Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

22 reviews

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

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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

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. 

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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

kathleencoughlin's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I really enjoyed The Atlas Six! It's fun, magical, mysterious, and a bit sexy too. I felt like Blake did a pretty good job balancing so many pov characters and making them all individuals. My biggest complaint (which really isnt that big at all) is that I wish there were a more complete narrative arc for the book. I realize it's part of a series and I definitely want to read on but this feels a bit incomplete. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, and Confinement

Minor: Sexual assault, Child death, Child abuse, and Chronic illness

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Kidnapping

Minor: Drug use

omfgeleanor's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Terminal illness

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Child abuse, and Child death

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!!

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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

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.0

Academic rivals are a trope that I typically take only minor interest in. School was more often a collaborative than competitive affair for me, so it clashes with my experience, leaving me baffled at who has the energy for it. This book had me convinced within the first chapter. YES Libby, Nico is clearly the worst. Continue with your banter. Shoot to emotionally maim. Not only was I convinced, but I was having a great time. 

In fact, all six POVs quickly brought me under their thrall by eliciting strong reactions with their voices. I could give an itemized summary of how I feel about any of them and why because each character is so carefully formed and fills a specific role in the group. The sometimes vicious competition among them adds another layer, as I came to support certain alliances while wishing other liaisons a swift death for the threat they posed to themselves or others through their choices. I found myself irrevocably interested in all the characters' sharp edges, their darkest thoughts, their jangling worries at odds with their lofty ambitions. I admired the unexpected pathways the characters followed, the twisty growth to their relationships, and the queer (pan representation at minimum--most of the characters seem fairly fluid in terms of sexuality) and BIPOC representation (Black, Japanese, Persian, and Cuban protagonists). 

I did get stuck on a couple points. For one, my initial investment in the characters was a bit frayed by the end. This was partially due to choices made in the quest for power and partially related to the way the cast would fixate on each other's perceived weaknesses, amplifying them for the reader. A related concern is that I'm not sure there was a single relationship I wouldn't ultimately categorize as toxic and/or unbalanced. It's not glorified, which I appreciate, but I personally need at least one strong, supportive bond to hold onto in a story. It's what keeps me motivated and excited to come along for the darker bits. 

In terms of world-building, the magic system isn't necessarily revolutionary, but the periods of academic contemplation regarding different abilities and talents left me in the dust as a matter of both mental fortitude and attention span. I may be a science teacher, but honestly, ew physics. 

I liked that the story seems to be winding up for some intriguing commentary on power and institutions, on knowledge and ambition. Already, there were some fun asides and acute observations that I highlighted as fuel for my dark, cynical worldview that Tristan would surely appreciate. Dark academia fans will especially find a lot in these pages to live up to the hype. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Abandonment

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Thanks to Tor Books for the free copy of this book.

 - THE ATLAS SIX shouldn't work, but it does. Does it? It does. I liked it. I was sometimes bored? But I kept going? Yeah, I have no idea how I feel about this book.
- It's definitely very clever and keeps you hooked, unspooling plot twists and major actions slowly, between all the long conversations about the nature of time and whatnot.
- I think my main reaction is that this is what THE MAGICIANS should have been.
- Also, that Parisa realllllly verges on the trope of the insatiable bisexual (yet also unclear if she's actually queer or just slept with some women for power reasons? Why is this book hailed as full of queer characters?), though the reasons why she is who she is are laid out in the text, it still felt weird.
- I dunno, I'll probably read the sequel? Have you read this? Tell me what you think. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Car accident, Confinement, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

oliviafendrich's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.25

This book was quite interesting. The characters' interpersonal relations largely drive the narrative but are skillfully easy to keep track of. Get ready for lots of dialogue! This book could almost be described as a long string of conversations. It's well-written, though repetitive on occasion. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's a bit afraid of fantasy, as it's not overcomplicated. Some good romance, and well-paced. Hoping to check out the rest of this series, and Blake's other works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Child death

Minor: Antisemitism, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Vomit

vonny3492's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Death, Confinement, Bullying, and Alcohol