The Lost Continent: The Story of Atlantis

by Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne, Lin Carter (Introduction)

The Lost Continent

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Classics, Fiction, Science Fiction, Pulp, Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1899

About the author

Born on the 11th of May 1865, in Bibury, Gloucestershire, but raised in Yorkshire, Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne attended Cambridge University, where he received both a Bachelor's and Master's degree.

Best remembered today for his The Lost Continent, he was also extremely popular at one time for his fanciful tales of Captain Kettle, a dashing Raffles of the Sea. Besides these he wrote historical novels, travelogues, political commentary and an autobiography, totalling roughly fifty novels and a large number of short stories.

He also wrote under the names C.J. Cutcliffe-Hyne and Weatherby Chesney.

Hyne died on 10 March 1944, at the age of seventy-eight.

Reviews

[Henry Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This obscure adventure novel, though popular in its time, is quite entertaining, not exactly literature and that term has been greatly overused, a yardstick... if you like H. Rider Haggard who influenced this author, you'll have an enjoyable read. To me a book is good or bad anything else is superfluous...The new attractive Empress Phorenice of Atlantis, has recalled the ruler of her rich colony of Yucatan back home, word has finally spread there, Deucalion is a capable and honest man, Viceroy for two decades, the warrior- priest is needed . His replacement is an old friend Tatho, Deucalion learns from him many changes have occurred in Atlantis, apparently set thousands of years before the birth of Christ, when the lost continent was at its height in glory and power. Located somewhere beyond the Pillars of Hercules, in the vast eastern Atlantic Ocean ...Colonies included not only Yucatan but legendary Egypt too, yet numerous people oppose the ruthless, bloody monarch, she came to the throne nefariously in a civil war, a commoner has much ability and beautiful too. The desperate struggle between priests and monarch, for supreme control of the fable land continues. After surviving sea monsters and pirates, the long voyage ends well, he is alive. Deucalion arrives in a country he hardly knows, there are the very wealthy people and the very poor, no middle class, slums and rich neighborhoods, side by side sounds very modern indeed. And rebels are at the walls of the illustrious city, threatening Phorenice, they despise, both groups are barbaric. Meanwhile on the Sacred Mountain, an active volcano, the clan of priests led by Zaemon advises the rebels, this old man wants the ancient ways and customs preserved. The Empress declares herself a Goddess, marries the rugged Deucalion and makes him the army's general. Nevertheless he is a loyal priest, more complications happen, the former viceroy falls in love with Nais, a rebel, before the wedding ceremony. The daughter of Zaemon her twin sister Ylga, serves the cruel Empress, all three women strangely love the celibate, valiant, attractive, soldier, priest, Deucalion, maybe not so strange... The new religion against the traditional, is at heart, the cause of so much destruction. Zaemon a wizard, has unknown might and will not hesitate to destroy. The final battle inevitably ends with a lot of killing , a flood of dead bodies fall everywhere . Written in 1899, this is the best novel about Atlantis ever printed. A fun book, with a plot full of countless twists and turns ...Should be better known today.

[Michael Fierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd been wanting to read this book since I was a kid, after thinking for the longest time that the movie, Warlords Of Atlantis aka Warlords of the Deep , and/or the 1968 film of the same name, The Lost Continent , was based on it, having seen both several times over the years.

After I found a really nice copy of this book online I realized it had nothing to do with either.

It is far superior to both.

This book was originally written in 1899 by Charles John Cutcliffe Hyne .*His name is misspelled on the cover of the edition of the book I read above.

First published as serial chapters in the July - December issues of Pearson's Magazine and published in hardbound a year later in 1900, it was very successful right from the beginning.

The story centers around our hero, Deucalion, and the perilous events he becomes engaged in after his return to Atlantis.

Deucalion, a powerful lord exhibiting qualities somewhere between a Greek Hero and an Egyptian Priest, is recalled from the island he was appointed to govern, Yucatan -a position he held admirably for several decades. Many leagues away from the island of Atlantis where he was born, he was once one of the Seven priests who helped oversee Atlantis, advising its' ruler, for many years.

When he is replaced by his childhood friend, Tatho, we are not sure if he is going to be praised or reprimanded once he returns to Atlantis to face the imperious Empress, Phorenice.

As the ruler of Yucatan, Deucalion governed the land and its' people with a harmonious grace. Phorenice, as rumors from across the seas dictated, was an infamous, tyrannical ruler.

A simple man, not habituated to the reaping or flaunting of material gains his position would normally dictate - when in the grasp of a lesser ruler - goes against the grain of nobility and the ruling populace of his Atlantis homeland.

In his eyes, it would be beneath him to relent to such avaricious behaviors.

Quite the opposite to Empress Phorenice.

Once Deucalion entrusts his rule to Tatho, he is granted an armada of naval ships to ensure his safe return.

As he makes his journey, I couldn't help but pump my fist in the air when they confront and battle 3 plesiosaurs! Woot! Woot!

After arriving back in Atlantis, he is soon welcomed by the nation and by Phorenice, all in glorious, exorbitant fashion.

Phorenice is a malicious Cleopatra. Ruling by strength, threats, and devious manipulations. And very used to getting her way. She sees Deucalion as the strongest man in her kingdom. With his natural charm, respect, strength of character and arms, she knows that with Deucalion by her side no one will ever oppose her rule. Not even the Seven Priests who first appointed her ruler of Atlantis, giving guidance to the Kings of Atlantis for longer than anyone can remember. Phorenice believes her unrivaled beauty, power, and alluring gifts will soon conquer Deucalion, and bring him fully under her spell.

  
    Can you blame her?
  

Deucalion, though immediately at odds with the methods of Phorenice's rule, adheres to a strict discipline to heed and uphold all decisions made by his glowing Empress.

  
    Can you blame him?
  

A man never ruled by his heart, many surprising events change his heart and his loyalty to both, his Empress, and Atlantis. Meeting some interesting characters along the way.

I was blown away by Cutcliffe Hyne's writing. While neither Shakespearean nor Biblical, it was fascinating.

This being a full on Fantasy novel, I would put it right up there with the best in the genre: Cabell's Figures of Earth, Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter, Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros, Tolkien's LOTR, Anderson's The Broken Sword, Moorcock's Stormbringer, and Flewelling's The Bone Doll's Twin.

I loved the characters. Deucalion and Phorenice are as multi-faceted and complex as any characters written in Fantasy, whether urban or antiquarian.

If an incredible director were to film this story properly, it would rival any Fantasy film ever made.

However, the book itself is not for everyone. The high language, slower-paced plot-line, and character development, take a considerable amount of attention to grasp thoroughly, and if you are not used to reading prose of similar depth and articulation, you may be immediately turned off by it and wonder how anyone could like it at the level I do. It is not a casual read.

Though it is a tale about the end of Atlantis and a Fantasy, most of it feels historical in nature, like you're reading something that actually happened. Luckily, the inclusion of prehistoric creatures livened it up into the realm of Fantasy, adding several more fist pumps to the adventure!

I loved the setting on a great island of the sea, a land ripe with active volcanoes, Egyptian-like pyramids, ancient Greek-like statues, and a world rich with prehistoric mammals and dinosaurs. The people, both the rebels and nobles, were believable and relateable, though this was written 117 years ago.

I want to read more by Charles John Cutcliffe Hyne and hope to find another gem while sifting through his work.

My highest recommendation to fans of archaic Fantasy!!!!!

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Lost Continent" first appeared serially in the English publication "Pearson's Magazine" in 1899, and in book form the following year. The author, C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne, is not exactly a household name today, but, back when, was an extremely popular and prolific writer. His serialized tales of Captain Kettle, also in "Pearson's," were supposedly only second in popularity to the "Strand Magazine"'s Sherlock Holmes stories, as submitted by Conan Doyle. But today, Hyne's reputation seems to rest solely on this wonderful novel of the last years of the continent of Atlantis.

The history of these final years is told by the soldier-priest Deucalion, who, at the book's opening, has just been recalled from his 20-year viceroyalty of the Atlantean province of Yucatan. On his return to his homeland, after that two-decade absence, he finds that much has changed. The upstart Phorenice has seized power and declared herself Empress; the capital city boasts many new pyramids but also many new slums; the people are starving and in revolt; the priest clan is challenging the Empress to amend her ways or face the wrath of the High Gods. Yes, it is quite a mess that Deucalion returns home to, and things only get worse when Phorenice takes a hot-blooded fancy to him and decides to take him to husband. Before all is said and done in this fast-moving tale, the reader has been treated to a four-way love triangle (or is that square?), a runaway mammoth, fights with sea monsters and giant cave tigers, pyramid intrigue, a gigantic battle between Phorenice's army and the High Priests (a battle perhaps inspired by those in H. Rider Haggard's lost-world novels), the use of arcane magic and, of course, the final destruction of the continent of Atlantis itself. Hyne writes marvelously, and uses language that is archaic enough to sound authentic but still remains eminently readable. The character of Deucalion is well drawn and quite likeable, despite his initial aloofness and rigidity; I suppose Hyne would have us believe that this character is the inspiration for the Deucalion of Greek myth. Phorenice makes for a terrific villainess, being beautiful, quite ruthless, lustful, remarkably intelligent, and ambitious. Unfortunately, these very qualities of the Empress lead directly to the downfall of her empire. Besides well-drawn principal and secondary characters, "The Lost Continent" also boasts marvelous detail and color. The capital of Atlantis, as well as its wilder volcanic outer districts, are well depicted, and Hyne tells us something of the lives of the people, the politics and religion of the Atlantean realm. All in all, this truly is a wonderful fantasy, and great escapist entertainment. The University of Nebraska Press, with its Bison Frontiers of Imagination series, is to be commended for making this lost manuscript available again to modern-day readers. I heartily recommend it to all.

[Димитър Цолов · Rating 4 out of 5]

Романът, базиран на мита за потъването на Атлантида, първоначално се появява на части в броевете на Pearson’s Magazine от юли до декември 1899, а е издаден самостоятелно през 1900. Статутът му на фентъзи класика е узаконен през 1972, когато е включен в колекцията Ballantine Adult Fantasy (том 42), под редакцията на Лин Картър.

Историята със сигурност щеше да ме възторгне преди 30+ години, но и към настоящия момент, доволно обръгнал на приключенски и фентъзи четива, я прехвърлих с кеф, умилен от нейния романтичен дух и прелестен наивитет. Сетингът, макар и бегло щрихован, ми се понрави. Атлантите бяха колонизирали и облагородили територии от днешните Египет и Мексико и отскачаха до дивата Европа само за да си набавят роби, а мореплаването се извършваше с кораби, задвижвани от слънчева енергия. Главният герой Девкалион беше голям симпатяга – хем обладаваше мощ на древногръцки герой, хем беше по-стеснителен от стар ерген във Викторианска Англия, ама здраве да е :)

[Leothefox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a long one, but pretty much worthwhile. Hyne shows us Atlantis through the lens of staunch true-blue warrior-priest, Deucalion, who sticks always to the old ways of doing things and harshly judges all those who don't. Deucalion actually gets to spend quite a lot of time judging and sneering because he's been recalled to Atlantis after 20 years in the Yucatan only to find the country wallowing in decadence and depravity. Hyne sometimes brings up an almost biblical feel, especially with the empress Phorenice who subjects Atlantis to a long list if sins.

“The Lost Continent” sometimes had that feeling of high importance that some 19th century fantasy tried to project, sort of like H. Rider Haggard's works. The hero/narrator is stuffy and stands for stuffy things, but that helps to color the action. To him it's not so much bearing witness to a change in his country, but outrage at continued blasphemies. He's a high priest in “The Mysteries” so this is all out of his desire to preserve the ancient religion. One of his stuffy traits is obedience to authority, though, so he refuses to contradict the empress who has sent for him to be her husband.

Usually I gravitate towards these fantasies looking for stories of a normal-ish person who finds a world of dangerous wonders and must rise to the occasion, but this is actually almost the opposite. Deucalion is from Atlantis and at the start of the story he is already a well known hero for having wisely and un-selfishly governed the Yucatan colonies for 20 years. He isn't young or open minded and we don't see him whip out his sword and kill people all that often.

The whole book is presented as a translated record, ancient writings discovered in a cave that fill in a piece of history. It succeeds insofar as that's concerned. This may not be the sword-swinging adventure I'm always looking for, but it's a fun enough fantasy that's got magic and lost technology and all that good stuff.

My only real complaint would be the fact that most of the conversations in the book exist to further the world-building alone, so they almost read like lectures. Call it 3.5 out of 5.

[Fantasy Literature]

http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

[Zeynep Gunduz Seyhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles John Cutcliff Hyne, 1865 Birleşik Krallık doğumlu bir yazar. 95 yıllık ömrü boyunca birçok eser yazmış olsa da içlerinden en çok bilinen ve hala okunanı #kayıpkıtaatlantisefsanesi
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Kanarya adasındaki mağaralarda araştırma yapan Dr. Coppinger, otelde tanıştığı arkadaşı ile yine bir mağarayı keşfe çıkar. Burada bazı el yazmaları bulurlar ve Dr. bunların çevirisini yapar. İşte hikayenin aslı buradan başlıyor çünkü bunları yazanın Yucatan’ın eski valisi, Atlantis rahibi, savaşçı ve geleceğin kralı olarak görülen Deukalion olduğu ortaya çıkar. Yucatan’a vali olarak atandıktan sonra Atlantis’te neler olduğu ile pek ilgilenmeyen Deukalion, geri döndüğünde güzel ülkesinin hiç de bıraktığı gibi olmadığını görür. İnsanlar eski tanrılara inanmayı bırakıp , kendini kraliçe ve daha ötesi Tanrıça olarak ilan eden Phorenice’e tapmaya başlamışlardır. Bir rahip olarak gördüklerine inanamaz ama ülkesine bağlılığı da kraliçeye karşı gelmesine engel olur. Ta ki kraliçenin artık saygısızlık boyutuna ulaşan hırsı ve egosunun artık durdurulması gerektiğini düşündüğü zamana kadar. Artık ülkenin sonunu bile getirecek olsa, kraliçe durdurulmalıdır.
.
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Mitolojinin ve fantastik yazının iç içe geçtiği bu roman, türü sevenler için şölen tadında bir okuma vaadediyor.

[Mihaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Историята като сюжет беше интересна- за последните години на Атлантида под управлението на императрица Фореника и жреците, които искат да я свалят от престола. Стилът на писане обаче ми беше направо уморителен, да не говорим за първото лице единствено число, въобще не обичам такива книги.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was 1st published in Pearson's magazine in 1899, as a serial (1 part a month, for 7 months). It reads like Edgar Rice Burroughs, though it seems a little more modern in terms of grammer and style. A good addition to the Atlantis stories. This one involves its destruction occuring because of civil war.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat slow moving for today's audience but still readable and pretty good at the basic level.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read any book about Atlantis before this. This was really imaginative. This is a story about Deucalion, a stoic general who sacrifices all for his beloved city. Vivid storytelling.

[Brenden Quirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Atlantis adventure. I liked the framing device, and wish more stories still used them.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reprint of a novel published around 1900, this is the story of Deucalion, the governor of Yucatan province. He is suddenly recalled home, back to Atlantis, by Phorenice, the new Empress. She turns his arrival into a grand ceremony, parading him through the city, and back to her palace, on top of a live mammoth.

Having been away from Atlantis for twenty years, Deucalion is disgusted by the conditions in its capital. Everywhere is filth, and poverty of record-setting levels. Unburied dead bodies litter the streets. Outside the city walls are thousands of destitute people clamoring to get in. Phorenice’s attitude is: the rich (mainly Phorenice) get richer, and everyone else fends for themselves. Phorenice makes it known to all that she is the daughter of a god, and expects to be treated as such, even though she is actually the daughter of a swineherd. Anyone who says no to Phorenice, about anything, can expect to die very unpleasantly, so Deucalion and the people of Atlantis are forced to go along.

Deucalion saves a woman named Nais from being eaten by tigers. He is betrothed to Phorenice, and does not dare to say no, but he falls for Nais. The Empress gets very jealous toward Nais, and has her buried alive between two huge blocks of stone. Deucalion slips her a drug, known only to the Priests Clan, of which Deucalion is a senior member, that puts Nais into suspended animation.

Deucalion has seen enough, and gets a ride with a boatful of people planning to start over on a faraway island, away from Phorenice. He suddenly has second thoughts, and asks to be let off on the other side of Atlantis, a land of deep swamps, impassable forests and hideous beasts. It takes months, but Deucalion makes it back to the capital. Phorenice, who is now to be worshipped as a god, has learned that Nais is not really dead, and is not happy. Then comes the final battle between Phorenice and the Priests Clan, just before the "real" gods make it clear that their patience is gone.

This is a gem of a story. Atlantis is certainly a popular setting for fantasy stories; this is one of the better stories ever written. It has just a little bit of weird in it, and is very much worth reading.

[Roger Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lost Continent was first published in serialized form in 1899 and in book form the following year. Hyne was a successful writer of scientific romances and adventure tales whose career spanned the late Victorian era into the l930s. His work is almost entirely forgotten today except for The Lost Continent, a yarn about Atlantis, which has been reprinted several times over the intervening years. It is currently in print from the University of Nebraska's Bison Press.

The Lost Continent opens with that staple of the Victorian fantasy novel, the framing device. You are, after all, about to read a story that stretches credulity to the breaking point, and the author wants to assure you that he didn't just make it up. So he makes up a provenance for the story. In this case, the frame tale is told by an adventurer who accompanied an archeologist named Coppinger on an expedition to the Grand Canary Island off the Atlantic coast of Morocco. There they searched through caves, looking for artifacts of the ancient inhabitants. On the last day of their expedition, the unnamed narrator discovers, in a nearly inaccessible cave, a collection of talc tablets covered with a waxy substance that has Egyptian-looking characters incised into it. Eventually, Coppinger manages to translate the writing and provides a copy to our narrator who, as discover, is authorized to publish it. The tale that follows constitutes the rest of the book.

The narrative written on the tablets is the first-person account of Deucalion, who had been Viceroy of the Atlantean colony of Yucatan for twenty years. At the beginning of the story, however, he is stepping down to be replaced by his successor, Tatho, because Deucalion has been summoned by the new Empress to return to Atlantis proper. Reports about the Empress Phorenice are mixed. She is said to be beautiful and extremely intelligent, having created marvelous new inventions (including, apparently, firearms). But she is also said have come to power by force (rather than as a member of the duly appointed priestly caste), that she claims to be the daughter of a God, and that she is a cruel tyrant.

Deucalion, who is himself a priest and a loyal subject of Atlantis, goes back, not knowing if he has somehow aroused Phorenice's displeasure and may be returning to his own imprisonment or execution. What he discovers instead is that in his twenty years of service his name has become known far and wide. He is renowned throughout Atlantis as an unparalleled military leader and as an administrator of unimpeachable wisdom, humility, and fairness. Phorenice has chosen him to become her husband because she is convinced no other man in the empire is worthy of her.

She is as beautiful as he has been told, and though Deucalion has never had much need of women, he's not displeased with the prospect of becoming her husband and co-ruler of Atlantis. He soon finds, however, that the city-state is rent by unrest and that rebels protest violently at the gates. It is a far cry from the peaceful Atlantis that he knew before. Phorenice intends that Deucalion use his military prowess to crush the rebellions and enforce her iron-fisted rule. He also learns that she has no truck with the old Gods, for whom Deucalion is a pious believer and high-ranking priest and that she intends to declare herself Goddess as well as Empress. The old High Priest Zaemon, whom Deucalion served in the long-ago past, still lives, in exile, and opposes the blasphemous rule that Phorenice has brought to Atlantis.

Zaemon's wife had adopted Phorenice as a child and raised her. Zaemon also has two biological daughters, Ylga and Nais. Though Ylga serves as fanbearer and courtier to Phorenice, she is the first person to warn Deucalion that he should be wary. Nais, meanwhile, is an active member of the opposition. In the course of events, Deucalion falls in love with Nais.

Here come spoilers, so skip the next paragraph if you care about that sort of thing.

Deucalion eventually ends up in open opposition to Phorenice and, because she is too powerful to be easily defeated, spends several years hiding out and trying to survive in the dangerous outlands of the continent of Atlantis where flesh-eating dinosaurs still roam. Zaemon and his fellow priests plot the destruction of Atlantis by means of magical help from the Gods. (Or is it Atlantean technology?) Out of spite and jealousy, Phorenice forces Deucalion to kill Nais (though Deucalion finds a way to merely put her into suspended animation). And in the end... well, you already know what happens to Atlantis. The priests arrange for Deucalion and Nais to escape the sinking of Atlantis in an ark that contains the accumulated history and knowledge of Atlantis written on wax-covered tablets. Deucalion's mission is to carry this knowledge to another part of the world and establish a new Atlantis. But once they have come ashore on what will one day be Grand Canary Island, Deucalion decides that Atlantis' time has come and gone and, in defiance of the priests, wipes out the information on the tablets and writes down his own story instead.

I enjoyed this story a great deal, but then I have a high tolerance for Victorian adventure novels. If 19th century adventure novelists like Rider Haggard, Conan Doyle, Edwin Arnold, and Eden Phillpotts, or early 20th century fantasy writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard, appeal to you, then I'm pretty sure you'll like The Lost Continent. For those less inclined to enjoy such things, this won't be for you at all. Hyne gives Deucalion a somewhat stiff, archaic voice, but that is clearly intentional; he is, after all, an aristocrat belonging to a lost race. Deucalion, while a sympathetic protagonist, has out-of-date attitudes that feel appropriate for an ancient era -- owning slaves, for instance, is perfectly acceptable. It's difficult to place Hyne's Atlantis in time because, while he mentions places like Yucatan, Egypt, and Europe by name, the lost continent harbors mammoths, plesiosaurs, and dinosaurs among its fauna. Like Conan Doyle's Amazonian plateau in The Lost World, it is truly a region that exists outside of time.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having enjoyed this as a teen, I suspected it might be one of those that would lose its luster on rereading. No, didn't happen. Deucalion, heroic governor of Atlantis' Central American colonies, is called home by the new empress, the usurper Phorenice, who wants to turn Deucalion into her emperor. Need I say, things do not go well? And yes, this being an Atlantis novel, the entire continent gets to sink at the spectacular climax. Great entertainment and Phorenice is surprisingly believable as a woman who could seize an empire. Deucalion too — for a guy who's a symbol of virtue (and a virgin no less) he comes off remarkably flesh and blood by the end. Oh, and this edition I love just for the Dean Ellis cover.

[Craig Herbertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the earliest and best Atlantis tales. Reads like Edgar Rice Burroughs with an ascetic lead man and a superfluous choice of half naked women.

Some interesting scenes occur where one wonders if there is a kind of visceral sub-context. The High Priestess, Goddess, shepherdess takes our hero on a mammoth ride (Only the hairy mammoth is bigger than normal) and when the Mammoth goes wild they are both thrown into that area where the sewers spill out into the bay and the Mammoth is stuck so they have to swim. She then asks him if he enjoyed the ride.

[Kamakana · Rating 2 out of 5]

070715: from memory, not great: but then the story of Atlantis is treated as one of those prehistoric, European/white cultures of superior tech and politics, that travel transatlantic to set up colonies which become mesoamerican cities... something of social, political, religious, conflicts other reviewers note, decadence versus revolution... but then (spoiler) get overwhelmed by super tsunamis etc....

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather more explicitly violent than I had expected of something written in 1910, which put me off a bit. There are some rather slow and wordy passages, but on the whole this was a good read, a sort of slightly inferior Rider Haggard. I did like the hero Deucalion and the mad Empress with her pet mammoth.

[Rex Libris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book fits into the Edgar Rice Burroughs "John Carter" genre, although it takes place here on Earth. Atlantis has been taken over by an evil Empress, and it is up to the selfless general and governor Deucalion to stop her from wreaking havoc upon on the Atlantean empire.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

To claim a book as "the lost link between the Lost World fiction of Haggard and the pulp of Rice Burroughs" (an assertion I read in the afterword, but had thought myself whilst reading it - honest) is a bit of a huge claim unless you've read a lot of obscure Victorian fiction, but nevertheless there's a fascinating link here which sees literary and fantasy traditions shifting from a directly obvious upper- class based imperialist narrative towards something more fantastical and abstract (but also equally class based and imperialist if you scratch the surface meaning). One can see a lot of the elements from Haggard in this text from the "She-who-must-be-obeyed" central figure of Phorenice, (a deliciously vile and absurdly vain antagonist who is a pleasure to read even if she does key right into that latent fear of independent women) to the rather romanticised love story with a "native" and the inevitable final act wrangle for supremacy between two warring cultures.

But there's also none of the modern day exploration, the focus on British personalities, trophy hunting, discussions about "natives" or uncovering of ancient artefacts that might help modern society. Instead the action has a) been shifted to a completely fictitious society which is ostensibly known as Yucata, Egypt and Atlantis, but in reality could be anything abstract and fantastical, and in that sense is more representative of Mars in Burroughs Barsoom novels. Although unlike John Carter, this isn't a portal fantasy and our hero Deucalion is the ex-governor of Yucata. b) Except for William Morris this is the first time I've really read about magic and magical beasts that don't have a grounding in the real world. Travelling to Atlantis, Deucalian is attacked by a giant sea-snake, at one point Yucata is wiped out by an onslaught of strange mystical creatures that attack in consistent force and act like locusts. Elsewhere characters seem to act like Gods and wizards and witches, and whilst there's no definitive magic system in play the characters find it perfectly natural to drug people to sleep for 8 years with a spell or cast evil curses and enchantments on one another that ultimately end in citywide destruction.

All that aside, this is a really great book on its own terms. Whilst Cutliffe's grasp of narrative is somewhat haphazard at times, it's in the best pulp manner as he's determined to put our hero through the ringer, throwing one incident at him after another and in truth we never quite know where the story is headed, even if like the Titanic we know that Atlantis is eventually going down (and we can hazard a guess as to why quite early on). From the early sea-battles, to the delightful flippancy of the Queen, the inclusion of three potential romantic interests and plenty of derring-do as our hero decides even where his loyalties lie (perhaps my favourite scene in the book occurs between Phorenice and Deucalian as she continues to attempt to romance him, they are attacked by some locals who want this mad-queen gone. Phorenice springs into action and for a short while becomes action heroine of the story, to the surprise of reader and Deucalian alike, and for a moment he's dead horny for her in an otherwise fairly chaste tale).

It's a shame that this novel is almost as lost as the continent itself as this one's a keeper. Silly enough to be uproarious pulp fiction, but with a prose style more than good enough to make it a very welcome read. This isn't a highly literary novel, but it's a surprising one that I hadn't figured would exist pre-1900

[Esther Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this novel. It had so much life and character to it, and even though for a lot of the book there were more politics than actual action happening, there was always an underlying thread of tension that drove everything forward.

The romantic subplot was really fun, and the worldbuilding was fantastical and dynamic. In my head I just imagined everything as a 50's blockbuster movie (à la Ben Hur) complete with extravagant costumes and not quite realistic set pieces.

I also quite enjoyed the writing style, very reminiscent of other fantasy and scifi books of the period, where it feels grand and exciting and quaint all at once, and even though it was written in the first person, it never felt dull or laboured. Instead I felt as though I were seeing directly through the character's eyes, and feeling what he felt as the tragedy of Atlantis unfolded.

My only complaint is that it abruptly ends - there is an in-text reason for it, but I still wish there had been a little more as the preamble is rather long in comparison, and it would have been nice to see the conclusion to that storyline.

4.5 Stars

[Jim Mastro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This was the second time I've read it; the first was about 50 years ago, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time. Perhaps more, because when I first read it, I didn't realize it was published in 1899. Amazing that it's still available, 120 years later! Of course, being published in the last year of the Nineteenth Century, the language is a bit different -- more formal, more leisurely, more refined, perhaps. But the pace is that of a more modern novel, and the characters are well-defined. Frankly, I found it hard to put down, even on this second reading.

[Köksal KÖK]

Deniz Piyadesi Kaptan Kettle'ın Maceraları, 1897.

bölüm başlıkları:

-deukalion'un mirasçıları,
-azledilişim,
-atlantis'e dönüş,
-rakip bir donanma,
-phorenice'in karşılama töreni,
-zaemon'un laneti,
-surların ardındakiler,
-dağdan gelen rahip,
-tanrıça phorenice,
-ayartma,
-barbar balıkçılar olayı,
-ay tanrıçamızın ilacı,
-nais'in diri diri gömülüşü,
-tanrılar yine değişiklik yapıyor,
-zaemon'un çağrısı,
-kutsal dağın kuşatılışı,
-nais'in geri alınışı,
-kutsal dağa saldırı,
-atlantis'in yok oluşu,
-okyanusun bağrında.

[William Lasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

First published in 1899, this is one of the greatest adventure epics I've read.

[Angelina Titeryakova · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Maria Chakarova · Rating 3 out of 5]

В началото не можах да я разбира. Не беше увлекателна до един момент, по към края започна повече да ми допада и като жанр ми хареса.

[Per · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/c-j...

[hannah]

i didn't hate it but it was a bit boring

[Nicholas · Rating 1 out of 5]

An unfortunately uninspiring tale of adventure, intrigue and love set in a mythical civilisation that continues to capture hearts and imaginations in the modern day. I was disappointed by the fact that the story had a great deal of potential, but failed to fulfil most of it. The writing was rather stilted, and a lot of space was devoted to comments on the moral degeneracy of the decadent Atlantians, enough so that I wonder whether this was the author's attempted message, but to be honest it was very much as case of tell don't show when it came to this message so if it was the intended message it was not well backed up by the events of the story.

The characters are very much archetypal, and in some ways rather flat, although this may be because they are seen through the lense of the protagonist's world-view, and he is noted by the other characters in the story as being a rather flat character himself. They also appear to go through little development over the course of the book, despite the fact that the story spans years. Even events that ought to make a serious mark on characters (the protagonist, named Deucalion, for example spends several years stranded in a harsh environment far from civilisation) do not seem to affect their thinking, speaking or doing. This might have been forgiveable if the characters had been interesting to start with, but they just weren't, I struggled to find much enthusiasm for anything they did or cared about.

The setting is more hinted at than unfolded in a decent manner. It is clear from Deucalion's comments that the civilisation of Atlantis is past its zenith, but apart from an apparent fondness for pyramids, men curling their beards and everyone letting a woman be in charge, I couldn't tell you exactly what was wrong with it, we just aren't told enough about the place or about what it used to be like before the decline.

Overall I don't recommend this book, it's really not worth the time it takes to read, and this is doubly disappointing because the legend of Atlantis has always been very fertile ground for even half-decent authors to work with. My advice is to look elsewhere unless for some strange reason you absolutely have to read this, or you enjoy being bored.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as part of the large omnibus volume "the rivals of H. G. Wells" that I am slowly working my way through and will review in full eventually. This full length novel has very little to do with Wells and the type of books he wrote it is far more in the style of H. Rider Haggard. The destruction of Atlantis, a power mad queen, monsters, wars, betrayal and the mixing in of Greek mythology make up a book that should probably be better than it actually is.
The story centres around Deucalion (a figure actually from Greek mythology, in fact the Greek equivalent of Noah) But has him as an Atlantian priest.