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Ascendant

Ascendant, Book 1

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Ascendant

By: Craig Alanson
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
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The Wizard's Council of Tarador was supposed to tell young Koren Bladewell that he is a wizard.

They were supposed to tell everyone that he is not a jinx, that all the bad things that happen around him are because he can't control the power inside him, power he doesn't know about. The people of his village, even his parents, are afraid of him, afraid he is cursed. That he is a dangerous, evil jinx. The Wizard's Council didn't tell young Koren, because they know what is best for him. Even after their silent deception destroys his life.

Crown Princess Ariana Trehayme will become queen of Tarador on her 16th birthday, if her weak, indecisive mother the Regent hasn't allowed their ancient enemy to conquer Tarador before then. Ariana wants her royal army to strike at the enemy, but her mother knows what is best for her, and the realm.Together, Ariana and Koren can save Tarador, if the adults, who know best, will get out of their way.

©2017 Craig Alanson (P)2017 Podium Audio Action & Adventure Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Royalty Science Fiction Magic Users Wizardry Magic
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The story was interesting but straight forward hence 4 out of 5 stars but kept me listening. Finished the booked in a few days. Well written and performed.
Hope book 2 progresses the characters on alot more, although to be fair this book only covers events over a year.

Really good

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This is book #1 in a story spanning three books.The overall story is enjoyable if more than a little clichéd (orphaned boy discovers he's a wizard and is guided by an older wizard towards an inevitable showdown with a powerful enemy). Still, there's enough going on around the edges to keep it interesting (not least some political skullduggery), and there's some good World-building that adds a layer of depth to the story without burdening it with an overloaded canon. The Magic system is simplisitic not quite as developed as in Brandon Sanderson's or Patrick Rothfuss' works, but seems internally consistent, and serves the story. A World Map would have been really useful. Especially later in the story, there's a lot of references to places and geography relative to other places that are actually critical to the story. It's hard to visualise without a map.

Some characters are well fleshed out, but others seem fairly clichéd and underdeveloped. Not least, the antagonist, who is only fleetingly mentioned in the first book as "the ancient Enemy". Even later in the series, the backstory, motivations and characteristics of the enemy are not really explored in any depth. They're just "the baddies".

Pacing is a common problem throughout all three books. Things happen at an inconsistent pace, and there are large stretches of the story which plod along too slowly. I read that the author doesn't want to use an independent editor; I can understand why, but it shows. An editor could help with pacing, and could also help prevent the frequent repetitions that creep into the narrative.

The narration by Tim Gerard Reynolds is excellent; he's clear, engaging, and his accents are well done. With a lesser narrator, this could have been a 2-3 star review.

Pacing problems aside, an enjoyable series

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First book takes a while to warm up , but stick with it I think it's going to be a good series, just downloaded the next book , need to see what happens next.Thats the sign of a good story.

A bit of slow burner.

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A clearly talented author introducing me to a new genre but getting me hooked within the first chapter. Keep it up

Wasn’t sure at first. But then couldn’t drag myself away

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loved it good story, and very well read, I look forward to reading the next book

Great story

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