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penguins_save_lives's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
joshwrose's review against another edition
3.0
Very good story line. Bogged down at times by excessive details concerning technology and procedures, but highly plausible and enjoyable for any history buff
bolle75's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
jeffcarden's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lizzer's review against another edition
3.0
The scenario dreamed up by Gibbins was interesting and kept me engaged. However, I think that the author's own background in archaeology, though it certainly lends an authenticity to this book that is lacking among others in the genre, sometimes intrudes into the narrative in a way that is off-putting. It can get too technical and too specific at times. For an early novel, it's okay. But if I read a few more of Gibbins' books, I expect to see a tighter plot and narrative style than I got in this one.
topdragon's review against another edition
1.0
I really loved the premise of this book. The main character is a marine archeologist and gathers a team of experts in response to a find that seems to lead toward the discovery of the lost Atlantis. And I knew if I liked the book there were at least three more by the same author and with the same protagonist. The author himself is a professor of archeology at Cambridge for crying out loud and has led numerous underwater excavations and written extensively on the topic. To top that off, my daughter is an archeology major with a keen interest in underwater archeology so I figured she could enjoy it after me. What could go wrong?
Well, this is the hazard of buying a book by its cover. If I had looked at the ratings for all four books by David Gibbons I would certainly have looked elsewhere as I have rarely seen so many negative reviews for one author. It's easy to see why. The book had such promise and fell soooo short. To begin with, Mr Gibbons may be a great professor but he hasn't a clue about what makes a quality novel. My most important criteria for a good read is characterization. Characters have to be multi-dimensional and go through changes (either positively or negatively) somehow within the course of the novel. The main three characters in this book started out perfect and ended up perfect. The first half of the book is devoted to the three of them showing off their knowledge to each other, sounding like professors in a classroom. I realize that there is a lot of information that the reader will have to know in order to make any sense of the events that come later, but Mr Gibbons goes way overboard here. Way too many facts that, while interesting on their own, were just not necessary for good story telling.
And the plot was simply not believable. In the space of about two days, the characters solved numerous archeological puzzles that have been around for eons, one discovery leading to another and among the three of them they always managed to have the expertise required to answer the puzzle before them. And then half way through the book we get the thriller part thrust upon us in the form of a sunken Russian nuclear submarine and assorted bad guys to interfere with the archeological parts of the novel. The main character gets shot and is in dire peril of losing his life but three pages later it's as if that never happened. We get to see him shooting down a helicopter with a gun (of course he happens to know the weak spots of that particular helicopter and can adjust to the 200 mile per hour winds so he knows just where to aim). Truly Mr Gibbons seems less comfortable with the action parts of the plot and it shows in it's choppy presentation. The "edge of your seat" thriller aspect of this novel was more like "why do I care what happens to these people?" As soon as he can he wraps up that portion of the story and the characters go back to their professorial discussions and one-upsmanship.
It's too bad. I think Mr Gibbons has potential as a writer but this one seems like yet another attempt to capitalize on the success of The DaVinci Code style of novel. Hopefully he can learn how to build suspense, hold his audience, and most importantly, create characters to which the reader can relate and come to care about. Unfortunately, given the ratings he has received on his other books, it seems he has not learned these lessons and thus will be limited to impulse buyers who are attracted to the cool covers of the books.
Well, this is the hazard of buying a book by its cover. If I had looked at the ratings for all four books by David Gibbons I would certainly have looked elsewhere as I have rarely seen so many negative reviews for one author. It's easy to see why. The book had such promise and fell soooo short. To begin with, Mr Gibbons may be a great professor but he hasn't a clue about what makes a quality novel. My most important criteria for a good read is characterization. Characters have to be multi-dimensional and go through changes (either positively or negatively) somehow within the course of the novel. The main three characters in this book started out perfect and ended up perfect. The first half of the book is devoted to the three of them showing off their knowledge to each other, sounding like professors in a classroom. I realize that there is a lot of information that the reader will have to know in order to make any sense of the events that come later, but Mr Gibbons goes way overboard here. Way too many facts that, while interesting on their own, were just not necessary for good story telling.
And the plot was simply not believable. In the space of about two days, the characters solved numerous archeological puzzles that have been around for eons, one discovery leading to another and among the three of them they always managed to have the expertise required to answer the puzzle before them. And then half way through the book we get the thriller part thrust upon us in the form of a sunken Russian nuclear submarine and assorted bad guys to interfere with the archeological parts of the novel. The main character gets shot and is in dire peril of losing his life but three pages later it's as if that never happened. We get to see him shooting down a helicopter with a gun (of course he happens to know the weak spots of that particular helicopter and can adjust to the 200 mile per hour winds so he knows just where to aim). Truly Mr Gibbons seems less comfortable with the action parts of the plot and it shows in it's choppy presentation. The "edge of your seat" thriller aspect of this novel was more like "why do I care what happens to these people?" As soon as he can he wraps up that portion of the story and the characters go back to their professorial discussions and one-upsmanship.
It's too bad. I think Mr Gibbons has potential as a writer but this one seems like yet another attempt to capitalize on the success of The DaVinci Code style of novel. Hopefully he can learn how to build suspense, hold his audience, and most importantly, create characters to which the reader can relate and come to care about. Unfortunately, given the ratings he has received on his other books, it seems he has not learned these lessons and thus will be limited to impulse buyers who are attracted to the cool covers of the books.
andi_sandrine's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
tellement fucking mauvais
rareadss's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
not ti be rude to the author, but this is a piece of shit
queenoferebor's review against another edition
2.0
Aunque la idea es buena, la ejecución, no tanto. La mitad del libro es "info-dump" es decir, los personajes se pasan 200 páginas en una sala de conferencias o sitios similares hablando, soltando parrafadas de información que van claramente dirigidas al lector y no a ellos. Aunque es verosímil dentro del contexto del libro porque todos ellos son expertos en algún campo, ello no lo hace menos incómodo de leer. La otra mitad del libro es palabrería tecnológica que no ayuda a nada a que el lector mantenga el interés por lo que está pasando. Es bueno saber hasta cierto punto qué técnicas se usan para tales o cuales descubrimientos, pero ¿de qué me sirve como lectora saber que hubo tres clases diferentes de submarinos soviéticos durante no sé qué guerra, o que los fusiles de asalto de no sé qué tienen un cargador con forma de plátano porque no sé cuántos? Yo he cogido este libro para leer sobre la Atlántida, no a que me den una lección de armamento pesado.
El último punto en el que el libro falla mucho son los personajes. Son planos, no se distinguen los unos de los otros, podrían haber cambiado los nombres a mitad de libro y yo no me hubiera enterado porque eran completamente "meh". Entiendo que este es el primer libro de una saga y que con los siguientes libros posiblemente el protagonista esté mejor perfilado, pero no me parece una excusa suficiente.
Ah, y la manía de meter un romance ahí con calzador que no aporta nada a la trama y que no se vuelve a mencionar en todo el libro. Y esa costumbre de describir a los personajes de acuerdo a su atractivo físico. Por supuesto, los malos de la película son descritos como feos, o gordos, o anodinos.
Mira, no.
Si te gustan los thrillers históricos y las aventuras en las que se descubren civilizaciones perdidas, es posible que disfrutes de este libro. Pero cuidado con la cantidad de información innecesaria que el autor lanza a diestro y siniestro.
El último punto en el que el libro falla mucho son los personajes. Son planos, no se distinguen los unos de los otros, podrían haber cambiado los nombres a mitad de libro y yo no me hubiera enterado porque eran completamente "meh". Entiendo que este es el primer libro de una saga y que con los siguientes libros posiblemente el protagonista esté mejor perfilado, pero no me parece una excusa suficiente.
Ah, y la manía de meter un romance ahí con calzador que no aporta nada a la trama y que no se vuelve a mencionar en todo el libro. Y esa costumbre de describir a los personajes de acuerdo a su atractivo físico. Por supuesto, los malos de la película son descritos como feos, o gordos, o anodinos.
Mira, no.
Si te gustan los thrillers históricos y las aventuras en las que se descubren civilizaciones perdidas, es posible que disfrutes de este libro. Pero cuidado con la cantidad de información innecesaria que el autor lanza a diestro y siniestro.