4.5*
Thank you to Tor Publishing and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book. I was hooked from chapter one. The dark academia vibes were stellar and I enjoyed the multiple perspective choice. I really enjoyed how developed and thought out each person was. The dystopian society idea was also really interesting. I think the world that was built was really cool and I was asking so many questions because I was so invested. I also liked the exploration on the character's strengths and weaknesses. Their magical capabilities were a big part of the story, but so were their emotions and feelings. This book also involved a lot of mental and emotional manipulation regarding the magic system which I thought was executed fittingly. I definitely understand the hype around this book. There were also a lot of reveals and twists with characters that I couldn't predict and I liked the guessing game. I had a lot of fun reading this and I can't wait to see what will happen in book two.

"The Atlas Six" was already huge on GoodReads and Bookstagram by the time I requested it on NetGalley, not to mention that it was also being published by one of my favourite publishers, Tor Books.

The premise was easily enough to get me very hyped: a secret society, a selection of initiates, each being the very best in their field of magic, a competition, an intrigue, dark academia, books, the pursuit of knowledge and forbidden secrets... Need I say more?

At the beginning I did enjoy the book very much, I was eager to see more, to know more and to understand the characters better. Even if there had been no competition (and I love books and movies where a competition or a game of wits and strategy is going on), the magic would still be enough to get me excited.

At some point, though, I started feeling kind of lost. There were endless explanations of vague ideas which ended up leading nowhere, while the world-building started becoming insufficient as the book went on at it became obvious that nothing more is going to happen, really. The characters continued speaking in their prosaic yet hollow sentences as to the meaning of life and power, while completely dismissing the essence of their entire world. For example, we keep going round and round great cosmic events and how the physical medeians can create things like wormholes and black holes and whatnot, and the energy they would require, or how time can potentially be seen and/or altered, yet not once, not a single time was it explained how casual magic works in this world. The characters kept summoning things to themselves or doing simple every-day things such as closing the door by magic, but this was not referenced or explained at all.

The characters are also the thing I'm most uncertain of. They were legitimately awful assholes for the majority of the time and I am yet to determine if that was done on purpose. Where they supposed to be mean with the intent of making them more humble further on in the series? Or are they not supposed to come off as selfish and arrogant as they did? There were huge gaps between how they saw themselves and how they saw each other, but the theme of power-driven selfishness and total disregard for others persisted. Also, everyone was constantly "using" everyone else, by methods unknown, which only served to make me feel like I'm not exactly getting something, seeing as how it was all said, but none of it was shown or explained.

I would like to see what happens next in the series, however, at the same time, I'm a bit afraid I won't manage to summon enough desire to care for the characters and their stories.

I would still recommend this book to fans of Deadly Education and The Ninth House.

Wow the dark academia vibes are on fire in this book! I enjoyed this book way more than I anticipated.. Seriously book-tok made me download it and I am so glad. I love books with multiple POV and each character is compelling in their own way. There’s a true sense of self in every one of the characters represented and I felt like I knew them all from the very beginning. The writing was out of this world. I haven’t read descriptions as enticing as what Olivie Blake has written in a long time. The story had me at the edge of my seat for the entire time. Some people said the pacing is slow but I enjoyed every moment of it. I would 100% recommend this to anybody interested in fantasy or dark academia. I’m waiting desperately for the sequel to come out!
Thank you to #Netgalley for ARC

I believe this is the first dark academia book I've read, and I enjoyed it.
It took me longer than I thought to finish reading this book but in the end, it was a great reading experience and I understand all the hype this story has.
For me the biggest flaw of this book and the reason it is not 5 stars and its plot, I found the plot itself a little slow and without purpose at times, I thought we spent a lot of time in the book without anything happening, and if If it weren't for the characters (which in my opinion is the best thing about this book) I don't think I would have enjoyed the story as much.
Another thing that I thought could be improved is the construction of the world, I still don't quite understand how things work and how they are.
I think that for you to like this book you have to understand that it is about the characters, that we are going to follow their lives within this society, see their daily lives and their relationships.
As I am a character-driven reader I loved the book, I loved following the story of these 6, even though it got kind of boring in some parts I was very invested in the characters already.
The writing can be a little difficult sometimes but nothing that you won't understand, the academic part of the book is very present and relevant for the story, but I admit that I didn't understand all of it, but enough not to get lost in the story.
The plot twists weren't that hard to discover, apart from maybe the last one, the end of the book is interesting enough that I'm curious to know where this story is going and how the resolution of these characters will be.

I went into this book completely blind. I had no idea what to expect but was pleasantly surprised by magic and science combined to create an absolutely insane story that used every ounce of my brain power just to keep up!

Rating to come- need time to get thoughts gathered.

The Atlas Six follows six magically gifted adults who are invited to join the Alexandrian Society, a secret group who is tasked with keeping the lost knowledge of past civilizations.

With seeing all their point of views, in the beginning specifically, it helped me find something in each of them that I liked, but the second they all met all those feelings crumbled. Each of them hate each other so much it drove me to hate them all as well and I didn’t care about the characters again throughout the book. It felt like all their introductions were a waste of time because you immediately hate them so soon after.

The point of view changes were also too much. I didn’t feel like us readers needed to see every scene from each persons point of view. It made the story drag on so much that I felt that nothing was going to happen in the book at all. Even half way through the book nothing of real importance had happened yet.

I think this book had incredible potential and I still think it was a decent read. I just really wish there wasn’t so much hate towards each character because that really brought down my interest in them all and made it so hard for me to even want to pick up the book. I feel that this is a story for those who are trying to get into the genre of fantasy or for someone who wants a very simple magic system in a book.

One last note, I see some people calling this young adult and I absolutely would not put it into that category. It is much more on the side of adult fantasy/ new adult fantasy.

THE TENSION IS THIS BOOK!! THE DELICIOUS TENSION IS SECOND TO NONE!

This book is everything you've heard and more! The Altas Six blew up online and gained a huge following, and I am over the moon that Olivie Blake is able to share her story on a bigger scale!

The story is the new definition of dark academia. The storytelling was so rich and the voice of the novel is so clear and unique. I thought the multiple POVs was vital to the storytelling. If you haven't read this book yet, PLEASE do yourself the favour and grab it ASAP (out March 1st).

I received this as an ARC from Tor. I somehow hadn't heard of this book prior to seeing in pop up on my social media feeds as coming out soon. So, I went in as someone with no expectations for this book. :)

I was intrigued by the mystery of the offer to the candidates and the reveal of the "Atlas Six". Six young magical prodigies put together to vie for entrance to the Society, the protectors of the Library of Alexandria and all the knowledge and information accumulated there. Learning about the individuals bit by bit, and discovering their magical areas of expertise through their eyes and the eyes of their compatriots was fun. I really enjoyed the interplay between them as they sought to work together in their learning and experiments, while also vying for prominence and trying to figure out who they can work with or trust. Because as with all offers of information or power, this one comes with a caveat: there are six vying for five spots in the Society. So, they go in knowing that one of their number won't be joining and continuing their studies and access in the future.

I really enjoyed the motivations and interplay between the protagonists and the subtle (and then, later, sudden) twists and turns in relationships among them. I liked the characters and found them to be interesting and still somewhat mysterious even after some of their details and motivations were revealed. It was a fun read, and I am looking forward to reading more!

A tremendous exercise in competition on a level so extreme it can bend the mind. It starts with an introduction by a character you know has few scruples and has learned to isolate his emotions. These young people are given a chance to study original writings and papers from the beginning of transcribed history . The challenge is to survive the year. Six are picked Five will be rewarded. The competition will engage the mind, heart, and will . A glorious novel.

The Atlas Six is about six people with special gifts (magical academians) who were recruited by the Alexandrian Society to become a member of the society who will have a life of wealth and knowledge lost to civilizations. But, out of six people only five will be initiated and one must be eliminated.

World building and magic system is truly intriguing to know about. The combination of science and magic is a great concept that manage to capture my attention.
The dark academia and writing style of this book kinda reminds me to <i>'a deadly education'</i> vibes.

The multiple POV really helps the reader gain insight on what's going on in someone's head. The characters are not entirely the good kind of heroes, but they are considered morally grey characters.
All the characters have different unique gifts and it makes me wonder what are the limits of their gifts because it seems like they can do everything.

The writing style got me confused sometimes that I have to re-read some of the lines a few times. The words used to describe some things are sometimes too complex and verbose which makes it slightly hard to follow.

The first few chapters at the beginning were interesting and even action packed, but after that the pacing turns very slow making the plot feels dragging too. The long pages in one chapter also makes me feel this book longer than it feels like and eventually lost interest slowly.
It was hard for me to get hooked back into the story, because the book is more of a character-driven rather than a plot-driven.

The pacing pick up a bit near the ending which surprised me with that small unexpected twist at the end. I think I'll be picking up the next book because now I'm itching to know what's going to happen next.

Overall, this book already have a lot of interesting materials which makes it has a potential to become something more. Hopefully as the series go on, more things will get explored.

I have to admit I feel slightly disappointed with how I feel about this book or maybe I just set my expectation too high due to the hype this book has been getting all over Tiktok.

Thank you to Netgalley, Olivia Blake and Tor Books for granting me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Note: Review post on Instagram on March 1st.

This book was amazing! I loved entering the world of the Alexandrian Society and its magicians. I don’t read a lot of Dark Academia but this was perfect for my mood. Each character was so different and I really enjoyed reading the story from each of their points of view. Each character had amazing development in their powers throughout the novel. I loved the wide range of powers and possibilities. There was the right amount of mystery to keep me hooked and guessing! I couldn’t put down this book! The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because some parts were hard to follow along. They were so action packed and quick moving for my liking. I’m really excited to see where the author takes this series!

Going into this book I was sceptical. I'd heard the hype and hyped books and I don't gel lately. So to say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.

Set in a mysterious society that protects the Great Library of Alexandria, six hopefuls have to not only work together together to guard the library, they also have to compete against one another to win a place in the society.

The Atlas Six had all the adult dark academia vibes I'd been craving. Full of magic and secret knowledge it was hard not to be sucked in from the beginning.

Where I think this book really shines is the characters. Each character has a distinctive voice and individually made me cheer them on (well most of them) and then dislike their choices later on. They were complex and had interesting backstories. I also took great pleasure in disliking one character in particular.

While I think some pacing could be improved and there were some minor things that annoyed me, overall I had a great time! I'm so glad I got a pretty edition and I can't wait for the sequel.

4 stars!

Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

a fun read! fantasy, mystery, dark academia.

6 powerful magicians are picked as initiates for a secret society of magical academics. these magicians are brilliant, sometimes unlikable (but lovable?), and diverse. it took a bit to fully draw me in, but once it did i didn't want to put it down - and the dark mystery of it all was so interesting and such a fun addition to the fantasy world!

i got a NetGalley ARC of the traditionally published edition - which was possible because it went viral on TikTok after being self-published! love that.

If someone had have told me from the get go that this book was based on the Library of Alexandria surviving and a secret society protecting it, I would have delved in the moment it was first released! I love the academia side of the book, the snark of the characters, and the world building was fantastic. There were a few points I felt let the story down, just some lulls that could have easily been either completely taken out, or rewritten to only be a couple of passages instead of convoluted whole chapters. I did feel it was a little predictable but the characters were so engaging I was happy to overlook the fact that I guessed each plot point as the story progressed. All in all a very enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to book two! If you enjoy dark academia and fantasy books definitely give this story a go.

Dark Academia at its finest, following six of the most talented and promising young magicians invited to expand the boundaries of known knowledge at the grace of a secret society, while combating clashing interpersonal dynamics and a potentially deadly secret. The Atlas Six is a masterpiece in the budding dark academia sub-genre.

For anyone who’s just now hearing of this book, The Atlas Six will be a very polarising read. Do you enjoy people sitting in a room discussing at length magical metaphysics, the relation of thought, dreamscapes, and time, and pretentious waxing of the aforementioned subjects? (This is dark academia, after all). If the answer is yes to any of the above, this book is absolutely for you.

First and foremost, what absolutely has to be praised in this book are the vibes. I’ve never read anything like it. This is academia at its most romanticized. Pages and pages of dark academia moodboards, with their dim lighting, old European architecture and libraries, research by candlelight and academic vintage fashion cannot compare to the sheer atmosphere Blake has created. As an Ivy student, I finished this book then headed to the library to study with a spring in my step, fueled entirely by the energy in this book.

And of course, there’s the characters that populate this small intimate world of six. Libby and Nico, physicists and academic rivals, Reina, naturalist masquerading as a classicist, Parisa, telepath and seductress, Tristan, illusionist who sees through all, and Callum, empath and man with negative ambition. It’s hard to describe these characters because Blake does such a phenomenal job exploring their facets, their little details and tics through alternating POV chapters. Even my most-disliked characters, Libby (author-insert) and Parisa (girlboss slogan generator), I can only somewhat criticize because they’re impossible to describe in a single label. My one (very biased) complaint is that I wish Callum would have gotten more screen time. That being said, I’m praying he does not miraculously discover morals. You’re perfect the way you are Callum.

Surprisingly, I only realized after I’d finished the book and read through some my friend’s GR reviews how minimal the plot really is. And that’s a perfectly good thing. The academic research comes in so sharply here, with the various pursuits of interest and ideas, critique and brainstorming. And in between it all is the almost sensual interpersonal dynamics between the characters, fueled by alcohol and mutual interests. While we get hints of it, only towards the end do we, and the characters, really learn about the rumored ‘elimination’ process at the end of year one.

I’d read the self-pub version earlier this January so while I can’t say exactly, I have a strong impression of the original work. Most importantly, my two main criticisms were the pacing, which dragged in the middle and rushed at the end, and the unearned pretentiousness of the prose that took up much of the latter half. I really have to hand it to Tor’s editing team because neither complaint exists anymore. The pacing of this version feels so much more consistent and the pretentiousness is placed correctly, for maximum dark academia effect. From the word counts, about an extra 10k was added.

Overall, I rate this book a 4.5/5. An absolute triumph in the dark academia sub-genre and just an amazing book all around. Phenomenal characters, absolutely delicious character interplay, and a delightful amount of metaphysical postulating. Just stunning.

(4.5 rounded up to a 5)

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake is a multi-POV paranormal/fantasy. The eBook version is 383 pages. I was surprised to know that this was Blake's debut novel! This version, put out by Tor Books, has been revised and edited for additional content.

Every ten years, The Alexandrian Society (think: the caretakers of the Library of Alexandria) select the six most talented magicians to be considered for initiation. Atlas Blakely is the current caretaker. The six chosen individuals have one year to qualify for their initiation while they learn about time and space, luck and thought, and life and death. Only five will be initiated. One will be eliminated.

I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters are quite diverse, as they are selected across the whole globe. I also appreciated the casual queerness sprinkled throughout the book.

I mentioned before that this book was multi-POV, and head's up that there are some character perspectives who aren't really likeable for various reasons.

Tropes in this book include: dark academia, secret societies, magic

CW: violence, explorations of trauma

I LOVED this NA dark academia fantasy. It gave off similar vibes to books like Ninth House and The Raven Boys. I thoroughly enjoyed the wry, cynical, intellectual tone of the writing. The scientific magic system was fascinating, but it requires extra brain power (this is not a good bedtime book). While it took me a bit to settle into the story and keep track of the characters, I grew to appreciate their diversity, uniqueness, and moral grayness. I still have so many questions about magic in this world outside of The Alexandrian Society.

That being said, if you do not like character-driven stories, The Atlas Six will not be for you. Almost the entire plot of this 470-page book can be gleaned from the synopsis: the world’s six most powerful young magicians (medeians) are recruited to join a secret society. At the end of a year, only five will be initiated. They study magic. They improve at magic. They interact with each other. It’s all very mysterious.

The story developed slowly but steadily, with the characters learning more and more about themselves, the true potential of their magic, and what it truly means to be a member of The Alexandrian Society. Just when I thought I knew how this story was going to end, some twists at the end completely blew me away and left me so impatient for book two.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

One of those books that, for me, didn't live up to the hype. I can certainly see why it's popular: queer characters, winding writing style, ambiguous magic school, "dark academia" vibes, but I didn't find it very successful in the details.

The characters are stagnant throughout the book; certainly they have conversations, but mostly meandering pseudo-intellectual ones that don't advance the story and mostly exist to sound clever. The relationships end exactly where they start, essentially. The only intriguing dynamic is whatever Nico and his friend Gideon have going on.

Speaking of Nico...the magic system could've used some more work. The magic users in this book have certain specialties that they don't generally venture out of, except for one character, who is able to perform magic deeply outside of his assigned class. The only explanation given is that it exhausts him to do so but like...I needed more information there!

Another thing is the setting. In a truly unusual feat for a book marketed as dark academia, the descriptions were really lacking. They have studies, I guess? They sure talk about the nature of time a hell of a lot, but I have no idea where they live. They are all arguing with each other in vague liminal spaces for essentially the whole book. The same arguments over and over.

Also with six POVs there are going to be some characters that get more attention than others, but it was especially egregious in this one.

So, I don't know! I'll probably pick up the next book in the series to see if it has the answers I want, but this one didn't grab me like it did everyone else it seems, which is a shame! It has a lot of elements I usually love in a story.

Okay, I'm not going to lie, the first 40% bored me too much. Kind of, it made me sleepy, and I felt like it was too pretentious with the way it was written. It wasn't bad, it just said like STOP TALKING SO MUCH AND DO SOMETHING. But after 40% so much happens, and the author takes that way of writing and turns it into something VERY SHOCKING. She still keeps a lot of scenes where they talk more than they act, and that kept causing me conflict, but it definitely improves the pacing of the story a lot and manages to develop the elements that they tell you so much about from the beginning.

The elements I'm talking about are plenty: the magic there is not at all simple, there are many types, and each type has its particularities. One thing the author manages to do is that, while she leaves some loose threads that I imagine she will seek to resolve in the second book (like the things that some characters still don't discover about themselves), she manages to explain almost entirely how things work and the powers of the characters. Both points are related, really, because we discover their powers and the extent of their powers with them, so we can't find out more with the characters. But hey, the thing is, what he explains he does very well. I thought at the end of the book I was going to be left with a lot of doubt and I mean, yes, but at the same time no, because she explains and achieves a closure that leaves a window open for a sequel. I think it's beautifully done.

But if I have to mention something about this story is that it revolves very much around the characters. The story goes where they go, and advances according to what they discover or feel. That's very clear from the beginning and from the fact that each chapter is narrated by a different character. But I love how each character is more than one thing. The author gives them a lot of dimensionality, as we know their pasts and their presents, but still, we don't know everything about them. They are all very unique, so they complement each other perfectly, even the ones you dislike. Now, I want to say that the sexual tension between all the characters is VERY STRONG, including those who aren't main characters (Gideon, I'm looking at you). Seriously, everyone wants with everyone. Loved that.

My favorite is Parisa, and I loved Tristan a lot too although I need to be told more about him. Libby I liked but I need her to develop her powers well next book, PLEASE.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

I loved this book intensely. I'm a huge fan of dark academia as a subgenre of fiction and have been aware of Olivie Blake ever since she became incredibly popular on social media. I'm lucky enough to have a copy of the first ever edition. There are a few differences between the traditional- and self-published versions, namely in the details of the characters. The illustrations are also different, and I feel that the personalizations by Little Chmura makes the characters seem so much more tangible.

Now on to the fun stuff: plot! There still isn't much. I've described this book to friends as about 90% self-indulgent characters and fantasy and 10% of active plot. While I'm more of a plot-driven reader, I still quite enjoyed the book as soon as I stopped wanting it to be something that it wasn't. There are some slower parts, yes, but The Atlas Six is very much a slow unraveling rather than the quick then slow then quick again beats of works like Ninth House and Gideon the Ninth. As someone who lives and breathes the dark academia subculture, I LOVE how self-indulgent it is. This book, while others can surely read and enjoy it, is best appreciated by people who think the way Olivie does. About 3/4 of the way through, the plot picks up--to the point where I was SHOCKED and ANXIOUS about what was going to happen next.

In terms of characters, these are the ones that are best suited for fandoms. They're dynamic and the way that Olivie explores their wants and wishes sets them to be plucked up by minds who revere and need them. Each character is unique and distinguishable from the others. Throw in some of the best quotable descriptions and dialogue, and you've got yourself another book on your favorites shelf.

I did feel at times that the author was trying a little too hard to hit those dark academic beats (the book reads very pretentious at times, which is usually fine, but this was almost overly so). But it was mainly enjoyable and easy to follow (as long as you have what I think is a beginner to intermediate grasp of history, mythology, and basic physics; there are few throwaways, but context clues help and ultimately, they're references and therefore unimportant; these details are more appreciative).

I cannot wait for the sequel (and for once, the wait time isn't torturous)!!