Some weeks ago, I finished the last book in Lucinda Riley’s The Seven Sisters series. The eighth book in the series is Atlas – The Story of Pa Salt. This post is my review of the book, keep in mind that all comments are my personal opinions!
The Story of the Novel
I want to say that I enjoyed finishing the series, but it’s been a wild ride with its ups and downs. Looking back at how I rated the previous books, this one redeems the last three which I didn’t enjoy. I liked the first four but was not that impressed by The Sun Sister, The Moon Sister, and The Missing Sister.
This book was the conclusion of the series and delivers on the promise of tying up loose ends. When you finish the first seven books there will still be questions. This novel was co-by Lucinda’s son Harry Whittaker, since the author passed away before the manuscript was completed.
In the story, we meet all the people from the previous seven books. We also get some flashbacks of people who were in the previous novels. And without giving away too much, Pa Salt did not find his daughters randomly.
The story of Atlas begins in 1918. This is also the first time that we learn the true name of the girls’ father. Up until this point, we don’t know him as anyone other than Pa Salt. Through the novel, we learn that Pa Salt has been all over the world way before the girls came into his life. And as you can imagine, it’s not random that his daughters come from all different parts of the world.
Reflections on the Novel
I think the authors of this novel tie things together nicely. Sometimes the dialogue feels flat, something I think has happened from time to time during this series, to be honest. Some scenes are very well written and I enjoyed them, especially towards the end. There were parts of this novel that I didn’t enjoy that much. But I liked the last few chapters and without spoiling too much: I cried a bit toward the end because I was moved.
The novel tells a story about a boy and man who has survived even in times when he shouldn’t have. He’s been on the run from a person for most of his life and the person he ran from is one he considered his brother. We understand why they were so close when they were young and also why he’s been running his whole life. We are also there when he meets other important characters in the series. George, Marina, and Claudia to name a few, and learn how and why they all live and work at Atlantis.
We hear of how Atlantis was created and why it appears to have been built in the 1700s, even though it was built in the 1970s.
Is Atlas – The Story of Pa Salt Worth Reading?
It’s hard to make a review of a novel before giving off spoilers. All the parts were really interesting I like how the author weaves the magic and slips us back in time. Other things that I enjoyed were the descriptions of the scenery. I think the parts about the past are more interesting than the ones taking place in the present. This has been my opinion for most of the series to be honest. I think the passages where the sisters have been seen, or you get the backstory leading up to finding their biological families have been the best ones.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, absolutely, and if you’ve read the previous seven, then you have to read this novel to finish the series and get some answers. I wouldn’t recommend the series as a whole, most of the books yes. Some books didn’t resonate that much with me, but I’ve seen others on Goodreads saying the same. As for which books resonate with you that depends on who you are as a person. I know that some of the novels I didn’t enjoy, others did. And some books that resonated with others did not at all resonate with me.
It is a long series so you have to commit to it. But I can see why people all over the world have enjoyed it as much as they have. So yes, if you’ve read the previous parts, you should read Atlas – The Story of Pa Salt. It’s nice to understand why some things during this series have played out the way they have. Things finally make some more sense towards the end. And the fact that Pa Salt always wanted to protect his family is very clear.
Overall a good read and a four out of five reading rating rating.
