Physicist Eric Argus has a drinking problem and sometimes questions his sanity. Stumped by a mathematical equation, he's searching for answers in the bottom of a bottle when an old friend offers him a new job in a large research facility. Argus has a probationary period of four months to produce some kind of work, anything that has scientific merit. When Argus replicates another physicist's experiment, however, he doesn't realize until it's too late that the results prove humans are the only beings with souls, and not everyone has one.
In The Flicker Men, Ted Kosmatka (The Games) has combined solid scientific research with a highly inventive imagination to create a sci-fi thriller full of chase scenes, murder, kidnappings and mayhem, as some well-placed rich people react to Argus's rediscovery. Kosmatka ponders the religious and scientific implications of the results through Argus and the other well-formulated characters, including a pastor who begins to have second thoughts about his faith. For those at ease with quantum mechanics, the references to prominent experiments will be familiar; those who have no knowledge will want to pay particular attention to Kostmatka's valuable explanations, as understanding how Argus's replicated experiment works is key to understanding the rest of the story. Comprehending this mind-bending process is well worth the effort, though. Kosmatka has taken a complex scientific paradox and turned it into a rapid race against time, in which Argus attempts to elude those who wish he had never tampered with what had already been discovered. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer