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From an extraordinary discovery in a remote desert oasis to a desperate race against time in the ocean depths, a team of adventurers is about to find the truth behind the most baffling legend in history. The hunt is on for...

ATLANTIS

Marine archaeologist Jack Howard has stumbled upon the keys to an ancient puzzle. With a crack team of scientific experts and ex–Special Forces commandos, he is heading for what he believes could be the greatest archaeological find of all time——the site of fabled Atlantis——while a ruthless adversary watches his every move and prepares to strike.

But neither of them could have imagined what awaits them in the murky depths. Not only a shocking truth about a lost world, but an explosive secret that could have devastating consequences today. Jack is determined to stop the legacy of Atlantis from falling into the wrong hands, whatever the cost. But first he must do battle to prevent a global catastrophe.

451 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

372 people are currently reading
10317 people want to read

About the author

David Gibbins

48 books603 followers
Canadian-born underwater archaeologist and novelist. Gibbins learned to scuba dive at the age of 15 in Canada, and dived under ice, on shipwrecks and in caves while he was still at school. He has led numerous underwater archaeology expeditions around the world, including five seasons excavating ancient Roman shipwrecks off Sicily and a survey of the submerged harbour of ancient Carthage. In 1999-2000 he was part of an international team excavating a 5th century BC shipwreck off Turkey. His many publications on ancient shipwreck sites have appeared in scientific journals, books and popular magazines. Most recently his fieldwork has taken him to the Arctic Ocean, to Mesoamerica and to the Great Lakes in Canada.
After holding a Research Fellowship at Cambridge, he spent most of the 1990s as a Lecturer in the School of Archaeology, Classics and Oriental Studies at the University of Liverpool. On leaving teaching he become a novelist, writing archaeological thrillers derived from his own background. His novels have sold over two million copies and have been London Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers. His first novel, Atlantis, published in the UK in 2005 and the US in September 2006, has been published in 30 languages and is being made into a TV miniseries; since then he has written five further novels, published in more than 100 editions internationally. His novels form a series based on the fictional maritime archaeologist Jack Howard and his team, and are contemporary thrillers involving a plausible archaeological backdrop.

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5 stars
1,737 (20%)
4 stars
2,244 (26%)
3 stars
2,593 (30%)
2 stars
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1 star
618 (7%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 566 reviews
Profile Image for James.
Author 20 books4,346 followers
October 23, 2017
3 of 5 stars to David Gibbins's Atlantis, the first in the "Jack Howard" action adventure thriller series. I chose this book while walking around an airport, looking for something to read while on a 6-hour flight across the country. I'm a fan of the suspense / thriller genre, especially when it times archaeology, history and religion in complex ways. Stretching the truth, inventing characters, tying them to real people from the past; it all makes for a great read... this was a good kick-start to a new series.



Jack Howard is a likable protagonist. He's got a few quirks and annoyances, but I think those are necessary to create a memorable character; and when you're running around the globe trying to save the world, or protect the world, and yourself, I can cut you some slack!

Some may criticize the heavy fact-dropping in the story-telling approach. It's useful in some areas, perhaps a little tedious in others. But if you're reading these types of books, it's fairly common.



I plan to pick up the second book at some point, but it's not too high on my list within this genre. There are a few other series with a bit more control on the character and the plot. That said, it's still worth a read if you are interested in "Atlantis," as it covers a lot of ground. And who isn't interested in discovering a lost city? It could be the key to our future.



About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world! And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Thanks for stopping by!
Profile Image for Algernon (Darth Anyan).
1,804 reviews1,142 followers
July 27, 2012
Easily the worst book I've tried in 2011. I am usually very easy to please, witness my 4 star median rating on Goodreads, but Gibbins ticked me in all the wrong places. I am also an advocate of letting readers make up their own opinion and not thrashing any author or book, but my friendly advice is : stay away from this.
I choose the book without any previous research, solely based on the subject of Atlantis. It is, as usual with the theme, not really about ancient Atlantis, but about modern archeology and the discovery of the ruins of this particular civilization. It is also an attempt at writing a techno thriller, and as such the author may have some academical knowledge about history and about archeology but is particularly clueless about technology and mechanics. Some of his invented materials and devices are examples of wishful thinking and show a lack of understanding of basic principles of physics.

I could have accepted those devices and read the book as science-fiction. But the mode of presentation is awkward and clumsy. Endless dry expositions through "brainstorming" meetings and conferences between the main actors. There is no dialogue, only again the actors entering lecture mode and telling us about the plot. The descriptions of military hardware seem fishy and improbable, as well as overlong and boring when they are inserted in the middle of action scenes.

There's nothing original about the characters or the plot: superheroes against supervillains, agent 007 against mad terrorists bent on world domination. The author expresses some of the worst russo- and islamo-phobia I have come across.

My recommendation: try something else. This book makes even Clive Cussler look like a Booker Prize candidate.

/edit for spelling errors
Profile Image for Nikoleta.
724 reviews332 followers
July 28, 2016
Δεν μπόρεσα να το τελειώσω, δεν είχα υπομονή, η πλοκή ήταν βαρετή. Ενώ η υπόθεση στηριζόταν σε αερολογίες χωρίς καμία βάση και νόημα. «Ωχ ένας πάπυρος! Πρέπει να είναι του Σόλωνα! Και δεν έχουμε άλλες πληροφορίες από αυτόν γιατί αφού τον έγραψε πρέπει να έπαθε αμνησία! Είμαι σίγουρος ότι τον χτύπησαν στο κεφάλι και του τον πήραν!» Ποοοσο επιστημονική προσέγγιση!!!
(Κάπου άκουσα οτι ο συγγραφέας είναι αρχαιολόγος;;; Οοοοκ... ντάξ...)
Profile Image for Anish Kohli.
211 reviews292 followers
September 18, 2013
The author tries too hard to impress the reader by showing off his knowledge in various fields..so much so that it puts you off. The basic story line is way to feeble to maintain grip.
All said and done..its a POOR attempt at copying DAN BROWN.
24 reviews4 followers
November 29, 2009
This book is so wonderfully awful that I can't put it down. A backstory first: my fiance and I used to get each other romance novels and use a bright yellow highlighter on the really gross, terrible parts. Makes for great airplane reading. I think this book deserves that treatment.

All of the characters are described in superlatives and have multiple skills that are completely unrelated to what the person does for a living. For example, we have a British underwater archeologist who is also talented with Russian weaponry, and can fly several types of helicopters. Neat, huh? We have a (Russian? Ukrainian?)femme fatale who is superb at hostage negiations, while also being a talented linguist ( a cunning?....nah) who can dive at a crazy 160 meters and be totally familiar with all the equipment!

Then we have a character introduced as the son of a greek shipping tycoon who gave up his playboy lifestyle to pursue a life in studying deep sea archeaology! Can it get any better? Why yes. The plot, if you can believe it, is even more outrageous than the character descriptions.

Like I said, I can't put it down.
Profile Image for Χρύσα Βασιλείου.
Author 6 books167 followers
September 7, 2017
3,5/5 αστεράκια.

Ξεκινώντας το βιβλίο, είδα με έκπληξη τις όχι και τόσο καλές κριτικές του στο Goodreads. Βασικά, είδα πολλά μονάστερα και δίστερα και προβληματίστηκα. Επειδή όμως δεν μου αρέσει προσωπικά να αφήνω βιβλία στη μέση, όσο χάλια και να 'ναι, και επειδή σκοπεύω να διαβάσω και τα επόμενα του συγγραφέα συνέχισα.
Πραγματικά, περίπου μέχρι τη μέση τα πράγματα δύσκολα παλεύονται. Ο Gibbins μας προσφέρει έναν θησαυρό πληροφοριών που αφορούν την Ιστορία, την Αρχαιολογία, τους αρχαίους πολιτισμούς και τα μυστήριά τους - κάτι που εγώ,ως φανατική όλων των παραπάνω, το λάτρεψα! Αλλά οι εξελίξεις είναι αργές, οι παράγραφοι φαίνονται "μπουκωμένες" με πληροφορίες απλώς για να γεμίζουν, οι ήρωες ψάχνουν να βρουν τα πατήματά τους. Προσωπικά, ήθελα να τραβήξω τα μαλλιά μου όταν
Πιστεύω πως κάπου εκεί το παράτησαν όσοι γράφουν στα σχόλια πως το παράτησαν. Κάπου εκεί, πριν ή περίπου στη μέση. Γιατί μετά το πράγμα αλλάζει εμφανώς και γίνεται σαφώς καλύτερο. Προσωπικά, βρήκα υπέροχες τις περιγραφές της Ατλαντίδας, εν μέρει βασισμένες σε υπαρκτά αρχαιολογικά ευρήματα πολιτισμών από διάφορες χρονικές περιόδους και διάφορες μαρτυρίες (όπως αναφέρει ο συγγραφέας στο σημείωμά του) και εν μέρει προϊόντα της φαντασίας του. Εξαιρετική η περιήγηση στο χαμένο βασίλειό της. Ειδικά σ' αυτό το σημείο η αφήγηση αξίζει όσο όλο το βιβλίο, και οπωσδήποτε κρατάει το ενδιαφέρον του αναγνώστη και τον αποζημιώνει που... έφτασε ως εκεί!

3,5 αστεράκια γιατί ΑΓΑΠΩ τις ιστορίες με την Ατλαντίδα, και γιατί αυτή η συγκεκριμένη με αντάμειψε νομίζω. Είναι αυτονόητο, λογικό και αναμενόμενο καθεμία από αυτές τις ιστορίες να έχει παρόμοια κατάληξη (δεν σποϊλεριάζω, μπορείτε να φανταστείτε πάνω κάτω) αλλά το ενδιαφέρον και το στοίχημα για τον συγγραφέα είναι να διατηρήσει το ενδιαφέρον σου για μια ιστορία της οποίας γνωρίζεις εξ' αρχής την κατάληξη. Και επειδή ο Gibbins το κατάφερε με εμένα, δηλώνω σε γενικές γραμμές ευχαριστημένη.
Profile Image for Poppy.
Author 9 books191 followers
May 25, 2007
A bunch of archaeologist searching for Atlantis. Well, their adventure in searching is intriguing, the conflict with terrorist adds suspense. But too many technoblab that made me say, "Huh?" every time someone explain an operation of a high tech (fictional) machine. And there are many, I tell you, and unnecessary.

Plus, in the end the main character reminds me too much of Rambo. He's a marine archaeologist for goodness sake, not a search-and-destroy kind of soldier. But all and all I like the plot. Even though I had to roll my eyes several times at the main character's unearthly perfectness (is that a word?).
Profile Image for RM(Alwaysdaddygirl).
456 reviews64 followers
July 18, 2018
I made it about halfway through this book. I gave up.

Some reasons for one star:
-This author loves to flaunt he has a master's degree by his writing syle. I find that to be beyond annoying.
-I love history. I received my bachelor's degree in history. That does not make me better then anyone else.
-The history is this book is overwhelming. It hard to keep everything straight.
-I had to put the book down countless time trying to understand.
Profile Image for Adrian.
679 reviews270 followers
September 29, 2023
An enjoyable novel,just right for a holiday. Very much in the Clive Cussler mould.
This is focused on the discovery of artefacts in a wreck and written relics found in an Egyptian tomb. Together they indicate not just the existence of an ancient civilisation,but also clues to its location.
As ever with these adventure novels,baddies are never far away, and are hot on our hero's tail.
An enjoyable story,that was well put together,but maybe when one is used to Dirk Pitt, anything else is not as good. I have a couple of these books so will see what i think after the next one.
Profile Image for Baba.
4,019 reviews1,466 followers
March 25, 2020
Jack Howard book 1: An excessively technical, historical and theoretically fact based discovering Atlantis adventure that has the 'heroes' competing against terrorists in the Black Sea location of the lost kingdom and its treasures. 3 out of 12.
Profile Image for Benjamin Thomas.
1,997 reviews369 followers
October 29, 2015
I really loved the premise of this book. The main character is a marine archeologist and gathers a team of experts in response to a find that seems to lead toward the discovery of the lost Atlantis. And I knew if I liked the book there were at least three more by the same author and with the same protagonist. The author himself is a professor of archeology at Cambridge for crying out loud and has led numerous underwater excavations and written extensively on the topic. To top that off, my daughter is an archeology major with a keen interest in underwater archeology so I figured she could enjoy it after me. What could go wrong?

Well, this is the hazard of buying a book by its cover. If I had looked at the ratings for all four books by David Gibbons I would certainly have looked elsewhere as I have rarely seen so many negative reviews for one author. It's easy to see why. The book had such promise and fell soooo short. To begin with, Mr Gibbons may be a great professor but he hasn't a clue about what makes a quality novel. My most important criteria for a good read is characterization. Characters have to be multi-dimensional and go through changes (either positively or negatively) somehow within the course of the novel. The main three characters in this book started out perfect and ended up perfect. The first half of the book is devoted to the three of them showing off their knowledge to each other, sounding like professors in a classroom. I realize that there is a lot of information that the reader will have to know in order to make any sense of the events that come later, but Mr Gibbons goes way overboard here. Way too many facts that, while interesting on their own, were just not necessary for good story telling.

And the plot was simply not believable. In the space of about two days, the characters solved numerous archeological puzzles that have been around for eons, one discovery leading to another and among the three of them they always managed to have the expertise required to answer the puzzle before them. And then half way through the book we get the thriller part thrust upon us in the form of a sunken Russian nuclear submarine and assorted bad guys to interfere with the archeological parts of the novel. The main character gets shot and is in dire peril of losing his life but three pages later it's as if that never happened. We get to see him shooting down a helicopter with a gun (of course he happens to know the weak spots of that particular helicopter and can adjust to the 200 mile per hour winds so he knows just where to aim). Truly Mr Gibbons seems less comfortable with the action parts of the plot and it shows in it's choppy presentation. The "edge of your seat" thriller aspect of this novel was more like "why do I care what happens to these people?" As soon as he can he wraps up that portion of the story and the characters go back to their professorial discussions and one-upsmanship.

It's too bad. I think Mr Gibbons has potential as a writer but this one seems like yet another attempt to capitalize on the success of The DaVinci Code style of novel. Hopefully he can learn how to build suspense, hold his audience, and most importantly, create characters to which the reader can relate and come to care about. Unfortunately, given the ratings he has received on his other books, it seems he has not learned these lessons and thus will be limited to impulse buyers who are attracted to the cool covers of the books.
Profile Image for Brendan.
25 reviews1 follower
February 14, 2008
This book was terrible. I liken this book to getting punched in the stomach repeatedly. There was just too much technical garbage that was never ending and every time you thought it was over you would get punched in the gut and the whole process would start over. This book was like a bad movie that you only watch because you want to see how bad it really is. SPOILER ALERT: the best part of the book is when it was over.
7 reviews
June 17, 2007
This book suffers from excessive rambling. When a group of specialists are speaking to one another you wouldn't expect them to go into detailed technical definitions every 5 minutes. The author basically pulled out the dictionary/encyclopedia everytime something technical was explained.

I love fantasy, but this book tries to be realisitc/probable...but its NOT! Ugh.
Profile Image for Έλσα.
627 reviews135 followers
March 25, 2017
3.5 για την ακριβεια. ειχα μεγαλες προσδοκιες για το βιβλιο. μου ελειψε η περιγραφη του πολιτισμου. γενικοτερα κατι μου ελειπε. εκτενεστατη περιγραφη σε καποια περιστατικα που εκαναν στο βιβλιο λιγο κοιλια. η πυραμιδα που ειχα διαβασει αποδειχθηκε καλυτερο.
Author 6 books197 followers
August 5, 2015
I had to abandon this book. I'm sorry. It just got way way too boring.

The first 150 pages is basically a bunch of scientists in a room talking about discoveries, ancient times, scientific verbiage that slows the pacing of the book down.

It just drags. Who knows, maybe something actually happens that doesn't take place in a boardroom sometime later in the story, but there are a lot better books to read out there that are more interesting (and I like historical fiction!).
Profile Image for Kost As.
55 reviews
December 28, 2015
(Προσοχή, περιέχει σπόιλερς!!)

Λίγα λόγια για το βιβλίο: Ο (διάσημος) αρχαιολόγος Jack Howard και κάποιοι συνάδελφοί του, μέσα από κάποια σκιρτήματα της τύχης, ανακαλύπτουν μια σειρά από ευρήματα, τα οποία, χάρη στον πνευματικό πλούτο των αρχαιολόγων αυτών, μπορούν και αποκρυπτογραφούν και οδηγούνται στη λύση ενός από τα μεγαλύτερα αινίγματα των αρχαιολόγων: το μυστήριο της χαμένης Ατλαντίδας!

Ωραία ως εδώ! Στα θετικά: Κανείς δε μπορεί να παραγνωρίσει το γεγονός ότι ο David Gibbins το κατέχει το άθλημα. Όχι του συγγραφέα, αλλά του αρχαιολόγου, αλλά και του ειδήμονα επί των υποβρύχιων ανασκαφών. Μέσα από την ιστορία του Jack Howard, η οποία χρονικά δεν υπερβαίνει τη μία εβδομάδα, μας δίνει πολύτιμες πληροφορίες σχετικά με διάφορες εποχές (πχ, Λίθινη Εποχή, Εποχή του Χαλκού κτλ), αλλά και των κυμάτων μετανάστευσης και εξάπλωσης της Ινδοευρωπαϊκης γλώσσας, καθώς και την τοποθέτηση των θεμελίων του ελληνικού πολιτισμού της αρχαιότητας. Το μυθιστόρημα, αν και προϊόν της φαντασίας του συγγραφέα, βασίζεται σε αληθή στοιχεία, τα οποία, μάλιστα, προς αποφυγήν παρεξηγήσεων, τα ξεκαθαρίζει ο συγγραφέας στο τελευταίο κεφάλαιο, ώστε να ξεχωρίσει ο αναγνώστης τα ντοκουμέντα από το μυθιστόρημα.

Δε θα πρέπει να παραγνωρίσουμε, όμως, το γεγονός ότι αυτή είναι και η πρώτη συγγραφική προσπάθεια του κ. Gibbins. Κάτι το οποίο φαίνεται... Η ιστορία δεν έχει συγκεκριμένο ρυθμό, ο συγγραφέας αποτυγχάνει παταγωδώς στην εμβάθυνση των χαρακτήρων, αλλά και η απουσία κορύφωσης, τόσο σε ό,τι αφορά την ίδια την ιστορία, αλλά και σε σχέση με τους στόχους και τα "θέλω" του καθενός από τους ήρωες, δε βοηθούν διόλου στο να κρατηθεί η προσοχή του αναγνώστη. Το πρώτο μέρος της ιστορίας είναι ανεξήγητα αργό, στο οποίο ο συγγραφέας μας βομβαρδίζει με πληροφορίες, και ξαφνικά αλλάζει κεφάλαιο και νιώθεις ότι ξεκινά ο Γ' Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμος! Αργότερα και προς το τέλος του βιβλίου, αφού πρώτα κάνουμε ένα πέρασμα από έναν χαμούλη που θυμίζει πλοκή ταινίας του James Bond, επιστρέφουμε στις εξερευνήσεις για να κορυφωθεί υποτίθεται το βιβλίο. Ο κεντρικός ήρωας, εντωμεταξύ, είναι το κάτι άλλο! Ξέρει τα πάντα, λύνει γρίφους που ταλανίζουν αρχαιολόγους δεκαετίες, μεταφράζει με τους φίλους του τη Γραμμική Ά και την ίδια ώρα χειρίζεται καλύτερα από το Ράμπο τα όπλα, στις καταδύσεις είναι πρώτος και από φυσική κατάσταση δεν το συζητάμε, μπορεί και κάνει υποβρύχιες ανακαλύψεις επί ώρες, ενώ έχει φάει και μια σφαίρα στην κοιλιά!! Ωχ, σπόιλερ!!!

"Και τότε γιατί έβαλες 4 αστέρια, ρε φίλε;;" Δεν ξέρω! Μου άρεσε! Ελπίζω στα επόμενα βιβλία να έχουν διορθωθεί κάποια πράγματα σε ό,τι αφορά τα μειονεκτήματα που αναφέρθηκαν! Μου άρεσε, επίσης, και η διάθεση του συγγραφέα. Δείχνει ότι το θέλει αυτό που κάνει. Σίγουρα έπαιξε ρόλο και το ότι μιλάμε για την κλασική ελληνική αρχαιότητα και όχι για τους Μάγια, ξέρω γω! Μας αγγίζει, ρε παιδί μου, πώς να το κάνουμε; Και σε τελική ανάλυση, αν μιλούσαμε απλά για έναν αρχαιολόγο, ο οποίος σε όλο το βιβλίο ξεσκόνιζε απλά μούμιες, θα ήταν καλύτερα;; Όχι!! Καλύτερα να έγραφαν ένα βιβλίο για τη δουλειά του τραπεζικού! Θέλουμε γαμάτους τύπους που κάνουν τα πάντα καλύτερα από τον καθένα και ταυτόχρονα έχουν χρόνο να την πέσουν και στην κοπελιά της ιστορίας! Ωχ, κι άλλο σπόιλερ!!

Δεν το προτείνω, αλλά, αν σας αρέσει έστω και λίγο η αρχαιολογία, δε θα είναι χάσιμο χρόνου.
Profile Image for Emma.
1,021 reviews13 followers
August 31, 2016
1.5 stars. I really had trouble with this one. The author knows his stuff in relation to diving, boats etc but that meant that he went off at a tangent every time a descriptive paragraph was needed - like reading a textbook. This really took me out of the story.

It also didn't help that the characters' personalities were none existent. I couldn't care less by the end who was who.

I also didn't like that whatever situation the main character found himself in, he had always done it or found himself in that situation before so there was no sense of peril because he easily got out of it in a few sentences.
Profile Image for Anna.
1,006 reviews41 followers
June 21, 2013
this is a good essay about some of the current theories of the origins of the Atlantis myth, but it does not work as an action or adventure story.
the characters keep repeating the same information over and over and over again.
Profile Image for John Makantasis.
43 reviews4 followers
December 17, 2018
Ρε φίλε!!! ΡΕ ΦΙΛΕ !! Σοβιετικό υποβρύχιο προσαραγμενο στην κεντρική πλατεία της Ατλαντίδας??? Μας έδωσες τα μυαλά στα χέρια! Δηλαδή ότι τι;;;; Να μου πεις ξέρεις τι θα διάβαΖες Όταν το αγόρασες κ ΝΑΙ ήξερα τι θα περιείχε αλλά αυτό με ξεπέρασε. Αρκετά διασκεδαστικό κ απόλυτα αντικομμουνιστικό.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Calle.
120 reviews18 followers
June 16, 2016
This is the only novel I've rated withing finishing it. It held my interest for about 100 pages. After another 80 pages or so I was hoping the pace would pick up and halfway through I gave up. It was just endless bad dialogue and detailed desciptions of irrelevant technical details. Gibbins may know archaeology but he couldn't tell a good story to save his life. After giving up trying to enjoy the book I tried to find another use for it and started reading it at night instead of taking a sleeping pill, but it couldn't even put me to sleep because it just made me angry at how bad it was and the fact that I paid money for it.
Profile Image for Bellady.
22 reviews3 followers
February 3, 2010
I picked up this book coz I misplaced the other 2 books I currently read and until now still couldn't find where they are. Telling about the adventure of a bunch of archeologists who found a series of clue about where the mythical Atlantis truly was. Interesting, but I still find it difficult to decide whether I like it or not. Usually this's the kind of book I could truly love. But don't know why, I can't make up my mind yet. Oh well, just beginning reading it, and not yet halfway, so hoping I may find some chemistry with this book :p.
Profile Image for Dimitrios.
135 reviews2 followers
May 12, 2020
Μετά από κάμποσο κολλύριο και δύο-τρία σημεία όπου σκέφτηκα να το παρατήσω, το τελείωσα. Ξύλινη γλώσσα, πλοκή διάτρητη σαν γαλλικό ροκφόρ, καμία ισορροπία μεταξύ πλοκής και εξιστόρησης, διάλογοι βγαλμένοι από το Εγχειρίδιο Εξερευνητών των ανηψιών τού Ντόναλντ Ντακ και από πρακτικά αρχαιολογικών συνεδρίων.
Profile Image for Marc.
1,512 reviews30 followers
December 12, 2007
Grosse déception, je m'attendais à un scénario avec un gros context historique, des recherches passionnantes et au lieu de ça on a des réponses qui arrivent trop vite et un héros qui tient plus de rambo que d'un historien. En bref, ça craint.
Profile Image for Sandra Koka (pielasit_sirdi).
780 reviews168 followers
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October 18, 2020
Tie, kas fano par Laru Kroftu, Mūmijfilmām un seniem vēsturiskiem un mistiskiem noslēpumiem, kā arī apslēptu dārgumu meklēšanu, šis lasāmgabals būs tieši laikā.
Senais nostāsts par vareno pilsētu Atlantīdu, kas kaut kur nogrimusi okeāna dzīlēs un neizmērojamo bagātību, ko tā glabā, nodots no paaudzes paaudzē, arvien piešķirot misticisma plīvuru, ko nevar ne noliegt, ne arī pierādīt. Trilleris ar vēsturisku piešprici dažubrīd pārtop Bonda cienīgā lasāmvielā, kur izcilais zinātnieks, lieliskais nirējs spēj arī lieliski vadīt helihopteru, uzrodas ļaunie ar krievisku izcelsmi un uzplaukst mīlasstāsts.

Kādai lietainai dienai, lai atslēgtos no smagas literatūras, lieti noderēs.

3.5⭐️
Profile Image for Jasmine.
333 reviews
January 15, 2022
Really struggled with this one. It was recommended to me by a friend so wanted to finish it. I found the concept interesting and wanted to like the story, but I got a bit bored at a lot of the technical bits about equipment. I also felt like it needed some maps and stuff to explain it. Not sure if it's beacuse I got the Kindle edition or if there's just none included.
Profile Image for Rosalyn.
445 reviews1 follower
May 11, 2019
Good action mixed with fact
Profile Image for Grace.
Author 51 books7,603 followers
August 15, 2012
I found this book in The Friends of Library for sale section at my local library for 50 cents.

I find underwater archaeology a fascinating subject. Combine that with a theory on the location of Atlantis and write it in novel form, and you have me caught as an interested reader. David Gibbins’ novel has enormous potential as both an action novel and that borders on science fiction grounded in realism. I very much liked the premise, but where the idea succeeded, the execution failed.

David Gibbins is an expert in his chosen field, and that expertise shines in this book. It’s obvious to me as the reader that he’s passionate about this subject and strives to educate the reader about undersea archaeology. Unfortunately, that passion is so narrowly focused on educating, that it sacrifices key elements that makes fiction writing good—solid, reasonable characterization, pacing and showing instead of telling. What few glimmers of interesting characterization exist are compromised by the dreaded Mary Sue/Gary Stu personification. Gibbins’ use of detail is overblown. Measurements for everything given down to the last centimeter; the acronym laser is spelled out in full, unnecessary definition and delivered by one of the most egregious uses of info. dumping – the “As you know, Bob...” technique and geographical minutae that degrades insteads of anchors the reader’s sense of place and culture. This book (and several other written by Gibbins) is published by Random House. I have to wonder where the editor was in all this, as many of the mistakes I’m seeing in this book are those made by beginning writers and should have been instant red flags for a diligent editor to spot and mark for revision.

Many of the action scenes seemed implausible, especially within context of the characters involved in them. Jack Howard is all things to all people, thus making him both annoying as well as shallow and unrealistic. His connection to the love interest of the book is so poorly established, the book would have benefitted more if it didn’t exist at all, and the two remained nothing more than friendly compatriots working toward the same goal.

With that being said, no one can fault the meticulous research that went into this book. It’s obvious to anyone, layman and expert alike, that Gibbins did his homework and put in an enormous amount of time and effort to lay the nonfiction groundwork for Atlantis. Were he to present this book more as a scientific theory for why Atlantis exists, when it existed and where it’s located, I’d consider it a reasonable presentation. However, the core essence of fiction for me is to be mildly educated on a subject and supremely entertained by it. Historical novel writers such Dorothy Dunnet and Antonia Fraser are masters at this craft. Meticulously researched, with characters that leap off the page. This book did the reverse for me. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to read about undersea archaeology with a touch of fiction to give it a little zing. As an entertaining read, I would suggest trying something else.

Were I to average out a rating, I’d give the research and theoretical aspect of this book a 5+, hands down. As a work of fiction, I’d give it a 1 for several contextual and structural errors such as weak characterization, plodding pace and excessive info. dumping with an overall rating of a 3; however, I still think that’s too high of an average and unfair to other books I’ve rated a 3 and found vastly superior in execution and technique. As such, I am rating this one a 2.
Profile Image for Wayland Smith.
Author 24 books61 followers
May 10, 2016
This book read like a bad action movie. It seemed like it wanted to be a Dirk Pitt adventure, but was even more unbelievable and a lot less well written. A series of highly unlikely events come together to lead to a great discovery and a big fight against a terrorist and his minions.

Much like a Dirk Pitt book, the story starts with an event in the distant past that ends in death, but will effect the plot in the modern day. Eventually, a group of marine archeologists find a few different artefacts that lead them to believe they can find Atlantis, not a myth after all. Along the way they face danger from a not quite dormant volcano, and a terrorist/pirate/treasure hunter.

This book has a lot of unbelievable turns. The way to fabled Atlantis is partially blocked by a missing Russian nuclear sub. The terrorist/pirate they end up in conflict with has a connection to one of the members of the hero's group. They make discoveries that lend credence to the events of the Christian Bible, although thousands of years earlier than people thought... and then lose all the evidence as disaster, helped along by a vengeful terrorist, strikes near the end.

I just thought this was written really badly. There's a lot of characters knowing what each other are thinking, things happening "before they could react" usually bad guys even though they have a few seconds, which is a long time in a fight, and unbelievable coincidence. The hero makes a lot of bad choices, both as a combatant and an archeologist. I just couldn't get into this at all. I see that it's a series. I can only imagine the writing gets better, but I won't be checking it out. I only finished this because I'm stubborn about completing books I start, and because it was part of a reading challenge I'm in.

Not recommended.
Profile Image for Νατσαρίδης Στάθης.
Author 1 book18 followers
June 8, 2016
Αν έπρεπε να περιγράψω το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο με μια λέξη θα έλεγα "απαράδεκτο".
Όχι μόνο τα επιστημονικά συμπεράσματα των ηρώων είναι για γέλια (μικρό spoiler: Βρήκαμε έναν πάπυρο στα αρχαία Ελληνικά που αναφέρεται στην Ατλαντίδα. Άρα τον έγραψε ο Σόλωνας - ειλικρινά εκεί σκέφθηκα να σταματήσω το βιβλίο) αλλά και τόσες αρχαιολογικές ανακαλύψεις, σχετικές με την Ατλαντίδα, ταυτόχρονα σε διαφορετικά μέρη του κόσμου απλά με ξεπερνάει - ίσως συνωμότησε το σύμπαν για να βρεθεί η Ατλαντίδα).
Επίσης ένα μεγάλο μέρος του βιβλίου είναι άσχετο με το θέμα που πραγματεύεται. Καταλαβαίνω τους λογους που ο συγγραφέας έπρεπε να συμπεριλάβει τον κλασικό "κακό" που θα εμποδίσει την επιτυχία της αρχαιολογικής ομάδας αλλά με το να αφιερώσει τόσα κεφάλαια σε εκείνον οδήγησε σε αρνητικά αποτελέσματα.
Όσο για την βαθμολογία μου των δύο αστεριών οφείλεται στο τόσο συναρπαστικό θέμα που επέλεξε ο συγγραφέας για να ασχοληθεί στο βιβλίο του. Αν βαθμολογούσα με κριτήρια όπως "ποιότητα, ενδιαφέρον, περιπέτεια, ανάπτυξη θέματος κτλ" θα έβαζα το πολύ ένα αστέρι και αυτό επειδή είμαι καλός άνθρωπος.
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