Although I'm still processing what I really think about this novel, and the trilogy as a whole, what I find most striking is the visceral reaction of a lot of readers to whom Ms. Blake picked to be the lottery loser in this misguided children's crusade; you'd think that she personally visited these people to kill their puppy just for the hell of it. Then again, as someone who is saturated in military history, I'm used to the reality that it's the best ones that get cut down in their prime; deserves has nothing to do with it.

That said, I was never invested in this trilogy for the "shipping," nor in terms of pulling for one of the flawed golden boys to wind up on top. I mostly hung around to see how this power fantasy played out, and learn whether one of the female characters wound up being the conventional sacrificial lamb in the end; that such was not the case pleased me.

Still, having read Ms. Blake's agenda for this exercise, I think my main issue might wind up being that having a plot driven by people bouncing off each other on day-to-day basis does clash with the demands of writing what's a form of thriller on one hand, and a polemic on the other. Which is a polite way of saying that this whole exercise probably ground on a bit too long, as the longer a narrative goes I think it's inevitable that suspension of disbelief is going to suffer.

On the whole though, I don't regret the investment of time and will consider reading Ms. Blake's future works. ( )

THE ATLAS COMPLEX is all about power and destruction. While it is still very much a character study of the six initiates, we finally get to see them out in the world. This is important because it is the first opportunity we get to see how they use their powers after two years of intensive study. Not only that but they also have to face the constant threat of assassination simply because of their powers.

If someone is reading The Atlas trilogy in hopes of reading a dark academia thriller/action story, they are going to finish the series disappointed. No matter what the publishers would like you to believe, that is not what this series is about. In the Author’s Notes, Ms. Blake started writing the series as a method of taming her rage at some of the asinine situations happening in the world. She uses her series not just to channel her feelings but also to raise some very real questions about power and the destruction that seems to follow anyone who has a modicum of it. Her anger about this issue seeps through the pages and makes her story difficult to follow in some regard. I believe her anger also attracts like-minded readers by allowing them to feel seen and heard.

But Ms. Blake doesn’t stop there. Part of her also explores the urgent need for changes that will positively impact the world and halt climate change. In fact, she ends THE ATLAS COMPLEX with firm conclusions about the state of the world and its future if things continue to deteriorate. Here is where I struggled, only because I don’t come to the same conclusions as Ms. Blake and her characters. I appreciate the path she takes to reach her hypothesis, but I don’t agree with it.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the novel. THE ATLAS COMPLEX is every bit as complex and mind-bending as the first book. Seeing the maturity of the six initiates, watching them enact their plans, and change the world is satisfying, and I’m glad I persevered reading the series. I hesitate to recommend it to readers though because it is much more a thinking-person’s novel. Much more cerebral and theoretical and entirely less thrilling than I expected, and that’s okay too. It just means that there is a niche audience for the series, and when the right reader comes across the trilogy, they will be able to appreciate everything Ms. Blake accomplishes with it. ( )

First, I can't believe this series is over....

This book took me a while to read. I started it because I was excited to see how the series ended, but then I took an extended break from the book because I just don't think I was ready. When I finally picked it back up, I continued to struggle through it for a time. I ended up enjoying it more as we got to the climax of the story, but I would say that the first book is still my favorite in the whole series.

Olivie Blake says in her acknowledgements in this book, "The relationships will be the plot, because relationships are all that matter. They're all we can take with us. They're the only real things we leave behind." And honestly, I loved that aspect of the books. I loved that the plot was essentially the characters and their choices. I loved that the characters were unreliable narrators and morally grey. It's hard to say there is a villain in this series because every character had good parts or at least had good intentions at one point in time before maybe those intentions got lost or polluted. Just as every character had bad parts too. I'm glad I read this series. It's maybe not going to be an all time favorite, but I'm glad to have read it.

Also, I'm so sad Nico died. He was my favorite character by the end. ( )

DNF ( )