The Atlantis Gene

The Origin Mystery, Book 1

By: A.G. Riddle

Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies

Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The greatest mystery of all time...the history of human origins...will be revealed.

Seventy thousand years ago, the human race almost went extinct. We survived, but no one knows how.

Until now.

The countdown to the next stage of human evolution is about to begin, and humanity might not survive this time.

The Immari are good at keeping secrets. For 2,000 years, they've hidden the truth about human evolution. They've also searched for an ancient enemy - a threat that could wipe out the human race. Now the search is over.

Off the coast of Antarctica, a research vessel discovers a mysterious structure buried deep in an iceberg. It has been there for thousands of years, and something is guarding it. As the Immari rush to execute their plan, a brilliant geneticist makes a discovery that could change everything.

Dr. Kate Warner moved to Jakarta, Indonesia to escape her past. She hasn't recovered from what happened to her, but she has made an incredible breakthrough: a cure for autism. Or so she thinks. What she has found is far more dangerous - for her and the entire human race. Her work could be the key to the next stage of human evolution. In the hands of the Immari, it would mean the end of humanity as we know it.

Agent David Vale has spent 10 years trying to stop the Immari. Now he's out of time. His informant is dead. His organization has been infiltrated. His enemy is hunting him. But when David receives a coded message related to the Immari attack, he risks everything to save the one person that can help him solve it: Dr. Kate Warner.

Together, Kate and David must race to unravel a global conspiracy and learn the truth about the Atlantis Gene...and human origins. Their journey takes them to the far corners of the globe and into the secrets of their pasts. The Immari are close on their heels and will stop at nothing to obtain Kate's research and force the next stage of human evolution - even if it means killing 99.9% of the world's population. David and Kate can stop them...if they can trust each other. And stay alive.

©2013 A.G. Riddle (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

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it jumped around to much and sometimes I didn't get why that post of the story was relevant.

A Thrill-Ride That Captures Minds and Hearts Alike

4.5 out of 5 stars

I've had this book on my "to be read" pile for a long time. I picked this up a couple years ago before I was really into audiobooks and even though I was enjoying it -- it just felt like it was dragging on so I stopped around 20-30% through. I picked this up the other day and I'm really glad that I gave it another chance. I knew that thousands of people loved Riddle and this series, so I wanted to give it another shot. I completely understand why now.

For people out there who aren't sure why people listen to audiobooks -- this is a great example. It was a book that I was enjoying, but for some reason, I couldn't find the "right" time to read it. Or it wasn't hitting me with the right pacing. I put the audiobook on and all of a sudden it's 1 AM30 and I should have been in bed hours ago.

It's pretty obvious that The Atlantis Gene is leading up to something. There is a great story arc that is almost completed by the end of the book -- but Riddle left it open. Normally this bothers me a bit, but I've had this series on my radar for some time and I'm not disappointed at all by a 15+ hour book.

The mixture of history and future in this book was fascinating to me. I don't want to give too much away (I know, the book is 3+ years old at this point) but I'm amazed at how many different genres that Riddle was able to intermix into this story without it feeling boring or overbearing. There really is a little bit for everyone in this. There's some mystery, adventure, thriller, technothriller, history, sci-fi, and medical thriller.

I'm extremely glad that I gave this a second chance. I picked it up because I cannot wait for Riddle's newest book: Pandemic (I pre-ordered it). I hope that he puts as much thought into that as he did into this book.

Overall, an enjoyable book with lots of twists and turns. A book with something for everyone to enjoy.

Evolution and history reimagined

A G Riddle's The Atlantis Gene presents a novel reinterpretation of both humanoid evolutionary biology as well as recent historical events. Beginning 70,000 years ago, the notion is entertained that our evolutionary past has experienced some outside, purposeful influence for reasons unknown. An autism researcher and a spy embark on a worldwide travelogue piecing together the present day mystery while uncovering related events from the WWI era.

The science elements are varied with evolution, molecular biology, and the physics of time all mixed together. Equally compelling is the detailed descriptions of tradecraft for the espionage components. Suggestions of aliens or at least distinct intelligent, hominid type creatures is hinted. Differences in the passage of time in various locations creates characters across the long story timeline, but along the way, the 1918 Spanish flu, WWII Nazis, and 9/11 are all integrated into a coherent alternate historical interpretation that bodes bad luck for mankind.

The narration is well done with a good range of voices, female and male as well as ethnic variations. This requires a close listen as the time passage variation creates the same characters with different names in different time periods.

A satisfying read.

One of the best Science Fiction books I have read in a long time. The Origin Mystery sounds like it will be the same story told again an again, but it is truly a unique tale of intrigue and mystery wrapped up in a Sci-Fi package. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys reading a well written story.

decent

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Probably. It has its moments and the historic speculation is interesting.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Atlantis Gene?

There were so many narrow escapes (too many), it is hard to say.

Have you listened to any of Stephen Bel Davies’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

favorably, Some of the female voices were weak (not Kate's) and It took me a while to figure out that Belarus (stated as though it rhymed with Polaris) was actually Belarus.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just a few groans.

Any additional comments?

The book seems to be a cross between 2001 and Dan Brown. There were so many narrow escapes that it defied belief and became too predictable. Still, it carried me along and held my interest. Explanations of why our early history was as it was were plausible and the revelations interesting.

awesome book a must read

it hooked me right from the beginning and had me wanting more kept me thinking I was always intrigued going to find out how it ended

Thought provoking

Good concept, the only thing that I can say to the negative is keeping the names straight.

Great book!

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book and I thought the Author did a great job. The flow was just right and I was able to transfer myself into the scenes. Not sure why others could not get into it. I am looking forward to the second book.

Great story but a little slow.

Liked how the characters were developed.
Story line was good but too slow. I recommend you listen to this story.

Too Many Characters

This was an okay book for me. I listened on Audible and I did not listen every day so it was hard to pick up where I left off because there were so many characters. I think it would be a good movie so you could see it all at one time. If I had the time to listen every single day it probably would have been better, but it would be a week or two sometimes before I could get back to it. I won't get the second book because I could not get invested enough in the first one to get really excited about it. So, if you are going to read this book or listen then stay with it every day and it will probably be more thrilling.