Fantastic Four, To Free Atlantis [Hardcover]

Nancy A. COLLINS (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Boulevard Book (January 1, 1995)
• ASIN: B000M69D32
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Nancy A. Collins is the author of numerous horror, dark fantasy & comics stories. A native of Arkansas, she currently resides in Cape Fear with her Significant Other and their Boston Terrier, Chopper.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Things Never Change, June 23, 2004

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fantastic Four: To Free Atlantis (Paperback)

Being familiar with the Fantastic Four comic (a guy im my dorm had a subscription) I decided to check out this novel. When reading it, I was surprised at how absolutely nothing has changed since I last read the comic over a decade ago. The Thing is still sullen. Mr. Fantastic shows absolutely NO personality. World geopolitical situations are amazingly unresearched. Prince Namor (the backwards Roman) is his usual pompous self as he fends of an assassination attempt and coup staged by his cousin Byrrah (Harry B) and warlord Kreeg (the twisted Greek). But behind the plot is Doctor Doom.

All the elements merge into an entertaining story that illustrates how the Marvel universe has a real tough time resolving situations. Byrrah in his bid for the throne tries to have Namor killed. Namor knows this. Atlantean law says Byrrah must die. But he doesn't. Namor spares him so that he can be a menace later. He is put under lifetime house arrest (we'll see how long THAT lasts). Once again the world knows the evil of Von Doom and refuses to take action. Like, he's dangerous, man.

Even the oddities of Atlantean history a brought forth. Atlanteans who are not yet middle aged at seventy still seem to change rulers as often as the shorter lived air-breathers (us). Also, the Atlantean tendency to think and move in two dimensions, although they are free to move in three, somehow advances the plot. At the end there is a great banquet where the FF cannot partake as they would have to remove their helmets. Overall a silly but fun book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SKleefeld's Assesment, May 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Fantastic Four: To Free Atlantis (Paperback)

To my knowledge, this is Nancy Collins' first attempt at writing for the FF. Although the story and characterizations fit very well with the overall feel of the comic book series, I would have liked to have seen her elaborate more on various aspects of the book. While it certainly wasn't poorly written, it is left up to the reader's imagination to embelish Paul Ryan's wonderful chapter illustrations to complete the images of Atlantis, the giant undersea monster, and various other elements of the book. All in all, it is a fun book to read. It fits very ambiguously into the FF's comic book continuity, but doesn't weigh it down any more either. A pleasant departure from the series, capturing many of the elements that make the Fantastic Four "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!"

4.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good superhero tie-in, January 2, 2011

By 

Thanos6 (Chapin, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fantastic Four: To Free Atlantis (Paperback)

The author gives some surprisingly good characterization not just to the heroes, but to the villains and supporting characters (especially Namor's scheming cousin Byrrah and his co-conspirator Tydeus, who come across as quite three-dimensional). There's a few errors in continuity with the original comic books (the author gets the name of Namor's grandfather wrong; implies that Namor never met his father when, in fact, he did; and Vashti is claimed to be Grand Vizier since before Namor's time, when in fact it was Namor who made him the Grand Vizier, elevating him from the peasantry). But if you can get over that, this makes for a quick, pleasant read.