Atlas and the Multiverse was a book kindly sent to me by the author at the request that I review it. The front cover intrigued me and the premise intrigued me: a young boy and his friends find and venture into the multiverse to save all of the universes. I love these sorts of things.
Atlas and the Multiverse is the first book by debut author Chandon Siman. It is a middle-grade/young adult novel set in modern times based around three kids. The main character is Atlas (obviously), a fostered boy who begins to hear voices one day in school before having a vision of a man claiming to be his father.
Atlas and the Multiverse plot – 4/5
Atlas and the Multiverse follows Atlas and his brother and sister, Nico and Lilou, as they search out Atlas’ father and stumble into the existence of the “multiverse”. Along their journey, they discover new worlds, new friends and large new dangers.
Throughout the book, I couldn’t help but keep thinking back to the Percy Jackson series. It’s a book about three young people, travelling across a new environment with a father figure as an important part of the story. These are lofty heights and expectations and I feel like Atlas and the Multiverse hit the right note on almost all of them.
The pacing of the book is fast enough that you can easily plough through chapters without too much worry and feel like something new and interesting is happening often enough. The imagination and creativity here from Siman are brilliant and fit perfectly into the world.
I do wish that the author had made more use of the multiverse, taking us through more different varieties of universes, thinking of alternative versions of reality etc. There’s definitely a feeling that the full potential of the multiverse wasn’t quite met here. However, there are hints that there might be a sequel, so I fully expect Siman will let his imagination run wild again too.
Atlas and the Multiverse characters – 4/5
Engaging and interesting characters are an absolute must in a kid’s book. Yes, the plot has to hook you in and be filled with imagination but if the characters that we’re reading about are dull, then it can quickly lose your attention. Siman has done a great job here of finely balancing the plot and characters to keep me entertained.
Atlas himself is an ambitious and thoughtful young man who has faults. He loses his temper and can be short with people which builds a much deeper layer to his character which I actually like. There’s definitely a feeling that he grows up and learns life lessons throughout the book.
The supporting characters are all unique enough to add their own elements to the story which is all you can really ask for here. There aren’t any characters that particularly stood out to me. Lilou was the most passionate and probably had the most personality – she certainly offers the most opinions.
Atlas and the Multiverse summary – 4/5
Atlas and the Multiverse is a very strong and very enjoyable first entry into this debut series by Chandon Siman. It’s not perfect and it feels like it didn’t quite reach its potential but the enjoyable characters, the fast plot and the fact I constantly felt ready for the next chapter speaks volumes for Siman’s debut novel.
Pick up a copy of Atlas and the Multiverse here or find another book to read here.
