Review: Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists

Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists by Eric Palicki
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In the vain of summoning things up: strong start, okay finish. It's the easiest way to describe how I feel about this book. I went in loving the title and came out with a strong meh feeling. There is some good writing and art, but its underlining issues are a little too large to ignore. But I stand by my first statement. Feel free to skip the rest of this review if you feel I don't need to break it down for you.

The book does a good job of starting off by subverting expectations. Here the thing though, if you subvert expectation, then subverting expectation becomes the expectation. Someone who does the opposite of the norm can still find himself being predictable. I appreciated the twists early on but found myself staying several panels ahead of the story by the end. I still found the writing to be good, just not overly clever.

The world-building also is fairly rudimentary and doesn't provide me with enough to stay invested. I enjoyed my time in Atlantis, but never felt I should stay. I passed through, had a beer, and went on my way. I don't want to use the word 'disappointed' but I can't think of a way to describe treating the franchise like a tourist stop. I read but didn't want to keep reading.

The art is good but felt more work went into the covers than the interior. Not just in the level of detail, but also in how the covers seemed to draw in more creative ideas. Setting expectations can be a two-edged sword. If you don't follow a great cover with great art, it's difficult to maintain readership. The key isn't to sell your story, the key is to keep selling your story.

If someone asked me if I'd recommend this book, I'd say yes but with tempered expectations. Just because something isn't the greatest book in the world, doesn't mean it isn't worth your time. You just have to accept not everything is the best. Not everyone can be Tom King.

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