The Wulver’s Library‘s Review of The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake is a book I’ve seen doing the rounds online and decided to dive into. This is the story of the Library of Alexandria, hidden to the world guarded by people with magical abilities who are given the opportunity for wealth and power. Six are given that hope but only five can be initiated so they must compete between themselves.
Blake has created a dark academia setting that begins well. We are introduced to these characters and their succinct abilities whilst looking at how they are recruited. Blake has crafted unique characters that fill multiple points of view and this was noticeable when the magic system became confusing. It’s hard to keep up with multiple magics that are integrated together and this could have been explained more clearly.
The plot itself is strong however did tend to steer of the direction at times until the footing was found towards the end. There was some world- and character- building that was predictable and went on for too long that it made me lose focus and even parts that should have been fleshed out more. The worldbuilding was complex and beautifully written but became so vast that some of the details felt redundant.
This is a book with potential even if it did fall a bit in the middle. Blake is a wonderful writer that creates well-crafted scenarios and I can definitely see how this book is adored. It’s slow-paced and character-focused and I would recommend this for people invested in this genre but hopefully book two can be improved upon.
