The Atlas Six

***4.75 Stars***Overall,Have you ever known you were going to love a book that was the first in a series and tried to hold off reading it until at least the second book is close to coming out because you knew you wouldn’t want to wait forever to find out what happens next? I bought this book back in April and have been putting it off projecting my TBR out to about August. I had decided this felt like a good August book (don’t ask me why). Alas, in what feels like a fever dream, I had put this book (the audiobook version) on hold through Libby when I first downloaded the App. It had a super long hold time and I then promptly forgot about it. Fast forward to last Friday and I receive a notification it is ready to read and here I am now on Monday having devoured this book (a mix of reading and listening).The book so aptly titled follows 6 powerful Medians who are invited to participate in a fellowship of sorts to gain access to a secret society. The catch? Only 5 of them will continue on and the 6th will be eliminated. The book is medium paced with some slower parts and some faster parts. Each chapter follows a different one of the main characters for the most part. The book is filled with twists and turns, keeping you wondering about people’s motivations and what alliances are real and which are not. I don’t believe you are meant to love all of the characters. Olivie Blake poses a lot of very interesting, thought provoking existential questions about how our perceptions skew our view of the world. I found it incredibly intoxicating to be honest. I love stories that really make me think about larger meanings.Now, my predictions on how I feel about this book were correct. I loved it. I have read a few reviews talking about unlikeable pretentious characters and maybe it’s because I listened to about the first 60% view audiobook but I liked the morally grey characters and all of their pretentious speak. ::shrug::AudioThe narration of this book is superb and yet takes a bit to get used to. I both love and hate that it has six different narrators, One for each main character. I love it because it gives a very unique voice to each person. The issue that took me a bit to get used to was that because there are different narrators for each chapter depending on POV, there voice for other characters that their character is interacting with does not sound the same. It is a bit jarring at first.CoverThe cover of this book is middle of the road for me, there is nothing exceptional about it but I don’t hate it. I am not sure I would have picked this book up solely based on the cover. However, there is character art for each now section of the book (6 I think) which is really cool and I love it.RecommendationThis is an adult contemporary(ish) magic dark academia book. If you are interested in magic set in modern times and love mystery and intrigue and don’t mind morally grey characters this book is for you! If you struggle getting into reading the book but are still interested I would recommend trying the audiobook. It takes a minute (or a few) to get used to but it also made parts of the more complicated stuff easier to digest. The second book in this series comes out later this year and I am excited to see where the rest of this story goes.

I want to start by saying that I do enjoy this book - see the 4 start rating for proof. I feel it necessary to restate that since I think this review may go over as well as a lead balloon. The Atlas Six needs work. But to start, I like the plot. It's unique from anything else I have ever seen before. The idea that the Library of Alexandria isn't lost is something that I think all book lovers can get behind. It's a real standout and the whole plot keeps you thinking and on the edge of your seat for the entirety of the book. The book falls squarely in the cross section of dark academia and magic with a touch of mystery thrown in which is right up my alley. I love the characters and the potential for plot twists and the potential for interplay between characters is unparalleled. Which brings us right to the doorstep of what I didn't like. I feel like there is SO much missed potential in this book. I was on the edge of my seat, absolutely devouring this book trying to get to the point when everything clicked into place and started making sense - but that never quite happened. In order to preserve the feeling of mystery that shrouds the Alexandrian Society many questions are left unanswered, and the magic that the characters possess is explained so abstractly that there is actually little explanation at all. Even having finished the book, I still struggle to understand the difference between the magic that some of the characters have. Along that same vein, it feels like the characters were given no room to exist outside of progressing the plot. For a group of only six people that live together for an entire year, there are a scant few instances where you can see them interacting, building relationships, or evening just having general character development. It is frequently referenced how "deeply inextricable" these characters are from each other, but we never quite find out why that is, or how that could even be possible given how little they interact within the society walls. As I said at the start - I did thoroughly enjoy this book. And if this becomes a series, I would certainly read the next one, with the profound hope that things start to make a bit more sense. But it is in need of an editor and a bit more elaboration to make it a truly great read.

in terms of approachability, this book is far less academically rigorous than a memory called empire, but if you struggled with the basic theories of physics in school, i.e. kinematics, dynamics, thermodynamics, etc., then this may be a challenging read for you. in terms of literally merit, it is a fascinating and novel magic system, based in an alternate world that addresses the question, ‘what would it look like if magic was a component of evolution? (but still convergent on concepts like London and cafés). the characters are rich and multi-dimensional, and the insight their narratives provide have a strange habit of delivering a psychoanalytical commentary on the human condition. consider picking this book up if you’re a fan of magical societies, conspiracies and learning for the sake of learning.Don’t go into this expecting ‘infodumps’. You will need to think through it, but when you’re done, you’ll understand.

And well written. Characters thick with personality. No black and whites. An ending that compels you to look for the next book in the series.

Comecei o livro quase que completamente cega relacionada a sinopse. Sabia que tinha uma sociedade secreta e que os 6 personagens principais teriam que competir uns com os outros para as 5 vagas mas não sabia como que o livro ia ser profundo. Cada personagem é de uma maneira diferente e cada um tem seus problemas e suas manias e a autora deixou isso MUITO bem escrito. [Possível spoiler] Temos aqueles manipuladores, aqueles que são muito inseguros de si e claro, aqueles que são manipuladores E inseguros.O livro chega a ser único e relevante, por sua escrita poética que é leve, em diversos momentos a autora contempla a vida e faz questionamentos sobre quem somos nós, como vivemos e como que tomamos as nossas decisões.O livro tem uma reviravolta muito grande do final que me deixou de boca aberta. Vale muito a pena!

This book exhibits itself in a theme of dark academia and is a fun read. The world building if beautiful and every character is explored in depth and their interactions are thrilling, there is plotting, backstabbing and secrets are known that shouldn't be known, this book has amazing illustrations along with the fantastic writing which the author Olivie Blake regularly showcases! This is a must read and this book will keep you on edge, the twists at the end made me buy the second book which continued without flaw in perfect sequence and had bigger twists that blew my mind a must read. Praise for Olivie Blake!