Take a photo of a barcode or cover

heartbrekker 's review for:
The Atlas Six
by Olivie Blake
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Atlas Six Indie vs. The Atlas Six Tor
"Knowledge is carnage. You can't have it without sacrifice."
Originally back in September, I read the paperback, indie copy of TAS. I went in with pretty high expectations, and I was disappointed. When I realized Tor was rereleasing it, I knew I wanted to compare and contrast the changes Tor made. Would it be better? Completely different?
"Men in particular are draining, they bleed us dry. They demand we carry their burdens, fix their ills. A man is constantly in search of a good woman, but what do they offer us in return/
My biggest issue with the original was the lack of exposition at large to story. Some action and conversation scenes were hard to follow/ visualize. The explanation of the library and its technicalities were difficult to understand too. I went in looking specifically for these changes.
"That was the peril of thought. Thoughts were so rarely dismissed once they'd been picked up and toyed with, and a mind successfully altered could rarely, if ever, revert. Worse were feelings. Feelings were never forgotten, even if their sources were."
Now I can safely say, the newer version does indeed address my issues. You first see it in the initial fight scene, but it’s small. The specific scene that shined much brighter after the changes was Libby’s conversation with Atlas towards the very end of the novel. I didn’t realize how important it was until my reread, and the conversation is much more intriguing.
"Strength was for machines and monsters; the others could not relate to faultlessness or perfection. Humans wanted humanity, and that meant he would have to show evidence of weakness."
The absolute best change of the entire novel is the climax scene. If you’ve read it, then you know what that is. I was flipping back and forth between my two versions constantly, and it made that entire scene 10x better. It unfolds with more pain, context, and mystery; I simply loved the deeper emotional toll!
"Water could be convinced to be wine, in the right hands, or at least made to look and taste like it."
My rating back in September was about a ★ 3.25/5, but now it’s a solid ★ 4.25/5. I think with the time constraint to edit, Olivie and Tor did a phenomenal job. Most of the other changes are subtle because it’s vocabulary, sentence structure, and added text for a sentence or so. I do think more exposition could be added but that’s my own personal taste. I’ll always take more world building in a magical dark academia!
"Depending on how you viewed it, Persephone had either been stolen or she had run form Demeter to avoid being used. Either way, she had made herself a queen."
Already, I loved the characters and their complexities, but I’ve come to appreciate their faults, ambitions, and individuality even more. I’ll be anxiously awaiting The Atlas Paradox because I. NEED. MORE. TAP is officially one of my most anticipated releases of 2022!
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC and Tor for the finished copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own
"Knowledge is carnage. You can't have it without sacrifice."
Originally back in September, I read the paperback, indie copy of TAS. I went in with pretty high expectations, and I was disappointed. When I realized Tor was rereleasing it, I knew I wanted to compare and contrast the changes Tor made. Would it be better? Completely different?
"Men in particular are draining, they bleed us dry. They demand we carry their burdens, fix their ills. A man is constantly in search of a good woman, but what do they offer us in return/
My biggest issue with the original was the lack of exposition at large to story. Some action and conversation scenes were hard to follow/ visualize. The explanation of the library and its technicalities were difficult to understand too. I went in looking specifically for these changes.
"That was the peril of thought. Thoughts were so rarely dismissed once they'd been picked up and toyed with, and a mind successfully altered could rarely, if ever, revert. Worse were feelings. Feelings were never forgotten, even if their sources were."
Now I can safely say, the newer version does indeed address my issues. You first see it in the initial fight scene, but it’s small. The specific scene that shined much brighter after the changes was Libby’s conversation with Atlas towards the very end of the novel. I didn’t realize how important it was until my reread, and the conversation is much more intriguing.
"Strength was for machines and monsters; the others could not relate to faultlessness or perfection. Humans wanted humanity, and that meant he would have to show evidence of weakness."
The absolute best change of the entire novel is the climax scene. If you’ve read it, then you know what that is. I was flipping back and forth between my two versions constantly, and it made that entire scene 10x better. It unfolds with more pain, context, and mystery; I simply loved the deeper emotional toll!
"Water could be convinced to be wine, in the right hands, or at least made to look and taste like it."
My rating back in September was about a ★ 3.25/5, but now it’s a solid ★ 4.25/5. I think with the time constraint to edit, Olivie and Tor did a phenomenal job. Most of the other changes are subtle because it’s vocabulary, sentence structure, and added text for a sentence or so. I do think more exposition could be added but that’s my own personal taste. I’ll always take more world building in a magical dark academia!
"Depending on how you viewed it, Persephone had either been stolen or she had run form Demeter to avoid being used. Either way, she had made herself a queen."
Already, I loved the characters and their complexities, but I’ve come to appreciate their faults, ambitions, and individuality even more. I’ll be anxiously awaiting The Atlas Paradox because I. NEED. MORE. TAP is officially one of my most anticipated releases of 2022!
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC and Tor for the finished copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own