“If power is a thing to be had, it must be capable of possession. But power is no discrete size or weight. Power is continuous. Power is parabolic. (…) Thus, to gain power is to be increasingly powerless.”
Author: Olivie Blake
Narrated By: Alexandra Palting, Andy Ingalls, Caitlin Kelly, Damian Lynch, Daniel Henning, David Monteith, James Cronin, Munirih Grace, Siho Ellsmore, and Steve West
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warning: Once again brings in violent and sexual content.
“The Atlas Paradox” follows the same six magicians from “The Atlas Six” as they hone their powers and discover their abilities, and as they fight against a new organization that wants to tear them—well, Atlas—down due to their omniscient dreams.
Any more extensive summary would have too many spoilers so I’m going to use the “trust me bro” card and let you know that if you liked the first book in “The Atlas” series, then I am 98% sure you’ll love “The Atlas Paradox”.
How has this become one of my favorite series ever in the span of a week? Holy. I have not stopped talking about these books ever since I started reading them.
This book follows up right after “The Atlas Six” and I am happy to say it is just as homoerotic as the first book—everyone is gay for each other, I swear. The characters stay true to themselves, with all their stubbornness and annoying traits that make them just that more believable. The story is still pretty heavily character-driven, although for this second installment, the plot became a major force as well—mostly because it felt like the whole book was setting us up for more Atlas to come.
I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy (ARC) of the audiobook recording and I got to listen to the same voice actors acting out my favorite group of characters ever. I am, once again, still a sucker for Tristan’s British accent, but in reality all the voices reflect exactly how I feel the characters in this book would talk.
If dark academia is your style, “The Atlas Paradox” is for you. I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy magic and fantasy, and aren’t afraid of some violence and sexual content. Oh, but before you grab this one, make sure to read “The Atlas Six”, this is definitely not a standalone book in a series.
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ARC provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.
Publication Date: October 25, 2022
“Olympus was empty. The gods were already here.”
andrea's galley 