Thank you so much, NetGalley, Pan Macmillan, Tor, for the chance to read and review one of my most anticipated release of 2022 in exchange of an honest review.

"Knowledge is carnage"

Six best magicians are chosen to join the secretive Alexandrian society, whose custodian guards all the lost knowledge from ancient civilizations. Saying yes is easy for the six chosen, brilliant and competitive. Six invited, to fill five places.
Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona are inseparable enemies, cosmologists able to control matter with their minds, Parisa Kamali is a talented telepath, using her power and seduction to get what she wants, Reina Mori is a brilliant naturalist, able to perceive and understand the flow of life, Callum Nova is a cynic empath, able to manipulate others' feelings and Tristan Caine possesses a power he doesn't understand either. Following their recruiter Atlas Blakely, their travel to the Alexandrian Society's London headquarters, where they will study and research, learn and discover, proving themself to each other and themselves, while growing their own power. Will they survive? Or will most of them? In a game of power, secrets, betrayals and seduction, Libby, Nico, Parisa, Callum, Reina and Tristan will discover things about power and magic, science and history and the cruel secrets of the world around them.

The Atlas six is definitely one of the best book I've read in a very long time. It's a compelling and brilliant fantasy, set in a world where magic and magicians, called medeians, exist, in an, almost, alternative reality. When six brilliant and competitive medeians are chosen to be part of a secret Society a new world is revealed, full of mysteries, studies, dangers and powers. The story is told by six different POVs and the reader is able to understand and know each character.
Libby with her anxiety and questions, Nico with his own goals and friends to protect, Parisa with her past and goals, Reina with her quiet attitude and desire to learn and discover, Tristan with his cynism and way to see the world around him and Callum with his power and ideas. In a very dangerous and competitive enviroment they will bond, create alliances, break them, be suspicious of, afraid and mistrusting one other, while learning, researching and discovering more and more about their powers and how to use them.

In a intriguing setting, a library filled with all the knowledge of the world, Libby, Nico, Reina, Parisa, Tristan and Callum will face questions, dangers, each others' secrets and goals, in a beautiful and compelling learning enviroment. The mix of magic and science, their philosophical questions and discussions, while learning how to use their power, changing time and space and the world around them is really well written and interesting and I love how it mixes with seduction, desires, secrets and their own different pasts and goals.
Each character is skillfully written and they grow immensely in this book, both separately and in relation with one other, in mistrusting alliances, weird, expected and curious ones. They are very different from one other, regarding their own private goals and desires and temperamentally. One of the bond I loved the most is the one between Libby and Nico and how they grow from enemies to tentative allies and, maybe, more.
This book blew my mind and it absolutely one of my best read in a very long time, leaving with more questions and desires and I can't wait to know what will happen next!
I

This book promises so much. Dark Academia, The library of Alexandria, lost knowledge, magic and forbidden magic, mystery and secret societies. But unfortunately for me it fell so, so flat.

All the characters, apart from maybe Reina but she was a mere afterthought to the author, are insanely annoying, flat and asinine. Let start with Libby - her whole personality ( and kind of a plot point) revolves around her being super “anxious” and “flightly” though from what I can tell her only presentation of anxiety is she plays with her hair , and get this - she chews her lips ! Such severe anxiety. Also our introduction to her character involves a three page rant about how amazing and perfect she is.

“If not for him she might have breezed through her studies, perhaps even found them dull. She would not have had a rival, nor even a peer. “

Not someone who strikes you as unsure of herself.

You then have Nico who has no other purpose apart from annoying and protecting Libby ?

Parisa who is a hot empowered woman who owns being a sex worker … except there’s nothing else to her character apart from that and daddy issues.

Callum who’s just a bastard - but that’s it. The author clearly had some favourite characters and with Callum they basically drew a stick figure and wrote “bad man villain” under it.

Reina - I wish she had been a more thought out character but unfortunately she wasn’t - she had a really interesting type of magic and was the only kind of likeable character but again the author just left her as a stick figure with a plant pot

The setting itself was again severely underwhelming - in the intro and prologue you are promised the literal magical library of Alexandria. I’m thinking interesting piece of North African and Middle Eastern culture and knowledge, cool ass underground crypts and dusty library corridors.

Nope, we are stuck in a boring mansion near London. The library is operated by pneumatic tubes, no shelves books, archives and cool atmospheric corners. Just a reading room - not that much reading was done ? From what I saw all of them spent most of the time either having sex with each other or freaking each other out. There was very few big searches for knowledge or epiphanies happening and when they did they were just ignored for some petty drama between characters.

I feel like there was such a great opportunity to have loads of diversity and explore sources of knowledge outside of a purely westernised point of view but everything just felt so false. No one seemed passionate about knowledge or anything apart from their egos

Most of the science and knowledge discussed was also highly westernised - again we are promised the library of Alexandria here. It would have been a great opportunity to include some of the great philosophers, physicists and mathematicians from Asia and the Middle East rather than the predominantly European figures I am sure we have all heard of before.

Though pieces of academia was seen throughout, all of it was classist, institutionalist and elitist. The author did vaguely mention how Libby had to work hard because she did not come from a rich or influential family - but this did not have any effect on her character besides that one mention and it was not mentioned again.

It felt like that 90% of the book was genuinely pointless - in that 90% there are no scenes that effect the actual plot or character, literally nothing apart from weird tension and angst between characters and even that gets extremely dull after awhile.

The writing itself mostly felt like that person in a lecture that everyone - including the professor - hates because they sit at the front and constantly ask wordy, pointless questions that they invariably answer themselves and basically end up paraphrasing what the lecturer just said except in a completely convoluted way.

Essentially this book was a humungous let down for me - there was so much promise in the premise but genuinely nothing else.

This book is being hyped everywhere and will sell like hotcakes and nothing I say will influence that. I feel compelled to be honest whilst remaining diplomatic however as this is a book reviewing platform for readers to give their honest feedback so all I will say is that I'm surprised that this is an adult novel as it felt very juvenile. I thought the writing in general was extremely poor to the extent that I was constantly distracted by it and I think it could do with some significant edits. The story was ok but I wasn't able to get anything out of it due to the other issues I had with it.

Review not posted anywhere else.

4.5 stars
This is a book that probably needs no introduction by now (given how much hype it’s recieved in the past year) so when I heard it was being traditionally published I jumped at the change to read and e-arc version of the new edition. And despite all the hype, this deliciously cerebral dark academia was actually really good.

It follows six of the world’s best young magicians as they are invited to The Alexandrian Society, a secret society of academicians—whose members are the caretakers of lost knowledge from some of the greatest ancient civilisations (a.k.a the not really lost but hidden Library of Alexandria.) All who earn a place will secure a life of wealth, power and prestige beyond their wildest dreams.

When recruited, they’re told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation, during which they’ll be permitted access to the society’s archives and judged on their innate magical abilities—But only five will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves the best they will survive. Most of them, anyway.

It’s a wonderfully complex and character driven story that I really enjoyed. The cast of morally grey characters were utterly addictive to behold. I couldn’t help but bask in the personalities,insecurities and backstories that Olivie Blake has expertly crafted—honestly the Machiavelli-level schemes and alliances were an emotional rollercoaster I’m glad to have experienced. Though I do warn there’s a lot of academically and Science based jargon that may get a bit confusing if you don’t concentrate.

I have to admit one of my fave characters was Libby, the perpetual worrier, people pleaser and least morally grey of the bunch that I gravitated to almost instantly. I really liked Nico and Tristan as well. Parisa did grow on me despite being rather unlikeable at first but she’s definitely one of the best developed, morally grey characters I’ve ever encountered and I’m intrigued to see what she’ll do next.

I Loved the magic system which was incredible, honestly it’s super interesting—I also loved how different each character’s magic was and how cohesively they were able to combine them, I’m guessing this will be explored more in book 2 and I cannot wait to see how it will manifest.

Overall this was an incredibly entertaining, insatiably complex and plot twisty fantasy that I definitely recommend to dark academia lovers, however the pace can be a little slow at times (though the drama that unfolds is more than worth it.)

Also thanks to Tor and Netgalley for the e-arc.

4/5
This book took me on a ride !!
First of all, the writing is absolutely beautiful. It’s so elaborate and complex and incredibly stunning. So many passages of description and lines of dialogue had me speechless, drooling at the mouth at their beauty.
The characters are amazingly written. Each and every one of them (literally every single one of them) is so complex and varied. They have unique motivations that both entwine and contradict the others, which makes for extremely compelling character dynamics and conversations.
I adored the immense variations of character couplings (not even romantically/sexually but just in the varied conversations between characters and how they connect.)
My favourite character was Nico, but Parisa was a close second !! They’re both so vibrant and exciting, interesting people. I also absolutely adored Nico and Gideon’s relationship (they squeezed my heart between their fists!!)
Dive into this world of magic, betrayal, knowledge, hunger, lies, lust and deception. It’s one hell of a ride!
My absolute favourite passage was; ‘But she still loves me differently; falsely. She loves me because I put it there. Because I made myself her anchor to this life, and therefore she loves me only as much as she can love any sort of chain. She loves me like a prisoner of war.’

The Atlas Six is a book that lives up to the hype. It’s magical, devious and tinged with darkness.

It is no secret that I adore Dark Academia and The Atlas Six has been on my radar for a while, so imagine my delight when they announce it will be traditionally published and I manage to snag an eARC. I went in with very high expectations and I am thrilled to say it lived up to them.

The entire setting and premise of this book is so cleverly done. I really enjoyed trying to work out all of the secrets and with the constant changing of narrative voice, I was thrown for a loop several times. It is a place shrouded in mystery and layers upon layers of hidden truths. This made for a fascinating reading experience, as you try to piece together everything before the characters do.

Speaking of the characters, I was intrigued by them all. They’re viciously ambitious and willing to do anything to get ahead. The entire book is a masterclass in manipulation and betrayal, with alliances being formed and broken and plenty of backstabbing. It was like a complex chess game, with every player hiding something about their motivations or true extents of their powers. Blake’s magic system was so original and fun to read about, with these powers just being absolutely fascinating and brilliantly described. The variety and the way they interacted with different scientific fields allowed for that blend of reality and fantasy in a way that blew my mind.

All of this creates such tension and atmosphere that only builds. As it drew nearer to the conclusion, I found myself unwilling to turn the page as I didn’t want to let go of this world. The ending was so well-executed and leaves a lot of mesmerising potential open to be explored in the next book. It’s the type of ending that genuinely leaves you wanting more immediately.

The Atlas Six is a loaded gun of a book, ready to blow you away with its originality and thrilling twists.

This is a massively hyped book, but it just could not engage me.

I didn't care about any of the characters, who simply came across as horrible, unlikeable people out for their own gain and that was it. They felt so one dimensional, without a reason for me to root for them to win. Powerful people without humanising aspects don't interest me, all either revelling in their power/wanting to beat others because competitive or not interested in their power. We have:

- The two bickering enemies who are probably being set up for an enemies-to-lovers type romance, and yet have no chemistry and their entire motivation basically boils down to "beat the other" (with a side helping of "maybe there should be something else to motivate them but let's not really dig into that")
- The seductress who literally thinks of nothing else
- An Illusionist and sees-through-illusions-ist who I could not tell apart (one rich boy and one wannabe rich boy)
- A botanist who talks about not wanting to use her power but then immediately does

The other issue was that there were no stakes. Oh, it mentions "only five of you six will make it", but because I didn't care about the characters, that has no weight to it. It also doesn't explicitly say at the start whether one of them will die or just be sent home - and the characters assume it's the latter, so it lacks any real consequence.

Instead, it just plods along trying to establish the characters and get them into a place without endearing them or setting up much inter-character tension between the two enemies.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC of "The Atlas Six" by Olivie Blake.

This book was a whirlwind in a good way. The characters well amazing and so developed. Even the characters I disliked I ended up loving. The plot twists were unexpected and it is one of those books you got to stare at a blank wall afterwards. It was amazing.

The Atlas Six thrives off character and conflict, and enjoyment will depend on the story selling you on that. For me, I was won over by the pure toxic psychology that fills the stories of these characters, but I was not sold on what comes with it. Everything just feels a touch overdone: the smooth and stylish prose can nevertheless get a little tangled, as can the structure, which bounces around from moment to moment, and some of the dialogue feels a bit overstaged (with so many comebacks and a lot of philosophising). I was content enough with those aspects, though, thinking that the world and characters had a lot of potential to be built on, but the end was just a step too far for me. We get a disorientating amount of information in an attempt to provide twists, but I actually found the slower, more atmospheric story we already had much more sophisticated and satisfying. It's a real shame, as this is undeniably a well-imagined and well-written work that I did undoubtedly enjoy, but it feels like it got carried away - nevertheless, I'm interested in seeing whether the next book can bring things together a little neater and make the most of the complex psyches on display.

I'm so happy to say this was exactly what I was looking for! I had high hopes for this book and they were met, that's for sure. I loved the set of characters, every single one of them has their own strengths and weaknesses and they are all interesting in their own way. Moreover, I truly feel like they work well together. There were definitely people who played a more active role in the storyline and that's why I'd like to see even the ones who were a bit more on the sidelines taking part more in the next book. The dynamics of these people have changed a lot throughout the book and I have a feeling they will change again as the story progresses, I'm ready to see alliances and backstabbing, that's what I'm here for.
I think the Atlas Six was good, though at times it was a little hard to follow. The world-building was a bit confusing at the start, as it feels like we are just supposed to know what it going on. Towards the end of the book, because there was so much going on, I couldn't follow every single thing that was going on.
I will say that the ending for me - literally the final two or three chapters - fell a little bit flat for me, largely because I saw the key aspect of it coming. And this, in itself, was due to the one thing I would fault about this book - a repetition when it came to the character descriptions. At first, I only saw this as slightly tedious in the way certain traits kept being brought back up, but then I clocked on to a phrase that kept being mentioned that made me suspicious and was ultimately right. I’m not the sort to actively try and guess the way a story would go and quite often it all goes over my head, so I’m quite surprised I caught it quite so accurately in the end.

I will often include reflections of my own writing and experience when reviewing books because all reviews are subjective and it allows you, my reader, to see how and why I perceive certain books the way that I do. For example, why do I hate adverbs? Because my lecturers coached me out of overusing adverbs. When a group of people are constantly pointing them out to you, they can’t really be unseen. Sure, I’ve used them several times since this review began - but would you have noticed them if I hadn’t mentioned it? Some writing rules are made to be broken; no, you shouldn’t only write about what you know. What a boring industry this would be if we did. No, the plot doesn’t have to be linear, or conclude, or even exist. Depending on how well you write it.

And the reason I’m starting this review with that clarification is because The Atlas Six is - for me - a mediocre book. It does quite a few things the writer in me perceives as ‘wrong’, but is overall an enjoyable read that the reader in me appreciates. It falls squarely in the 2.5/3 star category for me. So, as I go through each individual element of this book, I need you to imagine that the two wolves fighting inside me are the writer and the reader. One who is looking for imperfections/perfections/literary and language techniques/structure and delivery. And the other looking for a good time, and a book I can recommend to others.

Would I recommend The Atlas Six?

I enjoy a character-driven book, which was what this book is. Each character gets a chapter or two behind their perspective, exploring their motivations, their actions, their thoughts and their history. A lot of the dialogue can seem convoluted, and physical descriptions of the characters barely exist - but there’s a lot of room for the reader to put their own context and perceptions on these characters, and I appreciate that flexibility. I don’t have to know what a character looks like from their toes to their freckles to believe them. And the morally grey motivations these characters have invested in was enough for me to invest in them. However, if you’re not interested in listening to these characters wax lyrical about philosophy, they can seem a bit dry and two dimensional. You have to be invested in them and their subtext, which can be hard for a reader to do when there are so many of them. I enjoyed the more unlikeable characters such as Nico and Callum. The darker sides of their personalities is what I enjoy about Dark Academia in general (give me that twisty, snarky malice every day please), and I certainly preferred them to the quiet, more subdued characters of Libby and Reina.

If you’re looking for a plot, I don’t know what to tell you. There isn’t one. Similarly to Catherine House (a book I adored btw), most of the narrative is at the beginning and end of the book, with just enough drama to link into the next book. (I believe this is going to become a duology?) It meant that, often, the pacing was slow. And, as I said above, if you’re not interested in listening to the characters talk ad nauseam, without acting, then no - I can’t recommend this book to you.

As far as the ‘Dark Academia’ description, I was disappointed there too. In my mind, this was going to be an ‘If We Were Villains’ except with magic. An academic backdrop, even if not at a school or university, where the students are challenged emotionally and academically by their ‘peers’. Except they’re all so individual, they’ve already spent a lifetime being superior. They have no peers. Even amongst the rest of their cohort in the Atlas Society. A society which, whilst secret and knowledge drive, isn’t secret enough not to have competitors. A society should have an objective, even if the objective is hedonism. It made no sense to me why these characters in particular would want to be part of this society, let alone fight to stay there. It seemed to me, that the writer wanted to evoke the Pinterest version of Dark Academia, which is leather-bound books, dark rooms and candlelight. A sprinkling of magic, angst and philosophy. And for the majority of readers, I’m sure that would suffice. But I wanted something more compelling, dark and twisted. And what I got was a bunch of narcissistic teenagers who all kind of fancy each other. Only one of them is really an academic, and to engage with her learning Reina disengages from everyone else.

I was promised a magic system based on physics and philosophy; and I’m torn on whether this delivered or not. For the most part, I like a structured (or hard) magic system. One that is explained, explored etc. Sanderson might have a thousand and one different magic systems, but at least I can trust him to share the rules. And physics, by definition, is the exploration of rules adhered to by matter, energy and structures. But the magic system is never really explained; whilst the characters are academics, and the best in their fields, it seems pure chance that they’re better than others at their specific magics. Reina is a classic example of this; her naturalist magic has always been strong. Even as a baby, plantlife would reach out to her. This doesn’t change as she grows and learns, she just keeps it at bay. But, if you’re a fan of the LOTR ‘they just are’ magic type system or an X-Men ‘some powers are stronger than others’ type scenario, then the magic system works - in that they have magic. Sometimes, you might be lured into a false sense of security, and think you know how the magic works. And then a timey-wimey wormhole will open up, or a creature will appear out of thin air, or characters will create alternate realities in the head of someone else and you think, ‘huh. Maybe I don’t know how this magic system works. Maybe nobody does.’

A lot of these problems would have been easier to ignore if the writing was generally better. As I mentioned before, writing rules can be broken if broken well. And there were four things in particular that just didn’t work, stylistically. #1. Avoiding Adverbs. Have you started to notice the ones in my writing yet? The thing with adverbs is that they’re a shortcut to what you’re trying to articulate. I could say, ‘this blog is really boring’ and it puts a short emphasis on how boring this blog is, for example. Or, I could say, ‘this blog wastes its time discussing elements of narrative which are irrelevant to modern readers.’ A much longer sense, which articulates my point and includes 0 adverbs. Both get the same point across (and actively disparage my own writing. Whoops.) So when you pile adverb after adverb, you’re crossing shortcuts against one another. It confuses and complicates the point rather than clarifies. And it’s something writers (like me) care about, unfortunately. Equally, #2. Info-dumping exposition. As with all stories, The Atlas Six has history and context which is important to the reader, some of which thickens the story and some of which doesn’t. Some readers don’t mind the info-heavy prologue which discusses the history of the society, Alexandria and all the magical information within. I did mind.

Because most of the narrative is centred on the characters learning about the society, its history and purpose, I just didn’t care about that opening chapter of information. It came as a big lump before I even had time to learn about the characters and how they feel in the world they live in. It doesn’t set up anything the reader couldn’t learn during the narrative, and it just felt like a waste of time. And when each character is introduced, more information about them, and their life, is piled on top. It left the whole thing feeling a bit hollow, completely lacking substance.

So, would I recommend The Atlas Six? Not generally. If someone was looking for a dark academia fix or wanted a sexier Catherine House, maybe. If someone told me they loved the last three books recommended to them from TikTok, sure. But on the whole this book didn’t do what it promised, and felt entirely anticlimactic. Which was, as you can imagine, a bit of a disappointment.

Deserves all the hype! Atlas Six could be described as Ninth House meets The Magician. It'll appeal to fans of Leigh Bardugo and Naomi Novik.

Headlines:
Full concentration needed ahead
Clever and complex plot
Multiple MCs in a good way
A marathon but worth it

The Atlas Six felt like a read of epic proportions. This was a story with a grandious and complex plot, weaving and winding but by the end, you're impressed by its stature. It constantly left me with the feeling that I wasn't quite grasping things as I went along, but honestly, I think that's part of the appeal as you reach the culmination of book one.

The book centred around six main characters and three or four substantial side characters. The main characters were truly fascinating, one was completely awful and one I grew to understand but didn't like. They were all very different and that was what made them part of the chosen Atlas Six; their differences and their talents.

The world building was again...complex and as long as you concentrate, you'll keep up as a reader. Learning the characters, the talents, the magical world, the organisations and the plot as it twisted and turned was challenging sometimes but ultimately rewarding. I enjoyed some of the unexpected rise to prominence from side characters and the things that weren't what they seemed.

I would say this read was pacey. It felt long, sometimes trudging but always engaging. I appreciated this as a buddy read and being able to chat the plot and characters through. I'm definitely pumped to read more from this crew, I want to see my favs come through.

Thank you to Black Crow PR and Tor for the advanced copy.

Everything I wanted Deadly Education to be. Sure it was complex and took time to bed into the world building but the story that is being written is intriguing. The characters are made up of some who quite frankly make your skin itch with annoyance whereas others you want to see thrive. I’m excited to see where book 2 goes!

This is a book that is being hyped just about everywhere at the moment so naturally I requested this and Netgalley took pity ion me and let me read this book, I now wish they hadn’t, i will never get the time I lost back prodigiously reading this, I am sure there are many fans of this work, I most certainly am not

A massive thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this review copy!

It’s difficult to review this one without giving the plot away. It’s a story that you need to experience for yourself.

I found that the plot was mostly character focused, and within that, I found the character development to be complex and that, along with the plot, is brilliant.

My favourite was probably Libby who seemed the most relatable. Then there was Nico who was so mysterious.

This book is most certainly worth a read.

I absolutely love this book and the characters. It is confusing at times and the magic system took me a while to wrap my head around but by the end of the boon I was desperate for more. Libby, Nico and Tristan were definitely stand out characters to me and I love that the book doesn’t shy away from the morally grey aspect of the story. Cannot wait for book 2 and especially the promised corruption arc🤞😁

When it comes to overly hyped books there is always the worry that they won’t meet the expectations and I am glad to say The Atlas Six not only met them but exceeded them greatly.
The Atlas Six was an incredibly well-written Dark Academia character-focused story. Every character is equally complex, they are all so different from each other with very different motives, and none lack personality. My only wish is that we got to see even further into their backstories, but purely because I couldn’t get enough. I really appreciate the fact that some of them might seem more antagonistic, which gives them such a nice edge. You can’t help but to be drawn to all of them.
The magic system was incredibly cool. I really appreciated the fact that (nearly) every character has their own distinct power, really makes me wonder: what other powers are out there? I really hope we explore more of the magic in the sequel.
The prose in this book was stunning, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book.
I am thrilled this book is getting republished and I can’t wait for the sequel!

The Atlas Six - Olivie Blake

‘Beware the man who faces you unarmed. If in his eyes you are not the target, then you can be sure you are the weapon.’

Oh how I enjoyed this book! This is one hot darkly academic fantasy novel, I found it a tense, gripping and exciting read. I found myself totally absorbed in the story of these six fabulously realised characters. Some you will love, others you’ll hate and mistrust. I loved Reina and Libby, but my trust in the others altered through the book. The idea of these people having powers that they themselves don’t fully understand is a good one as it means we go on a journey with them as they unravel what is happening.

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

This was a mix of Potter and Hunger Games but a lot more grown up and there’s a big dollop of A Secret History with a magical bent. Digging into the characters, we find out their motivations and intentions, no one is as they seem, you are wrong footed as a reader, tricked at points, it is unexpectedly twisting and shocking. I can totally see this being made into a film or Netflix series, it’s addictive, angsty and you will find yourself rooting for different characters throughout.

Deliciously clever, fantastical, magical, tense and exciting, a book not to be missed!

The Atlas Six is a testament to the power readers have.

I'm sure it's not the first, and it certainly won't be the last, but self-published books that become so popular that traditional publishing wants a slice of the pie is truly such an exciting thing to be told before reading a book. That's part of the hype, and how could you not want to read a book that ignored the usual routine of getting an agent and finding a publisher and receiving a luke warm response after minimal marketing. But instead, sticking your work on Amazon and letting the readers find it and adore it.

So, I read it.

Now, what I just said still stands; it's very impressive what Olivie Blake and The Atlas Six have achieved. However, I don't know if I'm too stupid to understand, or if Blake was just trying to make the story so clever that sometimes it's nowhere near understandable. I really got lost in the prose, not in a dreamy-reader way, and struggled to picture what was happening. Granted, I got the gist, but you don't really want to merely 'get the gist' of a book do you?

I did genuinely enjoy the character study, I do love a morally ambiguous character, so it's even better when it's an entire cast of them. But, I hope in the sequel Blake realises that she doesn't have to use many, many sentences to say what she wants to say.