The Atlas Six
Ratings356
Average rating3.5
I'm not sure why, but I just didn't connect with any of the characters, and could care less what happened to them.
Felt like The Secret History fanfiction, but with even more obnoxious characters (who had no reason to be as obnoxious as they were). The writing is incredibly purple prose and overly pretentious for no reason.
I wanted to like this. I really did, but it was not to be.
I made it to page 127, put it down for the night and it sat there for a day and a half. I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to go back for more. So, DNF'd at 33%.
DNF at page 100. Writing is pretentious & doesn't actually convey anything. Characters are dull. Trying to be Six of Crows but failing.
Overall a fun read! I found the writing style to be a little clunky at times and almost none of the characters were particularly likable, but the plot was interesting and more surprising than I expected.
Voice was way too YA for me, dnf'd within the first chapter. I'm never listening to booktok again
Positives:
The magic that they possess and the way it works is interesting. Blake did a good job managing all of the different points of view. I never got lost as I was listening. I love the way Blake writes. It is more purple that most other books I read, but it works for the stories that she tells.
Negatives:
The twist at the end came out of nowhere and wasn't foreshadowed enough. The library at Alexandria didn't feel important enough for there to be a thousands of years old secret society based around it.
I think I've never read a book so full of words and so empty of everything else. What was this? I almost DNFed a couple of times, and I wish I had. What a waste of time.
Pretentious, using grandiloquent discussions of philosophy that added absolutely nothing to the plot or the book or the development of the characters.
It felt like nothing advanced. In page 400 you are still in the same place as in page 1. This could have been so good, the idea of betraying one of your companions for the sake of belonging to such a world changing institution. But the way it is written and paced, you don't even care. The institution is barely explained, a glorified library, they spend the whole year there doing random research on their own, without a clear goal and without the need to agree to something as big as murder because they need to be there. They don't. The stakes are so low it's stupid for them to even think on such drastic measures.
And there is zero interpersonal relations. They aren't friends, they don't like each other, they are terrible people who spend most of their time on their own or banging each other without rhyme or reason. You don't cheer for them nor suffer for them, because there is no substance there.
I won't even talk about the magic system or the world building because the author clearly didn't think about it enough for me to talk about it. I mean, there is nothing. No structure, no sense.
This book almost put me in a reading slump. I like complicated books, I like smart characters, I like stories that make me think. This tried to be that, but was none of it.
I was intrigued by the premise but not sure if this captured me enough to continue the series. I like the idea of story and the characters all seem to have the potential to be interesting, but I don't think feel connected enough to any of them to really want to keep reading.
The premise of a secret society where only a few of the most talented magic people in the world can get in every couple years, but there's a dark twist sounds really good and I was very hopeful, but the worldbuilding feels very surface level, we don't really get to know anything in this book and the magic is more a plot-device than anything else. The ending felt a bit anti-climatic because I didn't feel like anything important happened in the year they had at the society or that I knew enough about the world (or that the characters did) to really know where this series is going, there's some hints, but nothing that really captured me.
The characters also didn't feel like they had any development, maybe switching between 6 different POV's didn't help, but I don't think that was the only problem. Even when it seemed like there was some growth/change in a character or a relationship it soon regressed or appeared to not have happened at all, they're all kinda the same as at the beginning of the book.
Overall I'm a bit disappointed, maybe I'll try the next one, depending on the reviews and if the things I didn't like seem to improve in that one, we'll see...
I loved the different characters and the plot. There was not a lot of world-building, but I truly enjoyed it. Each character was different in so many ways and so well written.
The last 7% was WILD! THE PLOT TWIST WAS IMPECCABLE!
It was all right, but nothing special. The writing style was fine in my opinion; it was easy and quite pleasant to read. The main problem I had with this book was that I wasn't able to suspend my disbelief. I constantly questioned the characters' motivations and the plausibility of the imagined world. If I were physically able to raise my eyebrow, it would have been raised at least a dozen times. I didn't expect the ending as it was, but it wasn't satisfying. At least the characters were mildly interesting. In my mind, the book had the potential to explore more of the psychological side of the story. It did some exploring, but ultimately, it was mostly uninspired and unsatisfying.
Nope
Fake deep, pop philosophy nonsense.
The only reason to finish this book is the gimmick that one of the 6 dumdums dies, I was secretly hoping a roof would cave in ridding us of the dull lot.
This was amazing and I don't think I've been this excited about a series since I was a teenager. I loved everything about it, but especially how complex the characters were (I love imperfect characters, there's a little bit of everything among the six...from insecure to cocky, anxious to self-assured, righteous to morally grey...there's a full scope of personalities and emotions going on that constantly keep evolving according to the circumstances they're put under...it was really delightful to read). I was also surprised at how unpredictable I found some turns of events to be...which - as someone who reads a lot - doesn't happen very often. I'm so glad I ignored other people's reviews and just trusted my gut on this. AND that the final book comes out this month so I can jump right into the second one and not have to wait an eternity to find out how it all ends once I'm done with that one too. Fingers crossed that the next ones are as good (or better)!
Sometimes you read a book, and you just realise the author had to be a writer. Because how could you live with such beautiful prose inside you and not write them down. The further I got into the book, the more I came to connect to and understand the characters. At the same time, the characters come to understand more about themselves and each other, and there is a connection in this. Every Sentence is quotable and without knowing who said it, you can make an educated guess.
I'm not quite sure I understand the hype for this book. Was it good? yes. Was it amazing? No.
I found the characters poorly conceived and difficult to tell apart - and I didn't care about any of them, I found the story a little predictable and I have no great urge to get the next one
DNF at 54%.
Why I DNFd:
- Boring - How can an author make a dark academia story about he library of Alexandria boring? This is an achievement in and of itself. There was no atmosphere and no gripping mystery. I am losing my inspiration to live just thinking about this book.
- Pretentious writing style - the author is writing like I did in high school - all full of imaginary wit and ignorant revelations. It's kitschy and stale.
- Empty and annoying characters - pompous fools, who wouldn't stop bitching and moaning about the weight of all the magnificent gifts they were imbued with. Don't you just love it when a bunch of self-centered pseudo intellectual elitists, who haven't had to cook a single meal on their own, wax poetically about the woes of capitalism and oppression, even while scrunching up their noses at everyone who isn't them, because they're so much better? We have the unintentional irony of the most pretentious characters I have ever seen bemoaning “high society” whilst being the epitome of it. Yeah, I hope you enjoy that if you're planning to read this book.
Once again, Olivie Blake has demonstrated a profound lack of awareness, relatability and ,sadly, skill.
God, the second half was so good. I think Callum is such a fantastic fucking character, and I really need more of that psychopath. His and Tristan's dynamic is just chef's kiss.
If Christopher Nolan could write books this would be it — absolutely insane. Insanely good.