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The Jerico Deception (2000)

by Jeffrey Small(Favorite Author)

3.79 of 5 Votes: 2

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review 1: After loving The Breath of God by Jeffrey Small, I had high expectations for The Jericho Deception. Somehow, though, it did not engage me as much as I had hoped. The premise that the God experience could be evoked through a machine that sends electrical impulses to the brain and that the CIA could appropriate the technology for its own sinister means was intriguing, but the two main characters, Ethan and Rachel, weren't sufficiently developed enough for me to care deeply about them. Anyway, it seemed obvious early on that they were going to get in and out of the soup (the secret CIA project) and end up in a romantic relationship so, as a thriller, it didn't seem all that suspenseful, though the plot points to getting there were interesting enough to keep me reading. There ... morewere some very strong scenes, such as the attack of Rachel by the behemoth Axe and Rachel and Ethan's encounter with Axe at the Karnak Temple. What I most like in Small's books is how he shows through the lives of the characters the similarity and interconnectedness of the mystical experiences within the world's religions, regardless of the apparent contradictions in ideologies. As an aside, Salon (Jan. 4, 2014)has an article,"This is your brain on religion: uncovering the science of belief" that I found interesting and may be of interest to other readers of this book.
review 2: Jeffrey Small’s THE JERICHO DECEPTION mixes science, politics, and religion in a Dan Brown-style psychological thriller that is as philosophically challenging as it is formulaic. Yale scientist Dr. Ethan Lightman has developed a machine he calls “the Logos” that has the potential to stimulate spiritual ecstasy in the human mind. Ethan’s theory is that our perception of God has been “created by electrical impulses firing in the temporal lobes of the brain” (as happens during epileptic seizures). The Logos machine stimulates the left temporal lobe in much the same way a seizure does, allowing the subject to experience a connection to God (or to “the ultimate and absolute reality,” which transcends any one version of religion). The problem is, Ethan and his mentor Dr. Elijah Schiff, are running out of funding for their project. And when a mysterious organization steps forward with big bucks for their research, Ethan and Elijah begin to wonder if something suspicious is going on. What is the connection between the money and the CIA? And what does all of this have to do with Middle-Eastern terrorists and a diabolical plan to rid the world of extremists?There are actually three separate storylines in Small’s novel, which don’t come together until the halfway point. Ethan and Elijah are working on their Logos machine in New Haven, but at the same time a man named Mousa bin Ibrahim Al-Mohammad is arrested in Dubai as a suspected terrorist and tortured for information. And in Langley, Virginia, CIA operative Casey Richards is working on a top-secret project called “Jericho,” which is mysteriously connected to the organization providing money to Ethan and Elijah. At the heart of all three stories is an exploration of the meaning of faith and the ultimate reality of God. Ethan has little belief in God or religion, even though he is fascinated with the human propensity for mystical belief – his Logos machine just might prove that God is more creation than creator. But Elijah has a more profound belief in a God that encompasses all of reality, a God that can’t be claimed by any one religion. Mousa’s faith in Islam is ultimately contrasted with the American fixation on Christianity – is it possible for true believers to embrace a faith that transcends both?I was fascinated by the scientific aspects of Ethan and Elijah’s experiments, and there is a philosophical level to THE JERICHO DECEPTION that I found compelling and believable. I was equally interested in Mousa’s story – he is a doctor living in Amman, Jordan who witnesses a terrorist bombing in Dubai and is suspected of collusion with the bomber. Mousa’s own faith and his determination to get back to his wife and children are powerful motivators, and as the three parts of Small’s story come together his role becomes central. Unfortunately, the CIA aspect of this novel, which is clichéd, predictable, and disappointing, makes a compelling story seem formulaic. Conspiracy fans might like this more than I did – I found it all derivative and lacking in depth. Without reading a page you can guess what the CIA is like here – a bunch of unscrupulous lunatics fixated on Manchurian Candidate-style secret projects in hidden bunkers in the middle of nowhere. The expected characters are all there, from the deranged doctor to the steroid-addicted ex-special ops security officer. It undermined what was otherwise an intelligent and clever read.Fans of Dan Brown will undoubtedly like THE JERICHO DECEPTION. Small is a solid writer with a good sense of plot development. The novel’s 400 pages are a quick read. I wasn’t totally enthusiastic about the too-sweet almost-romance between Ethan and one of his students, but that’s a minor quibble. This isn’t a bad novel. In the end, Small suggests (through one of his minor characters) that God isn’t a being to whom you can pray for help or sustenance, but rather the infinite nature of the universe. Prayer, he writes, “is not about asking God to do something but about listening to God.” Few thrillers reach that level of philosophy. For that alone, THE JERICHO DECEPTION is worth a read. less

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