A New York Times Bestselling book from 2022 does not really need a review from me. But the sequel just came out, and a customer recommended it to me. They were right. The Atlas Six is a treasure trove of beautiful writing, interesting characters, and odd wisdom.

Six young people, all accomplished medeians (magicians), are recruited by a mysterious man named Atlas Blake, for an unexpected and unusual opportunity. They end up secluded together in the Library of Alexandria, which has attained a sort of sentience and is now located somewhere in England. There, they research whatever philosophy, science and magic the Library will permit them.

The idea of an ancient and vaguely dangerous knowledge is not new, nor is the existence of a hidden magical library. The magical system invented by Olivie Blake, a merging of philosophy and science, is confusing enough that I did not really try to understand it. That said, much of the magical philosophy is actually basic psychology based on common sense and observation, and is extremely well done. The musing on the nature of villainy and heroism that starts on page 299, for example, is almost worth the price of the book.

But it is the characters—the six people chosen by Atlas, Atlas’ assistant, and Atlas himself—that are the core of the book. Every one of them is deeply flawed and holding powerful secrets, which they are hiding from the others, the reader and, sometimes, themselves. The relationships between all eight of them are fully realized and often wrenching. None of them are particularly likable, but they are so brilliantly understood within the story that you come to care for them all. This renders the trap that is closing around the chosen Six particularly poignant and riveting.

The Atlas Six covers the discovery and training of the Library’s newest students. It becomes clear that the trap closing on the students is part of a larger problem. The exact nature of the disaster that might be looming over Atlas and/or the Library remains to be seen in the second book, The Atlas Paradox. Both books are now available in trade paperback.