Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
USAF Major Atlas Brandt never thought he and his best friend Matty would become a couple, but after decades of friendship, Matty finally made a move for something more. Atlas is excited about this tender new development, but before these two ever really have a chance, Atlas’ world is turned upside down. During a flight in his F-15E Eagle jet, screams of horror and sounds of war fill his cockpit radio. Ground control is unresponsive. The only clear word Atlas catches is “demon,” and when he finally lands, reports of a demon attack are confirmed by those left on the ground. It sounds like a joke, but Atlas soon discovers what hell on earth looks like–literally.
All Atlas cares about in that moment is finding Matty. Tearing through the grounds, Atlas sees with his own eyes the kind of destruction and death the demons are capable of; he sees what they did to Matty. But not even his rage at a love snuffed out too quickly is enough to help Atlas put up a meaningful resistance, so he retreats back to the base where Atlas receives yet another shock to his system–meeting two of the sexiest men of his life.
Despite the fresh, raw hurt of losing Matty, Atlas cannot deny the instant zing of attraction he feels for the beautiful, waif-like angel Raziel and his juggernaut of a companion called Conquest. How he can feel such intense desire at a time like this is bewildering and Atlas knows he has to ignore it for a much bigger goal: getting these supernaturally powerful beings to help him save what is left of the human race. It seems like a foregone conclusion that Conquest and Raziel will help him; after all, they seem eager to kill the demons just like Atlas. Then Conquest explains that he is one of the four Horsemen of the apocalypse.
Atlas had misunderstood Conquest and the other Horsemen’s roles in battling the demons; the Horsemen were not battling demons to save humans, they were battling them because something is deeply wrong with how this apocalypse is unfolding. Helping humans is a temporary side effect at best, one that leaves Atlas reeling, even as his lust for Conquest and Raziel grows more and more overwhelming. Even more confusing is the way Raziel reciprocates and, eventually, how Conquest himself gives over to desire. They may know a love between immortals and a human cannot last, but they also know they would each move heaven and earth for one more day together.
Atlas is the first of a two-part duet set during the events of Sienna Moreau’s Four Horsemen series. Given that the timeline in this story overlaps books in the main series, it’s best if it’s read after the first four books. One of the reasons I was so excited to read this duet is because of how Atlas moonlights in the main series and especially the role he plays in the fourth book (Death). I am so pleased to get to discover the story of how Conquest and Raziel made room for Atlas in their beds and hearts. The main series really just sort of dropped Atlas into their relationship. This first book in the duet goes to great length in exploring how Atlas comes to meet Conquest and Raziel. In fact, I’d say the book is largely focused on exploring how Atlas, Conquest, and Raziel all fit together intimately and emotionally, which might make this an okay book to read as a standalone if you’re looking for an exploration of a polyamorous relationship in a dystopian fantasy setting.
First, Conquest and Raziel are obsessively in love with each other. Conquest is clearly dominant over Raziel, who dearly loves being the focus of Conquest’s attention. The size difference between them acts as a physical representation of the power difference between them. Also, Conquest has been around literally forever and Raziel is only 100 years old. Even with all those tropes at play, they don’t seem to be static. Conquest has been training Raziel to be a better fighter and more confident; Raziel himself seems more assertive in this story than he did in most of his “origin” story (Conquest). Not only that, but I thought they went through some real growth in this story with respect to the feelings they have for Atlas and what that means for their them as individuals and as a couple.
Atlas immediately recognizes his attraction to Raziel, while also immediately pegging Conquest as an aloof asshole (albeit an incredibly attractive one). Conquest’s initial reaction is disbelief that a mere mortal would be of interest and dismay that Raziel seems to feel something for Atlas. This creates a slight undertone of Conquest feeling upset that Raziel seems to want someone other than him and hostility towards Atlas. Atlas is outwardly appalled at being treated like he is an insolent child, but inwardly he seems to love the attention. Whatever Conquest’s quibbles are, Raziel only ever reinforces his staunch belief that Conquest is his one and only. Raziel goes so far as to explain that he’ll stay away from Atlas if that will make Conquest happy. Over the course of the book, Conquest tries to come to terms with the idea that Raziel and Atlas might have feelings for each other and that doesn’t necessarily mean he will lose Raziel. A much more uncomfortable topic for Conquest is the realization that he might not be as ambivalent about Atlas as he once thought. Atlas’ reactions more closely mirror Conquest; he knows being with Raziel won’t compare to what Raziel and Conquest have, but Conquest himself might be equally important to him.
The impossibility of Atlas, Conquest, and Raziel having a committed relationship crops up throughout the book. Apart from the “how to be polyamorous” soul searching our main characters engage in, there’s the fact that Conquest and Raziel are immortal and Atlas is not. Not only is this reflected in the danger Atlas faces every time he encounters demons (which he does, quite often), but also in those sparing conversations where Atlas is reminded that the Horsemen are not really on humanity’s side. This is a huge question that has big implications for their three-man relationship, but doesn’t really come to fore until the very end of the last chapter of book one. I think it sets us up nicely for what’s coming in book two and as a way to link this story to the events in book four of the main series.
If you enjoyed the Horsemen series and especially Conquest and Raziel’s story, I think you’ll love Atlas. The first book is every bit as hot and heavy as the original series and I thought it focused more on exploring this shift from a couple to a throuple and less on the apocalyptic events unfolding around them, though there’s still plenty of demon slaying and violence.
