Elixir
by Gary Braver

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Book Reviews of Elixir

Book Review: Want to live forever?
Summary: 5 Stars

The idea of a fountain of youth has intrigued human beings for centuries. Being able to live longer, better lives is an enticing idea that we've all considered. Hell, 90% of the "health & beauty" market is based on the desire to stay young. So what if there actually was something we could take. What would happen to us and to our world?

Elixir is quite the page turning thriller. I loved never knowing what was going to happen next. I'm not going to give anything away but here's the basic idea. Dr. Christopher Bacon (great name!) is a medicinal chemist working for Darby Pharmaceuticals, "a Boston laboratory pioneering the synthesis of folk medicines". They send him off to the jungles of New Guinea in search of plant steroids which could be used to create the world's first male birth-control pill - thus sending their stock price through the roof. Deep in the jungle, an old school friend introduces him to Tabukari, a flower with incredible anti-aging properties. Chris then brings the flower back to the lab in the States to attempt to create a synthetic variety. Things unfold from there.

The premise brings up a lot of questions. Should we live forever? If there were such a drug - who would get to take it? How much would it cost? What would happen to the population? What if you took the drug but your children didn't? All these questions are explored throughout the book. Another really interesting facet of the story is the drug/pharmaceutical industry. Does our desire (or need) for drugs put us in a dangerous position? Is enough time being given towards ensuring that there are no side effects or is money the true bottom line?

As Chris is working on different projects and researching aging there is a lot of scientific jargon used but it never seemed to get in the way. (Braver's past life as a physicist explains his "vast knowledge of DNA and the mechanisms of aging".) Everything is explained in a very conversational manner that allows us to have the information we need without completely confusing us. Put it this way, I dropped out of Chemistry in the tenth grade and I understood what he was talking about.

Elixir is wonderfully written. Most of the characters are beautifully realized and are intrinsically real. The relationship between Chris and his wife, Wendy, is a wonderful example. They are both complex individuals with deeply rooted needs and desires, all of which Braver allows us to be privy to. As time passes and the story changes, so do their relationship and their needs.

My only problem was with the bad guys. I felt like I was expected to hate one of the bad guys just because he was a drug dealer (great irony) and the other baddie was pathetic and I wasn't entirely convinced he was capable of murder. I like my bad guys to be really and these ones were just kinda bad.

Even though this book was just released, Ridley Scott Productions (Gladiator, Blade Runner, Alien) has already optioned it! I think it'll make a great film. Lots of drama; lots of suspense.

This is a great thriller. I had trouble putting it down and stayed up until the wee hours of the morn in order to finish it. Gary Braver is a great new voice in the thriller market (especially if you're tired of the Grisham legal drama and the Clancy spy novel) and if you're looking for an exciting, fun read try picking up Elixir. I can't wait for Braver's next book - I hope he doesn't wait too long to write it - none of us are getting any younger!

Review Originally Posted online.

Summary of Elixir

ELIXIR has been optioned for motion picture production by Scott Free Productions and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment.

When his bosses, and other powerful and unsavory characters, discover that Chris has successfully synthesized a formula for immortality, the scientist and his family become the targets of a ruthless manhunt. What the bad guys don't know is that Chris didn't stop at injecting lab rats with his elixir; he is himself participating in a dangerous experiment. Braver effectively conveys both Chris's burning desire to test the fruits of his labor, and his wife's prophetic understanding that those fruits are far more lethal than anything Eve might have given Adam:

They were silent for a long spell, and Laura felt the old anger burn itself through the sadness. Chris had brought this upon them himself. In a monumentally stupid act he had injected the stuff into his veins thirteen years ago and forever infected the very fabric of their lives. While she understood all the forces that had driven him to that act, she could never forgive him. More than anyone else alive he was able to foresee the consequences but had chosen to disregard them instead. And while she felt pity and compassion for him, there were moments she hated him for what he had done.

In addition to metaphysical speculations on the social consequences of living forever, biotech thrillers demand action, suspense, car chases, villains, breathless pursuits, guns, meaningful glances--you name it, Braver provides it, and it's an unholy mess at times. His sense of plot is shaky, and the novel falters whenever it moves away from Chris and his family (and even they can become a bit tedious). But Elixir is more successful than the sum of these parts would seem to allow; in taking on the power of research and genetic manipulation, Braver has plugged into a hot topic, and he largely does it justice. --Kelly Flynn

Literature & Fiction Books

• Subjects > Literature & Fiction
• Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers
• Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction