“(…) What could possibly be the but, Varona? What about this would you kill for?” (…)
“Jesus, Rhodes, what part of this wouldn’t you kill for?”
Author: Olivie Blake
Narrated By: Andy Ingalls, Caitlin Kelly, Damian Lynch, David Monteith, James Cronin, Munirih Grace, Siho Ellsmore, and Steve West.
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses and describes suicide, death (in general and parent and sibling death), murder, kidnapping, terminal illnesses (degenerative diseases), abandonment, child neglect, and some sexual content.
“The Atlas Six” follows six magical young adults as they study and prepare to hopefully join the Alexandrian Society, a secret society of academicians who keep the secrets of lost civilizations and who initiate 5 new members out of 6 candidates every 10 years. These candidates are the best magicians of their time, and so in come the mismatched bunch that wins your heart throughout this story. Libby Rhodes and Nico da Varona have known each other their whole lives and they’re both physicists who can create and change matter with their minds. Reina Mori is a naturalist who can create life itself. Parisa Kamali is a seductress and telepath that’ll know exactly what to say and when to say it. Tristan Caine can see through reality and through magic. Callum Nova is an illusionist that can manipulate everything and everyone to no limit. Together, they could wreak havoc on the world—apart, they could wreak havoc amongst themselves.
“The Atlas Six” was a Tiktok, pandemic sensation, but I truly believe it could’ve made it big without those circumstances as well. This is the epitome of dark academia, it gives all those aesthetic vibes. Mix magic with morally-gray characters and there you’ll have “The Atlas Six”.
I listened to the audiobook of this novel and I adored every single narrator, no buts or exceptions, and I honestly can’t wait to listen to these characters brought to life again in “The Atlas Paradox.”
This story is very character-driven, and I’m more of a plot-driven reader, but I learned to love the characters, so by the end I didn’t mind one bit. I loved Libby and Nico instantly, I lowkey ship them together but also ship Nico with his roommate, so I don’t know what to tell you. I found Reina intriguing from the start, I think of all the magical powers hers is the one I would like to have myself. I felt indifferent about Tristan at first but his friendship and relationship with Libby and his accent won me over little by little. And then there were Callum and Parisa, the characters I hated to begin with and then grew to appreciate.
If one thing is true about this world that Olivie Blake has built is that no one is purely evil or purely good. Circumstances and power can turn anyone into something they are usually not.
If it isn’t obvious by now, I cannot recommend this book enough. Here’s hoping the sequel doesn’t disappoint.
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“Knowledge is carnage. You can’t have it without sacrifice.”
andrea's galley 