Antarktos Rising - A Novel | Jeremy Robinson

Antarktos Rising - A Novel | Jeremy Robinson | a great surpize

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Antarktos Rising -...

	Antarktos Rising - A Novel Jeremy Robinson Breakneck Books, 2007 - 300 pages average customer review:based on 61 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Robinson's Best Novel Yet!

I've read every one of Jeremy' Robinson's novels and have enjoyed all of them immensely. However, this one is special. The concept is wild, the pace is electric and the plot sizzles with excitement.

A definite must-read!

Sean Young
Author of Violent Sands - A Novel

a great surpize

This is one book you can not put down. It is fast paced and a great read. I had to order the rest of his books just to see if he will be a great writer as I believe he will be.

Lots of imagination, good foundations, good storytelling for a very original story

Jeremy Robinson's Antarktos Rising book tells the story of a handful of human survivors of a great Earth crust displacement that leads mankind to live in a completely reshaped world in which the North Pole has migrated to North Dakota, the Northern hemisphere gets encrusted in a thick ice layer, Siberia becomes a hot place and... Antarctica thaws.

With this thawing, the former South Pole becomes an attractive land to the remaining, weakened, shrunk, destabilized nations of the world, and the object of a race to conquer it first. A number of nations, grouped in distinct alliances, decides to send teams to the place and claim it.

The teams are met there by a series of gradually more dangerous threats. The story embarks the reader in the American team's progress throughout this uncharted territory.

The main merit of this book is certainly originality. It is also well written, fast paced and all-encompassing in terms of mythology. Its main flaws are perhaps essentially the lack of character development for those that are not part of the Clark family. They are a bit hollow. Also, there is a number of scientific shortcuts that make the story quite unbelievable at times. But reading this book is a lot of fun, and gaps in the rationale can easily be filled with imagination -or forgiveness- as the quality of the plot and the extent of Robinson's imagination are most definitely far reaching and truly amazing.

I liked-
- the theme: global catastrophe. So in line with today's world concerns!
- Antarctica rediscovered as a living place. Yes, we tend to forget that, unlike the North Pole, Antarctica used to be a fertile land where life, under different conditions, was and could again be possible.
- The Nephilim's theme. The concept of colossus and their related backgrounds, is top notch. Also, their struggling with the dinosaurs is a refreshing invention.
- The writing style. Fluid, fast paced, very enjoyable.
- The fusion of various world mythologies and mysteries into a rather coherent explanation. Crop circles, Egyptian and Nordic divinities, the Great Flood, the Bible teachings etc. all get merged together in quite an attractive -if not credible- fashion. It's easy to tell that the author's forte is into religion and mythologies.

I didn't like-
- the lack of character depth, especially for the soldiers
- the length of the book: a little too short for the magnitude of this saga. For once, the author could have taken more time and pages to further complete his telling and put more meat onto his main characters, the Nephilim's civilization, the global effects of the Crust displacement etc. That would have made the book double more interesting.
- Looks like the author forgot to write entire scientific explanation sections in his book. For one: how on Earth could a small team of elite US soldiers possibly locate, track, identify and get hold of a single woman, fleeing from her small town, walking alone on a thick layer of ice on her way to the South, in a completely desolate and wiped out area? The story does not provide any real clue as to how they managed to do that, especially in a time of global technological failure, beyond tracking the footsteps of the lady in the snow. Come on, with the wind blowing so strongly, tracks would become invisible in a matter of minutes... Another example: I have troubles believing that events of such a magnitude as sudden temperature elevation in Siberia, temperature drop in New England, Antarctica thaw being complete so rapidly (etc.) would actually happen SO QUICKLY! The author, probably motivated by his willingness to accelerate the tempo of his story, apparently took some serious scientific shortcuts that somehow impacted the credibility of the story at times.

Now, with that said, the book still is well worth reading. Also, it would appear normal to me that a sequel to this book be released one day. All the material, plot, characters, expectations are given in support of a sequel throughout the development of this book. Sure bet, I'll get myself a copy of this sequel, should it ever become reality.

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Juvenile but fun

The first question asked about a book like this is, "Is it fun?" Or, "Is it exciting?" And I would answer, "Yes, for the most part." There are many interesting characters here and they are moved through a carefully considered, highly eventful plot.

That being said the book seems unnaturally crammed into its rapid-paced action thriller format. Not one chapter runs more than about 800 words. Not one scene or one character is allowed to fully blossom or develop. All things that do not specifically advance the plot are sacrificed.

The biggest problem is that the plot requires an enormous suspension of disbelief. It's hard to think of anything that is not thrown in. We have a group of intrepid adventurers exploring a lost continent, arctic survival, military action, a cross country race, dinosaurs, a family reunion, a secret fortress, a mysterious map, murderous giants, a heroic dog and the end of the world, all wedged into 270-odd pages.

Thankfully this cannot be called a "techno-thriller," because the author does not bore us with heaps of scientific exposition. And he does not present anything less believable than the events described in, say, The Day of the Triffids. But unfortunately he doesn't carry us through with any of the vivid characterization that Wyndham did in that book.

There are few means given here for the reader to fully engage in either the characters or the events they experience. This is regrettable because the author's tone is refreshingly light hearted and often witty. And the plot elements he presents are amusing. One wishes he would relax, pick one or two of his ideas, and just tell a story in a natural, uncontrived manner.

Some might point out that Alistair MacLean [THE SATAN BUG] didn't bother much in the way of character development and also strictly stripped away everything that interfered with his pace. But that author's triumph was developing plots that were plausible but still exciting. There was very little need for suspension of disbelief with MacLean.

There are those who have described this novel as a "Christian" book, which is puzzling because Jesus Christ is not discussed. Nor is the concept of redemption by faith explained. It is true that one of the main characters is described as a Christian and treated respectfully. But none of the basic elements of his beliefs are given in detail.

For potential Christian readers it should be pointed out that there is no sexual content. And I think I counted three expletives, none of which are uttered without negative consequences. This is in spite of the endorsement of Scott Sigler [Ancestor] on the back cover - an author who can't seem to write a sentence without some form of profanity.

Finally let me indulge in a pet peeve. I may be nit picking, but the word "nephilim" is a Hebrew plural. Yet the author constantly uses it as a singular. This goes beyond the occasional error in grammar that we all commit from time to time. This is a word, central to the book's plot, that is used chronically in an incorrect form - sometimes more than once on a page. At the very least this makes the author and his publisher look sloppy - something a new writer and a publisher in this day and age can ill-afford.

In the end this book comes off as fun but juvenile. That's not necessarily a criticism of the author. As Joan Aiken pointed out, more attention should be paid to the development of children's literature than any other. And there is nothing here that a child of a middle school reading level could not enjoy. I've given my copy to my eleven-year-old. And I think I may buy the author's other books. But I suspect they'll end up on his shelf too.

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good read but nothing thrilling

I enjoyed reading this book, but found the whole storyline a bit implausible. How can a flood/freeze event kill off half a continent and yet leave one person alive? Having said that, the story is kind of a fun story and contains a lot of "what ifs" which make it an interesting read. The story doesn't dig too deeply and doesn't give a lot of details, which makes for a quick read.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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