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Decipher
MANKIND HAS HAD 12,000 YEARS TO DECIPHER THE MESSAGE,
WE HAVE ONE WEEK LEFT.... There is a signal emanating from deep within the ice of Antarctica. Atlantis has awoken. Ancient monuments all over the worlds from the Pyramids of Giza, to Mexico to the ancient sites of China are reacting...to a brewing crisis not of this earth, but somewhere out in the solar system. Connecting to each other through the oceans. Using low frequency sound waves to create an ancient network. The earth is thrown into panic stations. For it seems that the signals emanating from Atlantis are a prelude to something much greater. Could it be that the entire city is in fact one giant ancient machine? And to what end? For what purpose? It is the year 2012, the same year Mayan belief prophesised the end of the world. Two armies, American and Chinese stand on the brink of war for the control of the most potent force ever known to man. The secrets of Atlantis. Secrets which are encoded in crystal shards retrieved from the sunken city. Secrets which Mankind has had twelve thousand years to decipher...but which will now destroy it within one week.
WE HAVE ONE WEEK LEFT.... There is a signal emanating from deep within the ice of Antarctica. Atlantis has awoken. Ancient monuments all over the worlds from the Pyramids of Giza, to Mexico to the ancient sites of China are reacting...to a brewing crisis not of this earth, but somewhere out in the solar system. Connecting to each other through the oceans. Using low frequency sound waves to create an ancient network. The earth is thrown into panic stations. For it seems that the signals emanating from Atlantis are a prelude to something much greater. Could it be that the entire city is in fact one giant ancient machine? And to what end? For what purpose? It is the year 2012, the same year Mayan belief prophesised the end of the world. Two armies, American and Chinese stand on the brink of war for the control of the most potent force ever known to man. The secrets of Atlantis. Secrets which are encoded in crystal shards retrieved from the sunken city. Secrets which Mankind has had twelve thousand years to decipher...but which will now destroy it within one week.
592 pages, Paperback
First published January 9, 2007
95 people are currently reading
2098 people want to read
About the author
Stel Pavlou
21 books151 followersStel Pavlou is the British international bestselling author of adult fiction. Daniel Coldstar: The Relic War is his first novel for young readers. Stel has written screenplays for Morgan Freeman and Samuel L. Jackson, and stories for Doctor Who. He lives in Colorado with his family, a dog named Rocket, and the ghosts of two chickens.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 203 reviews
September 5, 2023
“Instinctively she jumped back from the wall as the approaching light entirely engulfed her section of the tunnel”
Guess what I think of any author who presumes to write a science-based tech-thriller but allows the characters to dodge an incoming hazard propagating at the speed of light?
Much like James Rollins’ over-wrought efforts, Pavlou dumps everything into DECIPHER but the kitchen sink – the discovery of Atlantis; pyramids; technological civilizations that pre-date our own by thousands of years and out-strip our technology and knowledge of the universe by orders of magnitude; linguistics; translation of previously undiscovered written languages; the large scale preparation of obscure crystalline versions of carbon; disruption of all of earth’s physical systems by gravity waves created by cyclical solar storms; prediction of the arrival of those disruptions to the very day … and more. From the opening pages, DECIPHER not only starts over the top and never comes to the surface of sensible reality, it attempts to out-do itself with progressively more grandiose (and dare I say, ridiculous) action and events.
It seems such a shame because I was still willing to award two stars on the basis of the author’s side bar essays on science that was real and made sense. His description of historical language groupings, for example, was fascinating. Fiction is allowed to stretch credibility, to be sure, but DECIPHER was out of control and beyond the pale!
Not recommended.
Paul Weiss
Guess what I think of any author who presumes to write a science-based tech-thriller but allows the characters to dodge an incoming hazard propagating at the speed of light?
Much like James Rollins’ over-wrought efforts, Pavlou dumps everything into DECIPHER but the kitchen sink – the discovery of Atlantis; pyramids; technological civilizations that pre-date our own by thousands of years and out-strip our technology and knowledge of the universe by orders of magnitude; linguistics; translation of previously undiscovered written languages; the large scale preparation of obscure crystalline versions of carbon; disruption of all of earth’s physical systems by gravity waves created by cyclical solar storms; prediction of the arrival of those disruptions to the very day … and more. From the opening pages, DECIPHER not only starts over the top and never comes to the surface of sensible reality, it attempts to out-do itself with progressively more grandiose (and dare I say, ridiculous) action and events.
It seems such a shame because I was still willing to award two stars on the basis of the author’s side bar essays on science that was real and made sense. His description of historical language groupings, for example, was fascinating. Fiction is allowed to stretch credibility, to be sure, but DECIPHER was out of control and beyond the pale!
Not recommended.
Paul Weiss
September 23, 2008
Decipher is a real treat; intelligent, well-researched, fast-paced, and thrilling. If this is Pavlou's first novel, I can't wait to see what he came up with for his second and third outings (Gene and Code Zero, apparently).
Decipher ties together myth, linguistics, archeology, physics, and much more to spin a near-future tale of a race to save the planet from annihilation. Pavlou obviously spent a great deal of time researching this book, but only rarely does that get in the way of the story.
As I haven't done the research myself, I can't claim to know which are facts and which are inventions of the author. Pavlou makes some very interesting points, however, and unless he's taken some great liberties with the facts, he raises some very interesting theories about why pyramids exist, and why the world's religions have essentially the same origin story.
Decipher reminds me of some of Neal Stephenson's stories, while his writing style seems influenced by Heinlein and Asimov. What it all boils down to, though, is just one really fantastic book. I'll be adding this one to my permanent library!
Decipher ties together myth, linguistics, archeology, physics, and much more to spin a near-future tale of a race to save the planet from annihilation. Pavlou obviously spent a great deal of time researching this book, but only rarely does that get in the way of the story.
As I haven't done the research myself, I can't claim to know which are facts and which are inventions of the author. Pavlou makes some very interesting points, however, and unless he's taken some great liberties with the facts, he raises some very interesting theories about why pyramids exist, and why the world's religions have essentially the same origin story.
Decipher reminds me of some of Neal Stephenson's stories, while his writing style seems influenced by Heinlein and Asimov. What it all boils down to, though, is just one really fantastic book. I'll be adding this one to my permanent library!
January 27, 2008
Less than halfway through the book, and I'm tired of it. It's an interesting premise, but poorly written. Overloaded with techno-babble and scientific and historical "facts" that don't strongly relate to the main story. Too many under-developed characters that are too hard to keep track of as it bounces from plot-line to plot-line. I doubt I'll finish the book.
UPDATE - I actually finished it. I can't believe I wasted my time on this dumb book.
UPDATE - I actually finished it. I can't believe I wasted my time on this dumb book.
April 14, 2007
If you want to read a book that actually fulfills the literary promise of the extremely disappointing "DaVinci Code" should read this one instead. It has everything: world mythology, futuristic premises, fascinating connections between past and the present civilizations, very satisfying historical accuracy, and interesting characters who are not entirely two dimensional.
This novel would make a truly amazing movie, and I can't believe some Hollywood visionary hasn't bought the rights and started production.
This novel would make a truly amazing movie, and I can't believe some Hollywood visionary hasn't bought the rights and started production.
July 27, 2009
The year is 2012, which is, of course, the year the Mayan calendar predicts great change, a new age of peace, or the destruction of the human race, depending on who you listen to.
Tension between the United States and China is at an all time high and war might break out at any moment. The Chinese appear to have found some kind of power source in Antarctica.
The laws governing Antarctica are a mess. The US has less of a claim to the natural resources there than several other countries, nonetheless, a US oil company tries to surreptitiously drill for oil only to run into something called Carbon 60, a form of carbon that's stronger than diamonds and worth millions if not billions.
It turns out that what they've really found is the lost city of Atlantis.
Meanwhile, the sun is entering into a peak period of solar activity (which will actually occur at about that point in time) and solar flares are threatening to wreck havoc on the earth.
It should be a thrilling read, but instead it feels like a long slog. Pavlou brings experts in various fields together(physics, geology, languages/culture/religions/mythology). While the comparisons of various myths and religions was interesting, often there were paragraphs if not pages of each of the experts talking about a highly technical aspect of his or her work which no one else understood and was tedious to read.
Even the action parts didn't last very long. There would be a little bit of action, and then a lot more technical lecturing. And for a supposed grad student of Scott's, November seemed clueless about some basic things in their field.
One of the other things that really irritated me was that the solar flares/pulses caused cataclysmic changes on earth, volcanoes had massive eruptions, including the entire chain of fire, there were horrific earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes ... so why didn't any of the sleeping super volcanoes (e.g., Yellowstone) erupt? And if they did, shouldn't that have been covered more fully? There's a throwaway line or two about how life had changed and the American breadbasket couldn't produce food but I don't think he does anything close to justice for how life on earth would have changed. Yes, the planet wasn't irradiated of life, but it's going to be in the midst of a nuclear winter for a long, long time. My guess is that billions would starve, die of exposure, etc. not to mention all the property damage from buildings collapsing under the weight of the ash. Cars won't run, emergency services will be flooded, even assuming people can get there... there's still going to be a sudden massive die off the likes of which hasn't been seen since the dinosaurs became extinct. None of that was given nearly the attention it should have been.
Tension between the United States and China is at an all time high and war might break out at any moment. The Chinese appear to have found some kind of power source in Antarctica.
The laws governing Antarctica are a mess. The US has less of a claim to the natural resources there than several other countries, nonetheless, a US oil company tries to surreptitiously drill for oil only to run into something called Carbon 60, a form of carbon that's stronger than diamonds and worth millions if not billions.
It turns out that what they've really found is the lost city of Atlantis.
Meanwhile, the sun is entering into a peak period of solar activity (which will actually occur at about that point in time) and solar flares are threatening to wreck havoc on the earth.
It should be a thrilling read, but instead it feels like a long slog. Pavlou brings experts in various fields together(physics, geology, languages/culture/religions/mythology). While the comparisons of various myths and religions was interesting, often there were paragraphs if not pages of each of the experts talking about a highly technical aspect of his or her work which no one else understood and was tedious to read.
Even the action parts didn't last very long. There would be a little bit of action, and then a lot more technical lecturing. And for a supposed grad student of Scott's, November seemed clueless about some basic things in their field.
One of the other things that really irritated me was that the solar flares/pulses caused cataclysmic changes on earth, volcanoes had massive eruptions, including the entire chain of fire, there were horrific earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes ... so why didn't any of the sleeping super volcanoes (e.g., Yellowstone) erupt? And if they did, shouldn't that have been covered more fully? There's a throwaway line or two about how life had changed and the American breadbasket couldn't produce food but I don't think he does anything close to justice for how life on earth would have changed. Yes, the planet wasn't irradiated of life, but it's going to be in the midst of a nuclear winter for a long, long time. My guess is that billions would starve, die of exposure, etc. not to mention all the property damage from buildings collapsing under the weight of the ash. Cars won't run, emergency services will be flooded, even assuming people can get there... there's still going to be a sudden massive die off the likes of which hasn't been seen since the dinosaurs became extinct. None of that was given nearly the attention it should have been.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2018
Compré este libro hace muchos años, interesado más por la tapa (¡nunca lo hagan!) y la temática que por conocer algo de Pavlou en sí. El resultado fue empezar a leerlo en ese momento, y dejarlo sin tocar durante media década.
Decidido a sacarlo de la lista de pendientes embarqué esta aventura, que en mi inocencia, pensé que se desarrollaba por lo menos alguna parte en la Atlántida. Pero la cosa no es tan fácil. Para llegar a nuestro destino primero tendremos que ser testigo de muchas conversaciones científicas en diferentes mesas, lo cual termina siendo un arma de doble filo.
Donde más brilla el libro, y Pavlou si vamos al caso, es cuando está explicando diferentes fenómenos históricos, mitológicos y científicos. Hay mucha información muy interesante sobre la humanidad y la naturaleza, pero ni siquiera en su punto más alto, logra desarrollar estos temas a un nivel que se sienta satisfactorio. Vale decir que termina siendo más atrapante leer entradas de Wikipedia sobre estos temas que la novela en sí.
La historia en sí se mueve muy lento, y los personajes, la última esperanza de que este libro tenga algo de interés son aburridos y están absolutamente subdesarrollados. Además, hay algún problema en la narración donde se mezclan y hasta pasada la mitad del libro sigue sin quedar claro exactamente quién es quién y qué hace en el supuesto equipo científico.
Así, no me satisfizo como libros de fantasía, mucho menos como thriller. ¿Qué tal como simulador de turismo en Atlantis? Tampoco. Cuando finalmente llegamos a la ciudad sumergida, los detalles son escasos, y el twist final casi que hace que el resto de las revelaciones hayan sido superfluas.
Además de la poca acción (en sentido de que la trama se mueva), hay momentos de extensa tu exposición científica que, en vez de hacer emocionante la sensación de descubrimiento, termina siendo un tedio.
Por último quisiera remarcar que la tercera edición de Factoría de Ideas de este libro es un bochorno, repleta de errores que no pueden existir en una tercera revisión, y en muchos casos, tampoco en la primera. La traducción también deja mucho que desear.
Decidido a sacarlo de la lista de pendientes embarqué esta aventura, que en mi inocencia, pensé que se desarrollaba por lo menos alguna parte en la Atlántida. Pero la cosa no es tan fácil. Para llegar a nuestro destino primero tendremos que ser testigo de muchas conversaciones científicas en diferentes mesas, lo cual termina siendo un arma de doble filo.
Donde más brilla el libro, y Pavlou si vamos al caso, es cuando está explicando diferentes fenómenos históricos, mitológicos y científicos. Hay mucha información muy interesante sobre la humanidad y la naturaleza, pero ni siquiera en su punto más alto, logra desarrollar estos temas a un nivel que se sienta satisfactorio. Vale decir que termina siendo más atrapante leer entradas de Wikipedia sobre estos temas que la novela en sí.
La historia en sí se mueve muy lento, y los personajes, la última esperanza de que este libro tenga algo de interés son aburridos y están absolutamente subdesarrollados. Además, hay algún problema en la narración donde se mezclan y hasta pasada la mitad del libro sigue sin quedar claro exactamente quién es quién y qué hace en el supuesto equipo científico.
Así, no me satisfizo como libros de fantasía, mucho menos como thriller. ¿Qué tal como simulador de turismo en Atlantis? Tampoco. Cuando finalmente llegamos a la ciudad sumergida, los detalles son escasos, y el twist final casi que hace que el resto de las revelaciones hayan sido superfluas.
Además de la poca acción (en sentido de que la trama se mueva), hay momentos de extensa tu exposición científica que, en vez de hacer emocionante la sensación de descubrimiento, termina siendo un tedio.
Por último quisiera remarcar que la tercera edición de Factoría de Ideas de este libro es un bochorno, repleta de errores que no pueden existir en una tercera revisión, y en muchos casos, tampoco en la primera. La traducción también deja mucho que desear.
October 2, 2009
I’ve read a lot of bad reviews about this book, but it’s become one of my favorites. This book definitely requires a technical mind and a love for science, so if 500 pages of science and cultural history sound boring to you, I doubt you’d enjoy this as much as I did.
In 2012, the best scientists across the globe have been assembled to solve a mystery. The earth is going through a traumatic time with many earthquakes, floods and odd weather. The lost city of Atlantis may have been found and could either be causing these problems, or could be a cure for them.
All over the world, usually under an ancient pyramid of some sort, an interesting material, Carbon 60, is found inscribed with an unknown language. This material is man-made and is something we can’t create in any significant quantity, so its discovery is puzzling. Not only is the material inscribed, but it is digitally encoded.
The set of great minds come together to try to figure out how this material and the writings on them tie into the puzzle.
Let’s face it, I’m no good at summarizing. I thought this book was not only educational, but exciting. I found many of the scientific and historical facts discussed in the book are real, as I researched points that interested me. It really makes you think and evaluate everything you’ve always assumed to be true.
If you like Stargate, you’ll notice many similar themes.
This book is perfect for those who don’t have a lot of time to read every day as it’s broken into many “stopping points” between chapters, so it’s easy to read for 10 minutes and then put the book down at a break. The last 50 pages or so are truly boring, but I felt the ride was definitely worth it!
In 2012, the best scientists across the globe have been assembled to solve a mystery. The earth is going through a traumatic time with many earthquakes, floods and odd weather. The lost city of Atlantis may have been found and could either be causing these problems, or could be a cure for them.
All over the world, usually under an ancient pyramid of some sort, an interesting material, Carbon 60, is found inscribed with an unknown language. This material is man-made and is something we can’t create in any significant quantity, so its discovery is puzzling. Not only is the material inscribed, but it is digitally encoded.
The set of great minds come together to try to figure out how this material and the writings on them tie into the puzzle.
Let’s face it, I’m no good at summarizing. I thought this book was not only educational, but exciting. I found many of the scientific and historical facts discussed in the book are real, as I researched points that interested me. It really makes you think and evaluate everything you’ve always assumed to be true.
If you like Stargate, you’ll notice many similar themes.
This book is perfect for those who don’t have a lot of time to read every day as it’s broken into many “stopping points” between chapters, so it’s easy to read for 10 minutes and then put the book down at a break. The last 50 pages or so are truly boring, but I felt the ride was definitely worth it!
June 30, 2020
Todavía recuerdo el día que compré este libro. Prometía ser del estilo de El Código Da Vinci... El caso que se quedó en mi librería por muchos años y hace un mes me dio por darle una oportunidad. El trasfondo de la historia es bueno, un poco lioso con tantos nombres, y ya cuando se ponen a hablar de ciencia, te pierdes. Es como si el autor copiara partes de enciclopedias enteras... Pero lo peor son las faltas de ortografía y coherencia que tiene el libro.
Total, lectura horrible.
Total, lectura horrible.
May 12, 2010
The story starts quietly then like a predator it pounces.
You feel mauled and like you are being dragged along with the story but you are completely helpless because you have to find out what they know... you have to follow their path...parts of the story keep filtering into my mind months after I have finshed ..
You feel mauled and like you are being dragged along with the story but you are completely helpless because you have to find out what they know... you have to follow their path...parts of the story keep filtering into my mind months after I have finshed ..
October 30, 2010
First off, let me say that while I absolutely adored this book enough to give it 5 stars, it has several parts where it turns into an info-dump where the characters spout off info necessary to move the plot along. While I didn't find this a problem the first time I read it, I found it a bit boring when I've reread it since then. Still, the book is overall worth the read.
The plot centers around mysterious occurrences that start happening around the year 2012. A team of scientists are rounded up to figure out why everything is happening & why mysterious signals are coming from underneath Antartica. At the same time, a land mass is rising from underneath Antartica, a land believed to be Atlantis.
Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes. All in all, I found this an immensely satisfying read. It really won't be for everyone, especially not people who aren't fans of books such as this. As far as re-readability goes, it's about a 3.5 stars rather than 5 since there's a lot of info-dumps to wade through until you get to the good stuff. Still, when the good stuff does happen it's pretty exciting & the first time reading, the info dumps aren't really a problem.
The plot centers around mysterious occurrences that start happening around the year 2012. A team of scientists are rounded up to figure out why everything is happening & why mysterious signals are coming from underneath Antartica. At the same time, a land mass is rising from underneath Antartica, a land believed to be Atlantis.
Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes. All in all, I found this an immensely satisfying read. It really won't be for everyone, especially not people who aren't fans of books such as this. As far as re-readability goes, it's about a 3.5 stars rather than 5 since there's a lot of info-dumps to wade through until you get to the good stuff. Still, when the good stuff does happen it's pretty exciting & the first time reading, the info dumps aren't really a problem.
September 9, 2008
loved this book. The first 50 or so pages are difficult to get past if you have problems with someone trying to disprove religion. These pages are important to the story and he is not derogatory towards religion he just has some interesting ideas on the history that could have happend. After these first pages it is a high paced high adventure page turner. I love it and would read it again.
September 25, 2016
This book has an interesting premise, as well as intriguing science (or pseudo science). Unfortunately, what it lacks is: interesting plot, interesting characters, character development, good pace. I read about 400 pages (half the book) when I realised that I wasn't really interested (that word again!) in what would happen to the characters or in the story next, at which point I stopped reading.
February 9, 2015
Es uno de los mejores libros que he leido. Lo lei sin demasiada motivacion porque no habia investigado mucho al respecto, sencillamente fue la recomendacion de una amiga y decidi darle una oportunidad. Al principio me costaba terminar de engancharme con la trama, no porque fuera aburrida sino porque saltaba de una situacion a otra y no terminaba de asentarse en algo, cada situacion era completamente diferente a la anterior y ademas presentaba nuevos personajes, como que uno no termina de hacerce un mapa mental de la cuestion. Demore en identificarme con un personaje y considerarlo el personaje principal. Ademas en cada situacion en particular, cuando los personajes se ponian a conjeturar y elaborar teorias, comenzaban por un lado, luego aportaban muchisima informacion relacionada y terminaban por otro lado completamente diferente. Es recien cerca de la mitad del libro, en un libro de mas de 600 paginas, donde la trama parece ser un poco mas estrecha y es mas facil de seguir. Lo mas dificil en el libro es justamente eso, poder abarcar todo lo que se plantea, en cada capitulo el flujo de informacion es tremendo, las teorias que elaboraban los personaes tambien y quedaba practicamente un espacio casi nulo para que el lector elaborase las suyas propias, simplemente uno tiene que aceptar lo que va pasando y tratar de bajar las cosas a tierra, dedicandole un rato de pensamiento y armando asi el puzzle mental. A veces sentia que la cabeza me iba a explotar. De todas formas, luego, cuando la trama se encamina un poco y deja de ser tan avasallante, todo lo previo cobra sentido como un todo y es mas abarcable. El resto del libro se hace mas llevadero. A pesar de todo esto que acabo de decir, considero que la trama es de lo mas interesante, de lo mas ingeniosa y francamente me parece que el autor tuvo una genialidad al lograr elaborar algo tan compleja, que abarca tantos aspectos de la humanidad, ciencia, filosofia, mitos, disciplinas, arquitectura, culturas, religiones, etc, en una unica historia excelentemente entrelazada. A medida que transcurre el libro y a pesar de toda la informacion nueva que se va agregando, debo decir que lo realmente escencial es docificado y trabajado y en cada capitulo se planetan nuevas incognitas y avances que hacen que el lector quiera seguir leyendo a pesar de que los capitulos son enormes. El final la verdad que esta muy bien pensado. Y una vez que termine el libro, pase de leerlo por mera curiosidad y hasta se podria decir por el compromiso que sentia para con mi amiga que me lo habia recomendado, a terminar considerandolo como uno de los mejores que me ha tocado leer. Es un libro muy recomendable para gente paciente que le gustan las tramas entreveradas y misteriosas.
July 5, 2016
The ONLY reason I'm giving this book 2 stars is because I finished it. It was so long and dragging, though, that I wish it'd been just a LITTLE bit worse so I could've called it quits half-way through. By the half way point, I realized that I had NO interest in any of the main characters (and, it was damn near impossible to tell through the entire book who was a main character and who was a supporting character), there was so much scientific mumbo-jumbo & jargon that for a layperson (and, possibly even more science-minded folks) it was like reading a treatise on what the author thought would happen in 2012, instead of an action story. Not enjoyable. Not in the least. A good hundred or more pages could've been cut out, if the author had just limited himself to REAL action, instead of talking science so much. (I've got nothing wrong with science, but man.... take a clue from James Rollins, keep it fast and interesting, and don't give more science than action.) As I said, of the 10 or 12 characters that we spend the most time with, throughout the book, there are 6 who qualify as competing-for-main-character status. Then it's narrowed down, FINALLY, to just 2, just in time to kill them off. Not one of the characters were people I'd like to know in real life. And the two female characters with any real dialog in the book were thrown in purely to play-off the guys. Purely to give the males a female voice asking question or a feminine form to look at.
Not recommending this one to anyone. Won't be looking for any more of this author's books, either.
Not recommending this one to anyone. Won't be looking for any more of this author's books, either.
December 14, 2012
Wow! This was an absolutely fascinating book!! It had all sorts of interesting facts and a great premise about Atlantis. And it certainly had a great sense of adventure and suspense! It was like reading an action movie - but a well-researched one! Unfortunately, the book followed the genre-standard of characters were more like caricatures than actual people... and not every little bit of the Great Mystery (including what would seem like some of the more interesting bits) was included. For all the historical background and exposition, the book was firmly rooted in the present (well, actually the future from its 2002 publication, in 2012), and involved little of the heyday of Atlantis in the past... And much like Frank Schatzing’s The Swarm, there were entire sections that were little more than "information dumps" but they were interesting and relevant to the story. I found the whole thing to be completely engrossing, but I can see how this format would not be to everyone's liking. If you can't go along for the ride, don't bother... I wouldn't recommend this to everyone I knew as a terrific piece of literature, but it sure is an exciting read and I really enjoyed it!
November 20, 2008
I learned from this book that I won't read another of his books. He used a scientific platform, which I initially found interesting, to basically spew his anti-religion ideas. Yeah. No, thanks. I didn't even finish this book because it was a cheap knock-off of Jurassic Park with different technology. The characters - were they supposed to be likeable? And easy to follow? Meh. I should have known the instant archaeologists started barbequeing thousands of years old mammoth meat that had been frozen in ice, that this book was NOT for me. It was not worth your time for no other reason than it was boring. If you, like me, are a Christian person then steer clear. Like I said before...Meh.
February 19, 2015
This book was great! A secret under the ice in Antartica leads to a race against time to save the world from total destruction. My kind of book!
December 11, 2010
fantastic fun. a thriller that thrills science that entertains and a plot that should be filmed asap
September 29, 2012
Pretty Amazing...!
September 10, 2020
Think 'The Da Vinci Code' with really bad pseudo-science, cheesy characters and a disappointing finish. Could have been good. It wasn't.
May 21, 2018
Denne boken var en 570 sider lang lidelse å komme seg gjennom, og det er synd, for dette er sannsynligvis den mest ambisiøse funnet-i-isen-boken jeg har lest. Uten å overdrive tipper jeg det at over hundre myter, sagn eller religiøse fortellinger blir viklet inn i mysteriet her. Problemet er ikke ambisjonsnivået eller at forfatteren har gjort for lite research, her er utfordringen snarere hvordan alt dette kommer til uttrykk i handlingen. Historien er befolket av forskere og andre intellektuelle som oppfører seg som Wikipedia-artikler på hver sine områder innen lingvistikk, religion, fysikk, sosialantropologi og historie. Ingen av dem er en utpreget hovedperson, her følger vi en ti–femten stykker på lik linje, og perspektivet bytter mellom dem gjerne innad i samme avsnitt.
December 27, 2023
I don't even know where to begin with writing a review for this - it was utterly batshit and I fucking loved it! :D
September 29, 2025
Poate că nu aș fi dat niciodată de această carte. Pentru mine marchează un înainte și după în viața mea de cititor. E acel gen de carte care mă face să o trăiesc pe un plan bilateral, căci mă gândesc atât la poveste cât și la cum a fost oare să scrii o așa poveste. Nu pot să nu sesizez o muncă magistrală.
De aici sustrag eu cea mai frumoasă viziunea asupra miturilor și a divinității. Pe scurt, e sfârșitul lumii, planeta cam vrea să se restarteze, iar prin cioburi de legendă aflăm că civilizații antice dezvoltate au găsit cum să le comunice oamenilor viitorului instrucțiunile pentru salvarea lumii. Povești cu zei și cataclisme sunt asimilate veacuri la rând, nereprezentând altceva decât o unealtă de transmitere, în chip fabulos și ușor de perceput de către natura umana, a unor adevăruri din trecut, a ceea ce a fost și a soluției salvatoare. Dacă oamenii câștigă jocul evoluției și ajung în punctul în care văd dincolo de legende, știu ce trebuie să facă pentru a opri potopul. În caz contrar, planeta va mai încerca o dată. Și încă o dată. Și poate iar...
Ceea ce scriu e prea puțin în comparație cu întreg cuprinsul cărții. M-am plimbat prin multe locuri ale planetei, am văzut piramide prinzând viață, pe golemi ridicându-se din țărână, cam cum ar arăta era finală a pământului... Ba am fost și pe alte planete când li se decoja atmosfera. Până să ajung aici, merită să spun că am asistat la un joc al decodificărilor, la îmbinări între limbi, culturi și legende. Am participat la expediții grele, cu escaladat de ghețari, tuneluri prin care curge apă vie și morți care se întorc de pe lumea de dincolo. Am asistat la o luptă pe resurse, un joc al puterii între națiuni pe fundalul sumbru al unei lumi aflate în colaps. Am văzut toate morțile posibile ale pământului și am asistat la schingiuiri omenești nemaipomenite. Mi s-a explicat da capo al fine fiecare fenomen. Mi-au fost împărtășite multe secrete. O călătorie cu adevărat merituoasă :)
Pe lângă amestecul incredibil de cunoștințe din diverse domenii și felul în care acestea sunt divulgate, m-a impresionat modul în care autorul a menținut relațiile dintre personaje astfel încât să nu cadă în extrema de a umbri farmecul cărții. Au fost prezente într-o măsură corectă, care a completat frumos întreg tumultul acțiunilor.
Sunt multe pasaje asupra cărora am intenția să mă opresc și să reflectez, așa că această carte se dorește a fi recitită. Vreau să mai trec prin aceeași experiență genială.
De aici sustrag eu cea mai frumoasă viziunea asupra miturilor și a divinității. Pe scurt, e sfârșitul lumii, planeta cam vrea să se restarteze, iar prin cioburi de legendă aflăm că civilizații antice dezvoltate au găsit cum să le comunice oamenilor viitorului instrucțiunile pentru salvarea lumii. Povești cu zei și cataclisme sunt asimilate veacuri la rând, nereprezentând altceva decât o unealtă de transmitere, în chip fabulos și ușor de perceput de către natura umana, a unor adevăruri din trecut, a ceea ce a fost și a soluției salvatoare. Dacă oamenii câștigă jocul evoluției și ajung în punctul în care văd dincolo de legende, știu ce trebuie să facă pentru a opri potopul. În caz contrar, planeta va mai încerca o dată. Și încă o dată. Și poate iar...
Ceea ce scriu e prea puțin în comparație cu întreg cuprinsul cărții. M-am plimbat prin multe locuri ale planetei, am văzut piramide prinzând viață, pe golemi ridicându-se din țărână, cam cum ar arăta era finală a pământului... Ba am fost și pe alte planete când li se decoja atmosfera. Până să ajung aici, merită să spun că am asistat la un joc al decodificărilor, la îmbinări între limbi, culturi și legende. Am participat la expediții grele, cu escaladat de ghețari, tuneluri prin care curge apă vie și morți care se întorc de pe lumea de dincolo. Am asistat la o luptă pe resurse, un joc al puterii între națiuni pe fundalul sumbru al unei lumi aflate în colaps. Am văzut toate morțile posibile ale pământului și am asistat la schingiuiri omenești nemaipomenite. Mi s-a explicat da capo al fine fiecare fenomen. Mi-au fost împărtășite multe secrete. O călătorie cu adevărat merituoasă :)
Pe lângă amestecul incredibil de cunoștințe din diverse domenii și felul în care acestea sunt divulgate, m-a impresionat modul în care autorul a menținut relațiile dintre personaje astfel încât să nu cadă în extrema de a umbri farmecul cărții. Au fost prezente într-o măsură corectă, care a completat frumos întreg tumultul acțiunilor.
Sunt multe pasaje asupra cărora am intenția să mă opresc și să reflectez, așa că această carte se dorește a fi recitită. Vreau să mai trec prin aceeași experiență genială.
April 19, 2011
In this fascinating blend of science, mythology, and language, ancient monuments the world over are being awakened by a signal emanating from deep within the ice of Antarctica. The signal contains secrets that threaten to destroy the world. Atlantis has awoken. Ancient monuments all over the worlds from the Pyramids of Giza, to Mexico to the ancient sites of China are reacting to a brewing crisis not of this earth, but somewhere out in the solar system. Connecting to each other through the oceans. Using low frequency sound waves to create an ancient network. The earth is thrown into panic stations. For it seems that the signals emanating from Atlantis are a prelude to something much greater. Could it be that the entire city is in fact one giant ancient machine? What purpose would such a machine be built for, and who built it? It is the year 2012, the same year Mayan belief prophesized the end of the world. War for the control of the most potent force ever known to man has broken out, but what is war to the destruction of the entire race. There are secrets in Atlantis, secrets that are encoded in crystal shards retrieved from the sunken city. Secrets that Mankind has had twelve thousand years to decipher, but which will now destroy it within one week.
The mix of sciences, mythology and language are a great part of this book. Not one of them would have been able to solve the riddle of the sphinx, or translate the message left for us over 12,000 years ago. All had to work together to save mankind.
This was a great read. I am not a science person, but I do like hearing new theories in science, but this book is not just about science, it is about language; where it came from, how it evolved and how it relates to the legends and myths from around the world. I could not put this book down and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to think outside the box.
The mix of sciences, mythology and language are a great part of this book. Not one of them would have been able to solve the riddle of the sphinx, or translate the message left for us over 12,000 years ago. All had to work together to save mankind.
This was a great read. I am not a science person, but I do like hearing new theories in science, but this book is not just about science, it is about language; where it came from, how it evolved and how it relates to the legends and myths from around the world. I could not put this book down and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to think outside the box.
May 31, 2017
Me llamo la atención el nombre y el tema que trata, pero la historia en si no es nada de lo que esperaba. Para mí la Atlántida se relaciona con la sabiduría y lo mítico, poco de lo que hay en el libro, aunque si hay mucho de lo científico, lo que resulta aburridor solamente agrega extensión al libro.
La historia en si es monótona y sin mayor interés que el de saber cómo logran descifrar todo y salar el mundo, tanto detalle científico, histórico y mitológico me pareció innecesario y que además le quitaba interés al problema central aunque se relacione con este.
La personalidad de los personajes no es llamativa y no tienen nada con lo que me pudiera identificar, por lo que al final no me importaba lo que pasara con ellos, además de que no parecían evolucionar emocionalmente a la par de los acontecimientos que viven.
Me parece que la historia podría funcionar mejor en un medio audiovisual, porque como literatura es aburridora y demasiado extensa para contar una historia sin giros narrativos de la que la se espera todo lo que pasa al final, y que no tiene un argumento que despierte emociones ni convence con la forma en que se desarrollan los eventos narrados.
La historia en si es monótona y sin mayor interés que el de saber cómo logran descifrar todo y salar el mundo, tanto detalle científico, histórico y mitológico me pareció innecesario y que además le quitaba interés al problema central aunque se relacione con este.
La personalidad de los personajes no es llamativa y no tienen nada con lo que me pudiera identificar, por lo que al final no me importaba lo que pasara con ellos, además de que no parecían evolucionar emocionalmente a la par de los acontecimientos que viven.
Me parece que la historia podría funcionar mejor en un medio audiovisual, porque como literatura es aburridora y demasiado extensa para contar una historia sin giros narrativos de la que la se espera todo lo que pasa al final, y que no tiene un argumento que despierte emociones ni convence con la forma en que se desarrollan los eventos narrados.
February 2, 2016
Este libro ha sido una decepción grandísima, empezando por ahí. El tema de la Atlántida me atraía mucho y no le hago ascos a libros con lenguaje científico si eso enriquece la trama y ayuda a meterse en la historia, pero no es lo que ha pasado en este caso, los conceptos científicos se disparan contra el lector una y otra vez como metralletas, casi no hay dialogo sino explicaciones de tal o cual tema que tenga que ver con geología, física, lingüística, etc, lo cual llega a ser agobiante. Los personajes como si no estuvieran, producto de este lenguaje denso que oscurece la historia, porque hay una: la Atlántida ha despertado y la tierra siente su efecto desde lo más profundo llenando de desastres naturales, la aparición de un extraño material hace que un grupo de científicos entre en una carrera contra el tiempo para salvar el planeta..... y ya esta, los personajes son planos, los diálogos horrorosos, no hay mas historias de fondo y los dioses saben que la única razón para terminarme este tocho era para asegurarme que se morían todos, no puedo recomendarlo.
March 19, 2025
This book didn't really know what it wanted to be. At times a text book, at others an action adventure, and at others a collection of notable conspiracy theories. The characters weren't really developed and all blended into one another. Their dialog was a series of long winded explanations to move the plot along rather than how actual people speak. While some of the science and history was broadly based in reality it was let down with implausible details such as the properties of minerals hardening over time, the military depending on fax communications or characters attempting to outmanoeuvre onrushing light by jumping out of the way or speeding away on a dirt bike. Underneath it all was a decent premise for a science fiction thriller but I felt myself just having to suspend my disbelief a little too frequently in the eight hundred pages. My recommendation would be go read Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne for a better example of the genre.
July 30, 2007
The begining of the book is amazing- you can't tell where the fact ends and the fiction begins as you listen in on conversations of ancient history conspiracy theory and nanatechnology and so much more, and what it means for the not so distant 2011. It has been a few years since I've read it, so I can't remember in detail all the amazing topics it broached, but I remember being in geeky love with the first half or so of the book. Hi-tech science, obscure ancient history, tying them together with a clever mix of reality and writing.
The ending is a little goofy, but doesn't negate how excellent the rest was.
The ending is a little goofy, but doesn't negate how excellent the rest was.
May 2, 2010
This is not my usual read. Overloading a book with statistics, science facts, etc, is usually a killer for me. However, I have to say, this one is different. The whole religious, archeological, quantum physical, governmental, mythical intertwining tie-ins caught me and held me the whole way through to the end. Stel Pavlou is a genius. The whole 'end of the world' theme is totally believable when he does it. This is truly a spectacular read!
September 17, 2010
I read this because I had a vile disease and little mental energy; however, no amount of medicated brain-fug could make this book tolerable. There are books that, while mildly stupid, are engaging enough to get away with it; this, however, constantly howls its stupidity at volumes that overwhelm any attempt at suspended disbelief. If you imagine a plot composed by an imagination-deficient eight-year-old with a Dan Brown fixation, you'd not be far off.
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