I found the three-tome series The Last Atlas (“Le dernier Atlas”) to be ambitious, but uneven, mostly a powerhouse, thrilling page-turner, while in its last stretch plodding, with too many minor plots pursued, Pirates of the Caribbean 3-style. :P

The following sequence is a flashback from the main character’s youth in Paris, intercut with his modern reflections in India.

(right-click as needed)

The Last Atlas is an alternate history where the Algerian War is shifted 15 years into the future.

Ismaël Tayeb is a lieutenant in a criminal gang. His boss gives him an order he can’t refuse: find a nuclear reactor… To do this, he’ll have to reactivate and steal the “George Sand,” i.e. the last Atlas, one of those immense French robots that managed colossal construction projects until the mid-1970s, but which, following a serious incident in Batna during the Algerian War, were all dismantled… except for the George Sand. At the same time, Françoise Halfort, a former war reporter, finds herself confronted in the Tassili National Park with an unprecedented ecological and seismic phenomenon that will upset the world’s balance… A sweeping, intensely serialized story, a must-read! --BDT

T1-2 are easily the best books IMO, and it’s not unfeasible to stick to them and avoid T3 altogether. Other than of course being left wondering how things turn out, which is a legit concern.

My problems with T3 stem from it often dropping the consistent pacing and fine story-building of the first two books, and zooming between half a dozen characters’ plot lines, some of which could easily have been cut. Finally the action resumes, which is where the series always works best, and we got a pretty satisfying conclusion, followed by a long explanation of the ‘alien menace’ which is somehow less satisfying.

I must say, this series shows significant similarities with many of LEO’s sci-fi works, but there’s more mystery and spectacle in his books, and generally far less resolution and explanation. So, you know, at least “TLA” handles that in more fulfilling fashion(!)

Personally, I’d call this something of a ‘flawed masterpiece,’ which could be improved by some editing. In other words, we get a lot of lovely art, plot and excellent page-flow, and selfishly want only a bit more consistency in the end. But that’s sometimes how it goes with flawed masterpieces.

It’s originally a French series, published by Dupuis, and later the first two books were translated to English via Europe Comics, published as issues 1-20. By all means, grab those if you have a chance!

Right so, here’s the full, 10-page sequence:
https://imgur.com/gallery/sequence-from-book-one-of-series-last-atlas-geUwrep