If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I’ve read The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake when it was still a self-published book sometime last year. I immediately fell in love with the characters and the world and was craving more. I “only” had a digital copy of the book, so, when it was traditionally published this year, I went to the shop and grabbed a copy to do something I usually never do – reread, annotate and highlight the entire thing! To my utter surprise, I loved it even more the second time around, but I also know that opinions on the book vary quite a bit.
With this post, I intend to highlight some aspects of the book (don’t worry, no spoilers!) to help you determine whether The Atlas Six is the right read for YOU or not. It’s not a traditional review by any means, so if that’s something you’re more interested in, I recommend you visit my post from last year here. While there were some slight edits made for the newly published version, the majority of what I said still rings true and is an accurate depiction of my feelings towards the story.
Now, let’s get started on me rambling on for way too long!
Blurb according to the publisher:
The world’s best young magicians accept the opportunity of a lifetime.
Six are chosen. Only five will walk away.The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few . . .
– Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.
– Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.
– Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.
– Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.
– Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation. During this time, they will be permitted access to the Society’s archives and judged on their contributions to arcane areas of knowledge. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive. Most of them.
REASONS YOU MIGHT LOVE/HATE THE ATLAS SIX
The Writing
First things first, this is the opening volume to a dark academia/fantasy trilogy. I want to point this out, because sometimes I wonder if people think it’s a self-contained story, when it’s very much not. In other words, it is to be expected that The Atlas Six does not give you answers to all your questions, might even leave you confused on some subjects and definitely has a grueling cliffhanger.
Other than that, the story is told in third person and from multiple POVs. There’s quite a big cast of characters, but more on that later on. Something that’s very much notable in Olivie Blake’s writing is that everything sounds flowery, yet incredibly sophisticated, but even more so, she heavily focuses on dialogue. This can be both, actual conversations between certain people, or inner turmoil. There will be entire pages of discussions on matters of philosophy and science, which to me felt invigorating, while I can see others struggling to the see the point or importance of it. But that’s the thing, while I read it, I felt like there was a purpose to everything and we learned many things along with the characters. Also, it’s balanced well with humor!
“We study the realm of consciousness because we understand that to decide something, to weigh a cost and accept its consequences, is to forcibly alter the world in some tangible way. That is a magic as true and as real as any other.”
What I struggled with a bit reading it for the first time, but not so much on my reread, was figuring out how much time had passed between certain scenes. This book covers a lot of ground and not always linearly, so that’s something to keep in mind.
It’s definitely written in a witty and clever way with lots of turns and twists. Something I will admit though, is that it felt frustrating to me that the characters didn’t realize one of the biggest (in my opinion *obvious*) turn of events for the majority of the book. Ultimately, in this volume, we get eased into this world. We are meant to hopefully fall in love with who the story is about and to care deeply about what happens next. Because there will be a definite shift in The Atlas Paradox.
The Characters
Did you ever want a cast of characters where every. single. one of them is morally grey and (probably) also not straight? I present to you: Libby Rhodes, Nico de Varona, Reina Mori, Tristan Caine, Parisa Kamali and Callum Nova
“No one here is good. Knowledge is carnage. You can’t have it without sacrifice.”
There’s actually more characters in the book that aren’t exactly unimportant, but these six, they really are the backbone of the story! You won’t like all of them, I sure didn’t and they definitely often can’t stand each other, but you will appreciate every single one of them for what they bring to the table. There are almost limitless possibilities for shipping, there’s even a threesome somewhere in there, but the bonds are so complex that it goes beyond just romantic attachment.
I think a lot of whether the reader enjoys The Atlas Six hinges on how many characters fascinate them. I personally loved three characters with my entire being, was intrigued by one more, felt disappointed at the lack of page time for a certain someone and just despised the last. That one’s a literal psycho and I cannot. (I was just referring to the above mentioned six leads here.)
It’s easy to sense a certain kind of favoritism the author has, in my opinion, as some characters either got just more chapters in general or the more interesting (to me) plotlines. I don’t know if that will be consistent throughout the entire series, or whether there’s more “to do” for certain characters in the later books. Either way, that favoritism might also make the reader lean more towards those figures.
Something that can definitely go one of two ways were the ample illustrations of the characters between parts of the book. I, for one, adored them! They were done by Little Chmura in the indie version as well as the traditional one, although they are different (yet both gorgeous). I know that certain people prefer to imagine the appearance themselves and not get a certain look “forced” on them. Here’s a taste of what the portraits approximately look like, although I’ll forever be salty we don’t have colored versions in the printed books:
The World-Building
This is probably the point I heard the most criticism about since the traditional release. If you are looking for a book with a very strict and structural magical system, this might not be it for you! Honestly, I love when magic is just woven into the fabric of every day life, when there’s hints of otherness around every corner and you can see that there lies a certain power within some and not others, but it is never explicitly mentioned why that is. In a way, magic is common in this world and if you have it and can monetize it, you’re on top of the food chain. Power is everything and knowledge is power, which is why the Alexandrian Society is so secretive and competitive.
Those who can practice magic as more than just a spell or charm are called “medeians” and they usually have a specialty or tendency in which their power develops. Those powers can present phyiscally (being able to set fire to things, grow plants, etc.) or in a non-physical way (empathy, telepathy, illusions, …), giving each person a completely unique and individual experience with their magical gift.
Aside from people who can do magic, there also exist “creatures” in this world. That’s a point that could have definitely been expanded on and it’s something that regularly took me out of the story a little bit, as there’s only one POV that deals with the matter. “Creatures” (think satyrs, mermaids, etc.) are looked down upon in the magical society and if don’t fit into a pre-classified system, you are forgotten about altogether. I can imagine this being dealt with more in the future, but it was a bit of a lackluster point.
To sum it up, I adore books that just live off of vibes, never-ending philosophical and moral dilemmas with a little science thrown in. To me, that is heaven, but I understand that some people need more. They need certain charms or spells that only work when done just so, which The Atlas Six also has, but definitely doesn’t focus on. This is more of a trial and error way of using magic.
“The problem with knowledge, is its inexhaustible craving. the more of it you have, the less you feel you know.”
Life and Other Disasters 
Loved reading this!! These are all the reasons I love TA6 too. And funnily enough I’m rereading it right now too to highlight/annotate it also (and I also am enjoying it so much more the second time round too!) 💛
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I’m so happy you like the post and are having a great time rereading at the moment too, Saima!! I had to contain myself and try to keep it professional, while I really just wanted to go on a massive rambling tangents about ships and why I like certain characters. I mean, Nico and Libby alone could probably fill an entire thesis paper (although I’m more of a Libby Tristan kinda girl?). Anyway, thank you SO much for stopping by and commenting!!! ❤
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haha I totally get you, especially about wanting to talk extensively about ships/dynamics !! I’m definitely going to message you once I’m done rereading because I’d love to discuss this more with you 💛💛
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Please do!!! I would absolutely love that!
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I am so happy that the Atlas Six is getting all the love, and I know you’ve been hyping this book from the get-go. The concept sounds like everything you could possibly want from a fantasy novel. Morally-grey characters are the most fascinating and I love it when they provoke a certain feeling from readers. I like the fact that it doesn’t have a structural magic system. In a way, it makes things a bit more unpredictable and, like you said it normalises magic as a common source of power in this world. I’ve already had this book on my tbr list, but I’ll be sure to make it a priority read.
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I’m so looking forward to you reading it, while I simultaneously hope that I haven’t created too much hype/high expectations for it. I think there is so much to adore about this book, but now that it’s more widely available, I also saw a lot of criticism.
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I feel like this sums up what people can like/dislike about the book soo well!! I’m currently reading this book and I’m not super attached to all the characters (so far) but I’m loving the writing style and all the philosophical discussions the characters have. Apart from that, all the ships and character dynamics are probably my favorite part so far.
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Lina, thank you so much! It makes me really happy to hear that you think this sums up the pros and cons of the book well. I hope you’ll continue to enjoy it and maybe find one or two characters to hold on to in the process. I have a clear bias haha
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Thank you!! Now I’m curious who your bias is. I have two or three potential biases so we’ll see how that develops…
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Do you really want to know? If not, do not read on, but my faves are 100% …………… Libby and Tristan. NIco comes third.
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Got an arc of the trad published version and I’m scared af to read this book. I usually love dark academia, but the hype is seriously getting to me, I’m scared I won’t like it! But I’m also pretty sure I will!? It’s a whole mess of feelings, and I probably won’t get to it soon since there are a few other books I want to read right now.
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I TOTALLY get that, Rafaela! Hype can be such a buzzkill for a book, so going in with low expectations or the expectation that it will disappoint you might be best. I’m currently putting off reading the Green Bone saga books for that exact reason. Everyone loves the books.
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I have the original version sitting on my shelf and still haven’t read it and now I’m unsure if I should get the new version as well? I did buy it as an ebook so maybe I’ll just read that…but I do want to start annotating more and TA6 seems like the perfect book for that!
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I honestly can’t quite tell you how many differences there are, but somehow the traditionally published one felt more refined?
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I actually preordered this book so I now own it, I just need to read it! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it more the second time. It sounds really intriguing and I typically enjoy books with heavy dialogue & humour, so I love that!! Pages of discussions on matters of philosophy and science sound quite interesting and different. I’m genuinely excited about that now. 🤣
I can’t wait to meet the characters too, I love that there are illustrations in it!! It would have been cool if they were colour illustrations in the book though!
I hope you continue to enjoy this series. The second one is out quite soon I believe. Hopefully, I will get to TAS soon! 🥰
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READ IT! PLEASE DO!!! The Atlas Paradox releases by the end of October, which is entirely too far away for me.
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I enjoyed this, but the world building was definitely a sticking point for me. Besides the point that it isn’t exactly clear how magic works or what anyone’s skills are supposed to be (besides whatever seems cool?), there are random things like the fact there are magical creatures but . . . they’re barely mentioned? And no humans actually really know anything about them? Like, what is a mermaid? Is there a mermaid society? Why can’t they be employed? Do they employ themselves???
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I knew I forgot something! I just added a couple sentences about creatures to my post, but you are right, those explanations were a bit lackluster. It didn’t raise as many questions for me as it did for you, though. I think I went about it thinking of it a little like in the word of Harry Potter. Some humans know, some don’t, the magical world generally tries not to interfere with the humans too much. Mermaids are having a tough time due to the ecological destruction of the oceans, but they can’t seem the live outside of the ocean permanently. Also, creatures in general seem to be discriminated against, so I wasn’t surprised there were no practical solutions for their many issues. I personally imagined there to be more in future books, just because Gideon seems a key element. He does have his own illustration after all.
Sorry for that long answer. I definitely understand where you’re coming from and see why that’s something that made you enjoy the book less.
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Love how much love you have for this story! I like your description of how magic is so discretely woven into a story. It’s sort of what I expect from magical realism and it’s so wonderful when done right. I also like the sound of philosophy/science being discussed within the story. When done right, it’s so much fun! Awesome post, Kat! 😀
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I wouldn’t say discretely necessarily, they have whole corporations that make money off of illusion/beauty charms, but it’s almost ordinary? I’m not sure I’m explaining this right.
Either way, thank you for taking the time to read the post and comment!
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Loved your review! 💕 I keep seeing The Atlas Six around (back when it was self-published and of course now that a new edition will be traditionally published) so I was very curious about your post 👀 You make the book sound great, I love morally grey characters (especially if there is a big cast of them)! I also love illustrations!! For me, it’s easier to see how the author envisioned the character 😄
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Thank you so much for checking it out, Caro!! I think the traditionally published version is a bit more polished. I can see you liking it a lot too!
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What a fantastic list of reasons to make me more excited to pick up one of the literal FOUR copies of this book that I own (one of which being the self-pubbed paperback).
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Kal, why on earth do you have FOUR copies!?!? haha
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Okay so I really, really, really love this post and I feel like you should write this kind of post on other books, too!!
I just love how you perfectly summed up what might interest/bother people in this kind of book. I know I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions about the book overall, whether or not it’s actually for me, if I won’t feel too lost with the world and all of the different characters. It’s so nice to read this and to feel comforted in the fact that, yes, I need to read this soon ahah 🙂 I’m rambling again, but I just really love this post!! ❤
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I’m so so so happy you like the post, Marie!! I can definitely see myself doing a post like this again, but I’ll need to feel passionately about the book (in one way or another). I do hope you’ll read and like it one day as well. You know I’m 100% here to talk about it.
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I have read The Atlas Six and didn’t enjoy it ~that much~, sadly. While I liked the vibes, the dialogue, and the concept, a lot of the talk and action felt… pretentious? I just couldn’t vibe with the book that much.
Love the way you’ve structured this post! And I agree, enjoyment depends on how many characters are fascinating to the reader (which was.. 1 for me lol)
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Yeah, I really don’t think the book is for everyone. I liked the way it was written a lot, but someone else might not and that’s okay.
Which character did you end up liking the most?
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Callum!
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😱 bold choice. Very interesting to be honest.
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…is it? 😶
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I can only speak for myself, where he is 100% my least favorite character, but I also know that most of my friends aren’t exactly drawn to him either haha
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[…] @ Life and Other Disasters talks about The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake and whether you should read it. It made my desire to read the book quadruple. I loved how it was a […]
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This book is already on my TBR waiting for me, I honestly think it sounds amazing and I’ve heard a lot of positive things which is great!!!. 😍😍😍 I love the points you touch on here, and considering many of them I can say that I think I will love this book, I’m even more excited now!!! Awesome post!!! ❤️
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I genuinely hope you’re going to love it! If you ever want to talk about it, my DMs are open!!
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