Synopsis
Paul Levinson's astonishing new SF novel is a surprise and a delight: In the year 2042, Sierra, a young graduate student in Classics is shown a new dialog of Socrates, recently discovered, in which a time traveler tries to argue that Socrates might escape death by travel to the future! Thomas, the elderly scholar who has shown her the document, disappears, and Sierra immediately begins to track down the provenance of the manuscript with the help of her classical scholar boyfriend, Max.
The trail leads her to time machines in a gentlemen's club in London and in New York, and into the past—and to a time traveler from her future, posing as Heron of Alexandria in 150 AD. Complications, mysteries, travels, and time loops proliferate as Sierra tries to discern who is planning to save the greatest philosopher in human history. Fascinating historical characters from Alcibiades (of the honeyed thighs) to Thomas Appleton, the great nineteenth-century American publisher, to Socrates himself appear. With surprises in every chapter, Paul Levinson has outdone himself in The Plot to Save Socrates.
Publishers Weekly
What would Socrates do? Levinson poses this philosophical question by providing Socrates with an opportunity to survive his execution but still have his death mean something. The tale shifts between ancient Greece to 2042, where Sierra, a graduate student, attempts to find her mentor, who has gone missing after revealing secret transcripts of Socrates. While the premise resembles a pulp novel, Levinson's well-researched historical positioning and philosophical arguments elevate this tale. Shanahan delivers a well-tuned performance. He efficiently juggles the characters, who range in age, sex and accent. He reads the exposition with grace, utilizing the text to determine the intensity and speed of his delivery, thereby enhancing the quality of the story as any talented storyteller should. The light and breezy musical interludes and segues are not intrusive. Listen & Live once again provides an audiobook that effectively balances story, narrator and sound quality in a product anyone can enjoy. Simultaneous release with the Tor hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 14, 2005). (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.