The writing is pretty terrible, full of info-dumps, not all of which are relevant to the plot. The characters have none. But the concepts are the biggest and the author's ability to force you through all the hampering verbiage on the search for the next shot of OMG awesome is very impressive. I was never tempted to stop reading because I wanted so badly to know what had become of the Atlanteans, what secret the Nazis were hiding and how it all tied together. I'm a sucker for a big idea and this has two or three in play at once.