Hey, you! 🔖
In April, we read The Atlas Six for the month's theme "Judging by the Cover". But in fact, this was in my TBR for some time now mainly because of the author Olivie Blake, who is Filipino-American and I try as much as I can to support fellow Filipinos. 🇵🇭 I was super curious to read her work, not knowing that in fact it's been trending on TikTok and Bookstagram.
By the way, here's a review I wrote about another Filipino author in case you might be interested. Click here for the post.
Anyways ...
The Atlas Six is ... a lot! And I'm so thankful for our book club group because as always I can find answers to my questions from them. I definitely had a few and they've helped me with my confusion. I'm not a fantasy reader so it always takes my brain a minute or two to get it. 😅
The story follows six powerful young magic users who have the chance to join the secretive Alexandrian Society. This is a secret society that is responsible for protecting the archives of the Library of Alexandria, believed by many to have been destroyed. Every ten years, the Society chooses a new class of talented magicians as potential initiates. For a year, the 6 candidates live at the Society's headquarters, and immerse themselves in the archives and their contents. At the end of the year, only 5 of the 6 are inducted into the Society.
This was my first Dark Academia read (I didn't even know what dark academia was before reading this book). The author's use of big words, heavy description, and lengthy passages didn't make it any easy on me. The narrator also changes from chapter to chapter and that's something I always have to adjust to.
But nevertheless, my interest was piqued. There's just something promising and appealing about this story. Secret societies, a magical competition with life or death stakes, the promise of forbidden knowledge that is denied to the rest of the world. It's very attractive! The premise is also very interesting - one that I had never read about before.
Sometimes it feels like not much is happening but this is a trilogy. So this first book sets the foundation for what is to come and surprisingly I want more.
⭐: 3.5 / 5
What are you currently reading?
Book Club Questions:
What do you think of the book cover? The Title?
What were the main themes of the book?
What are your thoughts of dark academia?
What did you think of the writing style?
Were there any quotes that stood out to you? Why?
Who was your favorite character and why?
Who did you predict would be eliminated from the group of 6?
Were the characters clearly drawn and depicted?
Were there confusing parts in the book?
What scene would you point out as the pivotal moment in the narrative?
Were there any plot twists that you loved? Hated?
What do you think will happen next to the main characters?
How do you feel about the revelations?
How do you feel about the ending?
Would you read the next book in the trilogy?