December 8, 2015
The Question by R. Breuer Stearns
If you could have the answer to one question, and only one question, what would you ask and who would try to stop you from asking it?
About The Question
THE QUESTION invites readers to consider this premise:
If you could have the answer to one question, and only one question, what would you ask… and who would try to stop you from asking it? To what extremes would they go?
THE QUESTION is a thriller that explores a new way of thinking, a method powerful enough to answer very complex questions perhaps powerful enough to solve the universe’s most fundamental mysteries perhaps powerful enough to resolve religions’ most beguiling unknowns.
THE QUESTION is an adventure story, fiction that you may wish, may believe, may know, is true. The narrative occurs in the present, with scenes in California, Washington, D.C., Paris, Shanghai, New York, and Afghanistan. The story is aimed at high-school and older readers and contains some graphic violence and occasional sexual allusions. The plot is action-oriented with an element of scientific fantasy, similar to Jack Finney’s “Time and Again.” The prose is crisply written, professionally edited, and organized into movie-scene chapters.
My Thoughts
The Question is an interesting novel that took me a while to get in to the story. I found the beginning of the novel hard to follow as it seemed to jump around a little bit, which caused me to have to re-read certain parts of the book over again. This made it a little hard for me to get into the novel and the characters like I usually do. Once I was about halfway through I was able to follow along much clearer and did not have to backtrack as much through the novel to understand the current plot.
The Question is not a light read but instead you invest your time in this thought-provoking novel. You question your own thoughts, beliefs and ideologies. It is a book to learn and expand your thoughts.
You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.
Rating: 3.5/5
About the Author
R. Breuer Stearns is an investor and author. Mr. Stearns graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover (1970), Harvard University (AB, 1974), University of Chicago (MBA, 1977), and DePaul University College of Law (JD, 1979). He rapidly ascended on Wall Street in the 1980’s, serving as Managing Director, Mergers & Acquisitions at Lehman Brothers and Head of Investment Banking (North America) at UBS Securities. While living in New York, he founded “Terrific Teachers, Inc.,” a foundation dedicated to identifying and rewarding the best of the best of the city’s public high school teachers.
Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mr. Stearns launched a private investment bank in the former Soviet Union. He spent the early 1990’s seeking to marry emerging science, primarily emanating from Russia’s Defense sector, with Western capital. During this period, Mr. Stearns made a small fortune, albeit from a larger one. The venture provided a remarkable lesson in hubris, a tremendous reservoir of internal strength, and first-hand source material for Mr. Stearns’ first book, Winning Smart After Losing Big (Encounter Books, Beijing University Press). Subsequently, Mr. Stearns served as Chief Financial Officer of The Dial Corporation, Chief Financial Officer of Columbia/HCA Corporation, Chief Financial Officer of PacifiCare, Inc., President and Chief Operating Officer of Vascular Genetics, Inc., and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Quepasa Corporation (QPSA:Amex).
Mr. Stearns is a Founder of VestaPoint Capital LLC, a family of investment funds focused on real estate development. He lives in Arizona with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and a horse. He travels extensively and is intensely curious.
The Giveaway!
My Canadian and American readers can now enter to win one of ten copies of The Question. Good luck!
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
