The Lost Continent (Adult Fantasy) [Mass Market Paperback]

C. J. Cutliffe Hyne (Author), Dean Ellis (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st PB edition (1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345025024
• ISBN-13: 978-0345025029
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,464,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a story, August 9, 2009

By 

Paul Lappen (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

A reprint of a novel published around 1900, this is the story of Deucalion, the governor of Yucatan province. He is suddenly recalled home, back to Atlantis, by Phorenice, the new Empress. She turns his arrival into a grand ceremony, parading him through the city, and back to her palace, on top of a live mammoth.

Having been away from Atlantis for twenty years, Deucalion is disgusted by the conditions in its capital. Everywhere is filth, and poverty of record-setting levels. Unburied dead bodies litter the streets. Outside the city walls are thousands of destitute people clamoring to get in. Phorenice's attitude is: the rich (mainly Phorenice) get richer, and everyone else fends for themselves. Phorenice makes it known to all that she is the daughter of a god, and expects to be treated as such, even though she is actually the daughter of a swineherd. Anyone who says no to Phorenice, about anything, can expect to die very unpleasantly, so Deucalion and the people of Atlantis are forced to go along.

Deucalion saves a woman named Nais from being eaten by tigers. He is betrothed to Phorenice, and does not dare to say no, but he falls for Nais. The Empress gets very jealous toward Nais, and has her buried alive between two huge blocks of stone. Deucalion slips her a drug, known only to the Priests Clan, of which Deucalion is a senior member, that puts Nais into suspended animation.

Deucalion has seen enough, and gets a ride with a boatful of people planning to start over on a faraway island, away from Phorenice. He suddenly has second thoughts, and asks to be let off on the other side of Atlantis, a land of deep swamps, impassable forests and hideous beasts. It takes months, but Deucalion makes it back to the capital. Phorenice, who is now to be worshipped as a god, has learned that Nais is not really dead, and is not happy. Then comes the final battle between Phorenice and the Priests Clan, just before the "real" gods make it clear that their patience is gone.

This is a gem of a story. Atlantis is certainly a popular setting for fantasy stories; this is one of the better stories ever written. It has just a little bit of weird in it, and is very much worth reading.