Paul Levinson has outdone himself: The Plot to Save Socrates is a philosophically rich gem full of big ideas and wonderful time-travel tricks.

There is no indisputable proof for the big bang," said Hollus. "And there is none for evolution. And yet you accept those. Why hold the question of whether there is a creator to a higher standard?

No one disputes that seeming order can come out of the application of simple rules. But who wrote the rules?

Secrecy was the problem; transparency the obvious cure.

A science fiction writer should try to combine the intimately human with the grandly cosmic.

Honor does not have to be defended.

Not wanting to die was another universal constant, it seemed.