The Hunt for Atlantis: Wilde/Chase, Book 1

Actually… action, archeology, booby traps, gunfire, history, mystery and a little romance. 😊 Great fun. A real page turner. I could hardly put it down.

I have loved the Nina Wilde/Eddie Chase series by Andy McDermott, since reading The Pyramid of Doom a few years ago. I remember that day well....The cover had shone so bright underneath the flourescent lights of my local bookstore, the pyramids on it were so warm and inviting. It was the perfect day. Now, I own four books in the series and have read three of those four.Just recently, last year for Christmas, I acquired two of the four I now own; The Hunt for Atlantis and The Tomb of Hercules. Knowing that I had already read some of the other books, I just had to read the first. I had to see how it all started. It did not disappoint.In this first book, The Hunt for Atlantis, we are introduced to Nina Wilde, archeologist. She believes that she has cracked the location for one of the greatest mysteries of all time, the Lost City of Atlantis. However, when she presents her proposal for an expedition to the Gulf of Cadiz, where she believes the location to be, she is shot down. She is told that it would be too much of a liability if she would happen to be wrong. The deal is, though, Nina believes wholeheartedly that this is the location.Nina is not the only one who believes in her theory, because soon after arriving home from her unsuccessful venture she is called by a man named Jason Starkman. He informs her that he works for Frost Industries and that Kristian Frost, its Head, is willing to fund her expedition. Nina is shocked and very much surprised by this call. It is the very break she has waited for.She gets in the car provided for her and is whisked away to Frost Industries to have dinner with Mr. Frost and talk Atlantis. Nina soon finds that not everything is as it seems once the man she talked to on the phone, Starkman, pulls a gun on her and threatens her life.In comes Eddie Chase! SAS bodyguard!Chase saves Nina in more ways than you can count, and her him. They are a team of epic proportions, even when she doesn't listen to him, and as characters they compliment one another.This book, to me, is one amazing adventure, from beginning to end.I reccomend this for all you seekers of treasure and excitement. You will enjoy it immensely.

Archeologist Nina Wilde is on a quest, a quest she inherited from her parents, who died on the hunt. She's searching for the lost continent of Atlantis. When her own university refuses to fund an expedition to the Gulf of Cádiz, Nina is offered funding from billionaire philanthropist Kristian Frost. Almost immediately, people start trying to kill her. In addition to the funds, equipment, and logistic help for the expedition, Frost gives her two more things--two bodyguards, Eddie Chase and Hugo Castille; and his daughter, Kari Frost, to assist along the way.Soon the foursome is jumping from continent to continent--Norway, Iran, France, and Brazil being just a few stops along the way. And everywhere they go, they find themselves in mortal danger from a man called Qobras, the leader of a group determined to see that the remains of Atlantis are never discovered. Why do Qobras and his followers want to suppress the greatest archeological discovery of all time? And why is Kristian Frost willing to spend millions to find it?Sounds good, right? This is an excellent thriller/adventure premise. Sadly, the execution of this debut novel was terribly flawed. For starters, the female protagonist, Nina, is bland and uninteresting. I can't say I really cared about her. Conversely, the male lead, Eddie Chase, is portrayed as a diamond in the rough. Unfortunately, there was not enough diamond and too much rough. Eddie can be vulgar and exhibits an offensively sophomoric sense of humor. (In general, what passes for humor in this novel fails.) Ironically, it was the secondary characters of Hugo and Kari that I found to be more interesting, appealing, and dynamic, but alas, they aren't the focus of what will be a continuing series.Another thing McDermott does right is action. The book is full of it, and some of the fast-paced action sequences are really enjoyable to read. But the 500+ page novel is overly long, and the pace and storytelling are uneven. My biggest problem, however, is something I complain about a lot in these types of novels... just sheer stupidity. Over and over McDermott puts his characters into or pulls them out of frankly unbelievable situations. He succumbs many times to the cheat of convenient plotting. But most unforgivably, much of what he writes is so purely wrong as to be ridiculous.I completely lost my ability to suspend disbelief when the characters finally got onto/into the water. Either research isn't Mr. McDermott's strong suit, he thinks his readers are stupid, or he simply doesn't care, but what he wrote displays a complete lack of understanding of the laws of physics, fluid dynamics, and several other sciences. I can't give examples without spoilers, but the dumbness was fairly egregious. And the novel's dénouement was the final nail in the coffin. It was beyond ridiculous.Debut novels are often tough going, and I do see glimmers of promise here, but not enough to inspire me to read further.

Nina Wilde was orphaned when her parents' quest for Atlantis ended in betrayal, but the same obsession runs through her veins. She has dedicated her life to continuing her parents' pursuits, and she is certain she has the answer, the location of Atlantis itself. Excitement and nervousness floods through her as she gives her presentation in hope to raise funding, not knowing that following the same path as her parents could end with her sharing the same fate. As far as she knows they died in an avalanche, otherwise she may have shown more caution. Before she knows what is happening she finds herself in the crosshairs of the Brotherhood, a secret organisations whose sole purpose is to prevent the discovery of ancient legend. They will do whatever it takes to stop her, fortunately she has those on side who will do just as much to ensure her success.With a plot straight out of Tomb Raider, The Hunt for Atlantis will keep you on the edge of your seat as Nina travels the world, piecing together ancient texts and forgotten mythologies, and challenging the interpretations of Plato's writings. A brilliant, action packed mystery/ adventure that will win the hearts of Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones fans the world over. Andy McDermott's narrative is ideal for this style of writing, a rich descriptive voice along with well developed characters complete a tight and intensely gripping plot. I have already picked up the second book in this series, and if it's anything like the first then Andy McDermott has a new fan.

Wow!! What more can a Clancy - Cussler - Mariani fan ask for! Action & lots of it, adventures in different countries. Death & destruction, friends lost & refound, enemies turn out to be friends, friends becoming enemies. Lots of twists & turns, exactly the kind of book i like. I have the rest of the series, can't wait to see what the next book brings.

It's another one of those books where archeologist teams up with SAS type after receiving help from a wealthy industrialist. If course, the task is to find Atlantis, but it's how you get there that's important.The actions well written and the interaction between Eddie Chase and Nina Wilde is well scripted, if a little cheesy at times.Have to say, I got the ending before I reached the end, but it's a solid action adventure and and I'll be moving on to the second book soon.For me, it's five stars as I really enjoyed the story, the characters, and their interactions.

The dialogue is very twee not approaching the remotest level of believability. The story line is ok characters don’t ring true but if you want some easy read without any attention then this is ok.Was extremely disappointed by the fact that the kindle book ends at 98 % so not sure how the book ended!

Second time I've read this book and second time for the others of wilde/chase books. Can't get enough, can't put book down once started reading. Got friends totally hooked too. Totally hooked on story line and action.