After The Atlas Six, you probably also wanted to read The Atlas Paradox immediately. I wasn’t sure what to expect mostly because I had no idea what to expect with the first. But while this one had some elements that seemed similar to the first, there were also ones that surprised me! Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
Six magicians. Two rivalries. One researcher. And a man who can walk through dreams. All must pick a side: do they wish to preserve the world—or destroy it? In this electric sequel to the viral sensation, The Atlas Six, the society of Alexandrians is revealed for what it is: a secret society with raw, world-changing power, headed by a man whose plans to change life as we know it are already under way. But the cost of knowledge is steep, and as the price of power demands each character choose a side, which alliances will hold and which will see their enmity deepen?”
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I was immediately intrigued upon starting The Atlas Paradox. Considering how the ending of The Atlas Six and how the action just sort of ramped up and then imploded, I needed to read this sequel. With the multiple POV, I feel like The Atlas Paradox, much like the first, can have moments where it seems a bit slow – just because of the sheer amount of characters we have to see through. That combined with the fact that with so many people, time can feel like it’s moving slower as we see a scene or a day through multiple POVs.
But I think any perceived slowness is due to not only the POV number, but also the aim of the series which is to delve deeply into characters. The Atlas Paradox delivers action and thought, but its heart is consistently the characters. To see how they develop and grow in their final days at the Alexandrian Society. All the ways that power, ambition, and consequences will catch up to them – or not. At the same time, there were some serious bombshells dropped on us at the end, so our favorite chaos children have to also contend with that.
How does it compare to the first?
You might have been thinking, well after that first book, everything’s copacetic right? And the answer would be that friendship and alliance are words that are still shaky if not illusions. One might expect this to be a everyone-will-band-together-now, kind of situation and it’s not really. Which I loved because it totally subverted my expectations not to mention would that even be realistic? So I loved that in The Atlas Paradox we are able to still see their uneasiness, vulnerabilities, and separate agenda. Also these chaos children are pros at miscommunication and a lack of transparency.
The Atlas Paradox is about what we would do for knowledge and our own power. My favorite character in this one has to be Libby. I feel like her character journey in this was unparalleled and I’m dying to chat about it with someone. But I think the main reason I feel like this separated itself from The Atlas Six is in the science and thought provoking-ness. The ways in which it examines and explores human ambition and our society on an almost meta level. To look at the cycles of humanity and of what we will do on a micro and macro level.
A Note About the Audio
That’s all I can say without spoilers, but if you like science and magic intersecting – you have to read The Atlas Paradox immediately. I was also able to listen to some of it on audiobook which helped me because I had to continue listening and so I could listen while knitting. I loved that it has a different narrator for each POV – which gave it a very cinematic feeling. So if you look for audiobooks that do that – like I do – then add it to the list! I felt like some of the accents felt a little less cohesive, but that wasn’t a breaking point for me.
Overall,
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I think if you enjoyed The Atlas Six, it’s an easy choice for you to read The Atlas Paradox and you probably already have it on your TBR. But if you are still on the fence, this sequel delivers some of my favorite elements of the first, while also making it seem more intellectual in a way I cannot get enough of. The characters form the backbone of why I keep coming back to this story, but now the action is rising to a fever pitch. I cannot wait for The Atlas Complex! Find The Atlas Paradox on Goodreads, Amazon (US) (UK), Indiebound, Bookshop.org, The Book Depository, Libro.fm, Google Play.