Synopsis

The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few…

– Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.
– Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.
– Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.
– Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.
– Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation. During this time, they will be permitted access to the Society’s archives and judged on their contributions to arcane areas of knowledge. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive. Most of them.

Review

What a fabulous book!

Apart from the ending (of this part) being a little sudden, the story hooked me from the beginning and I was swept up in the magic, mythology and mayhem!

The characters are fantastic – particularly Libby and Parisa – and I look forward to learning more about them in the sequel. The relationships between each of the Six and the others is so intriguing and surprising; the diversity and richness of the cultures and histories of the characters bring a real depth to the story that is compelling and engaging.

I loved the intelligent writing and the focus on etymology and power. The world that Blake has conjured up is believable and real, with fantastic attention to detail. At times I thought I knew where the story was going, but I was wrong every single time and I loved it.

Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys dark academia.

Thanks to Black Crow PR and Tor Books for my copy. Opinions my own.