The Atlas Complex

So very wordy! I frequently had to go back to TRY to find the beginning of a sentence because there were so many dashes & parentheses that you would lose the context of a sentence. And sometimes even a whole paragraph or page

this needs to be adapted to a show or film asap i won’t accept anything less!! i can see so many scenes in my head reading this third book especially, but the first and second are also so adaptable <3

I cannot even tell you what these books are ‘about’ because they encompass the entirety of human existence and you must start at the beginning of book 1 and pay attention for all 40-odd hours of reading turgid prose because it all really DOES matter and you’ll see the poetry in the whole at the end. Just my opinion. Not a light read for the beach or an afternoon diversion, this is an undertaking that will be worth the time you take to savor it; I promise.PS: even the author admits she can’t say what the book is ‘about’ so if non-linear but profound storytelling is not your cup if tea, these books will change your mind about that!

Literary Craftsmanship: Blake's mastery of language shines through. Her ability to turn phrases and construct sentences is commendable. The rich vocabulary she employs caters to logophiles, leaving a lasting impression. Using interesting literary devices to explore past, present, and projected futures adds depth to the narrative. Blake's organization and construction deserve five stars.Plot and Climax: Here lies the crux ... while the series excels in prose, the storytelling falters. A trilogy should build toward a satisfying climax, yet in the third installment, it falls apart. Introducing new, irrelevant characters disrupts continuity, diverting the principal characters into peculiar corners. It detracts from the overall experience of book three in a trilogy format.Missed Opportunity: Blake reveals that the trilogy was born from partisan social anger. Wish I knew that to start. She betrays the better story that could have been here and takes the low road. Creativity fueled by existential angst and hate can be an impactful narrative in the hands of self-destructive genius for the remaining time they choose to stay with us.Blake's literary prowess deserves recognition for its bursts of creativity. Alas, the trilogy loses its rudder.

So, Blakely was Atlas’ father… and, everyone’s decisions were faulty. Not sure I really got the point except people don’t matter, and we as a species are crap.

I love the way Blake writes; elegant and classy words describing real messy thoughts and feelings. Unlike others in the reviews I honestly loved how this ended. Sometimes in a sea of books with happy endings, something that leaves characters unresolved or with messy endings makes you feel less alone. This entire series felt raw and real. I only knocked it down to 4 stars because the beginning was a little disjointed which kind of put a weird hiccup in the raw emotion that built from the second book. I wish there would have been more from Libby’s point of view to explain her actions a bit better. But other than that I got everything I wanted from the characters. Reina and Callum will go down as my absolute favorites from the book. This last book also gave me a soft for Parisa.

So Olivie says she wrote this trilogy from a "place of political rage" and admits that the story was part "prolonged philosophical rumination." If I had known this beforehand, I would never have bought the first book. I FINALLY just finished this last one and now that I'm done, I regret buying any of them.Sheesh, this was a slog to get through. And my oh my, Olivie loves to hear herself talk. Here's an example:Character 1 asks Character 2 a question. Character 2 then conducts an excruciating inner dialog for about five pages and then answers the question... sort of. By that time, I forgot what the question was, so I go back five pages to re-read the question. Then when I put the question and answer together, it usually didn't make any sense or it was exceedingly unclear.This didn't happen once or twice. IT HAPPENED THROUGHOUT ALL THREE BOOKS!!!Then, there were the endless... circular... conversations about who is going to kill who. After about the hundredth such conversation, this topic became very boring and I was like: "Are we talking about this AGAIN? Just somebody do it and get it over with, OK???"Most of the time, I had no idea what was going on, because of Olivie's incomplete sentences, whole-paragraph run-on sentences, and incomprehensible and unsatisfying plot lines. And wow, her characters were angry, and they sure liked to switch sexual partners a lot, too.Note to Olivie: This theme of special people with special "superpowers" has been overdone ad nauseam (i.e., The Avengers, The Grisha, and many, many more). Time to come up with something new.Here's a question that I never got answered: Why the HELL do the Archives require the six initiates to kill one of the others every 10 years? This was never explained. I kept waiting for an explanation, but none ever came. I still have no idea.And what exactly IS this "sentient" library? I wanted to know if there was a Board of Directors or somebody who worked behind the scenes at the Archives who determined what the initiates could and could not see. But apparently, this library is some sort of "live" entity that controls all the ancient knowledge (eye roll). Or maybe it is an AI robot? I have no idea about this either. Dalton insinuated it was kind of like a computer, but who knows.So Libby killed her her ex-boyfriend Ezra, Atlas Blakely, and her soulmate Nico... and then didn't feel one bit bad or guilty? WTF!? She turned out to be a very unsympathetic or likable character.And what did they do with all the dead bodies in the mansion? Did the Archives "magically" clean them up?Then there was all this preaching about the ills of society and that nobody is important ("just grains of sand"). On and on and on... Blech.Final thoughts: Olivie needs a good editor. This story could have been tightened up and made into just one book. Plus an editor could have also cut out all her "clever" interjections that just ended up being pretentious and annoying. When I read a novel, I want to have an enjoyable experience not be lectured by an angry political activist wannabe.You are probably asking why I read all three books if I found them so detestable. Well, since I had purchased them, I didn't want to waste my money by setting them aside. I was also curious to see how Olivie would end the book. But that was unsatisfying, too, with no clear explanations of what happened to the survivors of the Society. For example: At the end, Nothazai asks Libby if she is the new researcher, and she answers, "I..." And that's it! Is she or isn't she the new researcher? The answer just hangs there with no resolution. (And are Reina and Parisa staying at the mansion, too? Are they a couple now? Who knows? Nothing is clear.)Finally, all three books ended up being a big waste of my time. Sorry, Olivie. Never again.

Psychological mysteries replete with magic and romance. Multiple characters developed through the series. You will be amazed and surprised at every turn!

The book itself came in good condition. However I did not like how the series ended

I highly doubt there's anything she can write that would be anything less!

La trilogía de "The Atlas Complex" es una de esas historias que o te encanta o no te dice nada. En mi caso, aunque terminé el último libro con sentimientos encontrados, reconozco que tiene su encanto. La narrativa puede ser pesada, como caminar por un pantano, pero a la vez tiene algo que te atrapa y no te suelta. Es cierto que la autora se pasa tres pueblos describiendo cada pensamiento y emoción de los personajes, hasta el punto de perderse en sus propias palabras, pero esto no quita que cada personaje sea único y complejo a su manera, dándole al libro una profundidad impresionante en cuanto a estudio de personajes se refiere.Los personajes son un desastre hermoso. Están tan bien desarrollados que parecen reales, desde Nico, el novio tipo "golden retriever", hasta Parisa, que está pasando por una crisis existencial y resultó ser con quien más me identifiqué. La trama es un poco difusa, centrada más en las "vibras" y en hacer ciencia para escapar de este universo, lo cual no me importó mucho ya que estaba totalmente sumergido en la complejidad de los personajes.Sin embargo, algunos giros de la trama me parecieron innecesarios y me dejaron un mal sabor de boca, especialmente uno que afectó a mi personaje favorito. Esto, junto con un final que más que respuestas trajo más preguntas, hizo que bajara mi calificación del libro.A pesar de sus fallos, el libro brilla en sus discusiones filosóficas sobre la vida, el conocimiento y nuestra existencia, que personalmente encontré estimulantes. Si te gustan las historias de fantasía con personajes moralmente ambiguos y discusiones sobre ética y metafísica, te recomendaría esta serie. Pero si no, probablemente haya otras historias que te llamen más la atención.

Emotionally unavailable until further notice.It wasn't at all what I was expecting and yet it was perfect.The author note at the end was everything.

Arrived fast and in good condition.