(2013)Fair SF about a gene that protects certain people from a plague that is set upon the world to reset the world's population. This enters into time travel and the pretense that Atlantis is involved. Goodreads:The Atlantis Gene (The Origin Mystery #1)by A.G. Riddle (Goodreads Author)3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 � rating details   6,363 ratings   647 reviewsTHE GREATEST MYSTERY OF ALL TIME THE HISTORY OF HUMAN ORIGINS WILL BE REVEALED.¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥70,000 years ago, the human race almost went extinct.We survived, but no one knows how. Until now.The countdown to the next stage of human evolution is about to begin, and humanity may not survive this time.¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥The Immari are good at keeping secrets. For 2,000 years, they have hidden the truth about human evolution. And they've searched for an ancient enemy ¥ a threat that could wipe out the human race. Now the search is over.Off the coast of Antarctica, a research vessel has discovered a mysterious structure buried deep in an iceberg. It's been there for thousands of years, and it isn't man made. The Immari think they know what it is, but they aren't taking any chances. The time has come to execute their master plan: humanity must evolve or perish. In a lab in Indonesia, a brilliant geneticist may have just discovered the key to their plan.Four years ago, Dr. Kate Warner left California for Jakarta, Indonesia to escape her past. She hasn't recovered from what happened to her, but she has made an incredible discovery: a cure for autism. Or so she thinks. What she's found is actually far more dangerous. Her research could rewrite human history and unleash the next stage of human evolution. In the hands of the Immari, it would mean the end of humanity as we know it.One man has seen pieces of the Immari conspiracy: Agent David Vale. But he's out of time to stop it. His informant is dead. His organization has been infiltrated. His enemy is hunting him. But when he receives a cryptic code from an anonymous source, he risks everything to save the only person that can solve it: Dr. Kate Warner.Now Kate and David must race to unravel a global conspiracy and learn the truth about the Atlantis Gene and human origins. Their journey takes them to the far corners of the globe and into the secrets of their pasts. The Immari are close on their heels and will stop at nothing to find the Atlantis Gene and force the next stage of human evolution ¥ even if it means killing 99.9% of the world's population. David and Kate can stop them if they can trust each other. And stay alive.

Okay, this was a tough one for me.

PROS: Two thumbs up for imagination and conception. I mean, this thing has Nazis, Aliens, Evolution, Hatfield and McCoy... everything but the kitchen sink. And the story itself is a pretty cool idea.

The science writing is so on point. Well researched, excellent execution. Just beautiful stuff.

I kept reading for these things. Even when the cons made me want to throw the thing across the room.

CONS: I'm generally a fan of braided stories, but this was like whiplash. Really short chapters, way too many threads, and not enough time spent really letting the reader get invested in each thread.

The dialogue in this thing that didn't have to do with science was downright awful. Especially the forced romance. Cheezy, cliche, and just unnecessarily. It's like the author imagined what a cool kid would say in a situation like that but fell so, SO short.

So much research and attention to detail went into the science in this novel, but the author completely skipped small fact-check details here and there. When these things come up, they are glaringly obvious.

Overall, I am not sure I'll give book two a read. If I get quarantine bored, I might, because the story is great, but I don't think I can make myself read through another round of terrible dialogue and whiplash.

So take that as you will, in terms of whether or not I'd recommend this to read. ( )

Intricately woven mind candy for those that love a complex plot with lots of action! This book is a really good read. There are multiple things going on that at first I couldn't imagine how they would all come together, but they do. Those who stopped in the middle because of complexity completely missed out. Cool surprises I didn't see coming! I didn't care for the romance part, but it does not take away from the story or get intolerable. The suspense kept me turning pages. It ends on a cliff hanger and I can't wait to start the next book! I marked the pace as steady, but the last half the pace is fast. ( )

Bleh, no short synopsis this time. I really wanted to like this book, but the ‘thriller’ bits definitely outweighed the ‘sf’ bits, to the point where I got tired of reading about spies and started skimming forward. Maybe book 2 would be more my thing, but I’m not convinced that I want to buy the second book on such a thin liking for the first book. The writing was also very uneven, and at least at the beginning, would have done well to have been edited significantly.
( )

“The Atlantis Gene’ was self-published in 2013 and was author A.G. Riddle’s first book. The book has sold over a million copies and at the time of this review, has over 50,000 ratings on Amazon. You cannot deny that it’s a self-published success story and A.G. Riddle has gone on to write nine other novels and has sold over five million copies.

I enjoyed this book, yes - it’s choppy and action-heavy, but it is pure fun. To me, it’s Clive Cussler meets Dan Brown - two authors who will never be held as literary intellects, but both are successful and write highly entertaining stories. You can debate their talents all you want, but, like Stephen King, you cannot debate their popularity or raw sales numbers. For me, this book never lost my attention, and at times, became a movie in my head. That’s success in my humble opinion. I’ll read more of Riddle’s books.

This book has three to four plot lines and switches back and forth like a whipsaw. This is managed with extremely short chapters, so you never really lose your place in any of the storylines. We switch exotic locations like an Indiana Jones movie. Riddle really threw in the kitchen sink in this first book of a trilogy. It has research expeditions, lost Nazi subs, genetics, historical catastrophes, a 9/11 conspiracy, secret societies, genetic manipulation, the Atlantis myth, a pandemic, and even an explanation of the “The Great Leap Forward.”

Five ice encrusted stars for this fast-paced, action packed science fiction thriller. Congrats to underdog A.G. Riddle for his entertaining works and well-deserved commercial success. ( )