Atlantis by David Gibbins
The title of the book was what attracted me - being a sucker for history-related fiction. Even better, the back blurb claimed that Atlantis is “the new Da Vinci Code for a new generation”, and I was sold, and quickly snapped it up from the store.
Unfortunately, it is NOT another Da Vinci Code. Despite all the religious rubbish and conspiracy theories thrown in by Dan Brown in that book, it was a fascinating and thrilling read, and I could hardly put down the book. David Gibbins tried, but failed to succeed, in making Atlantis a similarly compelling read.
Synopsis: To the non-history buffs, Atlantis is the fabled great island civilisation that disappeared underneath great tidal waves thousands of years ago as told by Greek philosopher Plato. To cut a long story short, Atlantis is about a marine archaeologist Jack Howard and his team of fellow archaeologists who piece together several clues and discover the ancient site of the great citadel. Along the way, they encounter vicious Central Asian terrorists who want to get their hands on the treasures as well as nuclear warheads in an abandoned Russian submarine, thus turning Jack Howard into a great action hero flying military helicopters in the sky and manoveuring nuclear-powered submarines underwater. In that time, they uncover the wonderful “secrets” of Atlantis which would hark a change in how academics view history, and how they manage to tie all subsequent civilisations/ cultures/religions, from pharohic Eygpt, to the Old Testament, to what they have found in Atlantis.
Now the problem with the book: David Gibbins is unclear what he wants the book to be - purely a novel about a great historical discovery, or a “I will fight the terrorists” action thriller. While he tries to tie both parts of the action together, the links are tenuous, and the book loses focus. Gibbins is obviously trying to sell his book to prospective Hollywood producers to make this into a movie, by weaving in all the pyrotechnics - bombblasts, aeriel dogfights, nuclear crisis, etc. On the other hand, the “historical section” of the book, where a bunch of academics are trying to piece together the story of Atlantis and making it an astounding and mind-blowing relevation, Gibbins becomes way too wordy trying to cramp too many historical facts into the book (yes, I know you did the research, sir). It is confusing and does not capture the interest of the reader (especially those who do not care a fig about history at all). Between the action and the “history”, there is hardly any room for characterisation. By the end of the book, I still feel completely detached from the hero, and would not give two hoots on what happens to him next. This, I feel, is the biggest failure of the author.
Atlantis is a great premise for a story, and it could have been a great book - what a pity.
Rating: 3 boos out of 5
