I had really high hopes going into this one. Dark academia, unique magic systems, multiple POVs and a found family vibe? Sign me up.

It didn’t quite live up to that for me, unfortunately. It took me a long while to begin liking any of the characters (except Nico who had my heart from the beginning) and I really didn’t care about the plot for ages. Once it kicked off I did find myself enjoying it. I really enjoyed the magic in this, I loved learning more about the characters and the society. I will definitely be reading the sequel but my expectations will just be a little lower.

Can't wait for the next one!

Heard a lot about this book and after reading it I can understand the hype. I'm excited to see what comes. The first was an excellent introduction to the world and the characters and should line up to be a really good series.

4.5 Stars

I was first drawn to The Atlas Six by the blurb: secret society, magicians, competition, dark academia… I was in. And I wasn’t disappointed. The pace is a bit slow sometimes, but the plot is gripping, characters-focused, and intense, and the characters are intriguing, well-written, and well-developed, although not always very likable.

Every ten years, six people are chosen to attend the Alexandrian society and discover its secrets. The six people chosen are talented magicians, the best of the best. For one year, they live together inside the society where they study and research, but they can’t tell anyone outside of the society where they are or what they are doing. At the end of the one-year period, they will have to choose one of them to eliminate. The remaining five will have power, wealth, and prestige.

Atlas Blakely is the curator of the Alexandrian society and he’s chosen six unique magicians. Nico de Varona and Libby Rhodes have been rivals all through college and they both have the power to manipulate the elements. While Nico is witty, charming, and easy-going, Libby is more sensitive and direct and eager to fit in the society. Reina Mori is a naturalist and she is a character that remains a bit of mystery. She keeps mostly to herself, apart from training with Nico, so I look forward to reading more about her in the next book. Parisa Kamali is a telepath, she can read people’s minds and she uses her power to her advantage. She is a character with many layers and I honestly haven’t decided yet if I like her or not. Tristan Caine can see illusions. He’s left behind a life of promised wealth and betrayal to enter the society, but he’s struggling and he’s not sure about his role in it. Callum Nova is an empath, meaning he can manipulate people’s emotions which he has no trouble doing. So far, he is the character that I like less because I don’t trust him, but I think and hope there is more to him than what we have read so far.

The six of them are supposed to work together as a team, but alliances and loyalties are formed and switched because, in the end, one of them will have to be eliminated. The story is told from each character’s point of view so we know that each of them is keeping secrets from the others and has their own reason to attend the Alexandrian society, beside the promise of prestige and power.

The story ends with a cliffhanger and lots of suspense so I am really looking forward to reading the sequel, The Atlas Paradox, to see what happens next.

“The problem with knowledge, is its inexhaustible craving. the more of it you have, the less you feel you know."

The Atlas Six is an exposition of what six individuals do when offered knowledge beyond most people's grasp and a promise of power beyond comparison. The story starts out with these six uniquely gifted individuals being offered, essentially, the hidden world: the entire catalog of the Great Library of Alexandria, filled with lost knowledge from ancient civilizations. The Alexandrian Society is an elite secret society in which these super-powered people have to compete to become initiated as only five members out of the six are ushered into the Society. Queue the rivalries, betrayals, friendships, seductions, and everything in between.

This book is a slow burn, to be sure. It’s heady, a bit cerebral, and philosophical. To me, this is like The Secret History meets Vita Nostra (highly underrated, read it if you liked this book) meets The Magicians. It's character-driven while the actual plot moves along like a turtle racing to the finish line. That being said, I really enjoyed it. Once I realized that it was very much a character story, a story of questions without many answers, I started to get more and more into it. Though I will say that I feel that there is not much character development in this story... yet. I think it started to go in that direction later in the second half, but I did not feel that each character had grown a ton. Each character is unique and complex even without further development. They each have their own secrets and motivations, and I would say that they are all morally grey in a way, and it does intrigue me to see where they are going with their arcs. I can't say I disliked anyone fully! Olivie Blake has a knack for making you sympathize with every character even when making distasteful decisions. The characters orbit around each other, and I think this is the type of book where almost anyone could end up with anyone, or no one, or hell, even all together (basically it’s very “shippable,” and this is why I feel a strong comparison to The Magicians), but it's undeniable that they all become deeply connected throughout their time together. The character dynamics are interesting, to say the least.

“We are the gods of our own universes, aren’t we? Destructive ones.”

I enjoyed the discussions on morality, mortality, and whether knowledge should be shared and not coveted (especially by the ultra-elite)--I think these themes were among the strongest in the book. The writing is quite beautiful, as well. Blake writes with ease, discussing concepts that are labyrinthine, yet it flowed easily. I really can't say that I would have liked this book as much if not for Blake's style of writing.

"No one here is good. Knowledge is carnage. You can’t have it without sacrifice."

The story itself grows more and more tense and suspenseful as it goes on as more hidden agendas are revealed. There are a few twists and turns and one, in particular, that was very fun. The last 50 or so pages are superb and left me feeling dizzy and extremely ready for the next installment. 4 stars! I will be reading more of Blake’s work.

Easily one of my top 5 books of the year, it was absolutely amazing, and I look forward to recommending it to every. Single. Person.

I absolutely couldn't get into this. I am a fast reader, but this took me days to get to even 30%. And then I had to admit defeat. It felt like a blend of so many other magical stories like the Magicians but without any likable characters. Plus the whole trial by letting everyone try to break in and murder people felt very dumb. I had hoped for more.

This was an ok book, especially when you consider this is a debut novel, but I have to be honest and say I expected more. This was way overhyped for me. I went in with such high expectations so it might be a "me problem" this final rating of the book. I am for sure going to check out more book from this author when they publish.

The book was okay. It read to me like YA, but was tagged adult because it had alcohol & drug use and sex. Good concept, but it was just okay for me.

this book is all vibes, dudes.

i’m definitely not the first to be reviewing olivie blake’s tiktok sensation ’the atlas six’, the book that became so popular that it got purchased for traditional publication based on its indie success. it’s a magical version of ’the secret history’ set in a magical library, where six of the world’s most talented magicians compete for initiation to the elusive alexandrian society. the catch? only five will be initiated, and the other will be eliminated.

this book is beautifully written — blake definitely knows how to craft a story. the descriptions of the society and the library are stunning, and the creation of the magic system is great (though i didn’t entirely understand it, but i think it’s a case of just moving on from the specifics).

i think what this book struggled from was too many flashbacks, and too many character povs. with six different initiates, the book set itself up unable to fully develop them all, and i would have liked more dimension from parisia and reina specifically. as well, a lot of the book had the characters remembering things that happened in the past, which slogged down the present-day plot significantly.

will i read the sequel? maybe. i’m not in a rush to know what happens next.

The Atlas Six is an intense, mind-blowing, adult, dark fantasy book I savored to the last page. I had to read it in the sections it divided out and let those parts process as some of it needs time to be processed in your brain. The Atlas Six is a mix of analyzing how magic works and where it comes from, with a dark backdrop of having to murder someone to survive. I have never read a book like this one; nothing compares to the world-building, the character development, and the analytical thinking involved in this novel. Six unique individuals, two of which are joined at the hip, and a plot that is brewing that you don't even see until the very last few pages. The novel is paced slowly, but if you read the chunks laid out, then I think you enjoy it rather than barreling through it without taking time to process what you have been given. I am very impressed with this first book and can not wait for the sequel.

“The problem with knowledge, is its inexhaustible craving. the more of it you have, the less you feel you know”

Although I am not part of the BookTok community, I heard about the hype of this book there and when I saw it on NetGalley I couldn’t resist requesting it. And let me tell you... in my opinion it is worthy of the hype!
A dystopian world with fantasy mixed in, well constructed and complex, at the beginning a bit hard to understand due to its complexity, but where we gradually submerge until we are completely involved and hooked, dark-academia vibes and a mysterious aura where nothing is what it seems! The characters are equally complex, each with their own peculiarities, which we unravel in layers that seem never to end and that contain constant surprises. We have throughout the narrative the 6 points of view of the main characters (with additional points of view of recurring characters that complement the story and help to better understand the whole at the final chapters of the book), in well structured chapters, that make me think of the Six of Crows duology, I feel that this group is an academic version of my beloved Crows and I couldn't have loved it more. 🤭 But Libby, Nico, Renia, Callum, Parisa and Tristan are constantly fighting against the fate that tries to bring them together, especially when they start to uncover some of the secrets of the society they are the initiate group in... This constant struggle creates interesting dynamics and lots of drama! Who doesn't love a good drama when you're not a part of it? 😂 Alliances are formed and broken, a game of lies and half-truths, a fine line between good and evil. After all who is the real villain of the story? This is an unknown until the real ending of the book, one of the things I loved most about this read. The ending of this book was really WOW! Something I expected but at the same time didn't expect, like a puzzle that I managed to put together some pieces but couldn't figure out what it portrayed, a puzzle that was still quite incomplete and left me with a huge yearning for the second book of this trilogy!
A completely mind-blowing and brilliantly written book that I will recommend again and again!

“We are the gods of our own universes, aren't we? Destructive ones.”

Plot | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of Read | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Quality of Writing | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review to be soon published on my bookstagram account @direadsomebooks!

This book was thrilling. It was dark and mysterious yet fun. I loved how the characters were relatable yet kept us on our toes. They all, I found, had arcs that felt complete and so so satisfying. Over all I really enjoyed this read and cannot wait for the sequel!

Very unique concept for sure. While I felt this book dragged on a bit at times I desperately wanted to finish it to figure out some of the plot twists I knew were inevitably coming. I feel as though this read more like contemporary fiction than fantasy because of the emphasis on conversations and individual thoughts/relationships rather than magic and world building. However, the ENDING??? Unreal. Absolutely fantastic and unpredictable plot twist. I can definitely appreciate the slow burn of this book more having finished it.

4.25/5

I enjoyed this book! I really stepped out of my comfort zone with the Atlas Six, but I had seen it all over the internet so I wanted to give it a go! The writing was sharp, the characters were great and the story flowed so well!! Overall I am happy I stepped outside of my usual zone to read this book and I am curious to know what comes next.

The Atlas Six is the first installment in Olivie Blake's The Atlas series. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book as I only looked at the cover and read the quote "Knowledge is carnage" and I knew I was in.

The Atlas Six is about the Alexandrian Society - a "secret" society of the best and most magical academians in the world. Each decade, a group of the most powerful, most uniquely talented magicians are chosen for initiation. We are introduced to this year's six: Libby and Nico - twin flames, if you will. They share the same talents and skills sets: controlling elementals with their minds; Reina - a naturalist - speaker of life; Parisa - a telepath that has an interesting set of skills she's managed to perfect over the years; Tristan - no illusion can fool this crime king's son; Callum - empath? Illusionist? Possible - Spoiled rich kids - definitely.

This book follows these six pieces of the puzzle for a year as they are allowed into the ever-so-secretive Society Archives where they will use their unique skill sets and attempt to be the best by contributing to the knowledge needed to keep the Alexandrian Society afloat. Six arechosen to begin the journey but only five will make it through to initiation. Just when you think you have it figured out - nope - twists and turns and what the heck's will slap you in the face. I wasn't expecting what I got from this book.

Overall, I will be waiting (not-so) patiently for the second installment later this year 2022.

It is billed as Sci-fi and Fantasy for adults, but I'd actually put this in Young Adult Fantasy. Maturity level was on par with Hunger Games. It was well written, and I enjoyed the multiple perspectives via third person omniscient. Would definitely recommend for high schooler to young adult. One star off for predictability. I'm excited for the next book, though!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the ARC.

Thanks for the opportunity to review, even if I ultimately did not enjoy this book. I was a little worried that this book wouldn’t live up to the hype (I have never seen a book go from indie to a multi book trad pub deal so quickly). But I love magical libraries and secret societies so I figured it would still be fun even if it wasn’t the greatest book I would ever read.

Unfortunately, character-driven fantasy only works if the reader likes the characters in question. And frankly, every one of the Atlas Six is insufferable. From the first page, the characters proceed to be unfailing rude, and utterly convinced of their own self-importance (despite the book giving us no tangible evidence except the author’s word that these are the most talented and special people in existence).

I could have kept reading, but when the characters are mocking and backstabbing each other in pursuit of an undefined goal on page 50 (the world-building is as unsatisfying as the characters), it’s unlikely they’re going to get any better by page 400.

This one kept me interested, but all in all, I wasn't particularly satisfied with the book as a whole. It is hard to get to know so many different characters, and the author does a good job at fleshing most of them out, but there's so much left to be desired as far as character development and plot goes. But it was enjoyable, if a bit gratuitous.

An incredibly complex story, with amazing characters and plot. This book will either grab you and keep you there until you finished or have you questioning everything. Olive Blake is a remarkable talent!

This book is just very cool. The Atlas Six follows six magicians, all of different kinds of magic, as they train for a spot in the Alexandrian Society, led by caretaker Atlas Blakely. The six main characters Libby, Nico, Tristan, Parisa, Callum, and Reina are amazing. They all challenge each other, and their different magics are fascinating! I loved the chemistry of the groups and having all their POVs added so much. It was so cool seeing how their different powers worked together, and I loved the group dynamic and how the smaller relationships panned out. There genuinely wasn’t a character I didn’t want to know more about—although Libby was definitely my favorite. I do wish there was maybe a little more of the magic and some parts felt a little complicated, but there’s so much intrigue in this book, I couldn’t put it down! This dark academia was haunting and dynamic and just fun to read. It felt so original and unique, and I cannot wait for the next one!