“Artemis Awakening” by Jane Lindskold – Atlantis in Space

The idea that somewhere out there exists an idyllic place, one that fulfills all of our desires and fantasies, one where life goes by effortlessly and in pure pleasure, is an idea that keeps many people going, one that gives them an outlet to escape through.

Though most people go to that place in their minds, very few and far in between are those who actually set out to find it physically, which is exactly what Griffin Dane does in Artemis Awakening by Jane Lindskold.

In this beginning to a new series, we follow Griffin Dane, a young archaeologist, who sets out to search for the lost city in space known as Artemis. Or more precisely, Artemis was an idyllic world created by humans and inhabited with only the most comfortable and accommodating of beings, people and animals included in those categories.

However, after the great war not much was left of it but legends... and that was what it took to send Griffin Dane on its search. Somewhat surprisingly, Griffin finds the planet soon enough, and after crash landing in it, makes the acquaintance of a psychic huntress, Adara, and her equally-gifted puma, Sandshadow. Slowly but surely, as Griffin treks through the world with his newfound guides, he comes to learn the secrets of this rather deceiving mythical land.

With this being the first part of a series you should expect a slower pace and more concentration on character rather than plot development; a novel of introductions, so to speak. Indeed, this is precisely what we get in here, with the story taking its rather sweet time before starting to flow, at least in terms of events.

On the other hand, all those pages of character development certainly aren't wasted, because for starters, we get to become rather well-acquainted with an intelligent and ambitious archaeologist, learning what he feels, thinks and dreams.

He certainly isn't a run-of-the-mill character whose poor decisions and mistakes serve to create problems; rather, he feels refreshing in the sense that his actions and decisions feel human in every aspect, being logical and pulling too far to neither the senseless nor the omniscient extremes.

The female protagonist, along with Sandshadow, are certainly the epitome of headstrong female protagonists that don't make you wince in discomfort due to a weak portrayal. This combination of characters is certainly an interesting one that will most probably give rise to countless interesting scenarios in the future, with all of them complementing each other in various ways.

It seems that much of the focus was placed on making the world of Artemis into a living being. Otherwise said, you don't just learn about its past and what it looks like; rather, Lindskold takes great care in grabbing us through the pages and making us feel, making us experience what it is like to be living in there.

There are numerous sequences and paysage descriptions that will really make you stop and put the book down to absorb what you've just read, and no some occasions, despite the writing being simple and easily digestible in its nature, I found myself re-reading passages so as not to miss out on any of the extravagant details.

Though, once again, in my opinion there is a slight and very understandable lack of plot advancement, the future books in the series sure seem promising if they are adapted accordingly.

If you are looking to undertake a long and fulfilling journey through space, one that will last you numerous books, take you on the exploration of a completely novel and hardly-imaginable world alongside non-stereotypical characters that won't make you cringe but rather leave you craving for more of them, Artemis Awakening will most certainly be your cup of tea.

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Jane Lindskold Personal site Jane Lindskold is an American author who specializes mostly in science-fiction novels and short stories. She is known for The Firekeeper Saga, The Athanor series, Breaking the Wall and the Star Kingdom series. She holds a Ph.D in English, which focused on Medieval, Renaissance and Modern British literature.