Atoms of Empire

By Charles John Cutcliffe Hyne

The wandering Englishman, the atom of empire, at sundry ends of the earth is not always good company in the flesh, but in Mr. Cutcliffe Hyne's stories he is good company. For the reader is not in the position of the "native"; he is, on the contrary, elected of the company of proper Britons and talked to as an equal. Those who try this book will have no sharp regrets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Classics
• Release date: Feb 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781633558991

Reviews for Atoms of Empire

[lareinak_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One in a while, you come across an older book that blows your mind. You wonder where it has been and why you’ve never met it before. I found this to be the case with this book. Deucalion returns from Yucatan to find things have changed in Atlantis. No longer the prospering city he knew, it is now under the Empress Phorenice who plans on taking him as a husband. Deucalion however has just fallen in love with Nais. Phorenice has Nais buried alive and Deucalion is forced to try to save Atlantis from Phorenice. The plot sounds plain, but the writing is very good. My one complaint is we never find how Phorenice obtains her knowledge.

[plappen_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A reprint of a novel published around 1900, this is the story of Deucalion, the governor of Yucatan province. He is suddenly recalled home, back to Atlantis, by Phorenice, the new Empress. She turns his arrival into a grand ceremony, parading him through the city, and back to her palace, on top of a live mammoth.Having been away from Atlantis for twenty years, Deucalion is disgusted by the conditions in its capital. Everywhere is filth, and poverty of record-setting levels. Unburied dead bodies litter the streets. Outside the city walls are thousands of destitute people clamoring to get in. Phorenice’s attitude is: the rich (mainly Phorenice) get richer, and everyone else fends for themselves. Phorenice makes it known to all that she is the daughter of a god, and expects to be treated as such, even though she is actually the daughter of a swineherd. Anyone who says no to Phorenice, about anything, can expect to die very unpleasantly, so Deucalion and the people of Atlantis are forced to go along.Deucalion saves a woman named Nais from being eaten by tigers. He is betrothed to Phorenice, and does not dare to say no, but he falls for Nais. The Empress gets very jealous toward Nais, and has her buried alive between two huge blocks of stone. Deucalion slips her a drug, known only to the Priests Clan, of which Deucalion is a senior member, that puts Nais into suspended animation.Deucalion has seen enough, and gets a ride with a boatful of people planning to start over on a faraway island, away from Phorenice. He suddenly has second thoughts, and asks to be let off on the other side of Atlantis, a land of deep swamps, impassable forests and hideous beasts. It takes months, but Deucalion makes it back to the capital. Phorenice, who is now to be worshipped as a god, has learned that Nais is not really dead, and is not happy. Then comes the final battle between Phorenice and the Priests Clan, just before the "real" gods make it clear that their patience is gone.This is a gem of a story. Atlantis is certainly a popular setting for fantasy stories; this is one of the better stories ever written. It has just a little bit of weird in it, and is very much worth reading.