C. J. Cutliffe Hyne (1866–1944)

A wild romp with a flawless (read: Gary-Stuish) hero is this classic Atlantis-story, but considering its age of more than 100 years, a lot of flaws may be forgiven. And the 1st person narrator Deucalion does have a lot of charme, I must admit.
Unsatisfactory: the magical plotholes. Magic can level a city and drown a continent, but is not able to destroy a siege tower? Pretty useless.
Also: the romance. I don't believe that a mad, immortal and fateful passion for a woman that develops over a show more span of a few hours suddenly becomes the only force and motivation of action for a character like Deucalion. That'd be pretty pathetic, especially as the lady in question is "dead" for the majority of the story (and doesn't do much more than a corpse even when she's not). That's even more astonishing as Hyne is able to write interesting women characters - the main villain is charming, clever, gifted and ruthless.

All in all a very fun read. And "Son of a European" shall be my favourite insult from now on. show less

A reprint of a novel published around 1900, this is the story of Deucalion, the governor of Yucatan province. He is suddenly recalled home, back to Atlantis, by Phorenice, the new Empress. She turns his arrival into a grand ceremony, parading him through the city, and back to her palace, on top of a live mammoth.

Having been away from Atlantis for twenty years, Deucalion is disgusted by the conditions in its capital. Everywhere is filth, and poverty of record-setting levels. Unburied dead show more bodies litter the streets. Outside the city walls are thousands of destitute people clamoring to get in. Phorenice’s attitude is: the rich (mainly Phorenice) get richer, and everyone else fends for themselves. Phorenice makes it known to all that she is the daughter of a god, and expects to be treated as such, even though she is actually the daughter of a swineherd. Anyone who says no to Phorenice, about anything, can expect to die very unpleasantly, so Deucalion and the people of Atlantis are forced to go along.

Deucalion saves a woman named Nais from being eaten by tigers. He is betrothed to Phorenice, and does not dare to say no, but he falls for Nais. The Empress gets very jealous toward Nais, and has her buried alive between two huge blocks of stone. Deucalion slips her a drug, known only to the Priests Clan, of which Deucalion is a senior member, that puts Nais into suspended animation.

Deucalion has seen enough, and gets a ride with a boatful of people planning to start over on a faraway island, away from Phorenice. He suddenly has second thoughts, and asks to be let off on the other side of Atlantis, a land of deep swamps, impassable forests and hideous beasts. It takes months, but Deucalion makes it back to the capital. Phorenice, who is now to be worshipped as a god, has learned that Nais is not really dead, and is not happy. Then comes the final battle between Phorenice and the Priests Clan, just before the "real" gods make it clear that their patience is gone.

This is a gem of a story. Atlantis is certainly a popular setting for fantasy stories; this is one of the better stories ever written. It has just a little bit of weird in it, and is very much worth reading. show less

A series of short stories featuring a sea captain forced to take work where he can. He's always successful but somehow never wins. In tone this is a bit like the Indiana Jones movies in terms of violence to humor ratio.

Pretty silly novel of Atlantis, culminating in the great flood. The point of view character is Deucalion, a famous flood survivor in the Greek tradition. This could be an example of how a great deal of fantasy will date itself by its plots and interests. But not a good trashy book! originally published in 1900.