Six magicians were presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.
Five are now members of the Society.
Two paths lay before them.
All must pick a side.
Alliances will be tested, hearts will be broken, and The Society of Alexandrians will be revealed for what it is: a secret society with raw, world-changing power, headed by a man whose plans to change life as we know it are already under way.
- Title: The Atlas Paradox
- Author: Olivie Blake
- Publisher: Tor Books
- Publication Date: October 25th, 2022
- Genre: Fantasy
- Targeted Age Range: Adult
- Content Warnings: Blood, mentioned past death of a family member (parents, sister, grandmother), anxiety, fire, physical violence, past parental abuse (described in detail, not too graphic, in Part 3: Tristan), guns and gunfire, kidnapping, attempted murder, grief, injury, depression, alcohol abuse
- Rating: ★★★★
Multiple times while reading The Atlas Paradox I found myself saying something along the lines of, “Olivie Blake and I are not the same species” (I told Cossette this many times, actually), because I do not understand how this came from her brain while I sit here going “HUH!?” every five seconds. Do I fully understand the magical structure of this world? No. Do I really care about that? No.
A paradox is described as “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.” so it’s only fitting that this book as the word paradox in the title, because every time I thought something proposed was too ridiculous to be true or make sense, it was revealed that it was true, or could possibly be true, and it made so much sense that I found myself shocked that I didn’t think of it right away. I really appreciate that while a lot of high-intensity things are happening and even when you’re pretty much convinced that one of the characters you love could die at any moment, Blake finds a way to bring humor into the book to help lighten the load a bit. It’s also nice to have those comedic moments as so much of the world-building and magic is so detailed and a little confusing at times.
“That they were different now, all of them. The grip the archives had on them was strong, stronger than anything. Because how could a person see what they had seen and still decide that fate was anything aside from what they shaped it to be with their own two hands? This was the paradox.”
Just like the first book in the series, The Atlas Paradox is much more focused on the characters and their dynamics than the actual plot, and I’m not at all upset about it. I love a character-driven story, and I love the characters in this series.
Something that I think Olivie Blake does exceptionally well is writing complex characters. The characters in this series are majorly flawed and, most of the time, morally corrupt, but there’s something about them that draws you to them, and…you kind of can’t help but root for them.
One of the things that I really enjoyed in The Atlas Paradox is that I think we got a deeper look into these characters and who they are — their mindset, motivations, wants, needs and desires. One of the characters that I felt that I didn’t really know too much about in the first book was Reina, so I really enjoyed reading from her point of view! I felt like the first chapter from her POV really gave us more insight into her character and I always enjoy her chapters simply because the plants speaking to her always make me laugh.
I also loved that we got some different pairings this time around. The team-up of Nico and Tristan was not one I thought I needed, but I absolutely loved it — while they made me laugh quite a lot, I think that this pairing also made so much sense since they both felt the absence of Libby more than anyone else, and I think that’s partially why they were drawn to work together. Through their dynamic, I felt like we also got to know Tristan better and I found myself feeling very sympathetic toward him. He was carrying a lot of guilt throughout the book, and it really did break my heart.
Speaking of characters we got to know better, Nico, my beloved Nico de Varona, was going through it in this book! He really felt the absence of Libby and that was clear from the beginning. It’s mentioned many times throughout the book that Libby is his anchor and that he feels unmoored without her. While yes, I ship NicoLibby, I find their dynamic in general very interesting and I felt that we got a bit more insight into their relationship which I found interesting. Additionally, his dynamic with Gideon became a lot clearer in this book (I had my suspicions but they were confirmed), and I did like that we got a bit more Gideon content because I find him to be very sweet and likable!
“Nico wasn’t the only one left unbalanced. They were all slightly different without Libby Rhodes. Without them realizing it, she had established herself as the “but” in their collective conscience, their measure of morality. But what if this happens, but what if something goes wrong, but what if someone is hurt. The effects of her displacement from their anatomy as a group seemed imperceptibly compounding, like an infection that went undiagnosed. They could go on without her, of course, but the loss would surely prove significant given enough time. Slow internal bleeding, the toxification of a kidney. A tiny puncture somewhere in the constitution of an otherwise healthy lung.”
Although the other five were struggling without her, and she was struggling without them, I really truly loved seeing Libby come into her own throughout The Atlas Paradox. From the beginning of the first book I knew that Libby would be my favorite, and that is still true. I feel very connected to Libby, so while I obviously hated to see her suffer, I was very proud of how she handled herself and what she was able to do. I also just really wanted to give her a hug throughout the entire book, especially when she had her “Anti-Hero” moment — which is understandable considering how many times the others would tell her she’s a problem, but I digress. I’m very interested to see how her story develops in the third book, The Atlas Complex.
The ending still has me shaking my head in shock and excitement, so I can’t wait for the third installment because I have a lot of questions! If you liked The Atlas Six, I definitely think that you’ll enjoy its sequel!
Links for The Atlas Paradox: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Alexene Farol Follmuth, also known under the pen name Olivie Blake, is a lover and writer of stories, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural, but not always. More often, her works revolve around the collective experience, what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love.
Alexene tripped and fell into writing after abandoning her long-premeditated track for Optimum Life Achievement while attending law school, and now focuses primarily on the craft and occasional headache of creating fiction. Under her Olivie byline, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling The Atlas Six released 2022 from Tor Books, to be followed by the sequel in October and the re-release of her viral literary romance Alone With You in the Ether in November. She has also been published as well as the writer for the graphic series Clara and the Devil and a variety of other books. As Alexene, her debut YA novel My Mechanical Romance released May 2022 from Holiday House (US) and Macmillan Children’s (UK).
Alexene lives and works in Los Angeles with her husband and goblin prince/toddler, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
