The Atlas #1
The Atlas Six follows six young adults through the initiation process for a secret society. The Alexandrian Society only accepts five new members every ten years, and they promise great wealth, prestige and power. The Six are competing against each other; some alliances are held close by members of the Six, and some are loosely bound. As they learn more about each other and The Society, will they uncover further layers of truth?
I feel medium about The Atlas Six. The main characters are all unlikeable. None of the characters trust each other. The suspicion and side eye is out of control. The plot dragged until the two-thirds mark, peaked very quickly, and then continued to drag on. The world-building felt thin, there was very little outside internal monologue and actual dialogue. Here’s a quick list of questions:
- Does the world at large know about magic?
- Do the candidates ever eat?
- Is there any staff at the facility?
- How do groceries arrive?
- How does the magic work?
- Are there any magical limitations at all?
- How are Atlas and Daulton so unsupervised?
- Family? Friends? Do the candidates just disappear for a year or two?
- How are they all so chill with killing?
- How are they all lured in so quickly without asking questions?
I could keep going, but I’ve made my point.
Once I understood what elimination meant in The Atlas Six initiation process, I almost DNF’d. I wasn’t interested in any of the characters getting initiated, but I was uncomfortable with the concept. I’m glad I stuck it out and trusted the author to do the right thing, though I’m annoyed at the cliffhanger.
There was nothing terrible about The Atlas Six. I just didn’t get caught up in it. The climax swept in from left field and spun the book in a different direction. I don’t mind getting the rug pulled out from under me, but it felt too disconnected to resonate with me, and I ended up more annoyed than anything else.
I’ll read book two because, of course, I will. It’s a neat concept but not my kind of execution.