Alec Thrace and The Lost Medallion Review!

From www.alecthrace.com:

ALEC THRACE and the Lost Medallion
Atlantis: The Hidden Kingdom Series - Book 1

2000 BC

Prologue

The civilization was old, ancient even by Egyptian standards. Great buildings and scientific knowledge would astound even the people of the 21st century, leaving those of Greece, Egypt and the land of Mesopotamia looking as if they were nothing more than children playing with blocks.
Atlantis, a magical, peaceful island far out to sea beyond the Pillars of Hercules, was a civilization that was once a warrior society bent on conquering and manipulating all other civilizations. They felt all others owed their very existence to them and should revere the Atlanteans as god-like. Though Atlanteans taught the Greeks, Egyptians, and several other societies the arts of building and science, they were harsh taskmasters and demanded tribute in the form of gold and other precious jewels from all the other cities and kingdoms around the Mediterranean. With tribute pouring in from those who lived in the region, the Atlanteans had more time to study science and philosophy, thus ensuring their position as overlords of the world. The Atlanteans learned of a rare crystal in their homeland whose properties were unexplainable to normal man or even an Atlantean. In conjunction with the magnetic forces deep within the earth and the thermal heat of their volcanic land, scientists were able to discover ways of travel other than horseback or chariot. The Atlanteans feared that this newfound knowledge would cause an uprising from the other inhabitants throughout the Mediterranean. They knew that even with their superior abilities, they could be overwhelmed by the sheer number of people surrounding the great sea to the east.
As the years and centuries passed, the Atlanteans grew more and more arrogant and even crueler to the lesser kingdoms until their worst fears came to pass.
The great Festival of Poseidon approached, and the people of Atlantis, as they did every year, flocked to his great temple and statue on the north shores of their great land to revel in and worship their god. The great day arrived and they gathered by the thousands at the feet of Poseidon and the mountain range behind him, Poseidon’s Trident. They were taken completely by surprise when they were attacked by tens of thousands of warriors, united under one banner.
As it would later be called, the Great Cataclysm was now upon them, but something happened that would forever change the ways of the Atlantean people and save them from what they had brought upon themselves. Poseidon’s Trident suddenly and unexplainably rumbled to life, spewing poisonous gas and hot, rolling lava upon the invading forces that had amassed on the northern shores of Atlantis.
The Atlanteans knew that they were being protected by the god, Poseidon, and his wife, the goddess Cleito. Though the Atlanteans lost many, all of the invading forces had been destroyed as had most of the northern part of their land with portions of it sinking into the sea to be reclaimed by their god. The land was temporarily unlivable and forever sacred to the Atlantean people reminding them of the point in time when they learned their most valuable lesson.
From that day on, the Atlanteans worked for the betterment of others, though they discovered a way to hide their beautiful paradise from prying eyes. They devoted their resources to the sciences of living in peace and protecting those who were weak, sometimes offering them shelter on Atlantis.
This is a story of a family who, through the generations, led their people to this path of life, though they were derived from a fierce warrior clan of the Atlantean hierarchy. This is the story of the House of Thrace; the legendary house that helped lead their people out of the darkness and into the light. A journey, where a young man learns not only of life and the outside world, but of the value of true friends and family. Alec Thrace discovers that his road is a road full of twists and turns, of excitement, of loss and of great joy and the discoveries that lie before him and for those that follow.

Just the synopsis is beyond exciting, right?

I love when an author can take myths, legends, history and adventure and intertwine all of it into a book that is exciting and full of great escapism. Alec Thrace is a character that can be likable and annoying at the same time. He is a born leader but his perfection can be a bit annoying, just like in real life to us lesser humans. :) Alec Thrace and his two friends, Amazonian Alexia and fellow Atlantean Jasen head off in search of finding Alexander the Great's body and finding out what happened to Alec's father and to fulfill Alec's destiny. Personally, I cheered Alexia on. Girl power! I love the lore of the Amazons. It was easy to build a connection with the main character, Alec, and the others.

The author has built a fantastic and realistic Atlantis hidden and protected from the rest of the world with abilities and science beyond the rest of the world's capabilities. At a time during the Roman invasions, Atlantis was thriving.

M.D. Griffith writes with such vivid description that I couldn't help but be able to vision what the characters looked like. There have been times that I have read books that were OVERLY descriptive and this was not the case. Just enough to create extra visualizations in yourimagination. The weaving of major historical characters (Phillip of Macedonia, Ptolemy, etc) worked beautifully, the dialog was excellent and the action was spot on.

I also really liked that instead of each chapter being by number, for example, Chapter 1, instead this book's chapter 1 is "Return of The Medallion. Summer of 323 BC). This is throughout the book!

If you want to read some a fun journey packed with history, action, and mythology, "Alec Thrace and The Lost Medallion" will do the trick! This is the first book of "The Hidden Kingdom Series" and I can't wait for more!

Please watch here for an interview with M.D. Griffith and a surprise!!!