A Crucible of Souls: The Sorcery Ascendant Sequence, Book 1

I bought this at random based on the cover and sample and was very pleasantly surprised.The central protagonist, Caldan, is the best kind of fantasy hero -- imperfect, but exceptional enough to be a plausible piece in world-changing events without being The Long-Prophesied Chosen One Who Will Inevitably Vanquish The Dark Lord. He does not have a powerful, friendly mentor who may or may not die at the antagonist's hand somewhere in the latter third of the book, and I was always grateful for the absence. He's just a young man in slightly over his head in a strange but interesting place.Raised by monks and exiled alone, he arrives with both a broad skill set and near-complete social and political ignorance to a well-drawn port city. Much of the setting is reasonably standard fantasy stuff -- an ancient cataclysm, lost magical knowledge -- but it's all well imagined, and the magic system in particular is quite interesting ("Crafting" runes on items and devices to make what are essentially magical machines). There are hints of deeper rumblings than most of the characters know, but the author is quite good about resisting the urge to spell it all out for his reader. Many of the characters and secrets of the world remain a bit obscure.A few critiques: I wanted to learn more about "Dominion," the chess-like board game that seems to relate metaphorically to both politics and sorcery. Caldan seems to have a knack for the game, and plays several matches in the novel, but it's all very vaguely described. I never had much sense as to the structure of the game -- we're just told about the state of each game in abstract terms. Obviously, the author can't be expected make up an entire game system for his novel, but it would be a nice to know just a little more about the details. Also, there were a few points where the I thought the multiple perspectives might have marred the flow of the novel a bit, and I found myself wanting to move back to the central narrative. On the other hand, I'm not entirely sure where the author is moving in future books with some of his perspectives and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.I paid $8 for this, which is on the high end for a self-published work, but it was well worth it. The prose is clean and well-edited (I think I saw a few hiccups, but not many), and the story is long (11,000+ kindle locations) without dragging (i.e., a good deal, if you care about that kind of thing). If the author reads this, I might suggest he lower the price a bit as a purely strategic matter just because I think it might scare off potential readers and I think the book is good enough to get a wide audience. Anyway, I'll be eagerly awaiting the sequel.

“A Crucible of Souls” is the beginning of a planned trilogy by first time author Mitchell Hogan. In this first story, young Calden (who is raised in a monastery after his parents are murdered) trains with the sorcerers guild with the hopes of one day discovering who his parents were and why they were killed. During his work and studies at the guild, Calden finds that he is talented – gifted even. He quickly starts to master swordplay and sorcery. As Calden develops his skills, other things start to happen within the city and Calden is left to wonder if he has chosen well to be an apprentice to the protectors. All of Calden’s skills and loyalties are put to the test when one day a mysterious invading force takes over the city using a powerful forbidden sorcery. Calden must try and find a way out of the city so he can warn the other protectors, all while trying to save himself and his friends from a force unlike anything anyone has ever seen.A Crucible of Souls is a fun book with some interesting characters. Hogan has done a good job of creating a likable protagonist for his story. Calden is young and powerful, but also caring and naïve. It’s a refreshing break from the currently popular formula of dark, flawed, reluctant heroes that are all the rage in fantasy books right now. Other reviewers have commented on their distaste for Calden’s small world view and over-trusting attitude and actions, but again, I prefer that to a protagonist that is too broken and damaged to be enjoyable to read about. Hogan has surrounded Calden with a supporting cast of characters that are interesting in their own right and has done so with just the right mix of covering their own plot lines without always needing to be interacting with Calden directly.The book might be a little slow for some who are looking for action throughout, but I didn’t mind the pacing. I enjoyed Hogan allowing much of the time in the book to be spent developing Calden and his skills and slowly unveiling the politics of the city and the history of the protectors and their true role within the empire. The book finishes with a flurry and we are rewarded with an ending that is well balanced with enough closure for this one and cliffhanger to set up the next book.All in all, this is a solid fantasy novel that sets the stage for what could be a very good series.

I enjoyed this book immensely, great action, the tension never let's up for a minute. The characters are all well thought out and believable, not just another fantasy. A real thought provoking story, with a great imagining on the magical front. A real must for sword wielding magic user's. Fab

A Good Book with an original take on the genre. A slightly less original plotline is mitigated by good characters and an interesting story.

Picked this up again - one of those cases where you enjoyed Book 1 enough that the realisation that Book 2 is a ways off is really frustrating. Well, now that 2 is out, re-read these compelling characters (if young-adult) and looking forward to seeing where they go

This is Avery good book. Not quite five star, but not too far away. Plenty of magic and mayhem. I am looking forward to the next book.

Excellence book very hard to put down,. It keeps your interest from beginning to end. Very well written and makes you look forward to the next.