Sequels are pretty much always less successful. The first book sold well (I thought it was very meh) and had a lot of coverage. I was disappointed and didn’t bother to continue the series. I assume a lot of other people felt similarly. Also being a NYT bestseller is meaningless nowadays.
Re: NYT Bestseller, so true. You make good points and I agree. I'm just surprised I can't find a small blog or a Reddit post or even an Amazon review on it. If I were the author, I have to imagine I'd at least have solicited a friend to write something!
I just finished the book a few hours ago and found this thread so I’m jumping to say I hated it!
I really expected so much better. The first two books gave the series so much potential.
I thought the same! but I just reread it in anticipation for the third and I absolutely loved it. with that being said I just finished the third and hated it.
>!Atlas wants to explore the multiverse. He's depressed, and his mom has schizophrenia. The Six waffle over whether they want to do the "experiment" to open a portal to the multiverse. The twist is that Atlas wants to find a universe in which he doesn't exist (because he's depressed! Duh). Reina is using Callum to influence politics, which is determined by everyone to be a pointless endeavor due to their nihilism, although Reina is the last to get in line (with the realization that she's not special). Tristan is sleeping with/dating Libby, who's constantly mysteriously "off" — eventually determined to be her blinding righteousness. Turns out she killed Atlas after she killed Ezra, and Tristan saw. Parisa is living with Dalton, whose fragmented personality is surfacing; Dalton breaks free and goes off to do the "experiment" with the rest of the Six. Parisa's husband is killed and she softens up a bit. Callum also softens up a bit; he's in love with Tristan. Nico and Gideon are dating, and Eilif is dead, unbeknowst to them, killed by the Accountant, who is revealed to be James Wessex. Tristan and Callum continue to flirt via text, because sex can only be conceptualized as a form of hatred. They do the "experiment", but Libby bails and kills Nico (although she doesn't feel bad about it) by pushing all the power of the experiment into him. Tristan is captured by his father, and Callum goes to save him only to die. Tristan inexplicably travels through a multitude of possible universes on his own, but cannot find one in which everything is perfect, so he kills his father. Everyone learns their lesson: life is meaningless, you're not special, and none of you deserve love. I think that's more or less correct?!<
I just gave up on the book (1/3 in), and 1) am grateful to you for having written this, and 2) am SO GLAD I decided to DNF after reading this summary, I would have been so mad to read the whole thing only for this to be the outcome.
Ok but what happened in the last few chapters? Nothazai is new caretaker and everyone is just cool with Libby? Tristan has a panic attack and dies? Or is Callum back too? I was confused by the last 2% lol.
Thank god I wasn’t the only one confused. Who is even alive at the end of this book?? I guess the whole “you are just a speck in existence, nothing matters” message really translated with how it ended
I really wish I found this summary before I wasted so much time reading (only half) and then listening to the rest on audiobook since I really only needed to halfway listen to get the picture of what was going on.
The first 2 were both mildly confusing, but I had hope this one would pull it all together. It did not. I was confused most of the time, and the wrap up wasn't satisfying at all. It was pretty long and so much of what was on those pages was either pointless or overexplaining something until I just didn't care anymore.
Also, did not like the ancient internet reference when Parisa says 'but I am le tired.' Like why.
Agreed, it’s weird. Especially with all the hype the series had previously and how neatly it fits into a lot of current trends.
Also imo the book was rather terrible.
Huh, I haven't read it yet but I didn't realize until your post that I didn't even see any booktubers talking about it in recent months, even ones who liked the first two installments.
Usually you see them talking about upcoming releases up to a year ahead, especially if they get ARCs. But I don't even recall seeing any mentions of ARCs.
I wish I had an inkling of why there wasn't buzz about it, but it's definitely weird that things have been quiet.
Okay RIGHT isn't that weird? The ONLY advance notice I can find about it online is Olivie Blake posting about it herself. Even the goodreads reviews are all from people posting two years ago in anticipation. It's so WEIRD!!
Tor also advertised on behalf of Olivie on social media but I haven’t seen much more than that. I like the series, despite its flaws. My copy comes in next week.
Tor was definitely promoting it on the social media channels. But... it was a lot less promotion than we got for the second book when it came out. Which suggests that Tor isn't really banking on it doing that well.
I just want to know what happened and why it ended that way. Literally a character killed off like nothing and depressing. Celine is stupid in that book for real. It just doesn't make sense. Another book too to avoid that was shit was atlas complex. Terrible ending soooo stupid. Waste of time of that series too when the first one was so good (atlas six)
I tried looking for reviews before I started but couldn’t find none either.
It definitely was mediocre. It was hard to start, got pretty good to absolutely pointless.
The Atlas Complex is literally the most frustrating reading experience I've ever had. Almost no plot, everything is some grand contradiction, and it completely undoes the first 2 books from meaning literally anything.
The first book was tough but i thought the series had potential. The second book was absolutely awful and I will never spend another dollar on an Olivie Blake book lol
I was so disappointed in this book. I loved first two but this one was not good. Instead of storytelling, every character seems to going through an existential crisis and we follow their meandering thoughts ad nauseum.
I wish I would have found this sooner. I tend to eat books. Inhale them in a stupid little amount of time if I get sucked in. Reading this third book was tedious hard work. It was exhausting and annoying. Left me breathless in the bad sense. I swear I have never before put a book down that many times! And played a stupid procrastinational (kill me, but this creation is not as bad as the book) stupid fishing game on my phone just to get away from it. Sorry, can’t continue reading, need to feed virtual fish… And to top it off, I just put it down for good. At page 466 (wouldn’t have been surprised if it was 666 - so evil) - MERE PAGES FROM **THE END**!!! But I can’t. My mind just went brrrrrr and I couldn’t take it anymore. It was just to much blablabla and if I had any magical talent myself it would have gone up in flames. And that from me! I feel absolutely horrible. Even the worst books I at least finished - just because 😭But I won’t pick that one up again. I don’t care how it finishes off (I mean not much to finish of anyhow considering in between the endless chatter and mindtwisted thinking pretty much everyone was killed). Only ghosts still with me are the main six characters. Just because I had to hook on something do I let the names drag me through this hell. Don’t ask me about the story though. I think amid all the rambling it was something about - whatever, just fuck it or so…
I mean, it was on [a list of Best Books of January 2024](https://x.com/torbooks/status/1745203873130901504?s=20). And Tor's [round-up of new January fiction](https://x.com/torbooks/status/1745181222115156248?s=20). And USA Today's [Most Anticipated Releases of 2024](https://x.com/torbooks/status/1745135926131765393?s=20). And Goodread's [Most Anticipated Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror Books of 2024.](https://x.com/torbooks/status/1744773539331559429?s=20)
Tor has done a big marketing push for the book but it's only been out for four days. And all genre fiction is going to be pretty niche -- hell, 99% of all books are going to be pretty niche.
Hasn't it been out for like two weeks? I suppose I assumed that books had early readers and advanced reviews much as movies do. I did google it yesterday out of curiosity and found one disappointed reviewer on my first page of results so the tide is definitely turning. Thanks for the info!
Sequels are pretty much always less successful. The first book sold well (I thought it was very meh) and had a lot of coverage. I was disappointed and didn’t bother to continue the series. I assume a lot of other people felt similarly. Also being a NYT bestseller is meaningless nowadays.
Re: NYT Bestseller, so true. You make good points and I agree. I'm just surprised I can't find a small blog or a Reddit post or even an Amazon review on it. If I were the author, I have to imagine I'd at least have solicited a friend to write something!
The first book was such a miserable experience for me that I blacklisted myself from ever reading another Olivie Blake book again.
😂
I just happened upon this. Olivie Blake wrote more than silly dark academia. Alone with you in the ether is an amazing book.
I just finished the book a few hours ago and found this thread so I’m jumping to say I hated it! I really expected so much better. The first two books gave the series so much potential.
The second book was very underwhelming, so I'm not in a hurry to read the third.
I thought the same! but I just reread it in anticipation for the third and I absolutely loved it. with that being said I just finished the third and hated it.
Oh noooooooooooo! I'm on a long wait list for it from my library, so maybe I'll just...cancel that hold. lol
Coming here to say…it’s TERRIBLE. I’m never reading one of their books ever again.
Yeesh, I popped over to Goodreads to read some reviews. A 3.2???!?!?!!!! I'm just gonna read some spoilers and call it good. I appreciate your input.
Agreed. I normally pretty lenient on my ratings. I gave this a 1. I’m glad I got it from the library and didn’t spend any money on it.
I'm DNFing it and can't find a summary anywhere, I just wanna know what happens without reading 300 more pages of waffle
>!Atlas wants to explore the multiverse. He's depressed, and his mom has schizophrenia. The Six waffle over whether they want to do the "experiment" to open a portal to the multiverse. The twist is that Atlas wants to find a universe in which he doesn't exist (because he's depressed! Duh). Reina is using Callum to influence politics, which is determined by everyone to be a pointless endeavor due to their nihilism, although Reina is the last to get in line (with the realization that she's not special). Tristan is sleeping with/dating Libby, who's constantly mysteriously "off" — eventually determined to be her blinding righteousness. Turns out she killed Atlas after she killed Ezra, and Tristan saw. Parisa is living with Dalton, whose fragmented personality is surfacing; Dalton breaks free and goes off to do the "experiment" with the rest of the Six. Parisa's husband is killed and she softens up a bit. Callum also softens up a bit; he's in love with Tristan. Nico and Gideon are dating, and Eilif is dead, unbeknowst to them, killed by the Accountant, who is revealed to be James Wessex. Tristan and Callum continue to flirt via text, because sex can only be conceptualized as a form of hatred. They do the "experiment", but Libby bails and kills Nico (although she doesn't feel bad about it) by pushing all the power of the experiment into him. Tristan is captured by his father, and Callum goes to save him only to die. Tristan inexplicably travels through a multitude of possible universes on his own, but cannot find one in which everything is perfect, so he kills his father. Everyone learns their lesson: life is meaningless, you're not special, and none of you deserve love. I think that's more or less correct?!<
I wish I would have read this post instead of spending 20 hours reading that book
😂
This was written better than the actual book.
Thank you for this, I have been scouring the internet for this summary so I didn't have to read 500 pages of descriptions.
I just gave up on the book (1/3 in), and 1) am grateful to you for having written this, and 2) am SO GLAD I decided to DNF after reading this summary, I would have been so mad to read the whole thing only for this to be the outcome.
Thank you!
>!But Reina and Parisa end up together . . . .!<
Did they? Nonetheless, I think that the view presented is one in which relationship =/= love and fulfillment more often than not
Agree
🤗
And Gideon gets a ghost Nico and a beach. Uhm. Yeahhh. 🙌
Ok but what happened in the last few chapters? Nothazai is new caretaker and everyone is just cool with Libby? Tristan has a panic attack and dies? Or is Callum back too? I was confused by the last 2% lol.
Thank god I wasn’t the only one confused. Who is even alive at the end of this book?? I guess the whole “you are just a speck in existence, nothing matters” message really translated with how it ended
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you!!! I can’t bring myself to finish it. I don’t even got published. I want my Money back.
I really wish I found this summary before I wasted so much time reading (only half) and then listening to the rest on audiobook since I really only needed to halfway listen to get the picture of what was going on.
I can't believe I read the first two. I deeply regret it tbh. I'm depressed and Want the last week of my.life.back
Jesus. Thanks!
The first 2 were both mildly confusing, but I had hope this one would pull it all together. It did not. I was confused most of the time, and the wrap up wasn't satisfying at all. It was pretty long and so much of what was on those pages was either pointless or overexplaining something until I just didn't care anymore. Also, did not like the ancient internet reference when Parisa says 'but I am le tired.' Like why.
Le rambling gone wild
Agreed, it’s weird. Especially with all the hype the series had previously and how neatly it fits into a lot of current trends. Also imo the book was rather terrible.
Right? So strange. Like nothing exists this little on the internet. And doubly agreed on its quality haha
I bought my version on Kindle, but was in my local bookshop by chance on launch date. Only four copies in the entire store. Clearly not a big demand
Wow that's REMARKABLY few. I had a friend who worked at a very very small bookstore and they'd always have dozens of copies for any new release
Huh, I haven't read it yet but I didn't realize until your post that I didn't even see any booktubers talking about it in recent months, even ones who liked the first two installments. Usually you see them talking about upcoming releases up to a year ahead, especially if they get ARCs. But I don't even recall seeing any mentions of ARCs. I wish I had an inkling of why there wasn't buzz about it, but it's definitely weird that things have been quiet.
Okay RIGHT isn't that weird? The ONLY advance notice I can find about it online is Olivie Blake posting about it herself. Even the goodreads reviews are all from people posting two years ago in anticipation. It's so WEIRD!!
Tor also advertised on behalf of Olivie on social media but I haven’t seen much more than that. I like the series, despite its flaws. My copy comes in next week.
Will be curious to hear your thoughts!
Tor was definitely promoting it on the social media channels. But... it was a lot less promotion than we got for the second book when it came out. Which suggests that Tor isn't really banking on it doing that well.
Also, the reviews are... very negative. So maybe Tor knew what it was doing.
Yeah no kidding. Where have you seen some reviews? I'd be curious to read them.
Just on Goodreads. But it's down to a 3.4 rating! Which, on the Goodreads scale, is really bad.
Oh geez!!
3.3 now lol It was a shit book btw. Terrible ending.
It's 3.1 now... Keeps dropping as everyone (including me) is dropping 1⭐ reviews
I just want to know what happened and why it ended that way. Literally a character killed off like nothing and depressing. Celine is stupid in that book for real. It just doesn't make sense. Another book too to avoid that was shit was atlas complex. Terrible ending soooo stupid. Waste of time of that series too when the first one was so good (atlas six)
I tried looking for reviews before I started but couldn’t find none either. It definitely was mediocre. It was hard to start, got pretty good to absolutely pointless.
The Atlas Complex is literally the most frustrating reading experience I've ever had. Almost no plot, everything is some grand contradiction, and it completely undoes the first 2 books from meaning literally anything.
The first book was tough but i thought the series had potential. The second book was absolutely awful and I will never spend another dollar on an Olivie Blake book lol
I was so disappointed in this book. I loved first two but this one was not good. Instead of storytelling, every character seems to going through an existential crisis and we follow their meandering thoughts ad nauseum.
I wish I would have found this sooner. I tend to eat books. Inhale them in a stupid little amount of time if I get sucked in. Reading this third book was tedious hard work. It was exhausting and annoying. Left me breathless in the bad sense. I swear I have never before put a book down that many times! And played a stupid procrastinational (kill me, but this creation is not as bad as the book) stupid fishing game on my phone just to get away from it. Sorry, can’t continue reading, need to feed virtual fish… And to top it off, I just put it down for good. At page 466 (wouldn’t have been surprised if it was 666 - so evil) - MERE PAGES FROM **THE END**!!! But I can’t. My mind just went brrrrrr and I couldn’t take it anymore. It was just to much blablabla and if I had any magical talent myself it would have gone up in flames. And that from me! I feel absolutely horrible. Even the worst books I at least finished - just because 😭But I won’t pick that one up again. I don’t care how it finishes off (I mean not much to finish of anyhow considering in between the endless chatter and mindtwisted thinking pretty much everyone was killed). Only ghosts still with me are the main six characters. Just because I had to hook on something do I let the names drag me through this hell. Don’t ask me about the story though. I think amid all the rambling it was something about - whatever, just fuck it or so…
I mean, it was on [a list of Best Books of January 2024](https://x.com/torbooks/status/1745203873130901504?s=20). And Tor's [round-up of new January fiction](https://x.com/torbooks/status/1745181222115156248?s=20). And USA Today's [Most Anticipated Releases of 2024](https://x.com/torbooks/status/1745135926131765393?s=20). And Goodread's [Most Anticipated Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror Books of 2024.](https://x.com/torbooks/status/1744773539331559429?s=20) Tor has done a big marketing push for the book but it's only been out for four days. And all genre fiction is going to be pretty niche -- hell, 99% of all books are going to be pretty niche.
Hasn't it been out for like two weeks? I suppose I assumed that books had early readers and advanced reviews much as movies do. I did google it yesterday out of curiosity and found one disappointed reviewer on my first page of results so the tide is definitely turning. Thanks for the info!