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A review by xcrissy67x
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
There's been a lot of hype around this book and I will admit that I don't completely understand why. Reading this book was very hot and cold for me. One minute I was interested, the next I was getting bored, among other reasons.
This book follows 6 magicians who have been chosen to join an elite society with the promise of power and knowledge. However, only 5 of them are allowed to remain within the society, and one of them had to be eliminated at the end of the first year. We follow these magicians through their first year of their journey.
I found the themes of this book quite interesting. Particularly the craving for knowledge and power and whether having too much of them is a good thing or bad. The answer may seem obvious but it also shows how intoxicating the feeling of being knowledgeable and powerful can be, despite your morals telling you otherwise.
Throughout the book, I was occasionally surprised by the direction that the book turned. I expected a few things to happen only for something else to happen which was a pleasant surprise. However, majority of the book was rather boring and lack luster. I felt myself struggling to focus on the page several times when things were rather dull.
There were a few times when things picked up, particularly at the end. The end was the only part that had me reading with full concentration, though part of that may have been the confusion I felt while reading it. The ending was fast paced, maybe a little rushed, but it was a nice increase in pace from the pevious 400 pages. I think it set up very nicely for the next book.
The slow pace wasn't the only thing deterring me from reading. The characters were rather unlikable and I did not feel, as a reader, we had enough time to connect with them. You don't get to see the characters interact much either which is quite bizarre considering they were described as “deeply inextricable”. Any relationship that was built between two characters felt very sudden and out of the blue. It didn't feel natural at all.
I'm sure whether to read the next book or not. Though the ending had me intrigued, I just could not connect with the characters and I worry that the second book will be similar to this one. I think if the rating is high on the second book, I'll read it. If not, this will be a DNF series for me unfortunately.
This book follows 6 magicians who have been chosen to join an elite society with the promise of power and knowledge. However, only 5 of them are allowed to remain within the society, and one of them had to be eliminated at the end of the first year. We follow these magicians through their first year of their journey.
I found the themes of this book quite interesting. Particularly the craving for knowledge and power and whether having too much of them is a good thing or bad. The answer may seem obvious but it also shows how intoxicating the feeling of being knowledgeable and powerful can be, despite your morals telling you otherwise.
Throughout the book, I was occasionally surprised by the direction that the book turned. I expected a few things to happen only for something else to happen which was a pleasant surprise. However, majority of the book was rather boring and lack luster. I felt myself struggling to focus on the page several times when things were rather dull.
There were a few times when things picked up, particularly at the end. The end was the only part that had me reading with full concentration, though part of that may have been the confusion I felt while reading it. The ending was fast paced, maybe a little rushed, but it was a nice increase in pace from the pevious 400 pages. I think it set up very nicely for the next book.
The slow pace wasn't the only thing deterring me from reading. The characters were rather unlikable and I did not feel, as a reader, we had enough time to connect with them. You don't get to see the characters interact much either which is quite bizarre considering they were described as “deeply inextricable”. Any relationship that was built between two characters felt very sudden and out of the blue. It didn't feel natural at all.
I'm sure whether to read the next book or not. Though the ending had me intrigued, I just could not connect with the characters and I worry that the second book will be similar to this one. I think if the rating is high on the second book, I'll read it. If not, this will be a DNF series for me unfortunately.