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The Orpheus Descent

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About this listen

Would you pay the ultimate price for the ultimate knowledge? I have never written down the answers to the deepest mysteries, nor will I ever....

The philosopher Plato wrote these words more than 2,000 years ago, following a perilous voyage to Italy - an experience about which he never spoke again, but from which he emerged the greatest thinker in all of human history. Today, 12 golden tablets sit in museums around the world, each created by unknown hands and buried in ancient times, and each providing the dead with the route to the afterlife.

Archaeologist Lily Barnes, working on a dig in southern Italy, has just found another. But this tablet names the location to the mouth of hell itself. And then Lily vanishes. Has she walked out on her job, her marriage, and her life - or has something more sinister happened? Her husband, Jonah, is desperate to find her. But no one can help him: not the police, and not the secretive foundation that sponsored her dig. All Jonah has is belief, and a determination to do whatever it takes to get Lily back.

But like Plato before him, Jonah will discover the journey ahead is mysterious and dark and fraught with danger. And not everyone who travels to the hidden place where Lily has gone can return.

©2013 Tom Harper (P)2013 Hodder & Stoughton Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Paranormal Marriage Italy Ancient Greece Ancient History

Critic reviews

"Tom Harper has been writing elaborate thrillers that marry ironclad narrative skills with some of the most elegantly understated writing in the field; he's the thinking person's Dan Brown. Actually, Harper deserves the latter's success - and more, as Harper is comfortably the better writer." (Barry Forshaw)
"Harper effortlessly draws the reader into an unfamiliar time, bringing alive the characters and their motivations." ( Publishers Weekly)
All stars
Most relevant
Well...It proved interesting. Unusual narration that grew on me quickly and fit the story well.
Some thought provoking moments and nice interplay between past and present. The story did appear to lose its way toward the end. Shame as a good ending would have given a 5 star rating.

Did I like it?

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The premise of the novel was good but it all went on for far too long! It was extremely irritating the way the story kept switching between Ancuent Greece and modern times. The author should have put Plato's story ss a preface and then told Lily's story...switching between one and another just slowed down the pace of the novel.

A descent into Hades!

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What disappointed you about The Orpheus Descent?

Story is drawn out and does not engage you. Boring

What could Tom Harper have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

less of the Greek story and more engaging modern theme

How did the narrator detract from the book?

yes

What character would you cut from The Orpheus Descent?

Les of the greek characters

Not very good

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Out of the two parallel stories I preferred the modern day saga, enjoying the slow unfolding mystery. It has an esoteric feel and quite often I have to admit I had to re-listen to various passages and struggled to get my head round some of the philosophical theories, at the end I came out a little richer in my scant knowledge on the subject. Nicely written but have put on my try again pile and hope to do the book justice. Did not enjoy it as much as I thought I should.

I struggled...

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What did you like best about The Orpheus Descent? What did you like least?

I enjoyed the general idea of the story but felt it could have been executed with more passion and excitement. A lot of the ideas have now become such old hat that they could have been plucked from a British TV drama series. A rock star main character, a dysfunctional group of wealthy and highly educated university graduates, a clever look at the past with much historical name dropping.

What was most disappointing about Tom Harper’s story?

The whole lead up to the end and the ending are extremely dissapointing. The whole narrative disintergrates into a trippy nonsense which really left me feeling I should have dropped out and not tuned in.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narration is really well read, in particular by Gareth Armstrong. Kris Milnes voice jars a little at first against Gareth's but once the listener gets used to the swinging narrative between the two it becomes less so.

Any additional comments?

There are similar books out there which have been written with more decisive and satidfactory narrative. Well read but best left alone.

A Story that Descends into Nonsense

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