JC De La Torre, Ancient Rising

Ancient Rising

JC De La Torre

Luna Brillante, Sep 2005, $13.95

ISBN: 1411642651

Author Dan Ryan feels euphoric about life. His writing career is a major success and he loves his wife and daughter who reciprocate. This is a happy well adjusted family. That is until the car accident killed Dan's beloved females leaving him distraught and depressed.

Not long afterward a weird stranger visits Dan claiming he is the Greek god Hermes and that the Pantheon is looking to him to release them from a curse that has bound the Gods to sunken Atlantis for twelve thousand years. Skeptical at first Dan assumes Hermes is a lunatic or con artist trying to take advantage of a grieving person, but he soon believes that Hermes is who he says he is and his destiny is to find Atlantis and free the Greek Gods. He travels to Greece where he joins the research team of Aegean archeologist, Theo Constantopolus, now into his third decade quest to locate Atlantis. Theo's rival billionaire Graham Solitaire plans to find Atlantis first and will torture and kill to achieve his goal of turning the legendary island into a tourist paradise.

This exciting fantasy thriller grips the audience from the moment Hermes announces to Dan that he is a god. The tale never slows down as other deities "interfere" in the lives of mortals and the rival archeologists compete for the ultimate prize, but major findings along the way encourage Theo's team though the actions of Graham's thugs dishearten them. This is a fabulous wild ride that readers in search of something well written, quite interesting, and very different will appreciate this fist book in a great epic saga and look forward to more adventures.

Harriet Klausner