Ancient History

by Neil Jopson

A sunken city. A woman with a secret. A treasure to be found.

Ren has spent her life diving on the ruins left by the Ancients. Recovering artefacts while hiding from the world above the waterline.

Now she's been given her biggest salvage job yet. But will bringing up the relics of history lead to revelations about her own past?

29 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2025

About the author

Stories you can’t put down.

Adventure or fantasy, the supernatural or history. Some of Neil’s stories will inform you, all of them will entertain you. From short stories of mysterious happenings to tales of an empire cursed with plague. And the heartbreaking tragedies of ships lost at sea.

Explore new worlds, or rediscover the one you thought you knew already.

Reviews

[Mason Kendrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The question I'm left with after reading this is “why?” Why is this story post-apocalyptic? It adds nothing to the story and bogs it down with worldbuilding that is barely fleshed out. Why have the character be a diver who recovers relics and then not have the relics play any role in the story? Half the story goes with no payoff, while the payoff for the “secrets from the past” is a very predictable twist. 


All that being said, there is definitely potential. The prose is good and I do want to know more about the world. I hope the author keeps writing and improving their art. I just think they need to take more time and expand the elements of their story, making sure that each element has a reason to be there

[Granny Slick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good short story with an interesting premise. I would have liked more explanation or hints as to what cataclysmic event destroyed the Ancients and what city it was. Also it needed better proofreading.

[H.M. Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short story!