Here is the review of the second part of the story that began with The Atlas Six. Spoiler-free as always. Enjoy!
Author
Olivia Blake is the pen name of Alexene Farol Follmuth, a writer that is currently living in Los Angeles and whose books are often focused on what it means to be human, as well as the complexity of life and love.
Overview
The Atlas Paradox is the second book of The Atlas Series and picks up the story where the first book left off. From the six medians who were invited to join the Alexandrian Society, only five remain in the house after Libby is kidnapped. The initiation is over, and now, during the second year, the candidates must focus on their independent studies.
Nicholas, Reina, Parissa, Tristan, and Callum try to continue with their research while looking for Libby. However, Libby doesn’t seem to be anywhere on Earth, which leaves the medians with another question. It may not be where but rather when Libby is.
After being kidnapped by Ezra, who, apart from being her ex, is also a time traveller, Libby is trapped in 1989, when academics were just starting to study median science.
Without having enough power to return home, Libby joins a university in Los Angeles as a professor, trying to find a way to travel time.
It is a book in which The Atlas Six realize they need one another while Ezra and Atlas plot a war against each other.
Personal Thoughts
Oh boy! I am still trying to figure out where to start with this one, but my advice for all readers would be not to buy it. I loved the first book because it had a well-developed dark academia theme.
In The Atlas Paradox, the author loses her goal along the way. I’m not lying when I say it took me a month to finish this book, and by the end, each page was more boring than the other.
The story could have been more straightforward. There were long descriptions in the narrative that were unnecessary, the characters lost their complexity, and the book could have been better overall.
After some investigation, I discovered this series will have a third book, but I don’t have the strength to read it after this one.
Plot & Structure 7/10
The book picks up exactly where we left off with The Atlas Six. I was a bit lost initially since the timeline was unclear. The book has several time jumps, and all readers need to follow the story carefully, or there is a big chance they’ll get lost. Apart from the timeline, this book’s plot is generally confusing. There are so many things happening that the real goal disappears after a few chapters. I was hoping more after the first book got me into dark academia.
Character Development 5/10
Having six main characters makes it difficult to develop all the personalities and show the complexities of each character, especially when the story has morally gray areas. Through the first book, I thought I had a clear idea of who these people were. Yet, that quickly changed when I started to read this second part. However, I didn’t particularly appreciate that this personality change happened out of the blue and didn’t help expand the story.
Dialogue 6/10
The dialogue was one of the best parts of the story since I welcomed it as a great break from reading the lengthy descriptions and unnecessary scientific explanations. But, even then, the dialogue didn’t contribute to showing more of the character’s personalities.
Unanswered Questions 4/10
A thousand, what will happen in the Night Court? Will the war begin? How will Feyre stop the bloodshed? I could go on, but I don’t want to give any more spoilers. Further, I’m sure the author has some answers in the next book.
Voice 4/10
This second part of The Atlas Six left even more questions than the first one. All the plot lines were left unfinished, and even when the book had more than 300 pages, I felt every part only had 50. The sad part is that I don’t want to read the third part to find the answers.
Personal Note
I advise all readers not to buy this book because they will be disappointed. However, I have also read that some readers liked this second part. So this might be a series where the second part is not good, but the third book wins me back. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.