Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Atlas Paradox

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The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake

65 reviews

whenjessreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-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

Those who know me know I ADORED The Atlas Six, and so can imagine just how excited I was to get my grubby little hands on this beautiful sequel. Did I love it as much as the first book? No. But did I love it enough to still want to memorise every word? Yes, of course!

The Atlas Paradox picks up where The Atlas Six left off - Libby has disappeared, Tristan has failed miserably in his plan to sacrifice Callum, and the five remaining characters are left managing an uneasy truce as they start their second year at the mysterious Alexandrian Society.

More so than the first book, this novel relies less on plot and move on “vibes” (that’s what the young people call them, I believe 😂). There’s a wonderful mix of philosophical academic musings, apathetic self-destruction, Machiavellian mind games, sinister undercurrents and the presence of decay, rot and fear. While the pacing feels a bit slow and the plot structure can be lacking at times, The Atlas Paradox is very much character-driven, and Olivie Blake builds her characters so expertly that I’d be happy reading about them forever, plot or not.

Group alliances and dynamics change quite early on in this book, with

a creepy initiation ritual that exposes weaknesses and floats the idea of the archives themselves having some sort of sentience - a seriously interesting subplot that has been woven expertly through the book.

I desperately wanted to shove the characters together and say, ‘just share the things you’ve been experiencing with each other, it will all fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, you non-communicative idiots!’.

This book wasn’t an action-packed magic adventure, but let’s be honest: there are a million of them out there right now. I doubt you’d be able to find anything similar to this series.

Content Warnings

azrah786's review against another edition

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4.25

[This review can also be found on my BLOG]

**I was provided with an ARC of the book by TorUK & Black Crow PR for a blog tour in exchange for an honest review**

CW: violence, blood, injury, murder, suicidal thoughts, death, alcoholism, drug use, depression, kidnapping/confinement, toxic relationship, grief, emotional abuse, fire, sexism/misogyny, sexual content
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The Atlas Paradox is a sequel that is just as mind bending and absorbing as its predecessor. Be ready for lots more intrigue and scheming and a brilliant expansion on the powerful character study that was the basis of The Atlas Six.
We get to further familiarise ourselves with the individual characters and the way they think, as well as explore their understanding of one another in the aftermath of the events that concluded the first book.

"A person was only ever himself. So much of what they became, who they were, was inseverable, irreversible. If to others that meant irredeemable, then so be it.

The competitive atmosphere that was heavily present in the first year is tamed down a little as the second year sees the initiates go about independent study however, there is still a dominant air of tension arcing across the multiple plotlines that the story is split into.

The rivalries are still very much present between the characters as is the element of mystery surrounding the Alexandrian Society and its well-guarded secrets that the characters are trying to unmask. Add to that the threat from the Society's enemies as well as Libby’s situation and this book is jam packed full of a thrilling set of affairs that are all beautifully encapsulated by Blake’s elaborate and eloquent prose.

This series really stresses the academia part of dark academia with how the narrative is full of such highly intellectual conversations and introspection that as expected, you’ll only half understand. We get a more meticulous exploration of some of the characters powers alongside compelling twists and reveals that are slowly putting all the pieces into place for the endgame.

"A chink in the armour, Parisa thought. Funny how those things could undo you little by little over time. All it took was a tiny fracture to destroy an entire foundation."

The multi point of view was once again balanced extremely well if not better since there were a few more perspectives to read from in this sequel. I absolutely loved that we got to see more from Reina and also Gideon, two characters who weren’t in the limelight as much previously. I did have a minor issue with the chronology in some of the chapters though since there were times when the story would double back on itself when events went forward in one chapter and then were returned to from a different perspective quite later on. It was a little bit jarring.

Furthermore, this sequel does have sort of a middle book syndrome feel to it but regardless of this I was never bored of being back in this world or with these characters that Blake has created. I loved being back with them all and their chaos and messiness.

"But perhaps it was all their mutually assured destruction that was making her so very annoyed with this current state of affairs, because it was not fun at all to exist without a rival."

As ever the character interactions are just so addictive to follow. For the most part our usual subjects were hardly ever all together in one room but we do see an interesting shift in dynamics and new alliances form. Nico and Tristan? Remarkable! Callum and Reina? Formidable! I did not know how much I needed to see these partnerships come to be!

Now the ending didn’t have as big of a shock factor as book 1 however, it sets up everything very nicely for the finale and I can’t wait to see how everything goes down!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars

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rusereviews's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake is a dark academia sci-fantasy and the second book in the Atlas series. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at eighteen and a half hours and is narrated by a full cast. This version also contains the short story prequel to the series, "Sacred Hospitality," at the end of the audiobook.

Six mages were invited to a prestigious magical society though only five remain at the Archives. A rival society is gaining in power. What will they do with all of the knowledge contained in the Archives? Will they preserve the current world order, or burn it down and rebuild?

This book felt like it had a lot less of the academia that permeated the first book. Is it still dark academia if the academics aren't the focus? This book follows their second year in the Alexandrian Society and they're mostly focused on their individual research projects. They'll theorize together every so often, so I guess the academia is still alive.

It also starts a little slow but once we got about a quarter in I was hooked. I listened to the back 65% in one day.

This story is yet again mostly character-driven. So if you like these characters, you will probably enjoy following them through another book. Libby especially has growth here, in dealing with the scenario she was left in at the end of book one. However, some of the choices she makes here won't really have impact until book three it seems. I'm very excited to see what she does and how she reacts to things in the next book.

We gain additional POV characters as well in Gideon, Ezra, and a few others. We get a lot more Gideon in general in this installment. I was glad to learn more about our favorite cinnamon roll dream walker. This also includes more Nico/Gideon time which always warms my heart.

I need the next book to see what my fav dumpster fire mages do next.

Tropes in this book include: time travel

CW: violence, death, alcohol abuse, depression

The publisher provided a audio galley of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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marareading's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

3.25

This is a fun edition to the series. I liked the beginning. The middle felt choppy and a bit disconnected. Because of the tropes used, which are some of my favorite (in keeping this spoiler free I will not mention said tropes in this review) it felt like we were missing a lot. So much was happening off page and it didn't feel smooth and pulled me out of the story unlike book one. However by 75% I was back in the flow and really enjoyed it. The new characters were fun, and creative. I LOVED the ending. The character arcs are super interesting right now. This series is unique, and incredibly well thought out. Very good overall. Very excited for book three 🙌🏼

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uranaishi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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

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