Raising Atlantis

I keep trying on Atlantis books and so far I've found none I like, and at this point I'm pretty sure I just won't.

Where to start. There are two main characters in this novel. Conrad Yeats and Serena Serghetti, she's a self-righteous bitch and he's an insane sociopath with Daddy issues.

The story starts simply. Someone at NASA finds a big honkin' pyramid under the ice in Antarctica, then calls in his adult son to come look at the thing.

Not to be left out the Pope sends a former Nun, who just happens to know Conrad, down there too. I'm not exactly sure why every fictional book I've read always has the Catholic church really, really concerned about the famous 'Lost Island', but, there ya go.

It's a well written and crafted book, it's just show more that its plot is predictable, its characters unlikable, and while it's a bit thrilling, it doesn't do anything different than the rest of its genre. I did have hope that maybe there'd be an interesting and different ending and while I guessed wrong what was going to happen, it, like the rest of the book left me wanting and not in a nice TV cliffhanger way either. show less

I was trying to put my finger on what this novel reminds me of and I think I've worked it out - I think it's reminiscent of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, only instead of being set within the church itself it's set under 2 miles of ice in Antarctica in ruins that have been recently exposed in an earthquake.

That's not to say this is a rip off of the aforementioned like many novels that came out around this time were. No, rather this is a mixture of themes that come together quite well, despite the imaginative setting and thought provoking ruins which are described within one thing the book is quite light on is character development. All the characters seem to almost be cardboard cutouts with just a brief outline of their characteristics show more given which leaves some of them feeling almost cliched. Being an action slash adventure novel however the book itself doesn't suffer too much as a result of the shallow characters instead it rather focuses the reader's attention towards what is happening rather than who is experiencing what is happening.

I thought the setup, execution, scenery and circumstances were interesting and vividly described, especially the latter two. Whilst the theme of Atlantis isn't exactly a unique story to tell I thought this spin on the old myth was good, as such I'll likely be checking out the following 2 books in the series shortly. show less

Pure hokum, filled with stock characters but I found it a fun read, provided I didn't really look any deeper than surface. Dr Conrad Yeats is a disgraced archeologist, he has found things that people prefer to be left alone and now the US special forces are dragging him to Atlantis. There he finds something he never expected to find. Meanwhile Dr Serena Serghetti is being summoned to the Vatican, they want her to look into what's going on.

It's like watching a low budget film made for TV, entertaining at the time but occasionally you look at it and your suspension of disbelief is crashing hard against something that just doesn't quite gel. I've read worse, and I read much better.

Lot's of exciting action, iffy character consistency and dialogue, too many coincidences even for suspended disbelief. It keeps you reading, though, and the special effects would be terrific.

OK, this was a fun, fast paced read that keeps one entertained from beginning to end, along the lines of a Dan Brown book. However, like those books, it leaves gaping holes in the plot that are inexpertly glossed over. The writing is satisfactory, but the pace is kept up at a run because if you are given a chance to stop, catch your breath and think, you'll call shenanigans. As another reviewer put it, it's kind of like watching Mystery Science Theater 3000, it's so bad it's entertaining. Overall, if you want a quick light entertaining read, it's not bad, if you want a good tight story or excellent writing, move along.

We meet Dr. Yeats topping a plateau that overlooks the Nazca lines in Peru, scouting with his producer for his next show more location to shoot a 'documentary'. While there a US Helicopter shows up and gives him an offer he can't refuse, an all expense paid trip to Antarctica, and a chance to see Dr. Serena "Mother Earth" Serghetti, an ex, almost girlfriend. The landing into the hidden US base was extraordinary, then we discover that a pyramid was found under the ice, a 2 mile high pyramid. Things just get stranger and more unbelievable as the story continues. show less

Enjoyed the story and the action although some of it was hard to follow and several things could have done with explaining how "group/person A" arrived in that place at that moment etc.

Narration was up to the usual Scott Brick high standard. Sadly the production let the book down a little as every chapter ends on a tense moment but is immediately ruined by the next chapter starting almost over the top of the last word, killing any suspense. There was no pause at all between the last word and "Chapter X..."

I was hoping for a bit more with this book. It left me a bit disappointed. We had a mixture of archeology, astrology, religion, science, military, outer space and mythology mashed together. A bit to scattered, like the author was picking from each to suit his explanation of Atlantis. I still plan on finishing the series to see if this gets any better.