Elixir

Elixir is a YA suspense and the debut novel by Ted Galdi. Galdi did a fine job for a debut novel. There is good intrigue and decent plot development and a nice wrap-up for a standalone novel, all the while leaving the story open for any sequel, should the author change his mind.The main character, Sean Malone, is inarguably the smartest person on earth with an IQ in the neighborhood of 250. His face became nearly unforgettable after appearing on Jeopardy at the age of 11 and winning over a million dollars before stepping down. This all but prevents a private "normal" life for him. Orphaned and under the guardianship of his aunt, Sean, age 14 at the beginning of the novel, attends SoCalTech and he unwittingly brings additional attention upon him when he solves a yet-unsolvable mathematical problem thus drawing the notice of the NSA for the code-breaking application of his solution. In an effort to keep this review spoiler-free, more things happen such that with the FBIs assistance Sean's death is faked so that he can be kept out of harm's way. The second half of the story jumps ahead four years when Sean, 18 and now living in Italy, meets and falls in love with Natasha, the woman of his dreams. Sean's problem-solving intelligence is needed when Natasha is brought to the edge of death from a disease contracted while her family vacationed in Africa. Really. A bit far reaching, but this is a work of fiction.I requested to listen to the audio book version of this book through Audiobook Reviewer in exchange for an honest review. As such, I cannot fairly comment on the edited status of the print version of this story. The plot development, character development and dialogue, as read by the narrator, are respectably sufficient. The story premise was interesting and the dialogue and subject matter is by and large age-appropriate for a YA audience. I am not certain that this YA will draw an adult audience.There were several situations in the story which were vague in description, action which did not appear logical or connect to consequences and several characters' actions that seemed specious, all requiring a leap of faith. How the solving of the Traveling Salesman Dilemma, the initial yet-unsolvable mathematical problem mentioned above, leads to code-breaking was unexplained, and yet, this pivotal connection leads to NSA activity which leads to another development which leads to necessitating Sean's (faked) death. This influential element of the story seems non sequitur. The love-story element between Sean and Natasha was developed very quickly and feels more superficial than meaningful, and yet, it is this love that causes Sean to bring himself out of hiding to save her life. This relationship seems unconvincing in its depth - just because the relationship exists doesn't mean its depth is believable, unless of course your audience can accept it without supporting substance. And, the disease that Natasha contracts for which Sean is able to create an "elixir" in mere hours after ingesting knowledge from extensive reports and studies hacked from a high level security-safe server that took a mere 10 minutes to hack into? I understand the boy is extremely intelligent, but too much must be "accepted" such that this story is better categorized as fantasy rather than suspense.As for the audio version of this story, Elixir was read by Roberto Scarlato and is 9 hours and 41 minutes in duration. The end-product was good in that there are no extraneous noises to draw away the listener's attention, no empty-room tinny sound. The narrator's voice was fine, but added nothing to the listening experience. The reader read with virtually no emotion - no tenderness in the main character's voice for Natasha, no fear or tension in the voices of the characters when the scenes are suspenseful and only the briefest hint of accenting in the voices. The reader simply read the book. Unfortunately, the reader countlessly paused as if a comma or period were in the text when the print should not have a comma in the sentence or the sentence did not yet end. When the listener has only the reader's voice, comma-pauses (or period pauses) where there are not or should not be commas (or periods) requires the listener to come out of the story and make the mental correction for the sound of an error.I would recommend this book to readers of YA. My other comments aside, this is an entertaining, interesting story. I would be comfortable allowing my teenagers to read this. I commend Mr. Galdi on this first novel and wish him every success with any future books.

This showed in my Kindle Library and something seemed familiar. Turns out I had already read it a few years back. And trust me when I say this, it's as good the second time around. Picture someone who is so intelligent that he can crack grade military encryption in just a matter of hours. When you can do that you'll never be a regular person, especially if news of this gets out. So, what to do? You've got to disappear - completely disappear. And Sean does, but as James. And no longer in the US. He and his Aunt Mary are dropped in Europe. She too must change her name. The best part? He meets the love of his life and therein comes the really thrilling part. Sorry, no spoiler here!

Outstanding story. One thing I really liked about it is the present tense! Instead of, "Sean did this, and Mary said that, and they all went there...", it's "Sean does this, and Mary says that, and they all go there...". It was a little disconcerting at first, because I don't think I've seen it before, and I thought it was going to lead to a really short-term story that didn't have any substance to it. Was I wrong.Sean is a super-genius teen whose brilliant mind gets him in trouble with the CIA. He goes into hiding (in Italy, no less), meets a girl who later catches Ebola (nothing like keeping up with the times, huh?), and Sean has to use his incredible intelligence to save her.Enough with the potential spoiler text.The only faults I had with the story were the somewhat long-winded descriptions of some rather banal scenarios intended (I guess) to show Sean is just a normal teenager trying to live a normal teenage life within a normal family/friends environment. A page or two here and there would have sufficed for this, rather than the ten-to-fifteen pages the author allotted. Fortunately (for me), it was easy to detect when these scenarios were beginning, and a little speed-reading enabled me to skip over most of the wordage without missing anything of importance.My only problem with the plot was that a genius (Sean) who could hack into any computer complex in the world would have no problem hacking into a chemical company and having them send him the chemicals he needs to save his girlfriend's life. Instead, he risks all to return to the States (and the CIA environment) and try to get a chemist friend to obtain the chemicals for him, with the ensuing drama that results from the friend turning out to be a bad guy. Once I got over this hiccup (which was pretty evident as soon as it occurred), I have to admit I enjoyed the ensuing drama a lot. And it all wound up in a very satisfying ending. I highly recommend this novel, and look forward to the author's next venture.

An unexpected good rising from the greed of corporate control. Ted came through with an unbelievable story that may come true someday.

Another good book The tension builds, will he get the formula in time. So many twists and turns. Enjoyed this book although I do not know if in life you could clear a drug so quickly. but it made an exciting story.

This author never fails to deliver. Heart wrenching and dramatic, nail biting and unimaginable but so realistic and possible. It makes the mind boggle! Highly recommended.

Intriguing from the very beginning, one those can't put down books that just keeps getting better, exquisite highs and mournful lows keep the reader wanting more.

I enjoyed this. It's what I would call a boy's book, being intensely masculine in its point of view. That is not to say that it is in any way anti-woman as women are treated with tenderness throughout. It is simply my reaction to the book.A good read and a good story

Interesting thriller with a fresh approach. It sometimes got bogged down in providing chase scenes which weren't really necessary (why not go to the pharmaceutical company rather than running away?) But still enjoyable!