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.

Action thriller with some mystery and Atlantis

I was given the opportunity to do a review of the Audible version of The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle.

The book is a mystery thriller about a mysterious worldwide terrorist organization and their quest to unlock the secrets of Atlantis and to either prevent or facilitate the destruction of the human race. I don't normally read too many of these (I got burned out on Clive Cussler), but I am glad I gave this a shot.

The narrator (Stephen Bel Davies) does a really great job. Rather than reading the whole thing in monotone, he actually does quite a few different voices for characters, and he almost always gets the inflection, etc. right. So I really enjoyed his delivery of the novel.

As for the story itself, I found it to be very interesting and I wanted to learn more about the mystery and the mysterious Atlantis technology. The novel covers a lot of territory both in present time and in the past by jumping backwards for quite a bit of the story (told through a character reading a journal). The pacing was pretty good and the character development for the protagonists was well done (the development for the villains was non-existent).

This is definitely an adult novel... there are some horrific scenes in it, and some profanity-laced tirades. Suffice to say, the bad guys are bad in this novel.

As for the cons, I felt that at times the same stuff was just rehashed over and over. I'm sure some readers would appreciate having concepts or facts repeated 4 or 5 times, but not for me. Some of the timing was just off too... they had a short time (say 30 seconds or 10 minutes) and spent an entire chapter in dialogue or thoughts. Also, while there is plenty of action, there is also a ton of explanation and at times I was saying "just get on with it already". And lastly, you really have to suspend your belief for a lot of this...just enjoy the ride and try not to analyze it too deeply.

Overall, a very enjoyable story and I am gearing up to read the sequel.

NOTE: I received this novel for free in exchange for an honest review.

I Guess I Blame It on the Narrator

I thought this listen should have been better than it was. It's a great story, and I the writing was good enough. Nothing really bugged me throughout the book. However, I found myself having to back up many times because my mind wondered. Also, I didn't listen for very long in bed before I was ready to give up for the night. It took longer to listen to this book than would a sixteen-hour great story with good writing and an excellent narrator. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't nitpicking the narrator throughout the book, and I thought he did a decent job technically. However, he didn't bring the extra umph into the book like a really good narrator will do. So, all things considered, I blame it on the narrator.

I will still try the next book in the series, because it's such a good story. I just wish someone better for this book was reading it.

Audible bought

For a honest review with my own words. This story has lots of twist and turns .It will have you enthralled from the start. fantastic charaters , its also believable ,and very intresting.

Interesting but drags

Decent premise but it drug on a little and stalled in the middle. Got better towards the end. Narrator was good so it was an easy listen.

The story was okay

The book was long. There were characters I had somewhat of a hard time keeping track of. It only mildly held my interest. I don’t think I’ll be downloading the next in the series.

Fun

Written like a fun summer scifi/action thriller, or a enjoyable TV mini series. Plentiful "Dynasty" moments scattered throughout. With this frame of mind, you should enjoy this audio book. Compared to the fast pace of the story, look-backs on a journal can be difficult to slough through, but pay attention.

It is great for what it is, and for a nod to high-brow science fiction enthusiasts, terrible for what it isn't. ;)

very exciting

This book was hard to follow in the beginning. I lost track of who was good or bad and all of the names. I still had some name trouble at the end, but not much.
By the middle of the book it was a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter. I liked that the author changed chapters when the scenes changed. it helped me keep track. I can't wait to listen to the next one!

Adventure worthy of the Flash Gordon serials.

This is a good guy fantasy. One great escape after another. If you like James Bond films, you'll enjoy this book.

Not going back for book 2

Have you ever read a book and wondered "Did the author ask 10 friends to suggest a theme they would enjoy seeing in a book and then decide to incorporate all 10 in a single book?" Imagine the entire X-Files franchise being crammed into a single season. Or the tenth Doctor, Cthulhu, Jason Bourne, Hitler, Typhoid Mary, Agent J and all the inhabitants of Krikkit getting together to put an Indiana Jones musical on Broadway. That's what the plot of this book was like.

However, it was entertaining. It was a fun listen during a long car ride and except for some confusing jumps around, it was enjoyable.

The biggest drawback was the lack of closure. I realized that this was a "book 1" but I was expecting it to be the starting point of a character, not a plot. I assumed we would see Agent Vale again, like another Dirk Pitt or Gray Pierce. I liked the book, but not enough to buy another one just to follow the story line. I would have preferred a stand-alone book.

Excessively complex

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The book certainly has some strong sci-fi bones, but the overall telling of the story feels excessively complex and meandering, combining elements of medical science, government agencies, ancient civilizations, time travel, etc. The story is told from so many perspectives that several characters need to explicitly explain, and re-explain, large portions of the plot for the reader's benefit.

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

This is the first book that kicks off a series so it seems to be acting as a catch-all to establish a lot of different aspects of a universe. This book could probably have been broken into two, if not three separate books to ease the reader/listener in without overwhelming them.

Which character – as performed by Stephen Bel Davies – was your favorite?

There are too many characters in different time periods with different names and aliases to really nail any character performance down.

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

This book feels like an extended pilot to an HBO or Netflix serial.