Customer Reviews

Fall of Atlantis

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This isn't really what we've come to expect from a fantasy novel. It's much more a historical romance which takes place in a fantasy setting. It's about two sisters who are raised to power with very different temperments and ultimately different destinies. One falls in love with a dying priest of the light. The other gets involved with a priest who leads the darker mysteries. They both have their own long road to walk and their own struggles with their constrained society.

MZB displays, as usual, her adept touch with female characters. Deoris and Domaris are real, Deoris heart-breakingly real. The world she places around them is detailed and compelling, as are the politics and dynamics of power portrayed in the book.

Unfortunately, _The Fall of Atlantis_ lacks the well-balanced plots that make the Darkover novels so wonderful. It really isn't much more than a well-written historical romance in the end and lacks the mystery and wonder that characterize the really great fantasies that Bradley has written.

I have owned the Fall of Atlantis for a long time now and everytime I pick it up Bradley never fails to draw me once more into the intricate depth of the story that lays down the heritage of her exquisite Avalon novels. The heartache and pain that the characters in her book go through (from Domaris to Deoris, from Micon to Demira), constantly has your emotions at a boil.

Bradley has a gifted ability to weave intrigue and magic into the complex web of her stories and the Fall of Atlantis is a clear expression of her talent. Every detail concerning the Atlanteans is so perfectly thought out that the reader is easily immersed in this strange, spell-bound realm and its tragic destruction.

The women again figure prominently in this story and through their loves and losses, their actions and consequences, we see again their femininity is laced with a strength and determination that inarguably turns them into the heroines of an epic saga. Despite the dark overtone of the plot, the Fall of Atlantis is a enthralling, enduring story that captivates from the first page to the last.

I love this book. The Fall of Atlantis is one of MZB's earlier works. The story is not as well-plotted as her later works and there are even some minor mistakes in the book (about who is related and where they come from, etc.) but the heart-breaking character of Deoris brings the book to life. It's worth a read just for her story. The thing I like about MZB's writing is that you get to know her characters' thoughts and self-doubts. You can always relate to them on a real level even though they are set in a fantasy world. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a romantic heart.

This was the worst MZB book I have ever attempted to read. Attempt is the key word, since it was so boring I never finished. I didn't care about the characters or understand what motivated them. Perhaps I'll try it again one day, since I absolutely loved The Mists of Avalon, The Firebrand, and the Darkover novels.

MZB is one of the best authors! She spins such wonderful tales and this is no exeption. I could not put this book down it was absolutly fabulous!

I'm a great fan of MZB, and an even greater fan of her Darkover series, but I was a little disappointed with this one. Perhaps because it was written in her earlier years (I think), she does not write with the depth that I was expecting.

The "Mists of Avalon", which is around 800 pages long, centers around three characters. "The Firebrand" is around 500 pages long and has one main character. Both books are long enough to develop each character's personality as she wanders through her world.
Not so with "The Fall of Atlantis". In 500 pages, MZB tries to put numerous characters through a "battle between good and evil". Because of its shortness, MZB must tell the reader what each person is like in a vague description. Actually, a lot of things in this book are vague- it doesn't say why some ritual is conducted and why it is good/bad, it doesn't say why some person does this, that, and the other thing...
The two main characters are whiny, girls. The younger girl doesn't seem to mentally mature past the age of 10, while the older is too goodie-goodie to like much. MZB decides to make the jump through one ring or another for the sole purpose of advancing the nonexistent plot along.
I unknowingly found myself rooting for the bad guy and wanting the younger sister to escape while she still could (you'll understand if you read it).
The ending doesn't seem to be finished. In other books, MZB brings closure to all characters, whether happy or sad, but this one left new beginnings for people who weren't finished achieving their goal.
Despite all the bad things, I found myself liking this book. I don't know why, either. I was glued to it during the entire time it took me to read it, which wasn't very long. It does have that "what's going to happen next" feel to it. I found it worthwhile to read, even with its hanging ending.

This book doesn't quite have the finesse of her more popular titles, but I think it deserves 5 stars by virtue of the immensity of the task; that is, linking believably and enthrallingly to the Avalon books. The reincarnation of characters through the series is a touch of genius which adds a very deep powerful undercurrent. I am surprised no-one else has commented on this aspect, as this is the aspect which transforms Fall Of Atlantis from a good and captivating, if short, book into a part of a profoundly world-view-altering whole. My only complaint is that I would have liked it to be more patient (and as a result longer), taking its time a little more as MZB does so well in her most well-known titles, but as it is, it is more absorbing the further you go into it.

I am loath to give any of MZB's books less than five stars. Yet something in Fall of Atlantis disturbs me...there were quite a few times when I was very tempted to throw up. It is a dark and stormy book, a maelstrom of death and evil magic and concealed betrayals, oh, and it does NOT have a happy ending. It doesn't even have a MZB-esque cryptic-semi-happy ending. As for the characters...Domaris (Isarma) and Micon to me were rather simple, existing only for the making of their son, who had a minor role as well. Rajasta and the other priests are just too...GOOD and one-sided to be interesting. However, Deoris (Adsartha) was who really made the book worthwhile for me. She was in many ways a hypocrite, and was often unjustified, but above all was decidedly human. Unlike the "good" and law-abiding Domaris, Deoris risked everything she had to support those she loved (namely Riveda) yet was not just a "giver" - she herself possessed real, dangerous power that she was not afraid to use. About Riveda...the book doesn't really cast him in a complementary light. It doesn't cast him in any sort of light, really. He's mysterious, even his origins are unknown, and he commits heresies so great that the Fall of Atlantis is brought about from his meddling. Nonetheless, he has real emotions, and to his credit, he does love Deoris, insofar as he can love anybody. I can't condemn him or pardon him, and I think it would be hard for anybody to...
In short, The Fall of Atlantis is a book filled with corrupted people trying to cling to their long-lost innocence, and failing. Read it and take it as you will; I recommend it for those with strong stomachs.

The Fall of Atlantis is a extremely intricate and envolving book which is essential to the rest of Bradleys book to get a deeper meaning from them. Of all of her books the Fall of Atlantis leaves you thinking about it long after you put it down...wondering if the deeply rooted religion of Atlantis and later Britannia is still living in some small fraction of the world.