Rating: Summary: elixer Review: i highly recommend this excellent book! it kept my interest until the very end! a must read!
Rating: Summary: Well Worth Reading Twice Review: SMASHING!!! A must read for any aspiring author who wants the grit and dirt on "How it's really done". Suspense, thrills, a bit of the macab that will keep you awake for no less than three nights while you iron out the memory of a freakish doll-like girl whom you have never met, but you keep on believing is real, and in the end ... a college boy you truly feel, that if you went to that dormitory room today, he would be there, just as you have come to know him, reading a book and working to become everything he can be in the name of his father. Gary has written an absolutely awesome book with Elixer.
Rating: Summary: Wonderfully Written - Thumbs Up! Review: When I saw how well this book is rated, I figured I'd be able to walk into the bookstore and find a copy on the shelf. After visting a couple of different retailers, I discovered this is not so! For whatever reason, I had to buy this one online, which is fine by me but does a GREAT disservice to those who still browse the bookstore shelves. "Elixir" is good enough that I would hope to see it widely available for years to come.In this book, Braver has written an expertly crafted tale of suspense. I won't bore you by repeating plot details that you can find in other reviews. Suffice it to say that at the center of the story is one man's attempt to bring an anti-aging chemical from the jungles to the world at large. While the moral and practical ramifications of such a drug are only somewhat addressed by the author, I found the writing to be engaging, the characters believable, and the movement of the story nearly constant. In a way, there is almost a cinematic quality to Elixir, reminiscent somewhat of Michael Crichton's books. I could easily see Elixir as a movie, but I wouldn't recommend that you wait for that. Buy a copy of the book and read it now. You'll be glad you did.
Rating: Summary: Elixir - What's to say this couldn't happen Review: Elixir is one of the most extraordinary novels I have ever read. I bought this book in a mad dash to make the evening train home from work and ended up reading it all in one night. The story caught my attention from the very first page - and followed through until the last. It is not only well written but also a very interesting story-line. In my view a well written book is one that leaves you wanting more - and that is exactly how this book made me feel!! There are many undiscovered places/things of the rainforests which potentially could have the cures for many thusfar incurable diseases. Whose to say that there are not plants to help pro-long life. (Imagine) I highly recommend this book and look forward to many more novels written by Gary Braver.....I pray that there will be a continuation
Rating: Summary: Praise for Gary Braver's ELIXIR Review: A great read. Braver puts in strands of WW Jacobs, King, and Poe himself and does so with a style that is addictive from the get go. ELIXIR puts on the page questions about mortality -- and immortality -- that have kept this now-loyal reader thinking long after I finished the book (over a month now). At times romantic, others gruesome, ELIXIR is a must read for any fan of well-written and thought-provoking story.
Rating: Summary: TO BE OR NOT TO BE... Review: The author has written a great bio-technical thriller that will have the reader glued to the pages of the book until the end. It is a well-written, highly suspenseful novel that heralds a novelist whose prose is spare, lean, and taut, moving the story along at a brisk pace. Fans of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook will, undoubtedly, enjoy this well paced thriller, as will anyone who appreciates a great story. This is, however, a plot driven novel, rather than character driven. As such, the characters, at times, may not seem fully fleshed. This is no matter, as the characters serve to move the plot along, and a very intriguing plot it is. What would you do if you were offered a chance to drink from the fountain of youth? That is just the opportunity that is offered to Christopher Bacon, an intrepid chemist/biologist and premier researcher for a Boston based pharmaceutical company, while doing research on medicinal plants in the rainforest of Papua, New Guinea. When a tribal medicine man offers him the opportunity for longevity in the guise of a flower, Christopher decides to conduct secret, unauthorized experiments on the flower at his laboratory. Unbeknownst to Christopher, however, Quentin Cross, the pharmaceutical firm's Chief Financial Officer, is gambling heavily on the success of a potential cancer wonder drug that Christopher and his staff are working on. Quentin finds himself in the untenable position of being financially indebted to a murderous drug baron for the crop of the very high-priced, indigenous apricots necessary to the production of the hoped for synthetic toxogen. When the production yield of the toxogen turns out not to be commercially viable and the piper must be paid, a desperate Quentin discovers the secret experiments that Christopher has been conducting. It appears that laboratory test animals have stopped aging and have even had their biological clocks turned back. Quentin sees this as his chance for salvation from certain death at the hands of the drug lord to whom he owes a great deal of money. It seems that Christopher has produced a commercially viable compound from that rainforest flower, which can retard the aging process and extend one's life span. It does, however, have a catch to it. Moreover, this so called wonder drug will serve to create a philosophical divide between Christopher and his wife. Little does he know the effect that his discovery would have on him, his family, his friends, and, ultimately, the world. This novel has enough twists and turns to keep the most demanding reader satisfied. It is multi-layered and complex, providing an entertaining and engrossing read while proffering a whole host of ethical, philosophical, and public policy dilemmas for consideration. This outstanding thriller provides much food for thought buried between its lines. It is a book that will have the reader riveted to its pages until the very last one is turned.
Rating: Summary: Gary Braver has created a stylish thriller for the ages . Review: "Elixir" is a stylish and highly satisfying biomedical thriller about the creation of a veritable elixir -- a substance seemingly capable of prolonging life indefinitely. It is a suspenseful and fast-paced page-turner, exploring the moral and ethical -- and financial -- implications associated with the development and testing of a miracle drug that promises to prevent aging. Braver vividly delivers clever plot twists and engrossing characters in a well-written, well-crafted story that will make you think and will also scare you. "Elixir" just may make you reconsider any desire you may have had for eternal youth. I thouroughly enjoyed "Elixir," and highly recommend it; it's the best book I've read in a long time.
Rating: Summary: Youth: A Shame It's Wasted On The Young Review: When this novel began in the wilds of New Guinea, our hero is on his last legs in the boggy jungle only to be confronted by wild headhunters----I sighed and thought "oh, no." Well, smile, because it is not Indiana Jones redux. Chris Bacon gets back to his pharmaceutical lab in Cambridge MA in no time. He is testing the properties of an exotic flower that might have some usefulness in extending life. Come again? Eternal youth? Not exactly. You see, animals don't die; their cells lose the ability to replicate, then it is curtains. This wonder drug seems to enhance the cell's longevity. Chris is carefully and secretly experimenting first with rats and then with monkeys. He is at the breakthrough point when the word gets out to his employers and some really bad underworld types. Chris packs up his family and runs, but not before he is framed for murder and terrorism. Chris's character arc is improbable. He begins by being a rather vain, workaholic with an abnormal fear of contracting Alzheimer's disease like his father. In a drunken moment, he takes the drug and, in a well-written and described sequence, is shown over a period of six weeks becoming a young man at the peak of his powers. His clever plans and improvisions to remain hidden make for fascinating reading. But his character evolves into an almost Christ-like figure of understanding and sacrifice. This spiritual person bears little resemblance to the Chris in the earlier part of the novel. The reader can accept the physical changes, but the underlying character turnaround is not believable. The author does a good job examining the ethics of such a drug and its implications. Some have criticized the shallowness of the discussion, but I believe in a novel of this type, profundities are not in order. I have the advantage (disadvantage?) of reading Mr. Braver's second novel "Gray Matter" before I read this one. I think he grows in maturity and some of the loose threads and improbabilities evident in "Elixir" are absent in the stronger second novel. "Elixir" has a pace like lightning, and is a most satisfactory read. It may even make you think some after it is over.
Rating: Summary: Bravo for Braver Review: Not only does the story move forward at breakneck pace, it also hits on some of the haunting moral questions we face as science knocks down doors. While it's been compared to Crichton and Cook, obviously, I also see some of the morality plays of Ira Levin in the thematic territory. Eternal life wouldn't be half so bad with books like this for company. Count me as a new Gary Braver fan.
Rating: Summary: Elixir's excitement Review: I was drawn to this book because of my background in biotechnology and my love of a good mystery. I was curious to see how the author would blend science into a novel, and was very pleased with his results. Mr. Braver never talks down to his audience, nor does he bore with scientific minutiae; instead I discovered a book with many interesting and exciting plot twists and surprises. The characters are very real-you quickly develop empathy for the main character, his wife, and his son. Anyone who knows anyone with Alzeheimers disease can palpably feel the dilemma these people face. The premise of an important scientific breakthrough being exploited by many different interests is all too beliveable. The moral issues raised by this book will give me food for thought for a long time to come. I can hardly wait to read another of Mr. Braver's books to see what his next major thought provoking issue will be.
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