Sufficiently Advanced Magic
| Sufficiently Advanced Magic> | |
 Cover by Daniel Kamarudin | |
| Arcane Ascension | |
|---|---|
| Precedes | On the Shoulders of Titans |
| Setting | Valia, Kaldwyn |
| Released | 2017-02-26 |
Sufficiently Advanced Magic is the first book in the Arcane Ascension series, and the most commonly recommended starting point for reading Andrew Rowe's books. It is set in Valia, and follows Corin Cadence through the start of his education at Lorian Heights Academy
Publisher Description[edit]
Five years ago, Corin Cadence's brother entered the Serpent Spire — a colossal tower with ever-shifting rooms, traps, and monsters. Those who survive the spire’s trials return home with an attunement: a mark granting the bearer magical powers. According to legend, those few who reach the top of the tower will be granted a boon by the spire’s goddess.
He never returned.
Now, it’s Corin’s turn. He’s headed to the top floor, on a mission to meet the goddess.
If he can survive the trials, Corin will earn an attunement, but that won’t be sufficient to survive the dangers on the upper levels. For that, he’s going to need training, allies, and a lot of ingenuity.
The journey won’t be easy, but Corin won’t stop until he gets his brother back[1].
Summary[edit]
For a chapter-by-chapter summary, see Sufficiently Advanced Magic/Summary
This book follows Corin Cadence throughout his adventures in the first part of his first year at Lorian Heights Academy. When taking his Judgment at the Serpent Spire, he obtained a strange book that gave him advice on the challenges he ran across. This book lead him to a prison, where he released three prisoners, Keras Selyrian, Vera Corrington, and Echion Valden. Keras ends up fighting with a Katashi, a Visage powerful enough to wipe out cities, while Corin and Vera escape. Corin ends up getting an attunement and Selys-Lyann, but he gets the enchanter attunement, rather than a combat oriented attunement. His father, Magnus Cadence, doesn't like this, and decides to "replace" him with Sera Shard, the person who was going to be his retainer but is apparently his half sister. Sera has a Summoner attunement, and is quite powerful.
Throughout the year, Corin rekindles a friendship with Patrick Wayland and makes some new friends, including Marissa Callahan and Jin Dalen. He takes several classes, including a dueling class in which the teacher, Jonathan Teft attacked him on the first day and an enchanting class taught by Blanche Vellum, in which he learns to appreciate his new attunement and make magic items. Sera joins Derek Hartigan in a survival match, where she makes a summoning contract with Vanniv, a Karvenzi, an Ogre and a Wyvern and nearly dies. Corin also delivers a message from a mysterious entity in the tower to Lyras Orden.
Later in the year, during one of Corin's tests, Katashi leads Mizuchi and a small army of monsters to attack the city. Professor Orden teleports Corin to talk with Katashi, who tells him that Tenjin, Katashi's brother, has gone missing. He then tells Corin that if he doesn't bring Vera to the tower within a week, he will bring a much larger army, including Seiryu, one of the god beasts. Prof. Orden helps Corin find Vera and get a group for going into the tower, including Derek Hartigan, who is an Emerald level Soulblade. Vera agrees to go willingly if they escort Echion to a train to Caelford.
Once inside the Spire, they discover that Orden is working against them, and controlling Derek via a ring she game him. Sera drinks a mysterious potion that Corin got during his judgment, which made her vastly more powerful (temporarily) and changed her attunement. They finally defeat Orden, relying on Sera's Summon of Seiryu to knock out Derek, although doing so damages Sera's attunement to the point it prevents her from speaking or using magic. As soon as they think they are safe, Jin shoots Vera in the back, but Corin manages to knock Jin out before he kills Vera. After stabilizing Vera, Corin summons Katashi, who takes Vera and Orden, Changes Corin's Brand into an attunement, and gives Sera his sword before teleporting them to Keras, who escorts them to Derek's house.
Main Characters[edit]
- Corin Cadence
- The point-of-view character for this book, and the main protagonist, Corin is an introverted enchanter, who keeps ending up in the middle of things.
- Sera Cadence
- Corin's half-sister, and one of his closest friends throughout the book, Sera is a powerful summoner with strong political skills and ice magic.
- Patrick Wayland
- Patrick is an bulky elementalist who becomes friends with nearly everyone he meets. He is also one of Corin's closest friends.
- Marissa Callahan
- Marissa is a powerful guardian, who puts the safety of her friends above all else. She is one of Corin's closest friends.
- Jin Dalen
- Jin is an overly mysterious student who claims to be from Dalenos. He is a business associate and friend of Corin.
Magic[edit]
- Attunements
- All human magic in this book comes from an attunement, a magical mark on a person's body. There are many types of attunements, each coming from one of the Soaring Spires.
Appendices[edit]
The audiobook release did not contain the appendices, which are available for download on Andrew Rowe's Blog.
Editions[edit]
- Kindle Edition - ASIN: B06XBFD7CB - Published 2017-02-26
- Trade Paperback - ISBN: 978-1521118764 - Published 2017-04-23
- Audiobook - ASIN: B072YXNBJ6 - Published 2017-07-04