If you liked
Books like The Atlas Six
by Olivie Blake
The Atlas Six locks six brilliant young magicians in a secret society's library and lets them scheme, seduce and betray one another for a place among the elite. Olivie Blake writes dark academia with morally grey knives out. If you want more secret-society, competitive-magic fiction, read on.
The shortlist
What to read next
The Secret Historyby Donna Tartt
“The Secret History by Donna Tartt 1992 review. A new student at a Vermont college is drawn into an exclusive Greek-studies seminar and the murder that the small clique conceals. The novel that defined the dark-academia register before it had a name.”
Babelby R. F. Kuang
“Babel by R. F. Kuang 2022 review. An alternate 1830s Oxford where the British Empire is powered by silver bars enchanted with the lost meaning between translated words. Nebula and Locus Award winner.”
Six of Crowsby Leigh Bardugo
“Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo 2015 review. A crew of six outcasts attempts an impossible heist in the corrupt city of Ketterdam. The YA fantasy heist novel that defined the contemporary Grishaverse and made Bardugo the major YA fantasy writer of her generation.”
The Cruel Princeby Holly Black
“The Cruel Prince by Holly Black 2018 review. Jude Duarte, a human raised in the High Court of Faerie, navigates Prince Cardan's cruel politics. Canonical contemporary YA romantasy.”
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRueby V. E. Schwab
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab 2020 review. A young Frenchwoman in 1714 trades her future for immortality and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. V. E. Schwab's standalone literary fantasy.”
A Court of Thorns and Rosesby Sarah J. Maas
“A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 2015 review. A human huntress is taken to the faerie kingdom of Prythian after killing a wolf in the woods. The first ACOTAR book and the romantasy series that set the table for the genre's BookTok-era explosion.”
FAQ
Common questions about The Atlas Six read-alikes
- What is the closest dark-academia match?
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the founding text: a cloistered elite, a murder, and beautiful people talking themselves into the unforgivable. Babel by R. F. Kuang weds the campus setting to magic and empire. Both are the obvious next reads.
- I want the morally grey ensemble.
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo gives you a crew of clever, dangerous people turning on and toward each other, exactly the Atlas Six dynamic. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black brings the same cold scheming to a faerie court.
- I want the seductive, atmospheric magic.
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas both wrap romance and danger in lush atmosphere. Good picks if the mood and the tension were what pulled you in.
- Should I keep going with the series?
- Yes. The Atlas Six continues in a trilogy, and readers who love the scheming and the slow-burn tensions tend to devour the sequels. The first book only sets the board.
The original