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A review by tallangryplanet
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
3.0
Knowledge is carnage. You can't have it without sacrifice.
Every ten years, the Alexandrian Society chooses six of the most powerful medeians in the world to compete for five initiation spots. If they succeed, a life of unimaginable power, knowledge and riches awaits them. Nico, Libby, Reina, Parisa, Callum, and Tristan all have their reasons for accepting, and none of them is willing to stop fighting for this chance, but their fates will reveal themselves more twisted than they could have ever predicted.
When I imagined a secret Alexandrian Society working to protect and expand the Library's knowledge through the centuries, I did not picture a group of power-hungry magicians, working only in their self-interest. Maybe the hunger for power is part of dark academia books, but this felt more like some Hunger Games-style competition with pretentious philosophical ramblings mixed in than caretaking of knowledge. They can't even access all of the library's contents once they're initiated! What's the fun in having the world's knowledge at your fingertips if there's a glass wall preventing you from actually reaching it? I suppose this is a criticism for the society rather than for the book itself, but I found myself completely agreeing with the rival societies. The Alexandrians didn't feel trustworthy, with their mysterious initiation practices and unwillingness to disclose relevant details with the Six. In this sense, I have to applaud Atlas's arch and the way his plot was developed. The rest of the characters, on the other hand, felt mostly undeveloped; I felt pity for Libby, really wanting her to succeed and get better, and hatred for Callum, but that's about as far as my connection to the initiates went. The story also felt pretty aimless until the last third or so, and the writing in some parts was so dense I struggled to get through it, though some of the reflections were actually really interesting. I also wish we had seen more of the magic system instead of spending so much time in the characters' head (something I never thought I'd say about a book), because their ramblings tended to be almost irrelevant and the world could've done with some more development.
All in all, this was a fun read. Although this book wasn't perfect for me, I can see where the hype came from, and I think the sequel can be so much better thanks to the setup in this book.
Every ten years, the Alexandrian Society chooses six of the most powerful medeians in the world to compete for five initiation spots. If they succeed, a life of unimaginable power, knowledge and riches awaits them. Nico, Libby, Reina, Parisa, Callum, and Tristan all have their reasons for accepting, and none of them is willing to stop fighting for this chance, but their fates will reveal themselves more twisted than they could have ever predicted.
When I imagined a secret Alexandrian Society working to protect and expand the Library's knowledge through the centuries, I did not picture a group of power-hungry magicians, working only in their self-interest. Maybe the hunger for power is part of dark academia books, but this felt more like some Hunger Games-style competition with pretentious philosophical ramblings mixed in than caretaking of knowledge. They can't even access all of the library's contents once they're initiated! What's the fun in having the world's knowledge at your fingertips if there's a glass wall preventing you from actually reaching it? I suppose this is a criticism for the society rather than for the book itself, but I found myself completely agreeing with the rival societies. The Alexandrians didn't feel trustworthy, with their mysterious initiation practices and unwillingness to disclose relevant details with the Six. In this sense, I have to applaud Atlas's arch and the way his plot was developed. The rest of the characters, on the other hand, felt mostly undeveloped; I felt pity for Libby, really wanting her to succeed and get better, and hatred for Callum, but that's about as far as my connection to the initiates went. The story also felt pretty aimless until the last third or so, and the writing in some parts was so dense I struggled to get through it, though some of the reflections were actually really interesting. I also wish we had seen more of the magic system instead of spending so much time in the characters' head (something I never thought I'd say about a book), because their ramblings tended to be almost irrelevant and the world could've done with some more development.
All in all, this was a fun read. Although this book wasn't perfect for me, I can see where the hype came from, and I think the sequel can be so much better thanks to the setup in this book.