KP Gillen’s Echo of Atlantis follows four teenagers whose lives converge at Kachina Academy, a hidden school for descendants of Atlantis. Alejandro Núñez has grown up in an orphanage knowing nothing about his parents until a stranger arrives with a photograph of his mother and proof that she could move objects with her mind. Isabella Greenhill comes from a powerful Atlantean family but wants a future on her own terms before awakening as a telepath. Twins Kelly and Kyle Brightwater inherit abilities of their own, while Kyle’s nightmares point toward ancient gates and a prophecy involving four descendants. Seventeen years earlier, the academy’s elders stopped Maximilian Obsidian from opening a portal that could destroy the modern world. Now a shadow presence is circling Isabella while Kyle’s visions keep returning to gates no one should open.

KP Gillen’s Echo of Atlantis is fantastic young adult science fantasy, and Gillen is excellent at making supernatural abilities feel inseparable from the people who have them. I especially loved Alejandro, whose telekinesis first appears after he learns that his mother had the same gift. Gillen makes that power part of his search for family, which gives every discovery real meaning. Isabella is equally fascinating because Gillen never treats telepathy as an easy advantage. A class on mental privacy becomes personal when Kristin, another student, explains what happened to a relative whose mind was manipulated. Gillen also handles the four central characters beautifully, giving each one a distinct fear and reason to question the destiny being placed before them. Well written and completely absorbing, readers who enjoy science fantasy built around ancient mysteries will adore this.

KP Gillen’s Echo of Atlantis: The Ūmdëdŭ Codex opens with a prologue in which Maximilian Obsidian launches an assault to open the Gate of the Gods, unleash a global EMP, and seize power. Grand Elder Elijah Brightwater and the Vanguard stop him, with the gate silent again, ancient, and keeping its secrets. In the summer of 2029, sixteen years later, at the Seven Peaks Orphanage, four teenagers discover they are descendants of Atlantis: a telekinetic orphan named Alejandro Núñez; a telepath lured by darkness, Isabella Greenhill; and the twins, Kyle and Kelly Brightwater. They attend the Kachina Academy for their awakening. As they train in the arts of teleportation, ancient history, and telepathy, they have a fateful trip to Peru, face devastating loss, and discover a prophecy about four descendants. But Mabel, Maximilian’s daughter, and her son, Bart, manipulate Isabella into an act that sets the stage for a cosmic war.

Once in a while, you read a fantasy that leaves you delighted and feeling as though you were part of the adventure, and that is what Echo of Atlantis did to me. The exquisite descriptions are not only of places and the atmosphere but also of the magical currents that move through the story. The well-measured sentences, the timely paragraph breaks, and the engaging dialogues make the story even more engaging. KP Gillen’s characters are complex, and Isabella stood out for me. She is driven by a telepathic hunger for influence, which makes her a target when she becomes entangled with a dark entity. Bart’s charming cruelty is fodder for the growing conflict. The cinematic storytelling grounds the details in this mythic fantasy, with humor making the teen banter even more enjoyable.