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tmooremont's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.75
I’m very bad at writing reviews for books(mainly cause it takes me months to finish them) but I fell in love with this one so I’ll try my best.
The overall reason I fell in love with this book is the writing. The way emotions are written in this book makes it one of my top five. The wording just really hit for me, the beginning chapter alone immediately made me obsessed.
The characters are so well thought out, Olivie really does a great job at portraying their desires and their personalities to the reader that you feel like you’ve met these people.
I’m a sucker for practical magic. In the world of the Atlas Six magic doesn’t just simply exist, magic uses the basic building blocks of our world and manipulates in some way. I will say I do get a bit lost when it’s explained in the book but besides the point it’s nice not having the author be like oh yea you know some people just be magical ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
One last thing, I really like you're constantly learning new information whether that be about the characters or the universe there’s always something keeping you wanting for the next page.
Overall if you’re looking for a short character driven fiction book with magic, Atlas Six has toy covered.
Just wish there was more of the boy Gideon :(
The overall reason I fell in love with this book is the writing. The way emotions are written in this book makes it one of my top five. The wording just really hit for me, the beginning chapter alone immediately made me obsessed.
The characters are so well thought out, Olivie really does a great job at portraying their desires and their personalities to the reader that you feel like you’ve met these people.
I’m a sucker for practical magic. In the world of the Atlas Six magic doesn’t just simply exist, magic uses the basic building blocks of our world and manipulates in some way. I will say I do get a bit lost when it’s explained in the book but besides the point it’s nice not having the author be like oh yea you know some people just be magical ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
One last thing, I really like you're constantly learning new information whether that be about the characters or the universe there’s always something keeping you wanting for the next page.
Overall if you’re looking for a short character driven fiction book with magic, Atlas Six has toy covered.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Drug use and Blood
uranaishi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Grief, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Abandonment, Cursing, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, and Death
Minor: Child abuse, Vomit, Classism, War, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
lynnannwalsh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Adult/minor relationship
sydneyluxford's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love crazy gay people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Minor: Drug use
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Violence, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Drug use, Hate crime, and Infidelity
theespressoedition's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There's a quote in this that I feel perfectly sums up the book itself:
“Nothing anyone sees is real—only how they perceive it.”
“Nothing anyone sees is real—only how they perceive it.”
Honestly, where do I even begin? The Atlas Six left me utterly speechless upon closing the final pages, which was entirely unexpected. If I'm being perfectly honest, I went into this with a bit of a closed mind. This book is absolutely everywhere and I was certain it would be another overly hyped book that wound up with about three stars from me. Good, but nothing to really write home about.
Oh my goodness was I wrong. Truthfully, the first few chapters didn't suck me in. I have to be real about it. I was royally confused and for the life of me, couldn't begin to figure out what the plot was - aside from six crazy, intelligent (or crazy intelligent, however you want to look at it), magical persons thrust into a secret society where they're supposed to get along but don't. I mean, that's the long and short of it from what I could gather in the beginning, anyhow.
However, as the story went on, I began to notice something really interesting. While I was so desperately searching for a plot, it was already happening. The characters are the plot. That sounds bizarre to anyone who hasn't read this, I'm sure. What I can say right now is that I've never read a book that is more character-driven (or even as character-driven) as The Atlas Six.
And the characters are beyond phenomenal. There's something relatable in nearly every one of them. They're so intricate and intriguing. Even the scenes that would normally be added purely for entertainment (like sexual content) were there for the purpose of understanding what was happening in someone's head. This continued to blow me away as the story progressed and by the end, I couldn't begin to tell you who was good, bad, or mediocre. They're all fascinating and well-rounded.
What left me so speechless was the very end. The final few chapters were much quicker in pacing than the first half of the book and I was flying through them, devouring every secret and magical occurrence. Then, all of a sudden, something completely unanticipated happened and my jaw hit the floor. If you're looking for a book with a good twist, you'll certainly want to pick this up!
All in all, I can't rave about this book enough, honestly. It's unlike anything I've ever read and I'd love to read it again to really deep dive into each of the characters even more!
A couple of quotes I loved and don't want to forget:
"We aren't normal; we are gods born with pain built in. We are incendiary beings and we are flawed, except the weaknesses we pretend to have are not our true weaknesses at al. We are not soft, we do not suffer impairment or frailty--we imitate it. We tell ourselves we have it. But our only real weakness is that we know we are bigger, stronger, as close to omnipotence as we can be, and we are hungry, we are aching for it. Other people can see their limits, Tristan, but we have none. We want to find our impossible edges, to close our fingers around constraints that don't exist and that--" Callum exhaled. "That is what will drive us to madness."
"What else but death could give such life to the knowledge we protect?"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use and Sexual content
Minor: Blood
silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
You want to believe that your hesitation makes you good, makes you better? It doesn't. Every single one of us is missing something. We are all too powerful, too extraordinary, and don't you see it's because we're riddled with vacancies? We are empty and trying to fill, lighting ourselves on fire just to prove that we are normal - that we are ordinary. That we, like anything, can burn.
Every decade, six medeians are invited to compete for a place in the Alexandrian Society. They are the best of the best, masters of their craft. They must study, train and fight under the same roof for a year, five will go on to study for a second year, one will not. It is up to them to decide who is eliminated.
I do not have the words to describe how this book made me feel. The story was so different from anything I could have imagined, but Olivie Blake really delivered when it comes to the characters and the atmosphere. The latter was mainly as a result of her beautifully crafted prose, which really reflected the elitist academic setting and transported the reader right into the centre of all the action and tension within the Library of Alexandria.
When it comes to the prior, I think the author must have worked some sort of magic of her own. All of the characters were so deeply flawed and quite a number of them were undeniably twisted, but she somehow managed to make me care for all of them. Most of all, to my surprise, I found myself adoring the most depraved character in this book - Callum Nova. I don't know why I cared for him so much, but I loved his power and I loved the way he observed other characters from afar without much care for their opinion of him. I have never read from a character like him before, which - considering the number of dark academia literature published every year - is quite an achievement!
The reason I emphasise the characters in this novel is that they are truly the foundation for what Blake has crafted here. The novel has a plot, but it gently simmers in the background as the characters and their dynamics (not to mention all their discussions about physics, psychology and human morality) take centre stage. The plot really only picks up right at the end, but that is exactly I type of book that I enjoy, so I can't complain. I absolutely adored this and cannot wait to see where the author takes this story next! (I just hope that we get to see a little more of Callum!)
Every decade, six medeians are invited to compete for a place in the Alexandrian Society. They are the best of the best, masters of their craft. They must study, train and fight under the same roof for a year, five will go on to study for a second year, one will not. It is up to them to decide who is eliminated.
I do not have the words to describe how this book made me feel. The story was so different from anything I could have imagined, but Olivie Blake really delivered when it comes to the characters and the atmosphere. The latter was mainly as a result of her beautifully crafted prose, which really reflected the elitist academic setting and transported the reader right into the centre of all the action and tension within the Library of Alexandria.
When it comes to the prior, I think the author must have worked some sort of magic of her own. All of the characters were so deeply flawed and quite a number of them were undeniably twisted, but she somehow managed to make me care for all of them. Most of all, to my surprise, I found myself adoring the most depraved character in this book - Callum Nova. I don't know why I cared for him so much, but I loved his power and I loved the way he observed other characters from afar without much care for their opinion of him. I have never read from a character like him before, which - considering the number of dark academia literature published every year - is quite an achievement!
The reason I emphasise the characters in this novel is that they are truly the foundation for what Blake has crafted here. The novel has a plot, but it gently simmers in the background as the characters and their dynamics (not to mention all their discussions about physics, psychology and human morality) take centre stage. The plot really only picks up right at the end, but that is exactly I type of book that I enjoy, so I can't complain. I absolutely adored this and cannot wait to see where the author takes this story next! (I just hope that we get to see a little more of Callum!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child death, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Drug use, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Classism, Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Infidelity, and Kidnapping
louisegraveyard's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse
jfield351's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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? No
4.0
Right off the bat I was really drawn to the characters. They are very original, very well written and very interesting. Especially their backgrounds and motivations. The drawings in this edition were also insanely good! The book was quite dense with so much happening on each page and i wasn’t really pulled to this book, but it was still interesting. The way time was written - it kind of jumped a bit - was a little confusing, as was the constantly switching perspectives. I was a bit confused about who was who at the start but i could tell it would be a good read! I LOVED the bluntness of it, how topics were not skated over but given in just enough detail. I think though, some parts were a little too confusing to read when tired as there was a lot of process. The last 100 pages were a whirlwind of ‘oh this person is dead! Oh not actually now this person is dead! Oh wait that’s not right either! The whole issue with Ezra was very neatly done, I really enjoyed that. The ending was definitely unexpected for me , I had an idea Ezra would be involved but did not expect that. solid!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Kidnapping, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Car accident, and Chronic illness
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Violence, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Gore