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gkgkgk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
midnacine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
"Magic has aspects of nature, nature has aspects of magic, and to take one away from either is a corruption to both their forms."
The writing style of this book makes me wanna change the writing style of my reviews. That's how you know a book is good- when it undeniably influences your day-to-day decisions and ultimately leaves you consumed.
I'll be honest: I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. At moments, it was really hard for me to concentrate on the prose, as it's very much in the style of all those classics you're forced to read in high school. However, once I got attached to the characters, I was hooked.
I love the integration of magic with science, philosophy, and morality. Though challenging for me at times, I did find myself lingering on quite a few of the existential questions and really thinking about myself in the situations the Six are shown to be in. Namely: would I be willing to do whatever necessary, no matter the cost, if it meant accessing knowledge and power forbidden to the majority of human existence? Honestly, I'll never know.
And just to get it out of my system, here's the more academic portion of my review:
Reading Atlas Six was like looking at scrambled pieces of a puzzle: you know they'll all come together to make a cohesive picture, but until you have all of the pieces it's impossible to know in what orientation, exactly, the picture will be. Olivie Blake does an impeccable job of casting her very own magic over the reader to keep them on a proverbial seat, never revealing too much information at once to let them piece together the puzzle on their own.
I think the writing is absolutely gorgeous and has an amazing balance of seriousness and humor. It definitely took ~~big brain~~ to read it but I can't wait to see what happens in the second book!
The writing style of this book makes me wanna change the writing style of my reviews. That's how you know a book is good- when it undeniably influences your day-to-day decisions and ultimately leaves you consumed.
I'll be honest: I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. At moments, it was really hard for me to concentrate on the prose, as it's very much in the style of all those classics you're forced to read in high school. However, once I got attached to the characters, I was hooked.
I love the integration of magic with science, philosophy, and morality. Though challenging for me at times, I did find myself lingering on quite a few of the existential questions and really thinking about myself in the situations the Six are shown to be in. Namely: would I be willing to do whatever necessary, no matter the cost, if it meant accessing knowledge and power forbidden to the majority of human existence? Honestly, I'll never know.
And just to get it out of my system, here's the more academic portion of my review:
Reading Atlas Six was like looking at scrambled pieces of a puzzle: you know they'll all come together to make a cohesive picture, but until you have all of the pieces it's impossible to know in what orientation, exactly, the picture will be. Olivie Blake does an impeccable job of casting her very own magic over the reader to keep them on a proverbial seat, never revealing too much information at once to let them piece together the puzzle on their own.
I think the writing is absolutely gorgeous and has an amazing balance of seriousness and humor. It definitely took ~~big brain~~ to read it but I can't wait to see what happens in the second book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Death, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Child abuse, Body horror, Terminal illness, Grief, and Cursing
librarianlayla's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.5
4/4.5 stars
A dark academia murder game that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.
You know a book is written well when you can both admire and loathe the characters within. There were some areas that were a little trudgy to get through but overall the high stakes pace of the story held throughout.
I cannot wait to see how this ends.
A dark academia murder game that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.
You know a book is written well when you can both admire and loathe the characters within. There were some areas that were a little trudgy to get through but overall the high stakes pace of the story held throughout.
I cannot wait to see how this ends.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Child abuse
miraileah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.25
3.25 (Originally rated at 4, lowered to 3.25 11/9/22). I’m reeling, I loved this and was stressed the entire time I was reading. A lot was said, but at the same time I feel like the author didn’t say anything. I quite enjoyed it, but I don’t find that any of the great theses I was expecting were made or came true. All the characters seemed a lot more self important than perhaps they have a right to be, but knowing that while I was reading and accepting that as their traits made the experience fun and interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Gun violence
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
caitlin033's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, and Child abuse
readwithria's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
The Atlas Six took me for a ride in more ways than one.
While I definitely enjoyed this book, the writing style wasn’t always my cup of tea. However, the gathering of information about the Alexandrian Society and about the six main characters kept me reading and I definitely want to see where the next book goes.
Things I Liked
- I think the balance of POVs was done pretty well! Having six main POV characters in a 370 page book is definitely a challenge, but I think keeping the chapters short made it easy to keep up with
- I loved that all of the characters were smart! There was no big miscommunication, instead it was an uneven distribution of information and that made the characters feel as smart as they were
- the magic that the characters do is so cool! I can definitely tell that they’re as powerful as we’re told they are. I also think the makeup of the group was done really well! They all complimented each other’s powers so nicely
Things I Wish Were Different
- the action scenes were written in a way that made them a bit hard to follow. The description of the magic was really interesting, but the actual fights were written more like a screenplay and less like a book
- I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing style in the sex scenes either. They were in that weird in between place of not being 100% fade-to-black, and not 100% open door either. It felt easily skip-able
- Reina was done kinda dirty! I wanted more of her POV!
- the climax felt a bit overpowered by the last chapter. I wish it had been broken into more interludes instead of being thrown in at the end. That may not be the perfect way to fix it, but it definitely made the day lot structure of the booo feel a bit off
- I didn’t feel like I actually grasped how magic fits into the world. Is it a loosely kept secret? Is it common knowledge? I don’t know, and I wish I did
While I definitely enjoyed this book, the writing style wasn’t always my cup of tea. However, the gathering of information about the Alexandrian Society and about the six main characters kept me reading and I definitely want to see where the next book goes.
Things I Liked
- I think the balance of POVs was done pretty well! Having six main POV characters in a 370 page book is definitely a challenge, but I think keeping the chapters short made it easy to keep up with
- I loved that all of the characters were smart! There was no big miscommunication, instead it was an uneven distribution of information and that made the characters feel as smart as they were
- the magic that the characters do is so cool! I can definitely tell that they’re as powerful as we’re told they are. I also think the makeup of the group was done really well! They all complimented each other’s powers so nicely
Things I Wish Were Different
- the action scenes were written in a way that made them a bit hard to follow. The description of the magic was really interesting, but the actual fights were written more like a screenplay and less like a book
- I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing style in the sex scenes either. They were in that weird in between place of not being 100% fade-to-black, and not 100% open door either. It felt easily skip-able
- Reina was done kinda dirty! I wanted more of her POV!
- the climax felt a bit overpowered by the last chapter. I wish it had been broken into more interludes instead of being thrown in at the end. That may not be the perfect way to fix it, but it definitely made the day lot structure of the booo feel a bit off
- I didn’t feel like I actually grasped how magic fits into the world. Is it a loosely kept secret? Is it common knowledge? I don’t know, and I wish I did
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Infidelity
sohma4uesugi's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
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
1.0
I had to force myself to finish this and I am exhausted. There is just so much without anything at the same time. The sentences are wordy and over the top in a way that is heavy and clunky. Instead of saying “she was shocked by his reply”, the text is that “she was aghast at the perversion of the transaction.” Just… why? Everything simple that should be easy and flows is so over the top that it falls flat beneath the weight of its self.
There is no immersion into this world. My eyes kept jumping forward begging it to be over with faster. I would reread sentences several times and still be confused in the next paragraph.
Interesting characters were largely ignored and the uninteresting characters were heavily focused on. The artwork, though beautiful, strangely did not match the characters each section was named for, which didn’t make sense to me.
It felt like whole chapters were missing and the ones that were there dragged on forever and a day. Anything interesting was just simply dropped the next page in infuriating regularity. The last two chapters of the book seemed like they were written for another work entirely, in that they were interesting and actually held my attention.
To go from talking in tiring detail about the complexities of stopping time to calling someone a useless fuckboi just because they could in the next sentence was jarring and not in a way to bring humor or relief from the vast complexities the text tried and failed to reach.
The concept was super cool and I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I did not.
There is no immersion into this world. My eyes kept jumping forward begging it to be over with faster. I would reread sentences several times and still be confused in the next paragraph.
Interesting characters were largely ignored and the uninteresting characters were heavily focused on. The artwork, though beautiful, strangely did not match the characters each section was named for, which didn’t make sense to me.
It felt like whole chapters were missing and the ones that were there dragged on forever and a day. Anything interesting was just simply dropped the next page in infuriating regularity. The last two chapters of the book seemed like they were written for another work entirely, in that they were interesting and actually held my attention.
To go from talking in tiring detail about the complexities of stopping time to calling someone a useless fuckboi just because they could in the next sentence was jarring and not in a way to bring humor or relief from the vast complexities the text tried and failed to reach.
The concept was super cool and I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I did not.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
educatorgams's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.0
The world building here is amazing, I enjoy magical realism slotted quietly into a contemporary setting. The shifting point of view really helps to move the plot along while keeping you from sympathizing and identifying too strongly with any single character. Each of the six main characters has good and bad points and the story does a great job of exploring them as three dimensional individuals while maintaining the intrigue of a secret society and all the drama you would expect from the chance to join a secret organization guiding the world’s leaders.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Child abuse
nyoomie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, and Blood
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, and Child abuse