Here are mini reviews for progression fantasy books I read from January to February 2024. Give them a shot if they sound interesting.

The links lead to the book page on goodreads/royalroad, from where I've also copied a portion of the blurbs for this post.

Book covers

Scavengers (Quest Academy #2) by Brian J. Nordon

Blurb

Change is coming to Quest Academy. Can Sal rise to the occasion? When the second years nearly lose their lives in a failed excursion, it’s the first years that pay the price. The curriculum is being radically altered to challenge the students, which means the stakes just got a lot higher.

Review

This was another amazing book that focused on crafting and slice-of-life scenes. There were action scenes too, especially at the end. The introduction of new side-characters were nicely done. I wish it hadn't come at the cost of reducing Divinity and Barry's interaction with Sal (a few chapters from their POV would've been welcome). Speaking of Sal, it was cool to see so many small details that improved his capability - very excited to see them fully realized in later books. Not getting to meet Analysis professor after all the hype at the end of the first book was another tiny bit of disappointment, but hope the next book would cover it.

Tree of Aeons 4 by spaizzzer

Blurb

Aeon attempts to find the origins of the demons, and ventures into the other realms through the void sea. Join Aeon and the Order as he builds an institution able to protect their own worlds, and take the fight back to the demon controlled worlds.

Review

Took me a few chapters to get used to the setting (and the summary type chapters that cover roughly a span of one year). I keep wishing there was lot more depth to the characters and events that happen, but given the time scale that'd blow up the already long books.

Anyway, what I enjoy most is all the magical crafting/progression that Aeon organizes to deal with demons and other political problems. A few scenes that allowed us to see through side-characters POV were nice to have (I'd prefer a lot more of these). The ending was cool, would be interesting to see how the new powers/locations shape up in the next book.

Guardian of Aster Fall by David North

Blurb

Across the world of Aster Fall, there are unique classes, but not all of them can be trained. They require quests and accomplishments that simply don't exist in the world. Some say the World Law itself is broken and that the world is falling apart. In comes Sam Hastern. His family has been cursed by one of these classes for the last fifty years. No one has ever managed to level it, condemning them to the lowest paying jobs and life in a barren village. The class is called Battlefield Reclaimer. There's one more little problem. Sam's about to have it even worse, when a dungeon exploration leaves him looking distinctly non-human.

Review

One of the rare fantasy novels where the main character's family was alive and well. And even better, they were a lovely family who support each other. To top it all, father and son go on an adventure and do awesome stuff together! And the remaining family members also gain in power in the sequels.

The plot, magic system and worldbuilding didn't feel anything special in the first book — those became much more interesting in the sequels. The writing was good enough to keep me interested and some of the action scenes were done very well. I got a bit of action fatigue in the first two books, which again improved in the later books. I especially enjoyed the crafting stuff.

Many of the side-characters were interesting as well, so much so that I wished them to be featured lot more than we got. For example, there were two dwarf locations (and related characters), bloodline clans, etc but hardly any depth to them.

I had many minor complaints, but the main issue was all the tricks employed to increase the page count — empty lines between paragraphs, long stat sheets (which to be fair became less of an issue in later books), repetitive descriptions, etc.

All said and done, I read the 6 published books so far in less than 10 days. The series was definitely binge worthy.

Mark of the Fool 6 by J.M. Clarke

Blurb

To preserve the future, Alex must find the secrets of the past. After a devastating battle, Alex Roth is left with more questions than answers, and—as the Ravener grows more aggressive—he and his companions struggle to learn the truth of Thameland’s Cycle. But—thanks to an old enemy—they do have one lead, though it will take them into the bowels of the darkest Hells.

Review

Some of the secrets between the heroes finally came out in the open. The first half was mostly slice-of-life, crafting, talking, preparations, etc. As much as I enjoy these kinda chapters (I even wanted a few of these chapters to have been longer), I wish the pacing had been a bit faster.

The second half was better, but I only really got excited with the action scenes at the end. Plus, many revelations to secrets that had been building since the first book. I was totally caught by surprise by one particular development, which seemed obvious in hindsight. Very much looking forward to how this develops in the coming books.

Adventurer (Ends of Magic #2) by Alexander Olson

Blurb

The magical world of Davrar is inhospitable and strange. Terrible monsters roam, ancient dungeons lurk over every hill, and the prophesied Endings promise doom. But it’s Nathan Lark’s new home. He’s developed his antimagic and found friends in the most powerful Adventurers of his generation. They’ve sworn an oath to defend the city of Gemore and defeat the Endings. On the horizon is the enslaving mage-empire of Giantsrest, and Archmage Taeol dho Droxol hasn’t forgotten that Nathan holds secrets of Earth. Conflict is certain. There is only one path forward. Nathan and his friends must advance.

Review

Wow, what an ending. Events escalated lot more than what I was expecting based on the first half of this book. Wonder if the next book is going to be consistent high octane action — I wouldn't mind that, but I also enjoyed the relatively slower paced chapters in this book (Nathan and the heirs leveling up, discussing their options, Insights discussion, going around Gemore on scouting missions, etc). It was nice to have the team stay together almost for the entire book — wish the heirs had some POV scenes.

I was also hoping for some significant interaction between Nathan and the crafting experts in this book, but we got only a scene — though that was really significant and I can guess how that'll be necessary given the direction of the plot.

Overall, I enjoyed this book better than the first one.

Hunting and Herbalism by Synonymoose

Blurb

Unbeknownst to her, Zalia is brought to the snowy north of another world containing magic, classes and levels. A world where elementals are stirring, mysterious rituals are appearing and a war wages. Read through as Zalia deals with beasts and myths on her path to survive and explore harsh environs, maybe even ranking up along the way. A hunter and herbalist, she has the tools needed to survive and thrive in a new world of magic and danger.

Review

What I liked most was the main character being a Druid, with a cool set of powers that developed well as she leveled up. The opening few chapters had the standard tropes of a human from Earth being isekai-ed to a fantasy world. After the short survival phase, it was great to see goblin-like creatures actually helping out the main character instead of being a fodder for leveling up. Their culture was intriguing too.

The main plot that followed was yet another war-type situation that the MC had to help resolve. Many of the side-characters were memorable and it was nice to see them having their own aspirations and stuff. I love books with beast bonds and the one we got in this series was amazing! The first book was almost cozy at times — until events started going haywire as the climax phase started. Some of the developments were darker than I was comfortable with.

And it ended on a cliffhanger! So of course, I had to continue with the second book. This one was the best among the first three books, which sort of completes an arc. The worldbuilding was cool, the survival-type plot and power-ups felt organic and well thought out. The writing improved as the series progressed.

I binge read the three books and the interlude chapters in about 5 days. Not surprising that this series was picked up by a publisher and I hope that'd make these books even more polished.

Imperial Wizard by J. Parsons

Blurb

Verdan Blacke is an Imperial Wizard, a researcher by preference but soldier by necessity. Surviving an intense battle, Verdan is cursed by a hex witch in her final moments. Without any good options, Verdan escapes the ever-increasing pain the curse inflicts by performing a self-made stasis ritual. When the spell fades, and he has awoken, Verdan finds a world completely different from the one he left behind. Dark things work in daylight with impunity, once common knowledge is a mystery, and even the nature of magic that humans use has changed.

Review

The story didn't take more than a few paragraphs to get going and the pacing remained good throughout the book. After the initial conflict that set the tone, I was excited by the prospect of main character's preference for magical research, alchemy, etc. Sadly, the events that followed allowed little time for such leisurely pursuits. Many of the side-characters were interesting and thankfully were given POV scenes as well. The progression aspect was much lighter than I was hoping for. The different types of magic users was an interesting twist to read.

In the second book, it was good to see some cool enchanting items being worked on. Looking forward to the mystery item that's not yet decoded fully, as well as the ruins being explored. The ending was darker than I was expecting, though it does puts the danger represented by the sects in perspective.

Blurb

In these twenty-four short stories set in the world of Mage Errant, John Bierce explores the murky depths of history, forgotten corners of Ithos and beyond, and the strangest reaches of magic itself.

Review

Mage Errant is one of my favorite magical academy books and this collection of short stories was a great addition to this amazing setting. We got to meet several side characters from the main series, as well as past stories, origin of named weapons, visit other continents, etc. Some of my favorites include:

  • The Wanderer
  • Test of Magic
  • Old Setah and the River (wouldn't mind a novella/novel with Setah as the MC)
  • Counterfeit
  • The Gorgon Incident
  • Mudflat Nights (mostly for the worldbuilding and pepper vs glass matchup)
  • Luthe of Clan Castis