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A review by eliasbouchard
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
3.0
actual rating: 3.5 stars.
objectively this is a really well written character driven book which explores some really interesting philosophical and scientific concepts.
the characters are remarkable. i cant stress enough on how well written they are. objectively, i like them. they are interesting. from a certain viewpoint i guess. they have distinct personalities that clashes really conveniently for some spicy progressions in the book as well as their dynamic is, objectively, entertaining and charming and fun to read about. beyond that? i literally do not care, my interest ends there.
from a character driven novel, i expected more than interesting characters. for once, a dynamic i could enjoy. but their dynamic was way too polished and way too carefully written for me to like it. which doesnt make much sense but oh well it is what it is. their individual point of views felt more like in depth series of consecutive character studies. maybe i would have liked it if i cared about the characters but alas i dont.
and then theres the flimsy plotline with the vaguest stakes possible which fuels my disinterest in the general on-goings of the book. it has a really weird beginning tbh now that i think about it. im guessing the vague plotline is served with the intent of heightening the mystery element but for me it does the exact opposite? i think one of the reviews even mentions the amount of 'why? what? when? where?' that were left unanswered. which yeah the worldbuilding is very strangely vague. i enjoyed the philosophical discussions every two paragraphs but i would have liked it more if we got to understand the world thru more than the scientific/discussions lens.
it also drags at certain moments. which just made me go :/ the only thing that kept me going is the fact that the characters are sort of interesting and the plotline/mystery element is so vague that it actually did in fact made me curious what is actually going to happen. i just wanted to see how the author was going to end it all. or what..........exactly was even at stake.
and turns out that was even more of a disappointing move. the ending was, simply put, absurd and underwhelming. i enjoy a good plot twist on a good day but that was the least interesting thing ive ever read. specifically how it ended. not even the anti climatic twist. just its.......ending.
one of the trends i hate in a "series" is definitely their inability to wrap things up in a way thats at the very least satisfying. and this series (i'm guessing it's a series? bc if it's not i dont think id even want it on my 3 star shelf actually.) just really fucks up the satisfactory aspect of its ending in favour of future sequel potential. i believe in a 'wrap ur story at least and dont leave it a disjoined mess for ur book 2'. sorry ig.
[sighs] anyway. this book made me feel a lot. namely: it pissed me off. but also. it was interesting. conflicting. hmm good flavour actually. also callum, my beloved i hate you but u were the most interesting concept so i also love u. im down for a good callum vs parisa one off anyday actually they are very entertaining. and tristan, my beloved i actually in fact like u. ur dynamic with callum was fun while it lasted.
on the side note, im willing to give book 2 a try when it comes out, ive a lot of questions about a lot of things. and yes im willing to put out for more disappointment. but like idk i just wanna read about callum, tristan and parisa. they are so entertaining.
[and the book really hinges on binary language by the way. it's very boring. im booing. 0/10 for the binarism of it all]
objectively this is a really well written character driven book which explores some really interesting philosophical and scientific concepts.
the characters are remarkable. i cant stress enough on how well written they are. objectively, i like them. they are interesting. from a certain viewpoint i guess. they have distinct personalities that clashes really conveniently for some spicy progressions in the book as well as their dynamic is, objectively, entertaining and charming and fun to read about. beyond that? i literally do not care, my interest ends there.
from a character driven novel, i expected more than interesting characters. for once, a dynamic i could enjoy. but their dynamic was way too polished and way too carefully written for me to like it. which doesnt make much sense but oh well it is what it is. their individual point of views felt more like in depth series of consecutive character studies. maybe i would have liked it if i cared about the characters but alas i dont.
and then theres the flimsy plotline with the vaguest stakes possible which fuels my disinterest in the general on-goings of the book. it has a really weird beginning tbh now that i think about it. im guessing the vague plotline is served with the intent of heightening the mystery element but for me it does the exact opposite? i think one of the reviews even mentions the amount of 'why? what? when? where?' that were left unanswered. which yeah the worldbuilding is very strangely vague. i enjoyed the philosophical discussions every two paragraphs but i would have liked it more if we got to understand the world thru more than the scientific/discussions lens.
it also drags at certain moments. which just made me go :/ the only thing that kept me going is the fact that the characters are sort of interesting and the plotline/mystery element is so vague that it actually did in fact made me curious what is actually going to happen. i just wanted to see how the author was going to end it all. or what..........exactly was even at stake.
and turns out that was even more of a disappointing move. the ending was, simply put, absurd and underwhelming. i enjoy a good plot twist on a good day but that was the least interesting thing ive ever read. specifically how it ended. not even the anti climatic twist. just its.......ending.
one of the trends i hate in a "series" is definitely their inability to wrap things up in a way thats at the very least satisfying. and this series (i'm guessing it's a series? bc if it's not i dont think id even want it on my 3 star shelf actually.) just really fucks up the satisfactory aspect of its ending in favour of future sequel potential. i believe in a 'wrap ur story at least and dont leave it a disjoined mess for ur book 2'. sorry ig.
[sighs] anyway. this book made me feel a lot. namely: it pissed me off. but also. it was interesting. conflicting. hmm good flavour actually. also callum, my beloved i hate you but u were the most interesting concept so i also love u. im down for a good callum vs parisa one off anyday actually they are very entertaining. and tristan, my beloved i actually in fact like u. ur dynamic with callum was fun while it lasted.
on the side note, im willing to give book 2 a try when it comes out, ive a lot of questions about a lot of things. and yes im willing to put out for more disappointment. but like idk i just wanna read about callum, tristan and parisa. they are so entertaining.
[and the book really hinges on binary language by the way. it's very boring. im booing. 0/10 for the binarism of it all]