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heartbrekker's Reviews (797)
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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TNCU had a lot of potential— I'm not gonna lie about that. Although, my biggest gripe will always be the handling of the killer and their motivations. It felt rushed and half hazard because there was so much build up for other character(s) that made far more sense. It was cheaply done in a way that felt like it wasn't the other characters just because the author didn't want the reader to guess beforehand. They wanted to be one of those few thriller authors who could pull a fast one on their readers. Well... this is what NOT to do.
This is a prime example of a author losing the trust of the reader because they themself don't trust the reader enough to come to their own conclusions. It's a backfire situation because it can then confuse and upset the reader since our knowledge and feelings are played with.
Moreover, I felt as if the voices of the two main MCs (Stella and Ellie) were one and the same. Besides Ellie's traumatic experiences and constant reference to it, I don't think there's much of anything that differentiates their tone and characterization.
Don't even get me started on the addiction and handling of abortion. This book had a chance to make these traumatic events more meaningful, especially for young adults who go through them, but instead, we are left with characters that do none of this at all. They just wallow and bring it up relentlessly as their only character trait. They're defined by this trauma instead of overcoming it., which I think is even worse because teens should work towards healing and bettering themselves. This novel doesn't give that meaningful theme or message.
Overall, a very sloppy book in terms of the planning for the true crime story. Mila was my favorite character, but I'm unsure if that’s because we got the least amount of time with her since she’s the killed teen. Personally, I think she had to die due to her maturity and common sense. You can't have a character live when their knowledge will deescalate the stress and tensions of immature characters like the rest of these students and adults. Maybe I'll further explain some of the issues about this book, but for now this is all I got.
This is a prime example of a author losing the trust of the reader because they themself don't trust the reader enough to come to their own conclusions. It's a backfire situation because it can then confuse and upset the reader since our knowledge and feelings are played with.
Moreover, I felt as if the voices of the two main MCs (Stella and Ellie) were one and the same. Besides Ellie's traumatic experiences and constant reference to it, I don't think there's much of anything that differentiates their tone and characterization.
Don't even get me started on the addiction and handling of abortion. This book had a chance to make these traumatic events more meaningful, especially for young adults who go through them, but instead, we are left with characters that do none of this at all. They just wallow and bring it up relentlessly as their only character trait. They're defined by this trauma instead of overcoming it., which I think is even worse because teens should work towards healing and bettering themselves. This novel doesn't give that meaningful theme or message.
Overall, a very sloppy book in terms of the planning for the true crime story. Mila was my favorite character, but I'm unsure if that’s because we got the least amount of time with her since she’s the killed teen. Personally, I think she had to die due to her maturity and common sense. You can't have a character live when their knowledge will deescalate the stress and tensions of immature characters like the rest of these students and adults. Maybe I'll further explain some of the issues about this book, but for now this is all I got.
dark
emotional
tense
Since this is a finale, I usually like to delve into the logistics of the series and how the conclusion factors in, but for the first time ever, I'm baffled. I do not have words to describe this reading experience besides the fact that it was PERFECT. Yes, I do, indeed, mean PERFECTION.
I have zero clue how Fonda managed to write a finale that spanned 20 years into a cohesive whole, but she did it with grace and equal brutality. I didn't think the end to Jade War could be topped in terms of emotional instability, but I was proven wrong. My Goodreads updates consisted of me telling my friends and followers all about my incessant shaking. I couldn't stop to save my life because Fonda had me by the edge of my damn seat. She's truly a mastermind.
If you are looking for a dynamic modern fantasy, then look no further than this trilogy. You don't even need to wait for it anymore to release! I'll be recommending this till the day I die— definitely one of my favorite reads of 2021 and my life.
I have zero clue how Fonda managed to write a finale that spanned 20 years into a cohesive whole, but she did it with grace and equal brutality. I didn't think the end to Jade War could be topped in terms of emotional instability, but I was proven wrong. My Goodreads updates consisted of me telling my friends and followers all about my incessant shaking. I couldn't stop to save my life because Fonda had me by the edge of my damn seat. She's truly a mastermind.
If you are looking for a dynamic modern fantasy, then look no further than this trilogy. You don't even need to wait for it anymore to release! I'll be recommending this till the day I die— definitely one of my favorite reads of 2021 and my life.
