Atlantis, the first novel by David Gibbins, released in 2005, appeared in paperback. Presented as the Da Vinci Code a new generation, "this historical thriller he deserves a prominent place in our libraries? It has been written ink, the famous lost continent! Say that the origin of the legend dates back more than twenty centuries, appearing for the first time in the writings of Plato: "A large island beyond Gibraltar and named Atlantis. "We believed the myth repressed in the depths of consciousness and imagination ... but no! We're back
plunged once again, in the heart of this mystery to the delight of "Atlantomanes.
The story begins in two almost simultaneous discoveries: the discovery of a gold disk, dotted with strange characters in a wreck and a papyrus discovered in an Egyptian mummy, mentioning the name of the famous city. And the story gets carried away: meet the various experts and witnesses, discovery, deciphering the writing, marking the site where the remains of the oldest civilization in the world and explore the site says. That happiness ... almost! It is true that one gets carried away by the explanations and theories of other characters, but there is a catch, and a famous! "You can forget Atlantis yet. It just fell on a Russian nuclear submarine. "
And here's how to turn an adventure story in attempt to bestseller: take a story as simple as it is, and add arms trafficking, espionage (the case) or a sham political Damn! Voila! Yet it was not going too bad ... alas! We even ended up wondering if the novel's title is well chosen since the discovery of the legendary city of Atlantis does a chapter, the twelfth of the way! while exploring the old Russian submarine sunk in and takes five without really keep us in suspense!
Then off again heading for a temple to find Atlantis sixty pages later in confrontation with the villain-who-will-steal-the-nuclear-missile submarine, the and the other is that the - surprise - a father of female members of the expedition member who is, moreover, eyes soft hero. No comment. Seventy pages later, we exit the villain and plunges into the heart of the temple for a millennium on a high finish on an interesting theory of the author as to the origin of the destruction of Atlantis.
was almost not like reading two novels in one, and it's not the bonus!
And writing in?
Mystery? Mouthing, the first discoveries performed and the revelation of why the destruction of the Atlantean civilization, are written very simply. It feels to read the writings of a professor who loves his art, archeology, and willing to reveal everything, so many details are crisp. No doubt about it, David Gibbins is Doctor of Archaeology. And then there's the rest, too many technical explanations and ultra soporific that make reading difficult and very boring. "The mask was helmet enriched silicon which followed closely the shape of the face. Once ready, Costas Katya helped to put his backpack, a polypropylene aerodynamic equipment which included a compact rebreather oxygen, a two-stage regulator and a titanium reinforced tribouteilles filled to eight hundred times the ambient pressure. The bottles were UMI ultralight and compact, lighter than the old block monobouteille the aqualung and ergonomic. Therefore, they realize it's more volume. "Yes, yes! Or " What's that white film? she asked. All surfaces were covered with a layer of light similar to ice. (...) It's a rushed, "said Costas. This is probably the result of an ionization reaction between metal and carbon dioxide, whose level rose after discontinuation of the absorbers, silencers. "Thanks Costas!
One wonders who is to blame the writer for not knowing where to put the drop-in his explanations or publisher, for not having asked the author to calm his excitement and to have left the issue passages they believe out of a syllabus Polytechnique.
It will be understood, Atlantis is not what one might call a novel a must read. However, discoveries of gold record and papyrus were far from being uninteresting and the theory of the author on the end of the Atlantean civilization is very innovative and thought-provoking. It is unfortunate that David Gibbins will be amused to burden the story with both his technical explanations with political intrigue bitch. A novel recommended, therefore, only to fans of lost civilizations or the fans of ancient myth of Plato.
JW