What a series. The Atlas Complex is such a contested series ender and I can see why. I’ve been putting off reading this since it came out and even more so when I saw how controversial it was. Keep reading this book review of The Atlas Complex for my full thoughts.
Summary
An explosive return to the library leaves the six Alexandrians vulnerable to the lethal terms of their recruitment.
Old alliances quickly fracture as the initiates take opposing strategies as to how to deal with the deadly bargain they have so far failed to uphold. Those who remain with the archives wrestle with the ethics of their astronomical abilities, while elsewhere, an unlikely pair from the Society cohort partner to influence politics on a global stage.
And still the outside world mobilizes to destroy them, while the Caretaker himself, Atlas Blakely, may yet succeed with a plan foreseen to have world-ending stakes. It’s a race to survive as the six Society recruits are faced with the question of what they’re willing to betray for limitless power―and who will be destroyed along the way.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
In many ways, The Atlas Complex is a story about people who are given too much power, mind altering world ending powers, and crumbling under the weight of maybes. If we could, would we? Would we really end it all if we could, just to see if we could, all the people we love and pretend to hate? Is anyone, any one person, really meant to have that power thrust upon them? There’s this thin line between power and fear, love and hate, and that moment of weightlessness while playing chicken. The entire The Atlas Six series has been this intensely character driven story which has strayed into the philosophical and ethical. And this last installment certainly stays true to this focused, almost laser precise, character study.
There are no villains in this story, or maybe there are no heroes.
But when we get to the actual story, I feel conflicted. In some ways, I admire Blake for not pulling punches. For showing us no one is safe, that Blake can try these experimental chapters and extra perspectives. For this series ender, I love that we were able to see the series itself almost a medium pushed to the brink. But I think the first half of the book and the second feel so different. I enjoyed this slow unraveling, this stale mate of wondering who would be the first to pull the trigger. However it quickly devolves towards the ending into an explosion which feels both abrupt and anticlimactic considering the ending.
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We spend a bit too much time circling the drain of the world ending, and then when it arrives it feels like it goes with a bang that feels like a soft closing door. Thematically, I enjoyed how messy the characters are and how deeply Blake knows them to the core, but the pacing really threw me off. The Atlas Complex takes readers through the ringer and some seem to love it while some seem to hate it. While in some ways, no one escapes unscathed and guilt free, but the ending did not match the lead up. Find The Atlas Complex on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.