The Maracot Deep, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This really is a fiction classic of the myth. Doyle’s scientific knowledge plus vivid imagination combine for a delightful adventure that stands as a cousin to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. So, readers of adventure in that vein will enjoy, as will fans of Sherlock Holmes. The story goes down easily, vividly, and quickly. I would add this to a list of books for boys.

“The greatest danger which can come to a state is when its intellect outruns its soul.”—Cyrus Headley

The Atlanteans’ story is one that provides warning for our own world. Descriptions and commentary on the culture that brought destruction upon itself through its wickedness could be taken from any of our headlines—as I’m sure it could have in Doyle’s day, too.

Despite the warnings, Dr. Maracot embodies the danger of intellect outrunning the soul. He is, in Atlantis, like Sherlock would be if he were a marine biologist—obsessive, all-knowing, and ultimately saving the day on several levels. Though he is the title character, Dr. Maracot takes a backseat to the primary narrator, Cyrus Headley. The form of the story is in a “collection” of “documents” recovered from the sea, to add a sense of verisimilitude. In this context, Headley provides an account of their misadventures in exploration by means of a letter that is later recovered on the surface. Since the story is from his perspective, the reader gains the strongest connection with him. Scanlan is comic relief like Ned in Leagues—very American, very bold, very insightful in his own way.

In a nutshell, a sea monster clips the wire of the exploration cage, plunging three explorers to the depths of a sea chasm. They discover that pressure levels out under the water, which has allowed Atlantean survivors to live for millenia under the sea by means of their advanced knowledge. All in all, it is an enjoyable cast of characters involved in a light, cohesive plot rooted solidly in the sweeping details of the Atlantis myth.