Atlantis Book

Easily the worst book I've tried in 2011. I am usually very easy to please, witness my 4 star median rating on Goodreads, but Gibbins ticked me in all the wrong places. I am also an advocate of letting readers make up their own opinion and not thrashing any author or book, but my friendly advice is : stay away from this.
I choose the book without any previous research, solely based on the subject of Atlantis. It is, as usual with the theme, not really about ancient Atlantis, but about modern archeology and the discovery of the ruins of this particular civilization. It is also an attempt at writing a techno thriller, and as such the author may have some academical knowledge about history and about archeology but is particularly clueless about technology and mechanics. Some of his invented materials and devices are examples of wishful thinking and show a lack of understanding of basic principles of physics.

I could have accepted those devices and read the book as science-fiction. But the mode of presentation is awkward and clumsy. Endless dry expositions through "brainstorming" meetings and conferences between the main actors. There is no dialogue, only again the actors entering lecture mode and telling us about the plot. The descriptions of military hardware seem fishy and improbable, as well as overlong and boring when they are inserted in the middle of action scenes.

There's nothing original about the characters or the plot: superheroes against supervillains, agent 007 against mad terrorists bent on world domination. The author expresses some of the worst russo- and islamo-phobia I have come across.

My recommendation: try something else. This book makes even Clive Cussler look like a Booker Prize candidate.

/edit for spelling errors