CATHERINE CHANT - MOSTLY MYSTERY REVIEWS

	Catherine Chant is an award-winning writer from New England. In addition to serving as the FMAM webmaster and book review coordinator, Catherine is an editor at Chippewa Publishing LLC. She is also a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and an active member of the From the Heart Romance Writers (FTHRW) chapter, the National Association of Women Writers (NAWW) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). A graduate of Boston College, she worked for fifteen years at her alma mater as a computing & communications consultant/technical writer and web content manager. She is currently working on a young adult time travel romance. She can be reached at webmaster@fmam.biz.

January 2006

Popped Cover RAISING ATLANTIS
Thomas Greanias
Pocket Star Books, August 2005, $7.99, 340 pp.
ISBN 0-7434-9191-2

RAISING ATLANTIS, which started as a popular web series and debuted as a #1 e-book on Amazon, grabs you right from the first page as you watch a team of scientists swallowed by a glacial earthquake and it never lets you go. When the earthquake reveals something unusual in the ice, Major General Griffin Yeats, a former astronaut who had his moment of glory ripped out from under him when his mission to Mars was scrapped by Nixon, sets up a base camp and takes ownership of the mission to find out exactly what they have uncovered.

This posturing, however, is not without controversy, since to the outside world it appears as if the US has set up some sort of military base on Antarctica, which is strictly forbidden. Rumors fly that the Americans may be testing nuclear weapons in defiance of a treaty that governs how this land is to be used.

General Yeats summons his estranged son, archaeologist Conrad Yeats, under the pretense of figuring out if what’s under the ice is the lost continent of Atlantis. It’s pretense because Conrad is not the world’s most respected archaeologist. A genius, yes, but he’s the type of researcher who seems to care more about what he can learn from artifacts than preserving them for future generations. If he has to destroy a sacred monument to find a higher truth, he’s all for it. His hot shot antics have gotten him into dicey situations with more than one nation; he’s been barred from many famous digs, exiled from countries, and has resorted to a starring role in an “In Search Of…” type TV show to get his messages and discoveries to the public.

Halfway across the globe, the pope summons Australian national Dr. Serena Serghetti, a linguists expert and world famous environmental activist, to Rome. The discovery in Antarctica is not just of interest to the Americans. After a lengthy discussion, the pope sends the former “Sister” Serghetti to East Antarctica to be his eyes and ears under the guise of investigating the treaty violations. Serena agrees to go despite the fact that years ago in South America she nearly broke her religious vows to be with Conrad Yeats.

Russians, Egyptians, and an American Navy presence off the coast of East Antarctica also complicate General Yeats’ plans to investigate his discovery, which all makes for one heck of a thrilling ride that doesn’t slow down until the end. Each new discovery, each new complication and threat, is exhilarating.

The science behind the story is equally fascinating, and although there is a revelation made about halfway through the novel that may put some readers off as too out of the blue and implausible, given that a large part of the novel’s premise has a basis in fact, I enjoyed the unexpected. And with a story like RAISING ATLANTIS, you need to be willing to entertain the fantastical and not become too stuck on the hard science. But I applaud the author for doing such a fine job of making such an extraordinary event seem like it could actually happen.

The ending comes to a satisfying conclusion, but I sensed the possibility for a sequel. If that happens, I’ll be first line line to buy it.

Catherine Chant

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