The Atlantis Gene

When I first started to read this book I was anticipating a plot involving Atlanteans and genetics. This is exactly what you get. Tenfold.

The story itself is fairly straightforward at a high level but the pace is a little too quick in parts. I had to re-read the first few chapters to make sure I’d embedded the characters correctly. Once I’d done that I was surer of myself and started to really enjoy the storytelling. The narrative was good and yes, there is a well represented strong female protagonist which makes a pleasant change. The male protagonist was nicely written and both had cute flaws that made them likeable. There was also some predictable flirting going on that you could take or leave really; I guess it just felt like the right thing to do with them.

Other characters in the book were well drawn, villainous antagonists and when the narrative switched to their perspective you were given a great opportunity to understand them a bit more. Some other excellent characters helped push the plot along however it did seem that there was an awful lot going on during some parts of the book making many of those characters and some scenes instantly forgettable, which was a shame as I think a lot of effort went into some of those characters. I'm thinking of the temple and balloon sections in particular here.

Later in the book, there was a sudden drop in pace and a lot of fairly obvious exposition. While it did explain the plot lines and tie everything together I was enjoying mixed feelings. On one hand I really appreciated the information and thoroughly enjoyed the story within a story but on the other hand felt that some elements could have been explained better elsewhere. However, on saying that, the whole exposition section (the journal) became a plot device explaining so much more a bit later in the story resulting in a bit of a twist. So I understand why it was done as the reader, I'm hoping you will too.

If you enjoy the pulpy side of science fiction then there is nothing wrong with this story. You get an awful lot of iconic items for your money and for a story spanning thousands of years, let’s face it, you’re going to get some! Did I enjoy it? Yes I did, very much so. Would I recommend it to friends? Yes I would.

Audio review: http://starfleetcomms.com/lave-radio-dataslate-episode-10/

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1298102600