The Atlas Six is a tough one to review. While it has all of the elements I enjoy in a book including an academic setting, magic, and dark themes, The Atlas Six fell immediately to two stars after reading an alarming chapter set near the end of the novel (this is discussed later in my review). Olivie Blake’s novel tells the story of six young academicians chosen to participate in an elite secret society. The first year in the society involves an initiation process in which each of the young recruits must work together to solve a series of tasks. But in the end, only five will be selected as members of the society. 

 

While Blake’s writing initially grabbed me, the seemingly pretentious writing quickly turned sour. And despite having a Masters degree in Library and Information Science, The Atlas Six’s prose, candidly speaking, made me feel dumb. No book should make a reader feel dumb! Unless the book is about astrophysics or in that realm. 😆  The larger issue I had with The Atlas Six was the representation of the sole Jewish character. Without revealing any spoilers, this Jewish character experiences and is defined by the horrific event of a synagogue shooting as described near the end of the novel. Why is it that the Jewish character has to be defined by an event so prevalent, current, and specific to Jewish people? The decision to include this event seemed inappropriate and honestly, pretty offensive. All and all, The Atlas Six didn’t sit right with me and it will be unlikely that I will pursue reading the sequel.