The Orpheus Descent: A Novel

by Tom Harper

Overview

A cerebral literary thriller in the vein of Dan Brown, Matthew Pearl, and Sam Bourne, The Orpheus Descent follows classical philosopher Plato on a mysterious journey to Italy that will ignite a conspiracy that burns into the present.

The greatest thinker in human history, Plato, travels to Italy seeking initiation into the Orphic mysteries: the secret to the Underworld known only to the gods. But the knowledge he discovers is terrifying.

Two millennia later, twelve ancient golden tablets secreted in museums around the world hold sacred information known to only a few—the pathway the dead must follow to the afterlife. And archaeologist Lily Barnes has just found another on a dig in southern Italy. But this tablet is far more valuable—and dangerous—than the rest. It holds the key to hell itself.

Now, Lily is gone and her husband, Jonah, is desperate to find her. He knows she is alive—and in mortal danger—and he’s willing to go to hell itself to find her. But the deeper he descends on this dark and twisting journey, the more Jonah’s fear rises, for not everyone who travels where Lily has gone will find their way back. . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062305282
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/27/2014
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	943,492
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Tom Harper has written a dozen thrillers, including The Orpheus Descent, Lost Temple, and Secrets of the Dead. He grew up in Germany, Belgium, and America, and studied history at Oxford University. His first novel was a runner-up for the CWA Debut Dagger Award. His books have been translated into twenty languages. He lives in York, England, with his wife and two sons.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/31/2014
This thought-provoking thriller marks a return to form for the talented Harper (The Mosaic of Shadows) after a string of lackluster efforts. In 389 B.C.E., a young Plato, who has left Athens following the forced suicide of his mentor, Pericles, seeks Agathon, the most brilliant of Pericles’s students, who claims to have found a valuable book of Pythagorean wisdom and has wondrous discoveries to share. Plato’s quest for someone who, bafflingly, keeps staying one step ahead of him, parallels Jonah Barnes’s present-day search for his archeologist wife, Lily, who vanished from the dig she was working on in Sibari, Italy, after finding a gold tablet. When Jonah finds messages, apparently from Lily, indicating that she wants to be left alone, everyone is ready to write off his concerns, but the absence of direct communication keeps Jonah suspicious. Along the way to a resolution of both suspenseful plotlines, Harper explores the fitness of philosophers as rulers, besides presenting a convincing portrait of Plato’s time. (May)

Publishers Weekly

A cracking thriller.” — The Sun (London)

“This is a sort of Platonic ideal of the kind of book Dan Brown attempts to write—a pacy, preposterous Indiana Jones-esque thriller, but with prose that sparkles, jokes that amuse and characters that resemble human beings.” — Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph (London)

“An act of great daring, pulled off to perfection....Thoughtful, thought-provoking and intelligent: mind-blowingly good.” — Manda Scott, author of The Crystal Skull

“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, author of The Rough Guide to Crime Writing

“There is food here for mind, sense, and heart. It is exceedingly high-class entertainment.” — N.J. Cooper, author of Vengeance in Mind

“This thought-provoking thriller marks a return to form for the talented Harper. . . .A convincing portrait of Plato’s time.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This exciting, fast-paced thriller boasts some well-drawn characters, an involving plot, and some seriously interesting speculation about the nature of hell. . . . It’s an ambitious book, and fans of the author’s previous, history-based thrillers will have a great time.” — Booklist

“A historical thrill ride. . . . The history and mystery move forward like a bullet out of a gun. . . . The research of ancient Greece is stunning and in-depth, and the marvelous characters, both present day and long ago, are enticing.” — Suspense Magazine

From the Publisher

A historical thrill ride. . . . The history and mystery move forward like a bullet out of a gun. . . . The research of ancient Greece is stunning and in-depth, and the marvelous characters, both present day and long ago, are enticing.

Suspense Magazine

An act of great daring, pulled off to perfection....Thoughtful, thought-provoking and intelligent: mind-blowingly good.

Manda Scott

This exciting, fast-paced thriller boasts some well-drawn characters, an involving plot, and some seriously interesting speculation about the nature of hell. . . . It’s an ambitious book, and fans of the author’s previous, history-based thrillers will have a great time.

Booklist

There is food here for mind, sense, and heart. It is exceedingly high-class entertainment.

N.J. Cooper

A cracking thriller.

The Sun (London)

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

This is a sort of Platonic ideal of the kind of book Dan Brown attempts to write—a pacy, preposterous Indiana Jones-esque thriller, but with prose that sparkles, jokes that amuse and characters that resemble human beings.

Jake Kerridge

This exciting, fast-paced thriller boasts some well-drawn characters, an involving plot, and some seriously interesting speculation about the nature of hell. . . . It’s an ambitious book, and fans of the author’s previous, history-based thrillers will have a great time.

Booklist