This book was quite a mix. It was a slog in many places and could really have been edited down as so many of the plot points and deceptions between Huxley and the crew were repetitive and did not add to the story.
On the other hand, there were many flashes of brilliance and scenes of high energy between the main characters especially relating to the symposium and the drama that follows.
Unlike other readers, I did not find this book difficult to read, and the references to philosophy by way of Plato and Socrates should have been easy for the lay person to figure out the themes, even if they are unfamiliar with the source material. In the end, however, this book did not quite know what it wanted to be. Is it a mystery? Is it an adventure? Is it an allegory? None of the threads particularly felt fully satisfied as there were too many going on without a clear resolution of any of them. Not, of course, that that is necessary, but in the end it felt like a forgettable read, sadly. ( )

I got this as a review copy in LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Reading the reviews online, I wouldn't have bought the book.

The premise of the book as marketed hooked me in: Nicholas Pedrosa is a young graduate in a dead-end job in London. Quite unexpectedly, he's invited to join an archaeological dig on Santorini, lead by the enigmatic Prof. Huxley. Upon arriving at the site, he discovers there's been a death -- his predecessor has suffered a fatal fall from a scaffolding at the dig site. But the death occurs *after* Nicolas has been chosen as Prof. Huxley's new assistant. Is foul play involved?

I was expecting something in the way of Murder in Mesopotamia meets The Alchemist meets Raiders of the Lost Ark and got... nothing of those. The plot advances quite slowly. We meet the cast of characters, Nicholas does some investigating into the death/murder, but mostly it's just him waffling over whether Huxley is a brilliant archaeological genius or a murderer/hack/sexual deviant/whatever. By the time the plot gets to the society for near-death experiences (seriously), the book had completely lost me. I had to step away from it for a few months.

The plot keeps getting weirder and weirder with the discovery of House 34, and I couldn't make out if the book just took a sudden turn into scifi. That, at least, would have been interesting, unlike the incessant conversations the characters have over metaphysics. Mr. Azuski writes beautifully, and there were many a time when I just stopped and marveled over some sentence on the page. But what could have used much editing and paring down were the plot and pacing of it. In the end, I wasn't sure what I'd just read -- what really happened? But maybe that was his intention. ( )

Literature/Murder Mystery

Suspense, archaeology, and a well written mystery and the search for Plato’s lost city of Atlantis. Sprawling scenery, secretive characters, and an archaeological dig on the brink of being closed down by the Greek government make Travels in Elysium a compelling read. ( )

When I got this from Early Reviewers, I was excited to read it. The premise sounded intriguing, and the setting in the Greek Isles idyllic. Sadly, it ended up being very hard work (and not in a good way).

I studied some philosophy in university, and it made my head hurt. This book did, too. Way too much time is spent on philosophical banter that made little sense to me. I also felt that, at 800-odd pages, it was a good 400 pages too long. I was annoyed by the number of times that the protagonist, Nico, finds himself exasperated by his employer's machinations, vows to leave, yet winds up returning.

In short, this book needed more clear explanation of what was actually going on, and less cod philosophy. ( )

I received this book free in return for a review. Unfortunately, the book didn’t appeal to me in any way, really. Though I diligently ploughed through the book, I didn’t manage to finish it. It was too much work.

A young man who has just graduated from university, Nicholas Pedrosa, is accepted for a job assisting a renowned archaeologist, Marcus Huxley, on a Greek island dig. This is a dream job for Nicky, and he immediately sets off for Greece.

The author is extremely articulate, has a large vocabulary and a distinctive style. There were many words in the book I hadn’t previously encountered, neither could I find them in the dictionary. These were such words as tephra and caique. I found “caldera” – “a large basin-like depression resulting from the explosion of the center of a volcano”.

The style is chaotic, and too much for me for some reason. The many characters are all equally articulate, and difficult to distinguish from each other.

There is a mysterious death on the island immediately preceding Nicholas’ arrival there, and the latter has been taken on as the dead man’s successor – though, mysteriously, it seemed that the job was advertised prior to this man’s death, and thus before the position became available. Nicholas’ life seems constantly to be threatened; perhaps it is the irascible Huxley who is out to get him.

Gradually, it turns out that Huxley is under the impression that the excavation site is one and the same as the ancient civilization of Atlantis. (Though surely Atlantis was a large continent!) But Huxley may be bluffing in this respect, There is much reference to Atlantis as described by Plato but none with respect to other sources.

Nicholas begins to have mysterious experiences/visions and sees a strange light in the sky.

To sum up, although the author is erudite, there was something about the book’s style that repelled me, or perhaps it was that both the main characters (Nicholas and Huxley) have aggressive and abrasive personalities. It is hard to understand what is actually happening, as much is not explained clearly. Thus, I can’t recommend that you read this book, though some may find it suspenseful and rewarding. ( )