Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Atlas Six

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

silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

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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!)

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louisegraveyard's review against another edition

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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

jfield351's review against another edition

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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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