**A (hopefully) spoiler-free review to get you excited.**

The perfect mix of predictable and surprising, philosophic and visual; “The Atlas 6” by Olivie Blake put her onto my radar at its initial release, and her name remained a staple until I finally sat down and tore through the book within a week. 

The first book in a trilogy always has the responsibility to introduce the characters, their goals and limitations, and setting the stage for the larger story the series aims to tell. Blake sets up a perfect ring for our six protagonists to show the readers who they are, and what they can do, even if it is (straight-up) evil at times. 

Blake gives us the moral up-front: 

“Beware the man who faces you unarmed

If in his eyes you are not the target,

Then you can be sure you are the weapon.”

Admittedly, it’s difficult to keep up with the lessons Blake is trying to teach about trust, personal limitations, and moral quandaries. 

“The Atlas 6” is a long awaited review, after the initial self-published version was pulled from the shelves after Blake was picked up by Tor Publishing in a seven-way auction, sprucing up the book and re-releasing it a year later. 

The premise is simple, and leads to some easy predictions. Six magicians are invited for a year-long, academic ‘fellowship,’ for the chance of initiation into the ancient, secret Society of Alexandria, formed in the ashes of the Library of Alexandria. 

The Library of Alexandria, the most famous library of classical antiquity, burned in 48 B.C.E. by Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, taking countless accounts of knowledge with it in science, history, philosophy, and every field of learning. 

It is this magically preserved library, hidden from the world of mortals, that our six magicians are whisked away to study the concepts of time, space, thought, and death. But access to these prolific archives comes at a price. 

While six of the world’s most powerful, untrained, and untapped magicians are invited, only five will make it past the first year. 

“We have two of the finest physicians the world has seen for generations, a uniquely gifted illusionist, a telepath the likes of which are incomparable, an empath capable of luring thousands…” and a naturalist with an unprecedented connection to the Earth, Blake describes in the first 5% of the book.

These perfectly problematic magicians drive the story. There is no plot, no action, no Atlas 6, without anxious Libby, her oblivious counterpart Nico, the arrogant Callum, Parissa, Reina, and Tristan, arguably the best character (in my informed opinion). While many are pretty green under rigorous magical experimentation, the potential provides enough for readers to fear what these very flawed characters could do.  

Holly Black, author of “The Cruel Prince” series, called them, “the most devious, talented, and flawed characters to ever find.”

These magicians would not be here if it wasn’t for the elusive and calculated Atlas Blakley, Caretaker of the Alexandrian Society. 

Atlas is the door into the magical world of Alexandrians, the man with the answers, the wizard who calls the heroes into action and supplies them with cryptic advice and not-so-obvious tools for survival. He stands over them in their lessons like a bird of prey, silent and attentive. 

The small sliver we get into the Alexandrian Society is akin to the rumored secret societies across Ivy-league campuses, like Yale University’s 42 rumored societies, churning out powerful politicians, scientists, writers, and the like. It’s a coveted spot in this society the six magicians are racing toward. 

Although the book’s description gives away that only five of the six invited will make it through to the next year, the true nature of this revelation doesn’t come into focus for the characters until much later, leading to the true test of alliances. 

For readers who specialize in page-porn, or smut, this novel would be pretty disappointing. The book does involve adults, who do adult things, but this is not your Penelope Douglas, Rebecca Yarros, or even Sara J. Maas. This is a book written with spice, but not written for the spice. 

Innocence undoubtedly gets stripped away, seduction is now a tactic, and inhibitions are forcibly removed, but this is not a romantasy. This is academic fantasy, where time is tested (literally) and there are no boundaries. Dynamics are established quickly, but shift as soon as the ground sets (Thanks to Nico’s tectonic proclivity for chaos). 

T. L. Huchu, author of “The Library of the Dead”, said, “Compelling, entertaining, and addictive. ‘The Atlas Six’ is academic Darwinism: survival of the smartest with a healthy dose of magic.”

Every beat is represented in the story, crafted formulaically to lay out Blake’s thought process and vision. The resolution serves its purpose while introducing the premise for the next book. If Blake continues the pattern, I’m anticipating the second book to span the second year of this “fellowship.”

While the first one in this trilogy sets the stage, the play does not begin until book two, The Atlas Paradox. There’s no longer six and limitations are lifted on what our magicians can explore. The true masterminds are exposed, juxtaposing the characters’ perspective with the reader’s knowledge. The question remains: who’s really in charge? And what is their ultimate goal?