Saturday, June 7, 2014

Book Review: The Hunt for Atlantis by Andy McDermott (Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase #1)

  The lost island of Atlantis, is one of the most enduring legends in the history. Since Plato first mentioned Atlantis more than 2000 years ago, the story of Atlantis has drawn immense interests from both historians and explorers alike. Today, the story of Atlantis is commonly considered as a work of imagination, but many fiction writers still spin tales and stories inspired by the mythos of Atlantis. For example, in The Hunt for Atlantis, a mystery thriller, author Andy McDermott weaved a fine, modern-day “Indiana Jones meets James Bond” style story, which revolves around the mystery of Atlantis. Let's have a look at this book.

Synopsis:

Nina Wilde, age 28, is an archaeologist like no other. She is the only archaeologist in the world who knows how to find the fabled island of Atlantis. When Nina presented her theory to the academic world, her proposal was dismissed as a wild goose chase. After Nina's proposal was rejected, Kristian Frost, the famous multi-billionare and business tycoon, contacted Nina and voiced support of her theory. Funded by Kristian Frost, and fitted with proper equipment, Nina, together with Frost's beautiful daughter Kari, and Eddie Chase, a hired bodyguard, this trio set out on an expedition to uncover the lost island of Atlantis, to unravel a ten thousand years old mystery. What will they find?

In the meantime, an ancient, secret organization known as the Brotherhood is determined to protect the secret of Atlantis at all costs, even if it means resorting to violent methods...

What I think about this book:

I stumbled upon this book by accident, when I was browsing at my local library. The description on the back of this book sounded appealing to me, because I enjoy reading mystery thrillers in styles similar Indiana Jones movies, so I decided to borrow this book and try it out. The result? While this book has its share of weaknesses, but I am glad I tried it.

In my opinion, while this book was a fun read, but it falls short in certain areas.. Firstly, there are almost no character development. The protagonist, Nina and Eddie, didn't really develop as the story progressed. Despite all the dangers they went through, Nina and Eddie's characters didn't grow but stayed the same at the end of the story. Secondly, the dialogues between characters are sometimes cliched. Another thing, while this book does have some twists in the story, but these twists are often predictable. Lastly, while the action scenes are intense, but they are also unbelievable, and sometimes quite absurd. However, having said all of these, The Hunt for Atlantis is fun, entertaining and a ride of thrill. It is action packed, the pace of the story is extremely fast. If you read this book, you will not be bored. This book also has plenty of mystery elements, building suspense and keeping the reader engaged. The premise of the story is not original, it has been done before, but it is still interesting. I mean, who hasn't had their imaginations sparked to life upon hearing the fabled tales of Atlantis?


Overall, I like The Hunt for Atlantis, and apparently this is the first book in a 10 books series. I am glad I discovered this series, and I am definitely interesting in reading the next installment for Nina and Eddie's adventure. In short, I would recommend this one to fans of books such as The Sigma Force series by James Rollins, or Jack West Jr. series by Matthew Reilly. If you enjoy mystery thrillers written by authors such as James Rollins or Matthew Reilly, you would probably enjoy The Hunt for Atlantis too.  

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