Atlantis

by Jonny Thompson

With only twenty-eight days to find a weapon that could change the world as we know it, Master Sailor Clive Davis embarks on a mission that will take him to a place unlike anywhere else in the world. Atlantis is a technologically advanced city built in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean by billionaire philanthropist Grace Alice. Undercover as a civilian deep sea welder Clive must track down the weapon and destroy it before Grace and her team can unleash it on the world. As Clive discovers more about the mysterious city, he begins to question what his true purpose is. With just twenty-eight days to separate fact from fiction, it’s a race against the clock for him and the rest of the world, whether they know it or not.

354 pages, Paperback

Published September 21, 2023

About the author

Jonny Thompson is an award-winning writer from Ponamogoatitjg/Dartmouth, NS. His debut novel Ash and Sun was released in 2022 and his novels Atlantis and The Limestone Manor, were released in 2023. He looks forward to following them up soon.

Reviews

[Viking Jam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: What is hilarious about the advanced praise for this novel, is that they were all written by the same "pay for great reviews" company, Literary Titan. Much like Kirkus reviews you pay them to pump out raving one liners for advance marketing. Did the novel measure up to the paid liars parade? Let's find out!

I really liked the premise of this novel. Floating city, cutting edge technology and the desire to move away from the normative political constructs that plague us. What sucked was the phrasing. Soft or softly was used in excess of 40x as was "wink". There were quite a few grammatical and continuity errors.

The MC is a stoopid douche bag that denies the evidence he is currently living. Is anyone that oblivious? Nah. Also, within a day he has the hot billionaire wanting to jump his bones which is really not believable. Why would she give two fuks about Navy boy?

The movement is good as are the supporting characters. The world building is what will draw you in. A solid 4-stars.

Rating: 4.1/5

[Sheila Samuelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 Stars!!
Review:
Thank you to Travelling Pages for sending me this FREE Paperback Copy as part of this Spotlight Tour last week.

After reading all 3 Novels by Jonny i have to say "The Limestone Manor" was my favorite with this one a close 2nd Favorite.

The Characters were fun and enjoy to read about. Clive and Dale were definately my favorites. I loved the banter between them it reminded me alot of Danny Reagan and Anthony on CBS's "Blue Bloods".

The Setting was beautifully described which made me feel like i was actually in the city in the middle of The Alantic Ocean while reading especially when the scenery was described.

Overall a Good Politcal Fiction Novel. Can't wait to read more by Jonny in the future!!

[Rachelle LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:

Master Sailor Clive Davis with the Canadian Navy just returned from a mission. He returned to find his personal life in shambles. His commanding officer using that to convince Clive to accept a new mission even though he is supposed to go on leave. The Canadian Government want information from the server room of Atlantis. Atlantis is a fully functioning city that is technologically advanced built in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean by billionaire Grace Alice.

Clive is completely blown away by Altantis and the technology that is available. During the mission, Clive is forced to see and accept that he was lied to about the true nature of his mission.


My thoughts:

I loved Atlantis and was captivated the whole time. I finished it within twelve hours.

Clive’s character is very inquisitive and spends a good bit of time asking everyone their story. He is trying to understand why his government fears Atlantis is a cover for something bad when the people he meets are normal with normal jobs.

It was interesting reading the different advancements and how technology was put to use on Atlantis. I don’t read many Sci-Fi books but glad I received this one.

Thank you to Travelling Pages Tours and Jonny Thompson for the complimentary copy.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clive Davies is a Special Ops Master Sailor in the Canadian Navy who has been tasked by the government with a secret mission – to discover what billionaire Grace Alice is up to. The billionaire has spent a fortune to build a high-tech, top-secret city in the middle of the ocean – and international intelligence believes she may also be working on a weapon. A spy sent to investigate has gone radio silent. And Clive only has 30 days to figure out what’s really going on.

At the beginning, I got worried that I’d accidentally picked up a more straightforward nautical-undersea thriller/adventure type novel. Not my kind of thing at all. But as it went along it became very sci-fi, which I appreciated greatly. The pacing of the book is a little uneven but it still kept my interest. I found it to be an unusual take on the dystopian genre. Namely, that what we’re led to believe is a dystopia is actually a utopia after all. There’s no horrifying twist that turns the dream of the advanced society into a nightmare. The real nightmare is the rest of the world. I had to think about it to decide whether that made it interesting or a let-down, and I came down on the side of interesting, though I can see how some might go in the other direction. The writing felt a little amateurish at times, but I liked the book overall. 3.5 stars, rounded down.

Representation: POC characters and LGBTQ characters

I received a copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Melissa Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I totally thought I wrote the review for this already. My sincere apology.

As many of the reviews have mentioned, the world building is pretty incredible. Most of it occurs in a habitable submarine-like place where light is mirrored down from the top of the habitat through the center open pillar so they’re actually growing plants under the ocean, and all the surrounding walls are in fact windows. It’s also hella deep, so you’re surrounded with not only fishy friends, but a man made coral reef, sharks, you name it.

The plot is a spy thriller type, but you’ll keep reading for the world building. I would’ve loved some illustrations as a few of the living concepts I couldn’t picture in my head no matter how long I thought about it (and this was a book that I put down many times just to stare at the wall and think about the descriptions). Truly creative setting. I also liked that it was basically revenge of the nerds in water.

The ‘romance’ was mediocre if I’m honest but I wasn’t really reading it for that so no skin off my nose.

Update (2025): aha! I just saw on the authors GR profile that he is hoping to have a follow up for this book. DOPE. Don’t forget the illustrations. Xoxo

[Matt Duggins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not a huge fan of this book, unfortunately. The concept was interesting, but a lot of the writing felt pretty forced and some of the dialogue was a good distance from natural. The story did build consistently throughout the book until the expected climax at the end, but some of the character arcs fell short and did not feel compelling.

On a positive note, the twist was not what I was expecting. That’s a good thing because that speaks to the author’s ability to hide the twist, but also a bad thing because the end didn’t feel like the logical conclusion to the book. Maybe I just don’t like sci-fi? The sci part was awesome, the fi part not as much.

Thanks to NetGalley for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Ris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, REALLY enjoyed this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (4.5 stars) It started out feeling like a David Baldacci novel- great, but not my style. However, I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and try something new. He COMPLETELY hooked me with the nerdy tech and underwater aquarium this city is. The basis of the book was interesting, I didn’t know what was coming next, the infrastructure of the city is fascinating, as is his invention of some crazy cool technology! Loved. Would definitely recommend, even if this isn’t your typical genre. Well done!

[Alison Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book! The way the author created this whole "land" of Atlantis, I wanted this to be a real place. With today's technology and money, I don't see Atlantis actually being that far fetched of an idea in today's day and age. It was imaginative, thrilling, techy, a hint of romance, and just overall a fantastic book. Highly recommend.

[Christopher Orr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inventive and fun mystery that probes the intersection of scientific advancement and sociopolitics

TL;DR: Atlantis is a fun exploration of science, its impact on society, and how different groups view progress deftly interwoven into a clever ticking clock story.

Highlights:
* Character writing is superb. Dialogue is snappy and reads naturally, while the interactions feel genuine and can evoke real emotion.
* Pacing builds the suspense. The mystery smolders, playing fair if coquettish. When the penny does drop, the story races forward like a drag car.

Challenges:
* The slow build for the mystery might leave you frustrated if you can only read small sections at a time.
* This is sci-fi inasmuch as the story utilizes futuristic tech, but hews more to mystery conventions rather than providing crunchy sci-fi.

Content Warning: None

Full Thoughts:
Jonny Thompson has created something special with Atlantis. While the basic plot sounds at first like the synopsis of a standard mil-sci thriller, Atlantis knits this into an exploration of who technological advancement benefits, what science owes to society, and the politics of pushing the bounds of technology. Putting that together with snappy dialogue and character interactions makes this worth diving into for anyone who likes ticking-clock mysteries.

Atlantis is a story that gives you a smoldering mystery to work through with the protagonist. A Canadian special forces operator is tasked with going undercover on a extraterritorial floating city that is built on the idea that scientific advancement is its own raison d’etre. His job is to find out what is coming at the end of the charismatic leader’s 30-day countdown, but what is really going on and who is pulling the strings? Despite being a spec-ops sailor and undercover agent, our protagonist avoids the tropes and moral pitfalls that typify the superspy genre. I, for one, am glad that he was not a James Bond type with the myriad ethical difficulties that such a character brings.

The pacing is a brilliant slow burn, making you as the reader try to get a handle on the mystery alongside the protagonist. You follow him as he is put into a self-contained aquatic metropolis, encounters technology that seems just this side of magic, and builds rapport with the varied characters that make up the floating city of Atlantis. The clock ticks down as you follow him, building the tension as you and the protagonist try to grapple with his mission and the world he finds himself in. And when the mystery starts to unravel, that slow burn ignites the powder keg and the story takes off and runs at a sprint.

Without getting into spoilers (which I always avoid in a review), the story is as much about the people that create and use technology as it is about the military operation. I did not expect to get a thought-provoking discourse on the politics of scientific advancement when I started this book, but boy am I happy with I found by the end. Moreover, I appreciate that this examination of the sociopolitical ramifications of Atlantis is made a part of the plot in a clever and natural way rather than being forced or separate from the primary narrative.

The use of futuristic technology is a bit of a double-edged sword if you are looking at this strictly from a sci-fi reader’s perspective. Jonny Thompson introduces a city full of wonderous tech and gives glimpses of the scientists and engineers behind them, but does not delve into the science. The tech is treated as part of ordinary life and gets as much delving into as a cellphone in a modern-day fiction story. If you are wanting hard sci-fi, that just isn’t what Atlantis is serving.

Atlantis has an interesting location to explore, intriguing characters that interact in engaging ways, and examines the politics of science in a cool way. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a ticking-clock mystery, examinations of how science impacts society, or a soft sci-fi story that provides a little something more to think about. Ultimately, the greatest praise I can give a book is my own desire to reread it and Atlantis has me wanting to jump back in the water for another go.

[Thank you to NetGalley and Chantry Publishing House for sending this book for review consideration. This review reflects my honest personal reading experience. All opinions expressed are my own.]

[Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atlantis, by Jonny Thompson, is an enthralling science fiction novel that masterfully intertwines futuristic innovation with profound ethical questions. At the heart of the story is Clive, a protagonist faced with a mission of immense stakes, a complex moral quandary, and a secret with the potential to alter the course of the world. Tasked with evaluating the viability of a self-sustaining society named Atlantis, envisioned by a billionaire philanthropist, Grace, Clive finds himself torn between admiration for the city’s technological marvels and suspicion of its underlying intentions.

Thompson excels in crafting a narrative replete with suspense and intricate conflicts, compelling readers to remain engaged until the final reveal. The juxtaposition of Atlantis’s awe-inspiring advancements with Clive’s growing distrust forms a riveting narrative tension. This tension is a mirror to Clive’s internal conflict, as he oscillates between endorsing Grace's utopian vision and scrutinizing her true agenda. The reader becomes deeply invested in Clive's journey, sharing in his vacillating emotions and the tantalizing uncertainty of Grace's motives. A standout feature of Thompson's storytelling is the meticulous attention to technological detail. The novel immerses readers in a convincingly realistic future, complete with advanced waste management systems and real-time translation devices. Particularly notable is the innovative depiction of Atlantis utilizing ocean plastics, which are decomposed by bacteria, thus maintaining a clean and sustainable environment.

I feel Atlantis appeals to a broad spectrum of readers, encompassing enthusiasts of science fiction, political thrillers, and those intrigued by the ethical ramifications of technological progress. Thompson skillfully weaves an atmosphere of suspense and enigma with thought-provoking themes surrounding power, capitalism, and environmental stewardship. Narrated from a compelling third-person perspective, the book keeps the reader thoroughly engaged with its charismatic lead character. Thompson’s narrative is an exemplary instance of sci-fi writing at its best, offering a fusion of technological foresight, political intrigue, and ethical complexity.

Atlantis is not just a captivating read; it is an intellectually stimulating experience, leaving readers both enlightened and delighted. It is an essential read for those seeking a thoughtfully crafted, immersive sci-fi journey.

[Liz Sdraulig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read by new author!