The Atlantis Code

Brokaw steers close to Dan Brown in both plot and character with this story of world-famous Harvard professor, archaeologist, and linguist Thomas Lourds. He's racing to outsmart evil members of the Catholic Church who are intent on keeping him from deciphering the riddles in ancient relics, in this case relating to Atlantis. Erik Davies's narration, while smooth, tends towards overdone accents and whispery females, which make it necessary to rewind to catch all the dialogue. There's plenty of action and historical backstory for those who enjoy the "archaeology puzzle" genre of thrillers, and Davies does his best work with the character of Lourds. But, sadly, his portrayal doesn't make for an enjoyable listen because the professor is so pompous and conceited that the listener can't relate to him. D.G. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

September 7, 2009
The novelty of Brokaw's debut, which links the Catholic Church and Atlantis, isn't enough to redeem this religious thriller. Evil forces associated with a Machiavellian cardinal, Stefano Murani, target hunky archeologist Thomas Lourds in the belief that he has stumbled on a valuable artifact in Alexandria, Egypt. Leslie Crane, the requisite good-girl love interest, interviews Lourds for a TV documentary. After Murani's minions butcher the show's producer, Lourds and Crane go on the run. Aided by the bad-girl love interest, police inspector Natashya Safarov, they travel to Moscow, Leipzig and Senegal. Two big revelations—that the artifact may be connected to Atlantis and that the legendary lost continent may be linked to a revisionist version of an Old Testament account—will get few readers' pulses racing, especially since Brokaw relies more on shoot-outs and narrow escapes than plausible archeological details to carry his story along.