Atlas of Unknowable Things

by McCormick Templeman

Perfect for fans of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, with a modern gothic twist.

High in the Rocky Mountains on a secluded campus, sits Hildegard College, a celebrated institution known for its scientific innovation and its sprawling, botanical gardens. Historian Robin Quain has been awarded a residency to examine Hildegard’s impressive collection of ancient manuscripts, but she has a secret. She’s actually on the hunt for an artifact—one she must find before her former best friend turned professional rival gets his hands on it first.

But Hildegard has secrets of its own. Strange sounds echo across the alpine lake, lights flicker through the pines, and the faculty seem more like Jazz-age glitterati than academics. And then there’s the professor who holds the key to Robin’s research. She vanished suddenly last spring. What exactly did she do at the college, and why does no one want to talk about her?

As Robin searches for answers, an unknown source sends her a series of cryptic messages that makes her question whether she’s the one doing the hunting, or whether someone is hunting her. Drawing on historical, botanical, and occult research, and steeped in the gothic tradition, Atlas of Unknowable Things considers what it means to search for meaning in the scientific, only to come face to face with the sublime.

Genres: Horror, Dark Academia, Mystery, Fiction, Gothic, Thriller, Fantasy

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2025

Reviews

[Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with this book pretty quickly. It was an amazing feat because there is a coldness to it that would normally be off-putting to me. You don't particularly care about the characters because the focus is almost exclusively on the mystery. The best way to describe it, I think, is dark academia, but JUST dark academia. No romance. Not really any humor. There is not much depth to the characters beyond creepy and mysterious. It is just darkness and academia with little else.

The darkness is awesome for most of the book, though. Something is constantly going on, whether it's searching for clues or some sort of spookiness. And there is a lot of different things going on, but it's paced well so it doesn't feel overwhelming.

The academia part was extensive, but the clues weren't very complex. I don't believe this is the kind of mystery you would be able to figure out yourself, so it's probably best to just soak in the vibes and go along for the ride.

Then there was the ending, which felt incredibly rushed. I don't think it was a bad conclusion, but I do think it would have benefitted from another 50 pages to let things breathe. Otherwise, it was a fun read.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook Review:
Title/Author: Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman
Format Read: digital galley blurb request AND an ALC
Pub date: October 7th, 2025
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Page Count: 320
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978125039...
Recommended for readers who enjoy:
- Dark Academia/remote and isolated school
- puzzle box mystery
- portals and dimensions
- alchemy and botany, Latin, and a whole host of other topics of deep research
- cosmic horror
- elaborate, intricately plotted storyline (not character-driven)
- 9 Perfect Strangers (Season 2), Severance vibes
__
Minor complaints:
- after reading both the ebook and the audio, I recommend the ebook if you want a more character-driven story and the audiobook if you want to understand the clues and solve the mystery more or do both and have a peak experience ;) The narrator for the audiobook has a voice that didn't quite line-up with the tone of the book. Upon my first reading, I imagined the FMC sounded more like Emma Watson and in the audiobook, she sounds more like Anna Kendrick. It's a pretty sharp contrast

Final recommendation: 
This is the perfect blend of mystery/thriller and horror. The puzzle box nature of the story with all its clues and breadcrumbs makes for a sweet distraction from the running narrative in your brain that are increasingly worrisome these days. The horror elements come from the mysterious and eerie encounters the FMC keeps having while she's on this campus in the middle of the woods with a bunch of suspicious strangers.
I love that the FMC, Robin, is no slouch. She's intuitive and perceptive with a good head on her shoulders so we're able to navigate through this mystery with ease. There is a full cast of characters to be wary of and the setting is masterfully described--I could see it all in my mind. The audiobook really helps with this.
I liked my audiobook experience for helping me be patient through the more scholarly aspects of this story but I enjoyed the eBook for imagining the characters and what their voices sound like--oh and the tone of the storytelling was better in my own head than with the audiobook--doing both at the same time would be ideal

Comps: 9 Perfect Strangers but Season 2--mostly just vibes with similar "research" and Severance in the way the story explores themes of mental detachment from reality as a security measure. Also, other 'puzzle box' narratives like Danielle Trussoni's work (The Ancestor and The Puzzle Master)


Cover blurb: "Atlas of Unknowable Things sent me down a dark, twisting rabbit hole while the author secretly reoriented my brain chemistry to only desire more of this book. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it—Wildly addictive, terrifying, and smart as hell."

[Will Byrnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

…the world seems especially chaotic and violent to me lately, like basic human decency has gone out the window. Most days I think I’m imagining it, but some nights I wake up with this certainty that it’s real, almost like there’s this slow leak of evil drifting out into the world tainting everything it touches.

--------------------------------------

I began to understand. I had stepped through a veil of sorts. Hildegard wasn’t like other places. There were rules here I didn’t understand. There were puzzles and clues and mysteries, and even though I felt an almost immediate and palpable sense of danger, some part of me was excited. I’d spent my entire life waiting for something to feel real, to feel important. I’d always wanted to feel at the center of something truly grand. And though I couldn’t say definitively that what was happening to me was necessarily grand, at least it was something.

As for the title, it turns out many of the things at issue are indeed knowable.

Post-grad Robin Quain is going through an identity crisis. She had a bad experience with a bf who had stolen her research to publish as his own. Then she is staying with her cousin, Paloma, in New York when her roomie goes suddenly suspicious and hostile, adding to her disorientation. Robin is looking into the possibility that the witch trials were actually an attempt to squash a long-standing established religion. She finds a clue that might lead her to a great discovery, a particular artifact. While doing this she learns that a woman has died and another, one linked to her research, has gone missing. Both were near a small college in Colorado, one that has an impressive library that might help her find what she seeks, one where the missing woman had taught, one where Robin is now accepted for a summer residency, and the game is on.


McCormick Templeman - Image from Lighthouse Writers

Hildegard College really does seem like a game site, not just to us as readers, but also to Robin as a character. The story has a video game feel, find hidden clues, pick up weapons/tools, advance a level, answer riddles, repeat. But she feels less than entirely safe, or welcomed.

I felt like a fawn isolated from the herd as a pack of wolves slowly surrounded it, closing in, preparing for the sacrificial feast.

The student body is gone for the season, leaving the staff, professors mostly. They have a surprising history of connection with the institution. They also seem a particularly unusual collection of brains and beauty.

There is more at stake than the particular bit of history/lore that she is delving into. There are mysteries aplenty in the Rockies, including just what the hell is going on at this very eccentric tucked-away place. It is definitely something significant. There are many hints of things that might be considered supernatural, paranormal, or mythical. (Templeman has a PhD in English lit with a specialty in 19th century horror, so this fits right in) Strange flashes of light and howls in the woods, death of a local from mauling by an unidentified animal, sirens that go off in the wee hours that are most definitely not sounded to warn of loose guard dogs, large horned beings that appear in bedrooms, an island to which no one is allowed access, you know, stuff. Is Robin being paranoid? Is she being paranoid enough? Templeman provides plenty of red-herring clues that keep us guessing. Witches? Vampires? Werewolves? Ghosts? What?

The book makes several mentions of the dubious line that divides science from magic, a major thematic thread.

“Witchcraft and science aren’t as far apart as we’d all like to believe. Some say the supernatural is just natural phenomena for which we don’t yet have a scientific explanation.”

…is it possible to perceive a glimmer of the factual and historical within mankind’s persistent attraction to the supernatural?

…where are we? Where are we really?” In the depth of the night, the trees seemed to be moving in our direction. Or was it something else? He kissed my forehead. “Oh, sweetie, we’re in the place monsters come from.” “Monsters are real?” “They always have been. You just need to venture far enough out into the woods.”

It is not just the line between science and myth that is at issue, but the line between reality and something other. Robin has a real identity challenge, which makes this a more complex than usual journey of self-discovery. It runs the risk of making Robin an unreliable narrator.

There is a lot to enjoy IN Atlas, particularly the research nuggets that enrich the narrative. Templeman fills us in on elements relating to Joan of Arc, Scottish witch trials, ancient religions, a full bouquet of botanical skinny (a PhD in Chinese medicine no doubt helps Templeman here), tarot-like divination, and plenty more.

Robin’s difficulties at the school include a newfound proclivity for somnambulism. This seemed a bit overused, as Robin flits between this and that state whenever it seems convenient for the story to progress. There is a struggle Robin goes through that, while key to our suspension of disbelief, I found less than persuasive. This knocked it down a notch for me. But overall, the genre bending in Atlas is fun. The suspense is palpable. The fodder for imagination is voluminous. The scientific and historical knowledge on display is colossal. Robin is an appealing academic every-woman, a truth-seeker in a challenging place, and thus we can engage with her. It is a knowable thing that Atlas is a fun read that will keep you googling references and flipping pages.

Sometimes no rescue is possible—not when you’re the problem.

Review posted - 10/17/25

Publication date – 10/07/25


I received an ARE of Atlas of Unknowable Things from Saint Martin’s Press in return for a fair review. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.




This review is cross-posted on my site, Coot’s Reviews. Stop by and say Hi!

=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the Templeman’s personal, Instagram, and Goodreads pages

Profile – from her site

McCormick Templeman is a writer, editor, and scholar. A former professor, she has taught a variety of courses in English literature and creative writing. After graduating from Reed College (go Griffins) with a BA in English Literature, she went on to earn an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University, and a PhD in English and Literary Arts from the University of Denver where, in addition to creative writing, she specialized in 19th century horror and depictions of medicine in literature.

Possessed of a lifelong interest in the healing arts, she worked for a time as a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist and ran her own clinic in New York City. She holds a doctorate in acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine from Pacific College of Health and Science, a certificate in plant medicine from Cornell, and she is currently working toward becoming a clinical mental health counselor.

Interviews
----- Dennis James Sweeney's Substack 2025 - Two Questions with McCormick Templeman, author of Atlas of Unknowable Thing
-----In Walks a Woman - Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman / Special Guest Dr. Rachel Feder - audio – 58 minutes

Items of Interest from the author
-----Eater of Books - Blog Tour Guest Post with McCormick Templeton, Author in Slasher Girls and Monster Boys in which MT lists her top ten under-the-radar horror films
-----Google - preview

[Ellery Adams]

This was a book of two parts for me. It began as a mystery, steeped in an isolated dark academia setting. I was completely sucked in and eager to see what clues Robin would uncover. Ms Templeman did a wonderful job creating an enigmatic academic setting with supernatural vibes. I didn't get a strong sense of Robin's character, and this disconnect strengthen during the second half as she tries to figure out her own identity. I was still invested in the overall puzzle, but I felt like I was watching the action unfold from a great distance. I didn't quite feel any emotion from the characters until the very end, and those scenes were really exciting.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published October 7, 2025.

2 stars

Both this book and the last book I read (the excitable FORGET ME NOT by Stacy Willingham) feature female main characters who are invited into someone else’s space then immediately think they have the right to start breaking into private spaces and nosing all around. What the heck is with these people? This sort of stuff gets you SHOT, and, you know what? Mind your own damn business.

Robin Quain is an academic and she arranges an visiting status at a university in Colorado (which the author treats as if it’s Oxford without taking into account, I guess, the Colorado hasn’t even been around that long.). There are a handful of other faculty around, no students and it turns out that the apocalypse is closer than anyone thought (this is done really poorly.)

Though this didn’t go in a predictable fashion, which is nice, if you are looking for clear explanations of the whys and wherefores they are lacking here I must be a nerd to want it all to make sense. The farther away I am from having read this the more I dislike it.

[Holden Wunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this, what a wild ride. This is my first ever experience from McCormick Templeman and I’m almost offended that I’ve never read her before.

The Atlas of Unknowable Things is almost indescribable in its achievements and is truly an experience. If I had to, I’d liken it to Ninth House, Shutter Island, and Cabin in the Woods having a twisted little baby. It’s always incredibly impressive when a book reminds you more of the movies and that’s exactly what this book does. It felt so visceral, there was never a moment when I didn’t have such a clear image in my head.

This was truly an experience and just in time for Spook-tober. I implore people to just pick it up and let it take you on the journey. There’s a mystery, an unraveling, a demonic presence and a claustrophobia that’s indescribable. Enjoy!

[Bella Sun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal! Absolutely brilliant! I could not get enough of this book. I was reading it every chance I could. There are books you enjoy and then there are books the devour you! Atlas of Unknowable Things is deliciously dark horror book that kept me guessing until the very end. This was such an intelligently, well-told story that I feel as thought the characters are still lingering in my room with me. I really appreciated Robin, following her around, getting in her head, feeling her fears,. It all felt so real and visceral. I could smell, taste and touch everything about this book. The mystery unfolded like a night blow ing flowers slowly letting the reader in but never revealing too much, The twists and turns just kept coming and taking me surprise. I was hangin on every well-chosen line. After I finished the book I just lied on my floor in awe of the entire path the story took. Upon finishing the story I immediately wanted to read it all over again. Thank you St. Martin's Press for this early copy.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, Atlas of Unknowable Things, by McCormick Templeman, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Robin writes on the occult, she goes to a group of like minded people to talk about occults and the like, but things are not always what they appear to be. This book was a little to weird and out there for me

[Raynee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atmospheric, eerie, and beautifully written.

A dark academia novel that spirals deeper than expected. What begins as a scholarly hunt for an artifact turns into something far more sinister as the college’s secrets start closing in on Robin.

Robin begins as a well-developed and intriguing character. Her curiosity and drive make her the perfect guide into Hildegard College and the world she is uncovering. Her boldness adds both intensity and tension to the story, though at times it leads to moments of frustration that make her feel authentically flawed.

The setting, a summer academic residency, initially does not seem like the usual backdrop for a dark academia novel, but Templeman transforms it into something richly gothic. The atmosphere hums with occult undertones and quiet mystery, creating a sense of unease that lingers.
The ensemble of side characters who help Robin uncover the truth about Isabel, and ultimately about herself, form an eclectic cast that fits neatly into college archetypes. While this makes them endearing and familiar, it is occasionally jarring since they are meant to be professors rather than students. It is a small detail, but one that slightly affects how the world reads and how believable the dynamic feels.

Hildegard College itself, tucked high in the Rocky Mountains, is a hauntingly memorable setting—lush, isolated, and full of secrets. It is the kind of place that feels alive, with history whispering through its walls.

While not without its flaws, this novel captures the essence of dark academia with its moody atmosphere, layered mystery, and slow unraveling of both place and character. It is a story for readers who love quiet tension, strange academia, and the kind of unease that stays long after the last page.

Thank you St. Martins Press for a finished copy of Atlas of Unknowable Things

[Sara Jesus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ler este livro é como construir um puzzle ou jogar um videojogo. Em cada parte é desvendado o mistério em volta daquele colégio privado, e em cada nova etapa descobrimos novos factos da protagonista. No fim permanecem algumas respostas.

O que achei mais fascinante nesta leitura foi a quantidade de assuntos académicos que possui. Aborda bruxas, lobisomens, o oculto, botânica e o ramo da neurociência. As personagens realmente não nos conquistam. Não é o tipo de livro em que nos conectamos com a protagonista, ela até nos irrita em diversos momentos. É antes o tempo de livro para desfrutarmos da viagem, e caminharmos a descoberta e perdermos naquele colégio remoto.

[Cyndi Farfsing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was nothing that I expected and everything I wanted. Brilliant and beautifully written. Dark academia, folk lore, history, suspense, mystery and some paranormal thrown in for good measure. I find that often dark academia books can be more of a slow burn or come off as somewhat pretentious in the writing. However the author balances this all marvelously.

The atmosphere is gothic and the sense of something not being right starts from the beginning. We follow Robin, as she navigates research for her history thesis that leads her to a an unusual but captivating university that is more than it seems. There isn’t much more that can be summed up without giving too much away.

The book has so many twists, puzzles and mysteries it’s completely captivating. At no point did I ever see where the story was going. This book is a masterclass on how to weave in history, folk lore and science in a way that is not stuffy or dry. Beautifully done.

The only thing that I would change is the abruptness of the ending. The story is woven so perfectly to that point, then everything just wraps up in what seems like a few pages. It doesn’t do justice to the incredible story that it is.

This is one of the best novels I’ve read in a long while. Readers who like dark academia, puzzles, unconventional mysteries and twists will love this book.

[Dona's Books]

Pre-Read Notes:

I picked this one for its title, which suggests a thoughtful read. So far, I'm right!

Final Review

(thoughts & recs) I can tell I'm going to be an outlier for this book, so I'm going to DNF it. I'll just say I was lost a great deal of the time because of the style.

My Favorite Things:

✔️ "it seemed that in recent times, the world had become increasingly violent and unhinged. Murders, brutality, horrifying examples of nearly inhuman depravity— they were everywhere I looked. A few years ago, I could expect to encounter maybe one or two such stories, but now it seemed like every single headline was designed to give me a panic attack." p11 I hope this theme of fear mongering in the media continues, it's an important subject!

Notes: DNF @ 61%

Thank you to McCormick Templeman, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of AN ATLAS OF UNKNOWABLE THINGS. All views are mine.

[Erin Clemence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication date: Oct. 7, 2025

Robin Quain is an historian, and she applies for a residency at Hildegard College after her best friend stole her academic research and published it as his own. Desolate yet beautiful, Hildegard is nearly empty in the summer months and Robin finds herself among only a handful of other academics, supposedly working on research of their own. But Robin is keeping something from them, she is using her residency to secretly investigate a missing artifact, one that could very well restore her reputation in the academic world. But Hildegard has its own secrets and the longer Robin remains, the stranger things seem until Robin is no longer sure what is real.

McCormick Templeman’s “Atlas of Unknowable Things” is a scientific, mind-bending fiction novel that takes place at an isolated gothic university in the Rockies. Our protagonist, Robin, is looking for an artefact that could potentially give her the revenge she seeks, which is how she ends up at the ancient college. Robin is quite obviously brilliant, and talented, but it is obvious from the first page that something is not right at Hildegard, and maybe even with Robin herself.

It took me a while to get into the academic language of Templeman’s “Things”. Each Hildegard resident was knowledgeable in everything from game theory to neuroscience, from alchemy to psychology. With this wide variety of scientific disciplines, and the passion of those who study them, some of the wording can be overly intellectual, which made the novel a little harder to delve into. However, once I was able to do so, “Things” did not disappoint.

“Things” has a very science-fiction, “Matrix”-type feel, where things are not what they seem on the surface. Initially, as Robin’s research was focused on witchcraft, I was expecting a paranormal element and there definitely was, but it is unlike anything I expected, and I doubt readers have come across it before. Prepare for things such as the debate of good vs. evil, Hadrian’s wall, and brain chemistry manipulation, amongst many other things.

Templeman is well-researched and learned, obviously, and she has created an interesting environment at Hildegard’s, with its secret trap doors and hidden rooms. I loved the themes, both subtle and obvious, and can say with some confidence that “Things” is unlike anything I’ve read before. Creative, subversive and thought-provoking, “Things” is a quiet, come-from-behind literary hit.

[Rhiannon Boyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5⭐, rounded up

A pretty chaotic mild horror/dark academia that doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. The initial premise was decent – nothing spectacular or noteworthy. The MC, Robin Quain, is an academic who applies to a mysterious Colorado Rockies institute to finish up her thesis on something-something witches-were-actually-an-ancient-fertility-cult, which in all honesty didn’t really seem groundbreaking, but sure ok, the reason for the start of this journey is kinda weak, but go with it.

Off she goes to Colorado in the summer, when there are no students at this obviously well-funded college (that she’s also never heard of before) and just a handful of professors? students? employees? left to have sophisticated parties. They all immediately behave oddly around her, she starts wandering off into rooms and areas that she’s not supposed to looking for an artifact of this ancient cult. And then the plot gets muddled and befuddled with all manner of annoying behaviour and pretty much every horror trope thrown in for good measure. We already have witches, cults and then comes: best friend betrayal, science & medical experiments, missing and murdered folks, neuroscience, game theory, old gods, werewolves, secret island, weird lake, Greek temple, sacrifices, big government, grow-op, hallucinogenics, cryptography, data safety, cosmic horror (maybe kaiju) and the current state of our chaotic world…

WHEW.

I got to the end but with a good dose of whiplash and a desire for one remotely likeable and not-stupid character, and about 2/3 reduction in plot points, MacGuffins and red herrings.

Out October 7, 2025

𝑴𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒐 Netgalley 𝒂𝒏𝒅 St Martins Press 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘.

[Emily Poche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman is a supernatural mystery, in which an academic searches for clues about their research and a mysterious disappearance in a remote college. The story solidly fits into the category of dark academia, with the variation that it’s about university staff, rather than students.

I think that the author very much succeeded at creating a frenzied, high stakes mystery with twists and turns. From the outset, the ending is somewhat unexpected, although the framework for the reality of the situation is artfully left in a trail of bread crumbs.

However, the book was not fully a success for me. I felt as if the characters were lacking, and at times as if there was a lack of development of the setting and motivations. The narrator and main character, Robin, is described as monomaniacal in the first few chapters. That proves to be an apt description, as she feels very flat with the exception of her drive to find Isabelle and the relic she was drawn in by. The characters feel interchangeable, and there isn’t a lot to distinguish them except by what they teach. The conversations aren’t particularly individualized and for the majority of the book they seem cardboard.

In lieu of development or personalities, it appears as if there is just a nonstop blurting out of references. Samuel Coleridge Taylor! Steve Miller Band! The Voynich Manual! Gilles de Rais! It’s a nonstop parade of references that seems not particularly natural, and seems like in lieu of doing the crafting of the story that this acts as a stand in.

I’m sure that for some people this would be a wonderful choice. It has occult references and is set in a very interesting collegiate setting. For me, I was unable to get past how wooden the scaffolding felt, and how tedious the middle section of the book felt.

I’m giving this a 2.5/5 where applicable, rounded up to a 3/5.

[Kyla Mahoney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't wait to pick this up each night to read because the story was so intriguing, but after the 10th time of reading "I noticed something I hadn't seen earlier" I no longer felt excited.
Robin is doing research at a college in remote Colorado when she starts noticing strange things and the others say/do really weird things. Luckily for them she completely ignores all of those giant red flags and is content with "they quickly changed subject" and goes about her day. This was very repetitive (along with the noticing something I missed the first time I looked" and it frustrated me. There's a scavenger hunt for clues and a lot of mystery. The story is interesting but the repetitiveness just kind of ruined it for me.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

[Me, My Shelf, & I · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, but this wasn't very good.

The author took the "Unknowable" element of the title quite literally. He uses one of my least favourite writing devices where all of a sudden the main character "just knows" things that are important to the plot. There are literally moments where she narrates explicitly that she feels like her path to discovery is laid out "like a video game" where each clue has been laid before her... at least the clues that don't just magically come to her (eg in dreams).

To me? This just comes across as lazy writing where they tried to smooth over plotholes they realized are there. It's not an experience I enjoy as a reader. And, unfortunately, it's about all the book has going for it as the overarching plot and answers to the mystery aren't great.

Not a 1 star because I hate it, simply a 1 star because there's nothing to like about it.

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

On paper, this looked like a promising book: antiquities (artifacts and manuscripts); supernatural events; an isolated college inn the mountains with meandering trails and empty buildings; secret societies; and uncertainty (What is real? Whom can we trust? And what’s on the island in the middle of the milky, blue lake?). However, with a the know-it-all protagonist (PhD candidate Robin Quain), and a plot replete with spiraling conspiracies that rivals Dan Brown’s meandering The Da Vinci Code, I just didn’t care about her or her quest.

Robin—a historian—takes a residency to study the manuscripts at Hildegard College to follow her new PhD thesis. Her one-time friend and collaborator has disappeared; he stole her research for his own PhD. She finds he is linked to the college. The campus and grounds are empty of any students and staff except for four young, and beautiful professors who drink exotic cocktails, eat extravagant meals, and lounge around in a state of amused indifference. Robin begins experiencing sleep paralysis, disturbing dreams with arcane messages, and sleepwalking that takes her to places that are off limits to her. Is her sleeping mind trying to tell her something? Soon, she is falling down a philosophical rabbit hole through every horrific trope you can think of.

It took me way too long to read this 320 page book.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley to read and review this book.

[Courtney N · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars ✨
Rounded up for Goodreads

I mean… I called it from chapter one. I knew this was going to be something unforgettable.

A genre-bending story that twists and turns and occasionally scares the crap out of you (genuinely could not read this at night). Was this sci-fi? Was it dark academia? Was it fantasy? Magical-realism? Physiological thriller? Mystery? It was all of it. It was so many stories in one and I was invested the entire time.

This book was right up my alley, I loved the unpredictability, I loved how smart it was, how unique. I’ve never read anything quite like this but if I had to say I’d compare it to a We Were Villains by M.L. Rio meets a very famous movie I can’t name for sake of spoiling.

⭐️ Plot - I mean, mind blowing. It was captivating, confusing, twisty and perfectly tied together. This is a plot you can say much about to save it for everyone else.

⭐️ Characters - I do feel like the book could have had a bit more development of the characters HOWEVER I think when you get to the end you understand more why it felt the way it did while reading.

⭐️ Writing - NOW this is where I felt the story stayed back just a little from being a full 5 stars for me. I did feel like the writing was a bit repetitive and choppy, specifically towards the middle section. Also, you have got to put on your thinking cap to really read through this story. I understand the main characters were all elite academics but us readers probably are not and there was so much I could not read, pronounce or even understand. And I consider myself at least an averagely intelligent person. With that being said, the scene setting and feelings were incredible.

⭐️ Format - The formatting of this book was brilliant. Such a cool way to tell a story. I loved the chapter headings and corresponding quotes that were in most cases (I believe) non fiction quotes.

Overall, wow. What a great read. This one will take your brain for a full spin so buckle up.

[Bailey Lamar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Robin, a recently betrayed Historian, finds a residency to Hildegard College, a renowned college known for it's innovation, she knows it's exactly what she needs. Except things aren't what they seem at Hildegard, and the professor that is the key to Robin's work is missing.

In the end, I wanted to like Atlas of Unknowable Things more than I did. It's adult gothic academia, and the premise was incredibly interesting to me. But the lore/background was not fleshed out enough for a gothic academia. There's a lot of talk about the "others," the ones in charge, the "theys" we never see, but the picture never fully forms, because we don't get enough info.

With that said, it was not terrible, and I did find myself interested enough to finish it in just 2 sittings, so it retains its 3 star for being able to keep my attention.

[Renee Godding · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The philosopher and critic Tzvetan Todorov defines the fantastic as the hesitation between the supernatural and a mundane explanation of an occurrence. In a work of fiction, when a woman in the woods sees a monster and turns out to be crazy, then that is realism. If it turns out that there really is a monster in those woods, then that is horror. But if one can make an argument for either to be true, then that woman occupies the space of the fantastic."

Synopsis:
Historical scholar Robin Quain has been awarded residency to Hildegarde College; an isolated and prestigious academy, high in the Rocky Mountains. Known for its scientific excellence, sprawling botanical gardens and extensive library, Robin hopes the college’s resources will help her towards a breakthrough in her research on the historical significance of witchcraft and the occult.
She soon learns that Hildegarde harbours some dark mysteries and secrets inside its polished exterior. As Robin searches for answers, an unknown source sends her a series of cryptic messages that makes her question whether she’s the one doing the hunting, or whether someone is hunting her.

What I liked:
My experience with Atlas of Unknowable Things was split decidedly into two, with a turning point around the 60-70% mark.
To start things off: this had one of the strongest starts in any book I’ve read this year. I’ve been struggling with a slump recently, and haven’t been captivated by a books atmosphere and suspense from the start like this in a long time.
Atlas combines a bunch of elements and genre-motifs that I personally enjoy: actual dark academia vibes (without unnecessary romance), occultism, historical folklore, alchemy, botany, and a decent helping of scholarly mystery. The mystical vibes, combined with the isolated setting and the clear feeling that Robin is an outsider in her new environment, instantly give the book an atmosphere that’s equal parts enticing and suspenseful.
The best comparison I can give, is that this book felt like playing a cozy detective game, and at the time it was the exact vibe I was craving. For about 3 days, I couldn’t stop thinking about this book. I was with Robin on her hunt for answers, and couldn’t let go.

What I didn’t like:
When those answers began to trickle in however, the book took a turn for me. I will try to keep it spoiler-free, but I have to mention a “genre-switch” that I wish I’d known about going in.
In all the marketing and catalogues I’ve seen, Atlas has been tag as either mystery, horror, dark academia or a combination of those. An important tag missing from this list is fantasy.
For the first 70% or so, this reads as a mystery, with the supernatural folklore-elements being nothing more than that in the world of the story: folklore that happens to be Robin studying. After this point, the book swerves hard into the territory of supernatural fantasy. Whilst this in itself could’ve worked, the sudden left-turn broke my immersion completely. This isn’t simply a marketing-thing, where I’d have liked the genre to be communicated more clearly. It’s also internal, where the story doesn’t give you enough clues to set up that the twist.
Imagine reading an Agatha Christie novel, only to have Poirot reveal in the final chapter that a vampire killed the victim. It might be a surprising twists, but it doesn’t fit the context of the story that’s been set up. That’s how the twist here felt to me.
I actually went back and read the majority of the book for a second time, to see if I’d missed some of the clues. Still I came away with the feeling that this twist was rushes, unearned and doesn’t quite hold up in hindsight.

My second major gripe with the story is in another twist, that might be slightly more spoilery. The book heavily relies on one of my least-favourite tropes out there; creating an unreliable narrator through amnesia. The fact that a large section of the plot hinges on this trope almost made me throw the book across the room. If you don't care about spoilers: I cannot get over the fact that the only way for this mystery to work, was to have the protagonist literally forget her own identity. The second it was revealed that Robin was in fact Isabel all along, was the moment the book lost all credibility for me.

Overall, this started out só strong and ended in such disappointment. I’m landing on a 3-star rating, although my personal feelings lean perhaps a bit more towards the disappointment-side…
Thanks to St. Martins Press and Dreamscape Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

If I had to describe this book with one word, it would be "mindbending!" It was an unusual blend of Gothic horror, science fiction, and suspense mystery. There was also quite a bit of folklore history weaved in at the beginning. As a result, it was a book that kept me feeling offbalanced, never quite sure what direction it was going.

The publisher description pretty much sums up what the story is about at the start. Anymore information would most likely spoil this reading journey. Like other reviewers, I found the atmospheric descriptions of the remote university nestled in the Rockies and surrounding gardens and woods to be inviting. It created an eerie sense that something wasn't right.

The suspense was nicely built up over the course of the plot. I was intrigued to know what was going on. There were a couple of unforeseen twists. The ending was mixed for me and probably the weakest part of the story. However, overall, I was drawn into the audiobook and enjoyed the narration. The performers voice was bright and inviting. I suppose a voice with more of a foreboding sound might have added to the atmosphere.

Thank you #Netgalley for an ARC and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Tayler · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOWWOWOWOW. This was just wow. Brava. No notes

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advance copy of Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman.
As with every other reader of this book, I thought I was getting one sort of story and got another. Some folks clearly were happy with that result. I was not.
I was looking forward to an interesting mystery and instead found myself in a very odd constantly chemically enhanced neurological experiment with window dressings of the occult to create a fear/dread factor. The last 20-30% of the book goes down a very weird rabbithole with what for me was an unsatisfying ending.
I’m trying not to spoil this in case this is your cup of tea (with extra herbs).
The book took longer than usual to read because I just couldn’t connect with the characters. The narrator always felt unreliable and somewhat unstable from the first sip of “bitter” water. It could easily have been just a long weird trip. If you like your narrator chemically enhanced, this one’s for you.

I thought of DNFing, because it didn’t keep me very engaged, and I know enough herbalism/botany, was familiar with the occult topics discussed, and I still didn’t care that much.
I persisted to see if there was anything enjoyable about the ending and because it was an ARC and I try harder to provide good feedback.

In the end, I am rating the book as 2 stars since I actually finished it. (it would have been 1 if I had not.)
Again thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advance copy of Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman. The cool title may attract readers but the story just didn’t work for me.

[Bethany (tiny bubbles in champagne version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that while reading I got so annoyed with it definitely prevented me from enjoying also any of it. A “academic” who has her work stolen by a closest friend? Who goes to a spooky college in order to hunt down research? An amazing idea. This execution is messy as hell.

Written in an epistolary fashion, it recounts the events and thoughts of Robin. Robin does have thoughts, but there is no true feelings attached to them. Her cousin, whom Robin is living with after being broken up with by her boyfriend, suddenly goes nuts. She writes a letter on her computer that literally is a cry for help and leaves for California. Robins response is basically “lol, okay. Kinda weird but so are people from California!” Not a direct quote but may as well be. And that’s pretty much how much of her interactions with other characters are. They will say something weird and she doesn’t even question it.

If this wasn’t an ARC, I would not had finished it.
Thank you regardless to NetGalley and St Martins press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Chiara Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ rounded to 4.
I’ve realised how much I like dark academia and that’s why I was so intrigued by this one, and hooked since the beginning. It starts really strong with a hard academic background, progressing to very interesting facts and pieces of information, whilst laying out the mystery, but I have to say that both towards the middle and right at the end, it lost its strength.

What I really loved was the setting of the book, a mysterious and luxurious College where everything is dubious and fascinating at the same time. Robin arrives there following a hunch and what she pieces together little by little turns out to be something different altogether to what she expected, and I mean wildly different!

The story threw me off several times, and I enjoyed trying to decipher the mystery and piecing the clues together with the protagonist. What I found a bit disappointing was the completely different turn the story took and the abandonment altogether of the initial themes. Also, towards the end the story tries to make a link with the current state of society, but in my opinion lacks the strength and real connection. I feel the ending was a bit rushed and not really with the tone of the overall story, but it didn’t ruin the book completely for me because of how much I enjoyed the rest.

If you like dark academia and trying to piece together a good mystery, then this will give you some thinking to do!

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audiobook and this is my honest opinion.

[Spoodly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and the author for the advance copy of this fantastically creepy novel!

I had a great time with this. A nice blend of mystery and horror with the majority of twists I hadn't seen coming. I like how everything came together and that we weren't left with a 'perfect' ending. I'd love to read more in this universe.

[Merecot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been great, an almost perfect try at dark academia combining occultism, history, alchemy and supernatural presences, until it wasn't. The ending was abrupt, made no sense, and left so many strings untied it was almost laughable.

[James 🦤 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley!

So. The Narrator did an incredible job. That was probably the best thing about the book.

The premise and the twist both sound like they'd be incredible, but the book failed at its execution at every turn. Robin as a main character was grating and frustrating--the twist explains some of her nonsensical behavior, but not knowing that information from the jump makes Robin seem a little dim for the first 60% of the book. The characters all lacked depth and acted in completely nonsensical ways which is just so frustrating when they're all meant to be academics. I struggled to care about any of them or anything they were going through for the entire book. This could have been so cool, but everything just felt so lackluster and annoying.

[Azhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

was gripped from the beginning, like glued to the pages, but lost me right at the end. whoomps :(