ARC Review – The Atlas Paradox

From Goodreads:

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?”

I have mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed the first book, I think I bought into the hype a little too much. I was just so happy to see older-post graduate aged protagonists getting to be academic, intelligent and sexy while still having all the self-conscious awkwardness. It was refreshing. I loved the thick purple prose I thought it really worked with the atmosphere of deep academic pursuit that Blake was aiming for however, for book 2 the flowery prose just seemed a bit much.

The overall plot seemed more scattered. While the academic discussions seemed integral to book 1 in this book they became a little tedious. There seemed a need to over define every single independent project and it just muddied the waters more than making the world engaging. Out with the Libby storyline there isn’t really much that actually happens. Even I, a scientist, got bored with the sheer amount of musing over the magic system without any real magic making it to the page.

I felt the characters lost a lot of their dynamism too. Libby was the only one that grew in my expectations while the rest just seemed to become rather dull. I just wanted more. The writing is still exceptional, I was just not as entertained. There is so much potential in Blake’s world and its just a shame this didn’t fully deliver for me at least.

The ending while not as cut-throat as book one did have me interested in book 3. I hope that this book is just suffering from soggy middle syndrome and that this series will get back to its glory soon, As I really do enjoy both the world and characters Blake has created.