The Atlantis Gene

Well, it certainly moves fast, but it plays on so many tropes, the speed makes it seem like the author had to fit them all in, like he was getting paid by the idea, original or not. Aliens (maybe), Atlantis (maybe), post-humans, secret Nazi experiments, secret agents working for non-governmental agencies, unsuspecting doctors who don't know they hold the key to it all, possible world ending events, dystopic visions, alternate origins for human intelligence - all we're missing are zombies to round off the parade (but there are two more books, so maybe they're in those two). Suspension of disbelief is very high (seriously, how many times do we have shoot someone before they stay dead?), and characters don't grow as much as learn they're not who they think they are. All in all, I kept reading to see if it got better or original - it didn't, and I don't think I care enough about any of the characters to find out what happens next.

Posted Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Actual Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I happened to come across this book on Amazon a week or two after finishing Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira. I was looking for a novel of a different genre, something which was outside of the realm of young adult fiction. I wanted mystery and adventure without the stereotypical detective mystery novel archetype; with that in mind, the search began for a new book or series to read which is how I came upon The Atlantis Gene.

The synopsis did an excellent job of pulling me into this novel, the entire idea of human evolution and existence is a topic which has been debated for a number of years and still is today. There are a number of theories and a novel which embodied a theory and created an entire world around the concept intrigued me. I am not as up to date on my evolutionary science or genetics as I would like, yet I didn't feel as if I was lost among jargon nor did I find myself unable to understand the science. These are crucial points of focus for any author planning to write a plot with a scientific focus, you must ensure that your audience will be able to follow and understand if they are not a scientist! I believe that Riddle did an excellent job of ensuring that the readers would understand the novel regardless of their level of familiarity with advanced sciences.

I did have some issues with the novel though, however, my issues stemmed from the tempo of the story rather than the content. I felt that the novel did a great job of following a reasonable pattern, namely: introduction, encountering a problem, expanding of understanding the problem, climax, resolution of problem, and conclusion. However, I felt as if the tempo of the novel slowed down greatly as it was building towards the climax, then once we reached the climax it felt as if it was a rush to the end. I have great difficulty pinning the characteristics which made the building portion of the novel feel so slow. I mean, this section was filled with action, adventure, and out running the enemy! However, it felt as if a great number of pages (and thus a lot of time) was spent on David and Kate’s escape then once we reached the face-off with Immari…it felt as if the majority of the scenes were rushed, as if the author had reached some predetermined page limit and had to fit these scenes in the novel within a certain number of pages without going over. In addition, there were multiple point of view switches which would only last for a page or two in those final chapters which made it incredibly choppy, lending to the feeling of a rushed and broken up tempo. Knowing that this is Riddle’s first published novel, I am going to hope that this issue stemmed from a writer who is still learning their craft and that it is something which has been improved upon in the next two novels in the trilogy.

Content and story wise, I greatly enjoyed reading Riddle’s debut novel, but the tempo issues were incredibly difficult for me to overlook and did make the reading more difficult. I would suggest this trilogy of books to anyone who is interested in sci-fi novels which focus on where humanity came from and where it is going. I look forward to finishing Riddle’s debut trilogy!

Originally posted on my Wordpress.