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.

Narrator is terrible

I’m not quite done with chapter 1 and I’m not sure if I can continue listening. I have loved other A.G. Riddle books, but this narrator is just off. He does voices pretty well, but in the narrator mode, he just emphasizes the wrong words in sentences and it doesn’t make sense. It’s so flat. It’s so much of a contrast to the amazing skills of Ray Porter, who narrates many of AG Riddle’s other books. 

Stand out story

What made the experience of listening to The Atlantis Gene the most enjoyable?

The reader warmed to the characters very quickly. I never found myself wondering who was talking.

What did you like best about this story?

The multiple story lines didn't feel disconnected like many writers who try this approach. It really felt like you were there omniscient, seeing it all as it happened in real time.

What does Stephen Bel Davies bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His portrayal of the female character voice was not overdone like so many male readers tend to do. Kudo's sir!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, it was something I could not stop listening to. I would set the sleep timer to turn it off, roll over and set it for another hour.

Any additional comments?

This Audio book inspired me as a writer. Something that has only happened with James Marsters reading the Dresden Books.

A long journey to...?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Boy, you would really have to be into the whole global conspiracy/aliens seeded the planet/nazi submarines in Antartica "thing" for me to recommend this to you. BUT, if you ARE into that kind of thing, then it's not bad.

What could A. G. Riddle have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Within the genre, it is not bad, but requires a GREAT deal of disbelief suspension. EDIT please. Lot's of waste here IMHO.

Which scene was your favorite?

The WW 1 scenes were impressive.

Could you see The Atlantis Gene being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

Any additional comments?

Beginning book of what appears to be a trilogy. May continue. Was interesting but abit out there, even for me. Moderately recommended.

Plagues of the past and future

Kate Warner is a pioneer of genetic healing. Her adventure began while she was doing clinical research on autistic children. The use of family dynamics and time travel make this story a thrilling chase through history and on into the future. Excellent narration. Kept me entertained for hours in a sci-fi world.

Big, fast, and complex.

This is everything a thriller should be!

Unfortunately, Stephen Bel Davies's audio narration is somewhat underwhelming. His voice is pleasant enough and he has several distinct voices, but many of those voices are not accurate to the way they're described and vocal inflections and tempo shifts are virtually nonexistent.

Between other reviews and interviews with the author, I've been led to expect a Dan Brown-eske experience. I have to admit that apart from the lower degree of complexity and the twists being much more obvious, this book held up to that expectation.

It took some time to connect with the characters, on account of the heavy focus on rapid-fire action almost from page one and the wildly shifting character POVs.

The book's greatest strength is that the story moves and keeps on moving. The first slow section is well past the halfway point and they never last long.

The problem is it takes almost that long to figure out who the main characters are. The author seems to like head hopping. A lot.

Secondarily, I'm all for short chapters, especially in thrillers. But the sheer number of sub-five-minute chapters in this book gets rather distracting.

I found myself frustrated with the sparsity of descriptive details and the advancement of time with no details of what has happened in the interim.

For all its faults, however, this book tells an extremely compelling story that reframes more than a few historical facts in ways that are surprisingly convincing.

There were more than a few points where I couldn't help thinking, "Well, I don't really believe that. But what if?" The arguments are pretty compelling.

I'm struggling to articulate how I feel about the ending.

I can't really call it a satisfying ending, as there are still so many open threads that could go in any of a hundred directions.

However, the main plot (as I see it), which is the missing children, does come to a neat and satisfying close and I absolutely intend to continue this series at my earliest opportunity.

I definitely recommend this book for any fan of Dan Brown and for thriller readers who enjoy a bit of light Sci-fi being injected into their genre.

liked other AG Riddle tales more

This is perhaps a me thing. The narrator did me in. The way he voiced the women was too sexy and not scientist-confident. And I couldn't like his voice, the way he pronounced certain words: corridor! corridor! corridor! I cant hear him say that word again. It was a chore to listen to him. Because of the narrator, I won't be continuing with this series.

Dull narration and flat characters

This story has an interesting, though not an entirely novel premise, that gets weighted down by uninspired and two-dimensional characters and a maudlin back story (injured war hero! Mother dead in childbirth!.. rather uninspired). This is not helped by the almost monotone delivery of the narrator, although in other contexts, I can see how this narration would have worked. The "romantic" scenes are very uncomfortably written/performed. I am getting the second book in the series because the overarching story is interesting.

spectacular

loved this book. so happy to have found it is a trilogy. can't wait to read the next book

great story

This is such a great adventure book! I could hardly put it down. The story follows Kate a woman running trials to cure autism when she accidentally stumbles upon something that could help. She is then thrown into a conspiracy with two groups. These groups have known the truth about the great leap forward and the great plague that killed millions of human on earth. What they both want is control over this weapon that wasn't human made. What follows is a mystery of who is on what side and how are they going to prevent another plague. This is a great read! I can't wait to read the second book. Happy reading my friends.

love it

this story is a mystery wrapped in an adventure. need book 2 stat! you'll fall in love laugh and cry all while being amazed.