Customer Reviews

Opening Atlantis

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A few years ago, a friend introduced me to early Turtledove, the Videssos series. Since then, I have read every one of his works, even those now out of print. It was therefore a matter of natural course that I pre-ordered this book.

The title of the first book of the new trilogy, Atlantis, refers to an eighth continent discovered in the Atantic. At some time in the past, the eastern portion of North America split away, and was therefore discovered much earlier, shortly before the War of the Roses. Different nationalities settle, conquer the land, and eventually bring their homeland differences to Atlantis. It is a strong premise.

Of my collection of 69 Turtledove works, this was the fourth in which I actually skipped and skimmed my way through the middle. The key events were entirely predictable, the writing tired, the subplots meandering. His tendency toward repetition was unedited.

If you are new to Turtledove, I would recommend instead his classic work "Ruled Britannia" or "The Guns of the South." If you are experienced in the ways of the Turtledove and are looking for a fresh read, I would recommend you track down the out-of-print "The Two Georges" or "A World of Difference." Both are outside the mainstream and are excellent.

Would I have read this book, given what I now know? Absolutely. I don't intend to miss a one. Would I recommend this book to someone who had not already read all of the other Turtledoves? Absolutely not. Look to his better works.

Harry Turtledove has gone out to milk the alternate history cash cow once again. I can hardly blame him. It makes him money and, to a great extent, he's the best in the business at it. Which is why I was somewhat let down by this book.

I went into this story with high expectations. An 8th contenient in the middle of the Atlantic? Full of exotic beasts? The Brits are the first to colonize it? This could get interesting!

What we get instead is an extension of the War of the Roses, a re-tread of every pirate story ever written, and the French and Indian War taking place on Atlantis. None of this is really bad, per se, but it wasn't what I'd hoped for.

Also of note is the fact that for an alternate history, there's not a lot of alternate. One would think the presence of this land would change the weather patterns somewhat, but apparently not. Also, though the point of departure is in 1451, European history seems to flow pretty normally. We still have a Charles on the throne of England in the 1600's, and someone who is obviously George III on the throne during the 1700's. One would think things in Europe would get butterflied a bit more than that.

Plus it's quite clear that Atlantis is being set up as an analogue of America. I'm sure that in the sequel we'll see some sort of revolution against England, and probably a civil war over slavery.

Surprisingly, the book also doesn't include a map, which would have been very useful. I know roughly where Freetown, Hanover (Stuart), and some of the other towns are in relation to each other. Perhaps in the sequel we'll get one.

Still and all, this was a good read, but not a great one. It does do a sufficent job of setting up the next book or two in the series, and I do look forward to reading those. But I can't help but think there could have been something more here.

This book kicks off yet another "alternative history" series from Harry Turtledove which is actually a slightly different rewrite of real history.

The basic premise is that there is another small continent or very large island in the middle of the North Atlantic, with massive natural resources, and which at the time of its' discovery by European fishermen in the late middle ages (in the 15th century) had no indigenous human population.

The new land, named Atlantis after the legendary lost continent, is fertile and quickly settled by British settlers, along with French, Spanish and Dutch settlements. The continents which we call North and South America are found a few years later at about the time they were really discovered, and named "Terranova" (e.g. "New Land"). Their history from that point, judging by tangential references in the book, appears to follow roughly the same track as in real history. But the main emphasis is on the story of the first three hundred years of the colonies in Atlantis.

In form this book consists of three linked novellas set at the time of the Wars of the Roses, 17th century pirates and buccaneers, and the Seven Years War respectively. Each tells of a key stage in the development of the colonies in Atlantis, as seen through the eyes first of Edward Radcliffe, who founds the first English settlement in the new land, and his descendants.

Turtledove once wrote that alternative history provides a "funhouse mirror" through which we can take a different perspective on real history. He has put this into practice: others have described his novels as having taken their plots from actual events but with different historial and fictional individuals and races playing the same roles.

For example, in his book "In the presence of mine enemies" a Third Reich which had won World War II eventually collapses in exactly the same way that the real Soviet Union collapsed. Similarly, Turtledove's massive eleven-book saga which begins with "How Few Remain" tells the dystopian history of a world in which the Confederate States of America initially won independence and survived for nearly a century but followed almost exactly the historical course which in the real world led to Nazi Germany adn the holocaust (subtext "Don't kid ourselves that we're superior - it could have happened here.") Other novels retell the story of historical conflicts like the American Civil War (Sentry Peak et seq) and WWII (the Darkness/Derlavi series) in worlds where technology is based on magic rather than engineering.

In the same way, the first three hundred years of the history of Atlantis in this book is remarkably similar to the history, up to the end of the Seven Years War in the mid 18th century, of the thirteen colonies which were to found the United States of America a few years later. This isn't really a completely different history, it's an alternative way of describing the historical background of the USA up to about two decades before the Declaration of Independence. The seeds of future conflicts - potential arguments between English settlers and the British crown, plantations in the south of Atlantis (originally created by the French and Spanish) which use slave labour - can also be seen in the novel.

It seems that everything Harry Turtledove writes these days gets praised by some of his fans and flamed by others who hate it. Although "Opening Atlantis is not a work of absolute genius like "The Guns of the South" or "The Two Georges," this book is IMHO one of Harry Turtledove's better novels. I liked the characters, I thought the action was well paced, the descriptions imaginative, the sequence of historical events broadly plausible. And he keeps his tendancy to repeat things too much reasonably well in check.

A sequel "The United States of Atlantis" has recently come out and I am looking forward to reading it.

Atlantis! The very word conjures up images of ancient civilizations, untold wealth..... not to Harry, it's just another land for the rest of the "known world to fight over" and that's all that happens through the entire book. It may have well been a work of non-fiction and told the story of the colonization of the Americas. "Honkers" - one of the only native inhabitants of this continent is so blatantly a dodo, yet remains for a continent that is uninhabited and isolated from the rest of the world, the only unique feature of the whole of Atlantis.
The possibilities of such a premise were most exciting. Another race of people. Perhaps primitive, perhaps advanced.... a people perhaps long gone, yet leaving behind marvels, mysteries and wonders. No. We got Honkers and Barrel trees! And then war, war, war. Very clever. Where is the alternative history in this? It is history as it actually happened.

The word "Atlantis" in the title intrigued me. No, I don't believe that there was an Atlantis, so I don't believe the myths. Yet I find them entertaining. Unlike this book.
The settlers may as well have settled on Newfoundland or the Canary Islands or Maine. There is no real reason for their being on Atlantis. Nothing happens other than the warring factions in Europe become warring factions in Atlantis.
And I found the writing dull, dry, and uninspired. The characters were (to me) uninteresting. I didn't have any connection with them, and I didn't care what happened to them.
This was my first exposure to Turtledove and "alternative history." And it will no doubt be my last.

What if an unknown continent was between North America and England? What else would you call it? This is not an off-world plot, but a more realistic history novel of what might have been. I always enjoy Turtledove's characters; they really show how life at that time was lived in lots of detail. Settlers from a few other groups plant colonies and create their own histories in much the same way that North America was tamed. In this first of a series you get the main families and how they interacted, reminding me of John Jakes novels with lots of characters and exciting situations. You know that sons will be friends, some will be soldiers,and confilcts between colonies will happen,but it is the details that make the story. This episode takes you from first settlement through a Revolution with England. Yes, I'll read the next one; I'm hooked.

The premise of the book seems to be that part of North American (everything east of the Mississippi, judging from the cover art) broke off from the main continent. This landmass is much closer to Europe than the New World was, and thus is discovered and colonized much quicker (1451).


Part 1 of the book covers the discovery of the new continent, which is quickly dubbed "Atlantis." Breton fishermen know of the existence of Atlantis, and give this knowledge to an English fisherman in exchange for a third of his catch. The Englishmen see Atlantis as a place ripe for colonization, and move quickly to start a settlement there.

Things go quite well for them, even as French and Spanish colonies are founded on the coast south of the English. Atlantis is, after all, big enough for everyone. Until an English noble who backed the wrong people in the Wars of the Roses is exiled to Atlantis, and decides to make it his own kingdom.

Part 1 has definite American Revolution overtones, with it's rejection of unfairly-imposed taxation. It also sets the stage for settler/European conflict which dots the rest of the book. Part 1 does it's job, though; it sets the stage for the book (and the trilogy, for that matter), and introduces us to the family whose history we will be following -- the Radcliffes.

Part 2 shows Atlantis 200 years later, and a conflict between pirates led by Red Rodney Radcliffe and the English settlers of Stuart led by his cousin William Radcliff. Red Rodney has been preying on all manner of shipping around Atlantis, and this has made him some enemies. The settlers ally themselves with English and Dutch sailors to fight the pirates.

We see more tension between Atlanteans and Europeans in part 2. This section parallels the battles with privateers and pirates in our own timeline in the 1600s. We start to see that Atlanteans view themselves as independent, and that their European cousins see them as backwoods bumpkins who certainly aren't proper subjects of the Crown.

Part 3 gives us this timeline's version of the French and Indian War. This is one of the things that I really don't enjoy in alternate history, and it's a weakness that I found in Turtledove's Great War/Settling Accounts saga -- the determination to present parallels to wars that were fought in our own timeline. It becomes very predictable, and you end up reading to see which character is going to be the new timeline's Lincoln, or Washington, or Rommel, etc. The account of English Atlantean guerilla warfare in French and Spanish territory was interesting, but I'm hoping that the next book in the series doesn't start out with a meeting of a doppleganger Continental Congress getting ready to declare independence from England. {edit to add -- unfortunately, it does}

I really liked the fact that Turtledove is focusing on one family as the movers and shakers of English Atlantis. That's something new for him, and I think it works well. The book was enjoyable, with a couple of reservations that I've mentioned above. I wish there was an actual map of Atlantis in the book, though that is a possibility for the second book, I'm sure. There are some anachronisms in the book, which reviewers on Amazon.com have been quick to point out, but those aren't glaring to me. I was amazed at the ability of the English to start a successful settlement right away in Atlantis, but these settlers did not face many of the challenges that the first settlers in North America faced when they arrived here. Opening Atlantis is not up to Turtledove's usual standards, and is far inferior to Ruled Britannia, but is still worth reading. I'll have to read the second book of this trilogy to see if it really has any promise, though.

This last effort from a great writer is pure technical skill with too few bright ideas.A sense of deja vu, of turn of phrase just so because is a trademark, of long and artful descriptions already read elsewhere.In summary a boring book, a displeasure for me, I am usually a stern fan of Turtledove. Buy it just for "I have all his books" sake.

This is an enjoyable twist on Turtledove's usual Alternate History formula. The title is deceptive. At first, I thought this was going to be one of his fantasy epics, but this is a far more interesting and refreshing concept in the Alt History genre.

The tectonic plates in Turtledove's alternate universe are different from the plates associated with our current planet. The eastern seaboard of the United States has split from the rest of the continent and has drifted to a point halfway between Europe and North America. Not only does this mean that the "New World" is discovered earlier than in our universe, but an entirely different ecosystem with different animal species have evolved.

The result? A book which explores the inevitable negative impacts of humans on ecology and the dynamics politics play in shaping new worlds. This novel also captures the positive aspects of human curiosity and spirit of exploration. This is not Turtledove's BEST work, but it is certainly enjoyable and I look forward to addition books in the series!

This new effort by Turtledove is quite pleasing. He always manages to come up with thought-provoking premises, and he doesn't let you down this time. The premise is this: The entire Eastern Seaboard was detatched from the main continent at some early point in history. Man never set foot on its shores, and indeed there was no connection to other landmasses presumably for millions of years. Since this landmass is closer to Europe than "our" America it is discovered sooner by fisherman from countries like England ,Spain and France. Instead of royally chartered companies, the first settlers are fisherman looking for peace and living room. The continent is populated by strange beasts never seen by anyone before.

Turtledove well in what he always does, extroplating the differences that arise from this difference in history. I happened to be reading this book when my father dropped by my house, and he said something when I expalined the premise that I think sums up this book nicely: "You really have to think out of the box to come up with something like that."

I didn't give this one 5 stars solely because there are a few turgid scenes in the book, not usual for Turtledove at all. Also, it may be a nitpicking thing, but the cover art is all wrong. It looks like they took an old map and just kind of adjusted it a bit. I think the book would have been better served if they could have ponied up to have an artist draw an all new map with the actual places named in the book for reference. For instance, what is the real-life equivalent of Avalon or Hanover? Boston and Memphis? I'm kind of lost, and I hope the next book in the series has an actual map of Atlantis included. Other than these few small complaints, a worthwhile read.