert in Kabbalah. Yobinski, it seems, had persuaded other inmates to come with him one night to try to escape to a spot just a few hundred yards behind the camp. The attempt failed, all who went with him were captured, but Yobinski, according to one witness left behind, disappeared in a cloud of fire and was never seen again. It is the work of this man entitled The Book of Torment, left behind and in the hands of several different people, which ultimately will lead the five main characters to come together, each pursuing Yobinski's work either in Kabbalah or physics for his or her own personal motivations. Eventually all converge at the spot behind Auschwitz and discover that the forces behind Yobinski's disappearance are still at work.
Beyond this I won't say a thing, because it will totally wreck it for the reader. However, I will say that in getting the reader to this point, the author has done a great job in building character development, drawing a great mystery together & adding suspense. It is after this point (where they converge at Auschwitz), imho, that the suspense and the excitement just go limp.
Try it for yourself -- it was definitely fun to read & a great few hours of entertainment.
read: 08/30/2004
July 21, 2013
Un libro que me tomo demasiado tiempo y esfuerzo terminar. Tarde meses, y tuve que re-leer muchos capítulos así como tener mi diccionario a mi lado así como hacer un par de investigaciones sobre teología y física.
La premisa del libro, en si no es mala pero el ritmo es pesado, lento y la narrativa complicada hacen que se vuelva una lectura tediosa. En general esta bien escrito pero abundan los conceptos de física y de la religión judía, la historia avanza tan lentamente que se llega a un punto en el que no entendí nada y la pregunta "¿Qué carajos estamos leyendo?" apareció en mi mente un par de veces.
Más de la mitad del libro esta de sobra, la autora bien pudo compactar la historia en 200 y 300 páginas con las pares finales, solo entonces se hubiera convertido en un libro maravilloso.
No lo volvería a leer pero, para los entendidos en el tema es buen libro de ficción muy al estilo de Dan Brown.
La premisa del libro, en si no es mala pero el ritmo es pesado, lento y la narrativa complicada hacen que se vuelva una lectura tediosa. En general esta bien escrito pero abundan los conceptos de física y de la religión judía, la historia avanza tan lentamente que se llega a un punto en el que no entendí nada y la pregunta "¿Qué carajos estamos leyendo?" apareció en mi mente un par de veces.
Más de la mitad del libro esta de sobra, la autora bien pudo compactar la historia en 200 y 300 páginas con las pares finales, solo entonces se hubiera convertido en un libro maravilloso.
No lo volvería a leer pero, para los entendidos en el tema es buen libro de ficción muy al estilo de Dan Brown.
April 17, 2009
The one in which the meaning of life turns out to be essentially a Myers-Briggs assessment. The first half is a clever thriller based on crackpot wave research and letter patterns in the Torah, in which Our Heroes (and Villains) are introduced; the second half, once the reader gets past the initial WTF-didn't-see-that-coming, is science fiction with a Moral in which each Hero and Villain gets what he or she deserves, and the denouement ties it all up neatly with a karmic bow. Well-written and reasonably entertaining, and hey, not so many novels with orthodox Jews as characters, nu?
December 30, 2014
If I could give this book 3.5 stars, I would. It wasn't great, but it's much better than good.
Some of the philosophy was very good and appealing.
The story, however, was slow at the beginning and was beginning to feel like a lackluster Da Vinci Code. The second half of the book was much more compelling. What if you went to another world and another universe that was the place that you deserved? Would you grow? Or would you just accept it?
Some of the philosophy was very good and appealing.
The story, however, was slow at the beginning and was beginning to feel like a lackluster Da Vinci Code. The second half of the book was much more compelling. What if you went to another world and another universe that was the place that you deserved? Would you grow? Or would you just accept it?
May 1, 2018
It was interesting. Not real fast paced, lots of physics and Kabbalah.
January 18, 2016
*Sighs*
Este libro... WOW es un wow definitivamente.
Cuando comencé a leerlo, debo admitir, tuve que investigar, tuve muchos conceptos que por más que los personajes explicaran, me costaba un poco entender realmente lo que significaban, cosas como un estanque de energía (que aún no entiendo completamente, razón por la cual leería el libro de nuevo), o la tecnología de ondas, que a pesar de que Nate es el que mejor las explica, siguen existiendo puntos en ella que no entiendo (y ni siquiera sé que es lo que no entiendo).
Ahora... Felicidades a Jane Jensen, se destacó muchísimo con este libro, definitivamente pude encontrar en este libro una obra brillante, entretenida, y aún mejor, interesante, ella hizo que TODO pareciera sencillo y complicado a la vez, entrelazó la historia de los 4 personajes MUY bien, y tuvo unas muy buenas bases en cuanto a los pilares de la historia: el cábala, los sephiroth, el judaísmo, el holocausto, la ciencia, la religión; todo, ABSOLUTAMENTE TODO estuvo muy bien equilibrado, incluso le introdujo un poco de romance a la historia -cosa que, sinceramente no esperaba- y lo introdujo muy bien, ya que fue importante para el desarrollo de unos personajes.
Los personajes :D
Mi favorito: Nate Andros, el becario de Jill Talcott. Es un personaje totalmente emocional durante toda la historia y es perfecto en todos los sentidos, te amo Nate, sigue así XD
El más odiado: Yosef Kobinski, cuando se presenta al personaje como es actualmente, lo considero un desgraciado, y si no fuese por su cerebro y sus ganas de venganza, ya hubiese muerto allí hace mucho, en conclusión: Desgraciado 70%. Maldito suertudo 30%
-Aharon Handalman, muy calculador, precavido, pero sobretodo un Judío EXCESIVAMENTE ORTODOXO, habían momentos en los que estaba con la esposa y yo estaba tipo: ¡¡¡desgraciado, dejala que te ayude, ella no tiene retrasos ni nada como para no sabs jugar a la sopa de letras contigo!!! Es un personaje que me frustró bastante a lo largo de la historia por culpa de su ''mente obtusa'' y su antiquismo excesivo, sobretodo su creencia de que todo saldrá bien e,e odié eso, exceso de optimismo.
-Denton Wyle, egoista de mierda, interesado, superficial, falso, hipócrita y demás, no sé de que se queja por su madre si él es igual, fácilmente como él dijo, entregaría el alma de su hijo al diablo solo para salvar su pellejo; no lo odio, solo no soportaba leer cada uno de sus comentarios sobre las mujeres como objeto sexual y mucho menos elogiandose así mismo como si fuese la gran cosa.
-Calder Farris, un equis en la historia que al principio solo me cayó bien, por que es un homófobo, y lo shippeaba con cada hombre que hablaba :l Posteriormente en los sucesos de La Escalera de Jacob, comencé a tomarle cariño, Pol 137, un personaje confundido que muestra retazos de su vida pasada, se encontraba ofuscado por el hecho de no saber quien era, y sinceramente Calder, fue un personaje que tuvo un cambio emocional y personal MUY grande, no el mayor de la historia, pero si fue un cambio muy importante.
-Jill Talcott, ay Jill, definitivamente el personaje que más creció espiritualmente entre todos, ella pasó de ser Jill la Fría a Jill la Corazón de Melón, la amé en todos sus aspectos, excepto cuando se ponía tan obtusa como Aharon, con Nate, ella también es un poco egoísta, pero Nate es como su base en la tierra para darse cuenta de todo lo malo que hace. ♥♥ XoXo para ti cariño.
Resúmen rápido (y con esto me refiero a nada rápido) de que trata el libro:
Si no piensas leerlo, continua leyendo; si piensas leerlo, vete ya xD
Este libro... WOW es un wow definitivamente.
Cuando comencé a leerlo, debo admitir, tuve que investigar, tuve muchos conceptos que por más que los personajes explicaran, me costaba un poco entender realmente lo que significaban, cosas como un estanque de energía (que aún no entiendo completamente, razón por la cual leería el libro de nuevo), o la tecnología de ondas, que a pesar de que Nate es el que mejor las explica, siguen existiendo puntos en ella que no entiendo (y ni siquiera sé que es lo que no entiendo).
Ahora... Felicidades a Jane Jensen, se destacó muchísimo con este libro, definitivamente pude encontrar en este libro una obra brillante, entretenida, y aún mejor, interesante, ella hizo que TODO pareciera sencillo y complicado a la vez, entrelazó la historia de los 4 personajes MUY bien, y tuvo unas muy buenas bases en cuanto a los pilares de la historia: el cábala, los sephiroth, el judaísmo, el holocausto, la ciencia, la religión; todo, ABSOLUTAMENTE TODO estuvo muy bien equilibrado, incluso le introdujo un poco de romance a la historia -cosa que, sinceramente no esperaba- y lo introdujo muy bien, ya que fue importante para el desarrollo de unos personajes.
Los personajes :D
Mi favorito: Nate Andros, el becario de Jill Talcott. Es un personaje totalmente emocional durante toda la historia y es perfecto en todos los sentidos, te amo Nate, sigue así XD
El más odiado: Yosef Kobinski, cuando se presenta al personaje como es actualmente, lo considero un desgraciado, y si no fuese por su cerebro y sus ganas de venganza, ya hubiese muerto allí hace mucho, en conclusión: Desgraciado 70%. Maldito suertudo 30%
-Aharon Handalman, muy calculador, precavido, pero sobretodo un Judío EXCESIVAMENTE ORTODOXO, habían momentos en los que estaba con la esposa y yo estaba tipo: ¡¡¡desgraciado, dejala que te ayude, ella no tiene retrasos ni nada como para no sabs jugar a la sopa de letras contigo!!! Es un personaje que me frustró bastante a lo largo de la historia por culpa de su ''mente obtusa'' y su antiquismo excesivo, sobretodo su creencia de que todo saldrá bien e,e odié eso, exceso de optimismo.
-Denton Wyle, egoista de mierda, interesado, superficial, falso, hipócrita y demás, no sé de que se queja por su madre si él es igual, fácilmente como él dijo, entregaría el alma de su hijo al diablo solo para salvar su pellejo; no lo odio, solo no soportaba leer cada uno de sus comentarios sobre las mujeres como objeto sexual y mucho menos elogiandose así mismo como si fuese la gran cosa.
-Calder Farris, un equis en la historia que al principio solo me cayó bien, por que es un homófobo, y lo shippeaba con cada hombre que hablaba :l Posteriormente en los sucesos de La Escalera de Jacob, comencé a tomarle cariño, Pol 137, un personaje confundido que muestra retazos de su vida pasada, se encontraba ofuscado por el hecho de no saber quien era, y sinceramente Calder, fue un personaje que tuvo un cambio emocional y personal MUY grande, no el mayor de la historia, pero si fue un cambio muy importante.
-Jill Talcott, ay Jill, definitivamente el personaje que más creció espiritualmente entre todos, ella pasó de ser Jill la Fría a Jill la Corazón de Melón, la amé en todos sus aspectos, excepto cuando se ponía tan obtusa como Aharon, con Nate, ella también es un poco egoísta, pero Nate es como su base en la tierra para darse cuenta de todo lo malo que hace. ♥♥ XoXo para ti cariño.
Resúmen rápido (y con esto me refiero a nada rápido) de que trata el libro:
Si no piensas leerlo, continua leyendo; si piensas leerlo, vete ya xD
May 15, 2022
This is a massive book written in the style of the time. A time that has since passed. Still a great story with intriguing ideas, but far too wordy.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
January 25, 2016
Al principio dude en leer este libro por el volumen de páginas, pero la verdad es que no fue muy pesado leerlo, en algunas partes la historia si se volvía un poco lenta, pero en general se mantenía interesante, además la forma en la que esta narrada la hizo mucho más dinámica, me gustó la forma en la se desarrollaron los personajes, algunos me agradaron más que otros en ciertas partes de la historia, pero creo que eso fue una de las razones porque la historia se mantenía interesante.
Había veces en la que no podía imaginar de que manera iban a suceder las cosas, y al llegar a un punto clave en la historia las cosas de pronto cambiaban, me mantuve en suspenso en algunas partes por lo que sucedía y ya quería saber lo que iba a pasar, el final se me hizo un poco apresurado pero en general fue bueno.
Había veces en la que no podía imaginar de que manera iban a suceder las cosas, y al llegar a un punto clave en la historia las cosas de pronto cambiaban, me mantuve en suspenso en algunas partes por lo que sucedía y ya quería saber lo que iba a pasar, el final se me hizo un poco apresurado pero en general fue bueno.
November 2, 2022
The first half of the book was outstanding, really drew me in, but then the story split into 4 distinct lines and, while they were interesting, I felt myself slipping away.
Finding myself with some time to read on my hands, I persevered where I might have otherwise abandoned the read.
Not sorry that I did, the story meshed back nicely, and I consider it a good read, but not without some difficult slogging at times.
Finding myself with some time to read on my hands, I persevered where I might have otherwise abandoned the read.
Not sorry that I did, the story meshed back nicely, and I consider it a good read, but not without some difficult slogging at times.
May 29, 2021
Tiene personajes sinceros y realistas pero la acción es poco creíble. Civiles capaces de eludir al departamento de defensa, el mossad y el FBI sin ningún tipo de entrenamiento, cruzar el planeta en avión con pasaportes falsos que consiguen sin mayor dificultad...
Me gusta el fondo filosófico y científico aunque lo he encontrado demasiado complejo.
Me gusta el fondo filosófico y científico aunque lo he encontrado demasiado complejo.
June 17, 2021
According to Amazon, I bought this book about a month after it was published. I found it on a shelf in my den almost 18 years later and decided to read it. It is very much in the style of this novel that the book asserted itself just when I was ready -- no, needed -- to read it. Even so, I almost DNF it about half-way through because I was finding its 5 POV presentation very distracting. Until, I realized the clue hidden right there in the chapter titles! So, I persevered and can say that it was worth the ride all the way through.
That being said, Ms Jensen is just not that good a novelist. I had the distinct impression that this was the transcript of one of her video games that had three levels. The first was very much in the Dan Brown school of thriller setup. Then, came the middle section in which each of the five main characters have their own karmic adventure. Finally, the wrap section where these once not so nice, but now enlightened people set off to save the world despite itself.
What kept me reading was Jensen's amazing idea of skating on the interface between quantum mechanics and Kabbalistic mysticism. You'll have to read it to understand.
That being said, Ms Jensen is just not that good a novelist. I had the distinct impression that this was the transcript of one of her video games that had three levels. The first was very much in the Dan Brown school of thriller setup. Then, came the middle section in which each of the five main characters have their own karmic adventure. Finally, the wrap section where these once not so nice, but now enlightened people set off to save the world despite itself.
What kept me reading was Jensen's amazing idea of skating on the interface between quantum mechanics and Kabbalistic mysticism. You'll have to read it to understand.
September 6, 2013
This review also appears on my blog www.silashruparell.com
My one liner: Some of the passages can be a little jarring. But you need to ignore that, as the author has attempted a remarkable feat here, in attempting to unify the karmic mysticism of Kabbalah with the undiscovered potential of quantum mechanics. With some substantial success.
The author Jane Jensen is a computer scientist and computer games author, so I was optimistic that she would make a good stab at exploring, in fictional form, the possibility that future research in quantum physics will draw us to understand the past, present and future of human destiny. And then I read the awful opening paragraph of the book.
“Denton Wyle was seriously re-examining his choices...his back pressed hard against the cabin of the rescue ship as sea spray slapped him on the cheeks like an outraged Englishman...” Eh ? Come again. But please, persevere with this, it really is worth it.
“One of the keys to deep wisdom is that there are only a few patterns in all of creation, and they are repeated over and over. The planets revolve around the sun just as the electrons in an atom revolve around the nucleus. The whorls of a seashell mirror those of galaxies. ‘As above, so below.’ The Micro is a mirror image of the Macro....The physical world is made up of dualities: male / female, hot / cold, day / night, birth / death. There is no ‘itness’, no ‘beingness’, which does not have an opposite. Science has proven this true at every level of life: there is no particle without a corresponding antiparticle, no force without a counterbalance” From the Book of Torment by Josef Kobinski, Auschwitz 1943.
This duality forms the central thesis of the novel. The heroine and hero are University of Washington Professor Jill Talcott, a young, driven quantum physics researcher of dysfunctional family provenance, and her loyal assistant Nate Andros (yes, an amorous interest does develop, sort of). Talcott is secretively researching wave mechanics and energy pools (which the conventional scientific community finds laughable). The Department of Defense (a non-public branch of the US military-government complex) is on to her. In the form of the equally dysfunctional Lt Calder Farris, who has almost super-human physical strength, and will stop at nothing to get hold of her research.
Talcott has convinced her covetous and jealous departmental heads to let her test her wave equation on the department’s supercomputer. After the obligatory Eureka moment she and Nate discover the “One-Minus-One” wave theory which predicts the behaviour of all sub-atomic particles based on the interaction of wave-particles in higher dimensions. Their insight is that space-time itself also has a particular type of wave pattern. It is rectangular rather than sine-wave (hence crests are “plus ones” and troughs are “minus ones”). If radio waves are blasted out from an emitter in a form which exacerbates this wave pattern, in a way that makes both the crests and troughs more pronounced, then they can alter the nature of matter itself. Their initial experiments are conducted in a basement lab on rats, fruits, cultures, and since they are both present in the lab, then by definition, themselves. The results do indeed show behavioural changes in the subjects. As the power of the emissions are increased on the plus side the subjects respond positively, becoming healthier and showing greater reproductive tendencies. But increasing on the minus side has the opposite “evil effect”. What if events, which are essentially groups of waves, also can also be similarly grouped into “good” and “evil”, and be manipulated accordingly ? The scientists start to grasp the fearsome possibilities that their research could unleash if it got into the wrong hands.
Aharon Handalman is an orthodox Rabbi in Jerusalem. He has become obsessed with the life of Josef Kobinski, having found encrypted references to Kobinksi and to dangerous weapons in the ancient Torah Code. Kobinski was a Kabbalist Rabbi sent to Auschwitz with his young son during the war. Acknowledged as a brilliant scientist, Kobinski had set out his scientific theories in a manuscript during the period of his incarceration. “Kobinski believed that the highest spiritual path was to balance your sephirot [Tree of Life], to come into perfect alignment right down the center of the tree. It is like a stick…which is all crooked. It cannot go through a narrow hole. In the case of the soul, there is also a narrow opening, at the navel, and the soul must be perfectly straight and smooth…to pass through…to escape the lower five dimensions…of good and evil.” Handalman must make the journey to Poland to discover what actually happened to Kobinski in Auschwitz sixty years ago. He now regrets having tipped off his friend at Mossad about his research.
Denton Wyle is a small-time Californian journalist, living off his trust fund money. A wayward, lucky, shallow womanizer. He has drifted into writing articles on mysticism, strange occurrences, and particularly, strange disappearances. But now he thinks he has hit upon something big. A Kabbalist Rabbi called Kobinski who seemed to have mysteriously disappeared from Auschwitz. If he could just get his hands on Kobinski’s manuscript, whether by fair means or foul, he could really make a name for himself.
Farris, Talcott and Andros, Handalman, Wyle. All are motivated by a different reason to understand the consequences of Dante’s Equation, and they all know that Kobinski’s papers hold the key. And this is where the book really excels. It takes us into four parallel mini-stories, where each of the characters gets to experience those consequences first hand, to experience a world outside of his or her current existence, where the fundamental 50/50 equilibrium between good and evil of our earthly existence no longer holds.
The author has attempted a grand project here. She deserves congratulations for this effort.
My one liner: Some of the passages can be a little jarring. But you need to ignore that, as the author has attempted a remarkable feat here, in attempting to unify the karmic mysticism of Kabbalah with the undiscovered potential of quantum mechanics. With some substantial success.
The author Jane Jensen is a computer scientist and computer games author, so I was optimistic that she would make a good stab at exploring, in fictional form, the possibility that future research in quantum physics will draw us to understand the past, present and future of human destiny. And then I read the awful opening paragraph of the book.
“Denton Wyle was seriously re-examining his choices...his back pressed hard against the cabin of the rescue ship as sea spray slapped him on the cheeks like an outraged Englishman...” Eh ? Come again. But please, persevere with this, it really is worth it.
“One of the keys to deep wisdom is that there are only a few patterns in all of creation, and they are repeated over and over. The planets revolve around the sun just as the electrons in an atom revolve around the nucleus. The whorls of a seashell mirror those of galaxies. ‘As above, so below.’ The Micro is a mirror image of the Macro....The physical world is made up of dualities: male / female, hot / cold, day / night, birth / death. There is no ‘itness’, no ‘beingness’, which does not have an opposite. Science has proven this true at every level of life: there is no particle without a corresponding antiparticle, no force without a counterbalance” From the Book of Torment by Josef Kobinski, Auschwitz 1943.
This duality forms the central thesis of the novel. The heroine and hero are University of Washington Professor Jill Talcott, a young, driven quantum physics researcher of dysfunctional family provenance, and her loyal assistant Nate Andros (yes, an amorous interest does develop, sort of). Talcott is secretively researching wave mechanics and energy pools (which the conventional scientific community finds laughable). The Department of Defense (a non-public branch of the US military-government complex) is on to her. In the form of the equally dysfunctional Lt Calder Farris, who has almost super-human physical strength, and will stop at nothing to get hold of her research.
Talcott has convinced her covetous and jealous departmental heads to let her test her wave equation on the department’s supercomputer. After the obligatory Eureka moment she and Nate discover the “One-Minus-One” wave theory which predicts the behaviour of all sub-atomic particles based on the interaction of wave-particles in higher dimensions. Their insight is that space-time itself also has a particular type of wave pattern. It is rectangular rather than sine-wave (hence crests are “plus ones” and troughs are “minus ones”). If radio waves are blasted out from an emitter in a form which exacerbates this wave pattern, in a way that makes both the crests and troughs more pronounced, then they can alter the nature of matter itself. Their initial experiments are conducted in a basement lab on rats, fruits, cultures, and since they are both present in the lab, then by definition, themselves. The results do indeed show behavioural changes in the subjects. As the power of the emissions are increased on the plus side the subjects respond positively, becoming healthier and showing greater reproductive tendencies. But increasing on the minus side has the opposite “evil effect”. What if events, which are essentially groups of waves, also can also be similarly grouped into “good” and “evil”, and be manipulated accordingly ? The scientists start to grasp the fearsome possibilities that their research could unleash if it got into the wrong hands.
Aharon Handalman is an orthodox Rabbi in Jerusalem. He has become obsessed with the life of Josef Kobinski, having found encrypted references to Kobinksi and to dangerous weapons in the ancient Torah Code. Kobinski was a Kabbalist Rabbi sent to Auschwitz with his young son during the war. Acknowledged as a brilliant scientist, Kobinski had set out his scientific theories in a manuscript during the period of his incarceration. “Kobinski believed that the highest spiritual path was to balance your sephirot [Tree of Life], to come into perfect alignment right down the center of the tree. It is like a stick…which is all crooked. It cannot go through a narrow hole. In the case of the soul, there is also a narrow opening, at the navel, and the soul must be perfectly straight and smooth…to pass through…to escape the lower five dimensions…of good and evil.” Handalman must make the journey to Poland to discover what actually happened to Kobinski in Auschwitz sixty years ago. He now regrets having tipped off his friend at Mossad about his research.
Denton Wyle is a small-time Californian journalist, living off his trust fund money. A wayward, lucky, shallow womanizer. He has drifted into writing articles on mysticism, strange occurrences, and particularly, strange disappearances. But now he thinks he has hit upon something big. A Kabbalist Rabbi called Kobinski who seemed to have mysteriously disappeared from Auschwitz. If he could just get his hands on Kobinski’s manuscript, whether by fair means or foul, he could really make a name for himself.
Farris, Talcott and Andros, Handalman, Wyle. All are motivated by a different reason to understand the consequences of Dante’s Equation, and they all know that Kobinski’s papers hold the key. And this is where the book really excels. It takes us into four parallel mini-stories, where each of the characters gets to experience those consequences first hand, to experience a world outside of his or her current existence, where the fundamental 50/50 equilibrium between good and evil of our earthly existence no longer holds.
The author has attempted a grand project here. She deserves congratulations for this effort.
June 25, 2020
Lo empece a leer con ganas, pero a medida que iba leyendo me iba decepcionando mas y mas. Lo compre por dos motivos: El primero es que ponía que era una mezcla de varios autores que me gustan y he aprendido que cuando hacen eso, el libro no puede ser bueno. Por otro lado se titula La ecuación de Dante, pensé que habría alguna referencia al infierno de dante, pero no fue así, Podría haberse llamado la Ecuación de Kobinski que no hubiera cambiado nada
Un supuesto thriller donde la parte científica no tiene ninguna lógica y no hay ninguna prueba de los experimentos, solo teorías, unas teorías que tampoco tienen lógica alguna y nada que ver con lo que están experimentando. y aun siguen con la teoría. una segunda parte llena de fantasía que nada tiene que ver con el inicio
Esta lleno de personajes Homofobos, machistas, racistas, misoginos... con frases sexuales fuera de lugar y de mal gusto, y para colmo hay frases totalmente soeces.
Un libro muy pesado de leer que no recomiendo a nadie.
Un supuesto thriller donde la parte científica no tiene ninguna lógica y no hay ninguna prueba de los experimentos, solo teorías, unas teorías que tampoco tienen lógica alguna y nada que ver con lo que están experimentando. y aun siguen con la teoría. una segunda parte llena de fantasía que nada tiene que ver con el inicio
Esta lleno de personajes Homofobos, machistas, racistas, misoginos... con frases sexuales fuera de lugar y de mal gusto, y para colmo hay frases totalmente soeces.
Un libro muy pesado de leer que no recomiendo a nadie.
August 4, 2022
This wasn't an easy read because it dealt with hard science. The mystery revolved around both a lost manuscript and a modern discovery in the realm of physics. Rabbi Yosef Kobinski is a genius physicist and a Kabbalist. He vanishes from a concentration camp during WW II (emphasis on "vanished"). Years later, another brilliant physicist's work uncovers the same principles and applies them in her lab. She learns about the Rabbi's work and the discovery of some of the pages of his manuscript. But others do as well. There is philosophy, Kabbalist mystery, and travel in some alternate realities. Oh, and government agents want what she has discovered and are in hot pursuit.
Some interesting premises, heavy on Kabbalistic mysteries, time travel and physical displacement, and views of the divine.
Some interesting premises, heavy on Kabbalistic mysteries, time travel and physical displacement, and views of the divine.
May 6, 2020
This well-plotted, fast-moving novel, full of well-developed characters, unfortunately is marred by a “MacGuffin” that is sheer absurdity. The center about which the plot revolves is The Book of Torment, a long-lost manuscript by a Jewish physicist who vanished in Auschwitz. The book postulates that good and evil are conditions embedded in the very structure of the physical universe; supposedly after his son’s death the quantum physicist used his theory of wave mechanics to transport himself, and the Nazi that tortured and murdered his child, to an alternate universe. Fast-forward to the present: an orthodox rabbi in Jerusalem pursuing coded messages in the Torah, a quantum physicist and her post-doc in Tennessee working on wave mechanics, a tabloid reporter in Florida after a sensational story, and a Marine intelligence officer seeking promising technologies to develop into new weaponry, find their paths converge in Poland, where, hoping to meet an Auschwitz survivor who knew the long-vanished physicist Kobinski, they all are transported to alternate realities. The rabbi arrives in a cruel, credulous world where Kobinski, now a government advisor, is methodically torturing the Nazi who killed his son. The Marine lands in an oppressive world at war. The tabloid reporter arrives in a wild Eden with apparently naively innocent inhabitants. The physicist and her be-smitten assistant end up in a seemingly empty city where they try to decipher alien technology in order to return to Earth. The characters are well-rounded and credible, while the fast-moving narrative keeps the reader involved with them all on the different worlds where they are trapped. Unfortunately, once the alternate worlds are reached, the underlying pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo begins to annoy. I lost my “willing suspension of disbelief”—but kept on reading for the compelling narrative.
March 13, 2018
Hace tiempo quería leer algo de Jane Jense, autora del increible juego de aventura gráfica "Gabriel Knight". La ecuación... juega con teorias del bien, el mal.. la física y la religión. Nos metemos en la piel de un grupo coral de protagonistas q individualmente se topan con la historia de el Rabino Cabalísta "Yosef Kobinski" (desaparecido en Auschwitz) q esconde un misterio que moviliza el conflicto de esta historia. Arranca como un libro de aventura para girar a uno fantástico. Buena elaboración de personajes y buen ingenio imaginario. A mi gusto, podría ser más corto y contundente, pero es algo personal, está bien, es lo q la autora quiso contar.
January 11, 2024
Me ha parecido un libro muy entretenido ya que ha mantenido la intriga prácticamente hasta el final. Mezcla la ciencia con la religión y la aventura. Es una novela coral en la que 5 personajes ven unidas sus vidas en un intento de desentrañar un misterio científico. Estos personajes son un rabino que estudia la cábala, una científica especialista en teoría de ondas y su ayudante, un agente del departamento de defensa de los EE.UU y un periodista que investiga desapariciones. La obra tiene 3 partes diferenciadas y creo que la final es un poco más floja. No voy a describirlas porque si lo hago, desvelo la trama del libro. El ritmo de la narración es ágil y la lectura resulta fácil.
May 17, 2022
Jill Talcott is a physicist studying wave mechanics when she discovers the one-minus-one, the universal wave, the law of good and evil. This gets tied up with the work of Yosef Kobinski, a Kabbalist who vanished from Auschwitz. Talcott, her grad student Nate Anchos, "journalist" Denton Wyle, and Rabbi Aharon Handelman get drawn together by Kobinski and discover his secret--gates to other worlds, not all 50/50 like Earth. Each needs to learn something on the world they are drawn to--like to like. Even Calder Farris, the DoD agent chasing them. All return changed for the better and determined to bury the one-minus-one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2018
I was introduced to Jane Jensen's book by a friend who understood my fascination with quantum mechanics and multiple universes. I found Jill Talcott and Nate Andros particularly interesting while they conducted their experiments confirming some of my theories on the vibration of strings. As with any intrusion into the natural laws of the universe, destruction and chaos ensues.
I recommend Jane Jensen's book to anyone who is interested in what lies behind the theory of good and evil.
I recommend Jane Jensen's book to anyone who is interested in what lies behind the theory of good and evil.
January 12, 2021
Loved this book.
It is a very unusual thriller based on the concept of co-existence of paralel Multiverses each on a different scale of good/bad (ie each governed by a different probability that an occurence may be good or bad). If this sounds a bit mystifying and complex... well it because it is, and there's a sprinkle of mysticism too. But the story is so engaging and well-written that you'll be willing to navigate the intricacies of space and time.
It is a very unusual thriller based on the concept of co-existence of paralel Multiverses each on a different scale of good/bad (ie each governed by a different probability that an occurence may be good or bad). If this sounds a bit mystifying and complex... well it because it is, and there's a sprinkle of mysticism too. But the story is so engaging and well-written that you'll be willing to navigate the intricacies of space and time.
July 28, 2025
I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately being branded as something that Da Vinci’s Code readers would enjoy was not the best idea. This book has TOO MANY CHARACTERS AND ITS DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW. The author jumps way too much between characters and not all of them are as interesting at all.
In Da Vinci’s Code, you are shocked and interested in the plot on the first 10 pages. In this one I was on page 150 and only 10 of them were interested.
In Da Vinci’s Code, you are shocked and interested in the plot on the first 10 pages. In this one I was on page 150 and only 10 of them were interested.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews