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vic127's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Drug use
Minor: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Violence, and Blood
japanasi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
5.0
it was even better reading it for the second time, loved the audiobook! olivie blake has such a way with words.. multiple pov, the story is soo good.. I love this book
let’s goooo nicolibby brainrot ✌🏻
let’s goooo nicolibby brainrot ✌🏻
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Death, and Cursing
shalia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I found it difficult to get into the story, its very academic-based magic. I started to really enjoy it once the plot picked-up (about halfway through).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
Minor: Death and Blood
booksthatburn's review against another edition
I was initially drawn in by the premise, a group of magicians brought to the Library of Alexandria have a year to decide which one of them will be eliminated and which five get to stay for another year. The cast of characters is pretty diverse (though a bit of that initial feeling of diversity was dampened when I realized all of them seemed to have English as their first language, which instantly shrunk the practical candidate pool. Part of the story questions the validity and methods of the entire enterprise, so that leaves some wiggle room for explaining why the candidates aren't actually very diverse (only six total, and two are from the same school in the USA?). Additionally, this could have been the library of Atlantis or Boston and it would have had just as much relevance to the plot. The latest incarnation of the "Library of Alexandria" is physically located in London, in the UK. It became clear pretty quickly that "Alexandria" is just a name, and an indication of thousands of years of whatever this thing is (or at least a claim to that long legacy). There are vague descriptions of the category of study and experiments which the candidates are pursuing, but most of the story is actually a very intense and complicated web of power plays and personal dynamics between the six candidates and the two Alexandrians who oversee them (mostly one of them). There's a pretty intense sex scene about halfway through which I actually didn't mind, but it felt like a sudden shift in tone from the rest of the book.
The characters seemed initially pretty interesting, but there's very little description of how their powers actually work. There are discussions of magical theory which I enjoyed, but they were usually couched in ways where the magic is actually secondary, which made them feel unmoored from the world being built.
It's six (sometimes eight) people in a house, talking to each other and slowly changing how they feel about one another, which is not what I was expecting in a book about "magicians living in the Library of Alexandria".
Ultimately I stopped because it became clearly stated that the whole thing is a slow burn trolley problem, and I don't like trolley problem situations.
The characters seemed initially pretty interesting, but there's very little description of how their powers actually work. There are discussions of magical theory which I enjoyed, but they were usually couched in ways where the magic is actually secondary, which made them feel unmoored from the world being built.
It's six (sometimes eight) people in a house, talking to each other and slowly changing how they feel about one another, which is not what I was expecting in a book about "magicians living in the Library of Alexandria".
Ultimately I stopped because it became clearly stated that the whole thing is a slow burn trolley problem, and I don't like trolley problem situations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Classism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Grief, Sexism, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Child death and Fire/Fire injury
lokiwii's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Gun violence and Murder
kaylamoran's review against another edition
dark
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
From the moment I heard that a self published book had exploded and was going to be traditionally published, I knew I had to read it. I saw so many good reviews that it became a 5 star prediction for me. I do think my crazy expectations did it no favours, but I loved it nonetheless. A few things about the writing style or pacing irked me at times, but the story and the characters kept me going. Multi POV is one of my absolute favourite fantasy tropes, so I loved that part of it as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Kidnapping, Blood, and Death of parent
jasmind496's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.75
I honestly loved this book! The characters were so interesting and their motives and attitudes so different, that they were the best part of the book! I am excited to read the next one!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Minor: Kidnapping
bookleafcrow's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
in the couple of days that have passed since i finished the atlas six, my rating has dropped down from a 4 to a 3.75 stars. i still enjoyed it and look forward to the sequel, but this book's divisiveness is very understandable; the plot is divided up in the perspectives of the six main characters, and if you don't like a character's POV (im looking at you, callum) then the chapters can kind of drag. also, it is an incredibly pretentious books at times. in my opinion, it could've been about 50-100 pages shorter because there were times where the author explained a concept across three pages when it really didn't need that much depth. the writing style can come off as a bit holier than thou at times?
however, it was a really enjoyable concept with an interesting take on the dark academia genre. the shock twist thatthe elimination is quite literally a ritual killing didn't feel like much of a shock because of how the book is advertised; literally, the tagline "knowledge is carnage" gives it away, so i'd forgotten that it wasn't known by the characters by the time it became relevant information. the setting was a lot of fun in terms of the low/urban fantasy world-building, and i really liked atlas in particular, especially towards the end.
nevertheless, i still enjoyed it a fair amount and will pick up the sequel when it's available in paperback. if you can stomach the writing style, definitely give this one a shot.
however, it was a really enjoyable concept with an interesting take on the dark academia genre. the shock twist that
nevertheless, i still enjoyed it a fair amount and will pick up the sequel when it's available in paperback. if you can stomach the writing style, definitely give this one a shot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
the characters (for the most part) are all awful to each other for most of the book so if you don't wanna read about six adults struggling to get along then skip this one lmaohobbit_tomes's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I enjoyed reading this book and I think the climax of the story, and now mystery for us to solve in the next book was set up really well and I am definitely intrigued.
However, for the majority of the time I was reading, the story doesn't feel like it's moving towards a specific goal or endpoint for me. I think this book was a little more character driven than plot driven which I wasn't aware of going into it, and to be fair, the characters are the reason to read this book. They are INCREDIBLY interesting and their interactions with one another are very entertaining.
I do wish that things were explained a little bit better, particularly the student's powers/magic. And the way that magic is used in this world is a little vague and underdeveloped. However I'm hoping we'll gain more insight into that in the next book.
All that to say, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Their personalities are wildly different and watching them compete with one another was very captivating. I also appreciate how flawed they all are in their own ways.
However, for the majority of the time I was reading, the story doesn't feel like it's moving towards a specific goal or endpoint for me. I think this book was a little more character driven than plot driven which I wasn't aware of going into it, and to be fair, the characters are the reason to read this book. They are INCREDIBLY interesting and their interactions with one another are very entertaining.
I do wish that things were explained a little bit better, particularly the student's powers/magic. And the way that magic is used in this world is a little vague and underdeveloped. However I'm hoping we'll gain more insight into that in the next book.
All that to say, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Their personalities are wildly different and watching them compete with one another was very captivating. I also appreciate how flawed they all are in their own ways.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Murder
catherinedsharp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
This was an interesting concept but I do not feel that it was executed particularly well. The characters were difficult to attach myself to and often didn’t have much personality that I could connect with. The plot was very confusing and the magic system could have been developed.
The rating is mostly for what the book could be, I wouldn’t recommend it particularly and I doubt I’ll be continuing with this series.
The rating is mostly for what the book could be, I wouldn’t recommend it particularly and I doubt I’ll be continuing with this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Mass/school shootings, and Toxic relationship