The Atlantis Gene: The Origin Mystery, Book 1

Mr. Riddle has done it again. The characters are absolutely 3-dimensional, the depth of their stories make them as familiar as Mom's house.Oh, and there's a lot of action too! I'm so looking forward to the next book.

I would actually give this book three and a half stars, since there are a few issues that need to be addressed.First, the good stuff, though.I found myself unable to really put the book down once it got to the meat of the story. In fact, I spent several nights up reading until I fell asleep with the book in my hand. If there's one thing the author can do, it's lead though through a tale. I don't like the description 'page-turner,' because that's what all books are, if you think about it. But I definitely found myself getting through it faster than some of the more drab books I've read. Once I figured out who the main characters were, I was really enamored with them.But I do have a couple issues. It's easier to talk about the bad than the good. Rest assured that despite what I say next, I very much recommend this book. The following is a critique for the author.Spoilers will follow:My first issue is that the main characters were not introduced solidly early enough in the story. Kate might have been a main character, but she's also surrounded by other people who equally could have had focus. Then, there's Josh, who I began to care about because he got so much detail in his description. I really thought David was a secondary character only meant to further the plot - imagine my surprise when Josh was unceremoniously killed, and David grew in stature, plot-wise. This is very confusing and might makes for some discontent among readers.If you look at authors like Crichton and Rowling (just as two popular examples) you'll see that you immediately know who your main characters are. This is important because it shows your readers who to follow most closely. If David and Kate were main characters, it should have been addressed much earlier.Other characters were introduced too late in the book to seem like they should have had any great importance. Suddenly, Kate gets a journal and finds her father... Who ended up writing the journal. If the journal was an important plot point, it should have been introduced in the first section of the book in some way, so that it foreshadowed the location of its author. There are other issues with timing and the like. And really, not every book has to be written to a formula, but in general, use the first 1/4 of your book to set things up, used the second to lead to the climax, use the third for the climax, and use the fourth as resolution.Another thing I noticed was that you repeated the same scientific information a lot. Mostly, this centered around the other hominids that were wiped out, and that the Toba Volcano nearly destroyed humans. I can recall three specific times this was repeated, and it's unnecessary. I think I would recommend that if one character runs into another, and they want to explain something, you can find another way to do it without spelling it out each time. Here's a lazy example off the top of my head:"As she explained to David earlier, Kate summarized her knowledge of the early humanoids to _______."Done. Easily and neatly, without repeating it for readers who already know the story.Lastly, this was the biggest disappointment for me: You never revealed the Atlanteans.And this normally wouldn't be a problem if they hadn't appeared at all in the book, but your characters saw them, and you very purposely left out their physical description. You are careful to describe everything else your character sees, except the mysterious race that's central to your story. Several times, it's mentioned that they are there in the tubes, surrounded by a mist. Once, Konrad even says something to his son about them, that's both waved off and lost when Konrad is killed. Giving your readers a tiny glimpse into their appearance would have done wonders for the story. Again, because your characters saw the Atlanteans, they should have provided a meta description of them.I will be purchasing the next book, though. Can't wait to read more!

Not sure where this book is going. The editing is spot on. However, the gaps in the story, for the sake of “tension” I’m sure, left more than enough room for some inevitable questions and no forthcoming answers. In other words, conflict and confusion but not the good kind. Although I’ve invested some time in reading this first book I’m going to have to do some serious thinking before continuing. I’ve read better thriller/scifi. Also, for the authors benefit although 12 yrs too late, your romance talent sucks. And I read this book to preface reading some more current literary wonders; they may have to stay on my List, forever.

A.G. Riddle is a relatively new author, but he really hit the ball out of the park with the Atlantis Gene; which is the first of two books- the second book being the The Atlantis Plague (which is equally great, but I'll review that book separately). Within the first few pages of the book I was hooked. I finished the book in two days and immediately purchased the second book in the series because I had to know what happened next; it is rare that I am so enthralled with a book that I will finish it that quickly. Kate is a wonderfully believable character and heroine. Having a doctor (Kate) as a main character can often leave readers confused and attempting to decipher a lot of unnecessary medical jargon which is completely irrelevant to the book; however, this is not the case in The Atlantis Gene. Yes, there is some medical jargon, but everything is explained in a way that even someone with little knowledge of the medical field feels completely comfortable while reading without feeling like the author is being patronizing or condescending. In my opinion, making a medical mystery/thriller without sounding condescending is a difficult task to accomplish; but A.G. Riddle absolutely nailed it. David, our second hero in the novel, didn't feel like your traditional "knight in shining armor" type character; which was nice. With a lot of books your main hero doesn't feel real and when you don't believe in the characters the book loses that special appeal. Yes, he does end up saving Kate (more than once), but he has depth as a character and doesn't come off as a dumb jock. There is some romance, but it is kept to a minimum; a quality a appreciate because the book focuses on more serious issues, but it does allow for character development.A brief synopsis (without spoilers): Immari's goal is to release a plague causing mass genocide for the eventual advancement of the human race by essentially 'bottlenecking' (or drastically reducing) the human population to force evolutionary advancements to occur; and they are using the research of our heroine- Dr. Warner- to commit this egregious act. Dr. Kate Warner and former FBI agent David are working furiously to stop this plan from going in to effect with a group of people who may or may not actually be their allies. The Immari are behind some of the most devastating events in history; including 9/11. Labeled as a conspiracy theorist; David has been collecting evidence against the Immari for years while trying to anticipate what is next on the Immari agenda. He rescues Kate after the Immari kidnap her, and they both work to discover Immari's agenda. and to find out what role Kate and her research play in the Immari's plans for destruction; all while blurring the line between science fiction and science and reality.The line between fact and fiction is blurred so much in this book you may find yourself searching the internet to find out which parts were actually fiction. I found that aspect of the book to be both thrilling and frightening. The science behind the book is spot on, and you can tell the author spent a lot of time doing research to get every fact just right. Again, this is something I really appreciated as it gave the book credibility. The Immari villains are reminiscent of rich men conspiring in dark rooms, and making shady deals to the detriment of the public- to me this is the scariest type of villain; ones who publicly claim to be helping while behind closed doors they are plotting mass genocide. There are a lot of plot twists, and a lot of guessing as to which characters are good and which are Immari sympathizers, so you never really know who you can trust.