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booksemmahasread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
anastasia_raf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In The Atlas six by Olivie Blake, we follow six characters, each one has their own agenda but all of them must walk through the doors of the Alexandrian society in order to gain access to means necessary to succeed their personal goals. How far are you willing to go to get what you want? Are you ready to sacrifice your morals? To sacrifice your soul? Would you sacrifice another’s soul?
I still cannot decide if I liked the book or disliked it, or just didn’t care for it. It took me too long to become interested in the story; It started getting intriguing after 200 pages. I believe it’s a bit predictable… I guessed almost everything. It is a unique story, but the characters seemed mediocre to me. The author was so concerned in convincing us of everyone’s “gray morality” that I couldn’t distinguish any personalities within them. It felt like I read everything from the same POV but with just different “magical” abilities each time. Although I have a feeling that it’s going to be improved in the next books. Maybe I just need more time with them! I think I need to see how they behave outside of the society, how they are without one another, what they become on their own.
I liked the writing. The dialogue was pleasing as well! But I’m not sure if it’s enough for me to continue with the second book…
''A flaw of humanity,( said Parisa) the compulsion to be unique, which is at war with the desire to belong to a single identifiable sameness.''
I still cannot decide if I liked the book or disliked it, or just didn’t care for it. It took me too long to become interested in the story; It started getting intriguing after 200 pages. I believe it’s a bit predictable… I guessed almost everything. It is a unique story, but the characters seemed mediocre to me. The author was so concerned in convincing us of everyone’s “gray morality” that I couldn’t distinguish any personalities within them. It felt like I read everything from the same POV but with just different “magical” abilities each time. Although I have a feeling that it’s going to be improved in the next books. Maybe I just need more time with them! I think I need to see how they behave outside of the society, how they are without one another, what they become on their own.
I liked the writing. The dialogue was pleasing as well! But I’m not sure if it’s enough for me to continue with the second book…
''A flaw of humanity,( said Parisa) the compulsion to be unique, which is at war with the desire to belong to a single identifiable sameness.''
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
zarhara's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cancer, Terminal illness, Infidelity, and Sexual content
bxnnny's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i don't usually read fantasy nowadays but this is part of my book club with my sister and she chose! i was hesitant about this one as i didn't think i would like it and i wasn't too keen about starting a series, but i found the characters to be interesting enough where i ended up getting hooked. most of the characters are unlikeable tbh, but at the same time, i was intrigued by their stories and character arcs. i found parisa and dalton to be the most interesting. the writing can be a little wordy and pretentious at times. i might end up continuing the series just to see what happens with each character as i found them more interesting than the main plot itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
narcissistic personalities, emotional manipulation.booksthatburn's review against another edition
I was initially drawn in by the premise, a group of magicians brought to the Library of Alexandria have a year to decide which one of them will be eliminated and which five get to stay for another year. The cast of characters is pretty diverse (though a bit of that initial feeling of diversity was dampened when I realized all of them seemed to have English as their first language, which instantly shrunk the practical candidate pool. Part of the story questions the validity and methods of the entire enterprise, so that leaves some wiggle room for explaining why the candidates aren't actually very diverse (only six total, and two are from the same school in the USA?). Additionally, this could have been the library of Atlantis or Boston and it would have had just as much relevance to the plot. The latest incarnation of the "Library of Alexandria" is physically located in London, in the UK. It became clear pretty quickly that "Alexandria" is just a name, and an indication of thousands of years of whatever this thing is (or at least a claim to that long legacy). There are vague descriptions of the category of study and experiments which the candidates are pursuing, but most of the story is actually a very intense and complicated web of power plays and personal dynamics between the six candidates and the two Alexandrians who oversee them (mostly one of them). There's a pretty intense sex scene about halfway through which I actually didn't mind, but it felt like a sudden shift in tone from the rest of the book.
The characters seemed initially pretty interesting, but there's very little description of how their powers actually work. There are discussions of magical theory which I enjoyed, but they were usually couched in ways where the magic is actually secondary, which made them feel unmoored from the world being built.
It's six (sometimes eight) people in a house, talking to each other and slowly changing how they feel about one another, which is not what I was expecting in a book about "magicians living in the Library of Alexandria".
Ultimately I stopped because it became clearly stated that the whole thing is a slow burn trolley problem, and I don't like trolley problem situations.
The characters seemed initially pretty interesting, but there's very little description of how their powers actually work. There are discussions of magical theory which I enjoyed, but they were usually couched in ways where the magic is actually secondary, which made them feel unmoored from the world being built.
It's six (sometimes eight) people in a house, talking to each other and slowly changing how they feel about one another, which is not what I was expecting in a book about "magicians living in the Library of Alexandria".
Ultimately I stopped because it became clearly stated that the whole thing is a slow burn trolley problem, and I don't like trolley problem situations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Classism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Grief, Sexism, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Child death and Fire/Fire injury
em_of_swags's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
thought the magic system and motivations of the characters were pretty interesting but the amount of sexuality made me uncomfortable (yes I know this is an adult book, it could have been violence ok?) and I didn't fully grasp the clear line of the plot
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death
Minor: Terminal illness
montyalmoro's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
raichou's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Wie bei den meisten Büchern mit vielen Hauptcharakteren bin ich anfangs oft durcheinander gekommen wer nun wer war. Das hat sich aber nach kurzer Zeit gegeben, wenn man erst mal etwas gelesen hat.
Am Ende hatte ich auch alle der Sechs ins Herz geschlossen, auch wenn sie nicht perfekt sind und ihre Ecken und Kanten haben.
Mir war länger nicht ganz bewusst, was eigentlich der Sinn der Gesellschaft ist (ist es immernoch nicht ganz), aber den Twist am Ende habe ich nicht erwartet.
Atlas war mir anfangs etwas suspekt, warum kann ich nicht genau sagen, aber ich bin beruhigt, dass es keine falsche Voranung war. Auch dass Ezra plötzlich so viel mit der ganzen Geschichte zu tun hatte, hätte ich nicht erwartet.
Ich bin gespannt wie es im zweiten Band weiter geht.
Am Ende hatte ich auch alle der Sechs ins Herz geschlossen, auch wenn sie nicht perfekt sind und ihre Ecken und Kanten haben.
Mir war länger nicht ganz bewusst, was eigentlich der Sinn der Gesellschaft ist (ist es immernoch nicht ganz), aber den Twist am Ende habe ich nicht erwartet.
Ich bin gespannt wie es im zweiten Band weiter geht.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Emotional abuse
bookleafcrow's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
in the couple of days that have passed since i finished the atlas six, my rating has dropped down from a 4 to a 3.75 stars. i still enjoyed it and look forward to the sequel, but this book's divisiveness is very understandable; the plot is divided up in the perspectives of the six main characters, and if you don't like a character's POV (im looking at you, callum) then the chapters can kind of drag. also, it is an incredibly pretentious books at times. in my opinion, it could've been about 50-100 pages shorter because there were times where the author explained a concept across three pages when it really didn't need that much depth. the writing style can come off as a bit holier than thou at times?
however, it was a really enjoyable concept with an interesting take on the dark academia genre. the shock twist thatthe elimination is quite literally a ritual killing didn't feel like much of a shock because of how the book is advertised; literally, the tagline "knowledge is carnage" gives it away, so i'd forgotten that it wasn't known by the characters by the time it became relevant information. the setting was a lot of fun in terms of the low/urban fantasy world-building, and i really liked atlas in particular, especially towards the end.
nevertheless, i still enjoyed it a fair amount and will pick up the sequel when it's available in paperback. if you can stomach the writing style, definitely give this one a shot.
however, it was a really enjoyable concept with an interesting take on the dark academia genre. the shock twist that
nevertheless, i still enjoyed it a fair amount and will pick up the sequel when it's available in paperback. if you can stomach the writing style, definitely give this one a shot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
the characters (for the most part) are all awful to each other for most of the book so if you don't wanna read about six adults struggling to get along then skip this one lmaohobbit_tomes's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I enjoyed reading this book and I think the climax of the story, and now mystery for us to solve in the next book was set up really well and I am definitely intrigued.
However, for the majority of the time I was reading, the story doesn't feel like it's moving towards a specific goal or endpoint for me. I think this book was a little more character driven than plot driven which I wasn't aware of going into it, and to be fair, the characters are the reason to read this book. They are INCREDIBLY interesting and their interactions with one another are very entertaining.
I do wish that things were explained a little bit better, particularly the student's powers/magic. And the way that magic is used in this world is a little vague and underdeveloped. However I'm hoping we'll gain more insight into that in the next book.
All that to say, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Their personalities are wildly different and watching them compete with one another was very captivating. I also appreciate how flawed they all are in their own ways.
However, for the majority of the time I was reading, the story doesn't feel like it's moving towards a specific goal or endpoint for me. I think this book was a little more character driven than plot driven which I wasn't aware of going into it, and to be fair, the characters are the reason to read this book. They are INCREDIBLY interesting and their interactions with one another are very entertaining.
I do wish that things were explained a little bit better, particularly the student's powers/magic. And the way that magic is used in this world is a little vague and underdeveloped. However I'm hoping we'll gain more insight into that in the next book.
All that to say, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Their personalities are wildly different and watching them compete with one another was very captivating. I also appreciate how flawed they all are in their own ways.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Murder