The Plot to Save Socrates

After a little time-travel to ancient Greece, a graduate student ends up in the middle of several complex plots that span two centuries. This scholarly science fiction poses the question of what might have happened if Socrates hadn't actually swallowed the poisonous hemlock--but Socrates himself isn't cooperating in finding the answer to that question. Mark Shanahan gives a spirited narration. He has a light touch with the extensive dialogue and a deft facility in creating a range of characters of various ages and nationalities. Shanahan maintains a strong pace and draws out the suspense and drama of the plot. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

October 2, 2006
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).

November 14, 2005
In this light, engaging time-travel yarn, Levinson (The Silk Code
) ponders the problem of saving someone who refuses to be saved, in this case Socrates, the Athenian philosopher condemned to death in a shameful moment for democracy. Inspired by a newly discovered dialogue of Socrates in which he's offered escape by time travel, Sierra Waters, classics grad student in 2042, joins her professor, Thomas O'Leary, in a quest to return to the past. Along the way, Sierra gains a lover, the charismatic Athenian leader, Alcibiades, as well as an enigmatic ally, the fabled inventor Heron of Alexandria. Plans are made, betrayed and relaid, all aiming to bring Socrates away before his execution. But the wily thinker, out to embarrass Athens, will have none of it. The plot threatens to fracture as the characters constantly move backward and forward in time, but by the surprise end, Levinson succeeds in tying the main narrative together in a way that neatly satisfies the circularity inherent in time travel, whose paradoxes he links to Greek philosophy.