Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece!
Review: This book was one of the most exciting, well written and stylish books I have read in a very long time. The book had the best elements of a thriller, but with characters who were well depicted and memorable. The themes are not only timely, but they raise some thorny ethical issues about the science of prolonging human life. This is one knock-out of a book!
Rating: 
Summary: Over reached on its ability to deliver
Review: This book started out so well. The premise of immortality due to an exotic plant, and the ramifications to the individual and to society as a whole, could have been a classic. Instead it became a TV thriller screenplay. Now, an idea that could have been done so much better in more capable hands, has been for the most part, ruined. The editor should have seen how great the story could have been, but copped out for a commercial success, rather than a contribution to something of thought-provoking literary value.Chris Bacon is in in Papua and is given a plant by a childhood friend who claims to be 123 years old and the plant is the reason. Chris takes it back and somehow works on it at the pharmaceutical company where he is employed, for two years before the company CFO (the initial villain) stumbles on it. In the meantime, Chris discusses with his wife the impact of taking the serum (Elixir) by a human and thgus achieving potntial immortality. His father has lost many of his mental faculties in his early 60s and Chris feels (or imagines) he is experiencing early Alheizmers at age 42. His wife, certainly more level headed, accepts her eventual demise and states "Death is what makes us human." This point and her later quote of Wallace Stevens "Death is the mother of beauty" could have been a recurring theme as the author tries to convince the readers immortality is fun to think about, but we don't want to try it. Instead the book takes itself too seriously without putting in the effort such a topic deserves. There are a lot of muddled plot digressions, especially from the wife's sister. That ridiculousness and the part played by the 13 year old son just as his parents are about to be killed by the next bad guys. There's a lot of unnecessary filler here. The President of the United States wants to get hold of the serum so that people could work longer and contribute longer to Social Security and not bankrupt the system. If Congress would get away from deficit spending, SS wouldn't become bankrupt but that's a different story. What amazed me was that no one considered that by virtue of retiring, job holders move up the ladder and thus open up jobs to the young who need them. Talk about fuzzy thinking! The brief discussion of economics showed the author as out of his league yet the impact of having Americans live longer certainly, amongst other things, is economic, big time and cannot be ignored. The philosophical issues brought up are worthy of discussion, but developed so poorly, it cries out of wasted opportunity. As a thriller, it is so-so. As something that could have been much more than just another "family on the run" story, it didn't make the grade.
Rating:
Summary: "Elixir" Touches every base
Review: Braver hits a home run here. The blend of characters, imagination, and action is perfect. The fountain of youth is found in this fine read. This will be a film maker's dream.
Rating:
Summary: Elixir - A Brilliant Novel
Review: This novel is definitely 5 star reading. It is brilliantly executed to keep your interest intense. I feel as though I know each main character personally. This is the type of complex novel that highlights the authors genious of imagination. Some of the unexpected turns are astounding, such as some of the puishments handed out by Antoine and the revelation of what sister Jenny is up to with elixir. That was a totally unexpected outcome. One of the most exciting novels I have read in a very long time.
Rating: 
Summary: What it could have been
Review: After reading this book, and all of the subsequent five star reviews, I am shocked. This book was a cop-out of the highest order. Rather than write a compelling story of the possibilities of a serum that would pro long life and the ramifications of it thereafter, this story quickly turned into a standard "wrongly accussed man versus the rest of the world" ABC Saturday night movie of the week. It would have made for a much better story if the serum actually did see the light of day, and the book could have been about the new world problems it created. But no, a corrupt Pharmaceudical president (b/c all pharmaceudical presidents are corrupt) must use the serum to pay off debts to a drug lord, and plans to kill the laboratory team and blame it on the head researcher to cover his tracks. Thus, starts the ball rolling, and our hero (the Elixir head researcher) and family go on the lamb for 13 years, holding all samples and records of the miracle serum with them.
Take out the corrupt Pharmacy head, and how differently would this novel progressed? I would have wanted to know, but that would have been much more difficult story to pen. It is a lot easier to create a bunch of cardboards characters whose motivations make little sense other than to move the plot along, than to deal with the ramifications of an anti-aging drug actually hitting the markets. To suggest that such a drug would never get developed, because too many selfish people and people with other hidden agendas, would keep it from fruition, is just a cop-out, plain and simple. I am reminded of Michael Cricton's Jurassic Park, which concluded we could never bring dinosaurs back to life because some crazy computer programmer who thought he wasn't get paid enough would try to steal the formula and mess everything up. In Elixir's case, we could never develop an anti aging drug, beacause a crooked Pharmaceudical head would want to sell it to a Drug lord, kill the researcher(s), and frame the serum's developer for the murder(s).
Instead of going into this novel asking the question "What would happen if an anit-aging drug were developed. . .?", my guess is author Gary Braver, asked himself "What could possibly go wrong if someone attempted to develop an anti-aging vaccine?". Then, he constructed and moved the plot along those lines. That is unforntunate. He wound up creating a story that was more unbelievable than the idea of immortality itself.
As is the case, I could have guessed Mr. Braver's background was in literature, he teaches creative writing at Northeastern University, rather than science or socio political. In Elixir, it was the story that was important and not the idea of immortalty. I suspect if someone with a little more knowledge in biology and someone with a little more knowledge of sociology would have authored this book, it would have been vastly more optimistic. Mr. Braver had concluded an anti-aging drug could never be possible before he even sat down to write the book. It's a shame and waste of pages. I cannot recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Elixer Goes Down Easy
Review: Elixir is one of those books you just can't put down, literally or figuratively. It's not only great fun to read, but it also contains just the right amount of thought-provoking issues to keep your gray matter cooking.
This fast-paced, well-written tale takes unexpected turns and really does keep you on the edge of your seat (or bed, as I do much of my reading late at night). It plays into one of our most intimate realities -- the fact that we won't live forever, the fact that we will all die, and probably sooner than we'd like to.
I want to live for a long, long time, and I want to be healthy while I'm alive. But, what if it really is possible? What if I'm the only one? What if I'm one of a select few? Who chooses who lives? What happens to everyone else? What happens when the secret's out?
In these times of genetic engineering and medical advances, we're all facing increasingly difficult moral and practical issues. Elixir takes some of these issues and puts the reader in the driver's seat. Gary Braver is a great find -- I can't wait for his next work, and I'll snatch it up as soon as I can!
p.s. I've just started reading Rough Beast, written before Elixir by Gary Goshgarian (aka Gary Braver), and so far it's every bit as gripping as Elixir, although a bit more scary.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book
Review: Really enjoyed the plot of this book, makes you wonder if this possibly could happen in real time...can we live to be an unimaginable age....what is out there that we have not explored as of yet???? What would become of the human race if we lived indefinately??? After you finish this book, it leaves you with some really good questions as to "What if"
Rating:
Summary: SUPERB THRILLER
Review: I have read many medical and biotech thrillers in my days, but this is one of the best I've read ever. The story line is ingeniously original, the characters are engaging and vividly drawn, and the writing is very stylish. It is a real page-turner that I couldn't put down, nor did I want to end. And when it did, it stayed with me for days. This is one smart ride. Bravo, Mr. Braver!
Rating:
Summary: MASTERPIECE
Review: ELIXIR is a first-rate thriller with an ingenious story line, that is masterfully crafted. The characters are vividly drawn and engaging; the writing is superb; and the issues are provocative and timely. While America ages and pharmaceutical companies scramble to develop fountain-of-youth drugs, Gary Braver explores both the benefits and potential horrors that could result from the discovery of such a drug. And while the book is a breathless page-turner, Braver never sacrifices character, style, and philosophical ponderings. He writes circles around the competiton. I can't wait for his next one.
Rating:
Summary: Creativity with Expression
Review: One of the best books I've read in quite some time! Creativity abounds from the very first page! It has an abundance of realistic expression coupled with an expedient pace. It's a MUST read!
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