The Dark Shore--Kevin Emerson

Title: The Dark Shore: Book Two of the Atlanteans
Author: Kevin Emerson
Publisher: Harper Collins, 2013
Pages: 470 p.
Source: Library
Compensation: None

I reviewed the first book in this series a couple of years ago and while I liked it, life got in the way and I kind of forgot to look out for the second. But then VOYA sent me the 3rd to review and I realized I needed to catch up.

There will be some spoilers in this review (for The Lost Code) if you haven't read the first one yet. Consider yourself warned. 

Owen has discovered that he is part of a lost race of people -- the Atlanteans -- and that he has to fulfill destiny in order to save the planet and humans. He is the Aeronaut-- the one of the Three who can fly a special Atlantean ship to get to the Heart of Terra (Earth). The Mariner (Leech ) can locate it and the Medium can speak to it. The Three need to work together to get the job done and protect themselves from the evil EdenWest who have their own plans for civilization.

Owen had hoped that his girlfriend Lilly would be the Medium but she hasn't lost her gills yet and she hadn't seen the Siren. His hopes are dashed further when they learn of a girl in the South claimed to be the Third Atlantean. She is the center of the Heliad-7 cult controlled by the Benevolent Mother. The Heliad-7 believe in living in the light instead of fearing the sun's dangerous rays and sacrifice long lives for more meaningful ones. Owen and his team are rescued by Heliad-7 when they run into trouble with EdenWest. At first he thinks they've finally found a place of safety and understanding, but he's not entirely sure he can trust the "Benevolent Mother" or the mysterious Third Atlantean. Something strange is going on with Lilly as well.

At first I thought I didn't like this book as much as the first. Everywhere they went, Owen and his team ran into people who knew about the Atlanteans and their journey, but Owen had no idea what was going on when he was at EdenWest. He had never heard of the Atlanteans when he lived in the Hub either. I was confused as to why this seemed to be public knowledge and Owen was in the dark. But by the end of The Dark Shore it all made sense. It was definitely gripping and intense and hard to put down. I finished the book in less than 2 days and that's a pretty big accomplishment for me these days. It wasn't just a filler book to get to the end of the trilogy--a lot happens in this book. There's more world-building, character development, and mythology. There are some really heavy topics as well--ecology, religion, government-- that would make it a great choice for a book club. There are a couple of twists at the end: one is predictable and the other was not (for me). Now that I'm all caught up, I'm looking forward to reading the next one. You'll have to wait until it's published in VOYA before I can post it here though.

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