"Sufficiently Advanced Magic Book 4" is the fourth installment in the popular fantasy series written by Andrew Rowe. This series, often referred to as the "Arcane Ascension" series, follows the adventures of protagonist Corin Cadence as he navigates a world filled with magical towers, dangerous dungeons, and powerful artifacts. In the previous books, readers were introduced to a world where people can harness magical abilities through attunements - ancient artifacts that grant specific powers. Corin, an aspiring summoner, is determined to find his missing brother and uncover the secrets surrounding his family's involvement with a dangerous political faction known as the Ascendant Court. Book 4 continues the story by delving deeper into the intricate world of magical attunements and their corresponding towers. Corin, along with his friends and allies, embarks on a quest to find ancient artifacts called Spires, which hold the key to unlocking unimaginable power.
Thanks, everyone, and I hope you’re having a fantastic weekend!
I ll be participating in an AMA Ask Me Anything on r progressionfantasy tomorrow, September 26th, as a part of the celebration for the launch of Edge of the Woods. I m incredibly excited to see what people think of this one and if you re excited, too, and don t want to wait you can get a look at the prologue here.
Corin, along with his friends and allies, embarks on a quest to find ancient artifacts called Spires, which hold the key to unlocking unimaginable power. Along the way, they face numerous challenges, dangerous creatures, and rival factions, all while Corin continues to develop his own magical abilities. The series, including Book 4, is known for its intricate world-building, complex magic system, and well-developed characters.
"Sufficiently Advanced Magic" review
This is a combined review of the first two novels in the Arcane Ascension series, Sufficiently Advanced Magic and On the Shoulders of Titans. I DNF’d the series at that point, after reading Goodreads reviews of the third novel, The Torch that Ignites the Stars.
That should give you a pretty good idea of my thoughts on these books.
After I read and loved Cradle so much, I decided to give another self-published progression fantasy that I’d seen praised on /r/fantasy a try…but honestly these series have almost nothing in common, and I struggle to understand the praise for SAM.
- Jin is pretty cool
- The actual plot and world, with the towers and Voices and etc is really interesting
- It’s a pretty good description of an asexual main character, though it loses almost all of the points it gains from this by having the most cringe introduction to / explanation of a nonbinary character later on in book 2
Bad things (there’s some spoilers here. Nothing SUPER major imo, but you may want to avoid if you’re still planning on reading these novels. But, you shouldn’t. They kind of suck.):
- The plot that I said is pretty cool almost never happens. Maybe 10% of the book is plot.
- The fight scenes are immeasurably boring, feel inanely low-stakes, and take up a huge percentage of the book
- The puzzle-solving scenes are even worse than the fight scenes
- The being-an-enchanter identity crisis makes literally no sense with the entire rest of the main character’s personality - he seems to have zero affinity for fighting, tons of affinity for tricking his way out of situations and inventing things, and yet doesn’t even have inner conflict about his attunement, only disappointment. It’s like the author wrote the character’s reactions to events prior to defining the character’s personality, and didn’t adjust the former when the two didn’t align.
- More of an issue in the second book, but the random side quests are zero-stakes and drag on forever
- Seriously, the monster fighting, which is somehow the entire point of the book, is just so utterly pointless.
- The school-as-a-plot-device-for-world-building really just does not work. Half the narrator’s classes feel like in-universe kindergarten, but he’s supposed to be in in-universe college or something. They try to explain part of this by saying that he’s catching up from missing three years of schooling, and there’s commoners who had no schooling, but like…it could be made to make so much more sene by sticking him in some sort of “remedial” class and giving him a great excuse to feel awkward about his father from this situation, and letting us get the worldbuilding that way. Instead we’re supposed to believe that all of these kids have no idea of the most basic tenets about advancement in the magical arts that they’ve spent their entire lives preparing for.
- Speaking of which, I just could not take the magic system seriously. Citrine? Carnelian? Maybe this is a me-problem, and if the rest of the book had been great I could have forgiven it, but these words are too elaborate for me to believe them. Linguistically, core concepts of a culture tend to be simple words because people say them all the damn time, and no one wants to say bullshit long words like this, so they’ll shorten them. Cradle’s Copper/Iron/Jade is believable, those words are short and easy for literally anyone to remember. I had to search in the ebook text to remember “Carnelian.”
- Also, I read 1300 pages of a progression fantasy series, and the dude like…doesn’t advance? What is this? Despite the fact that the lore of the universe is thrown in our face constantly, it seems completely irrelevant to any part of the plot that matters.
Anyway, if you want to read a progression fantasy, read Cradle. Cradle is AMAZING. If you’ve already read Cradle and you’re looking for more progression fantasy, currently I don’t have a recommendation. Cradle is something special.
That’s not to say that the entire story is sad — there are moments of spectacular beauty, as well as some great moments of action — but ultimately, this is much more of a journey focused on self-discovery and emotion than a tale of a hero defeating the demon king—
Andrew Rowe expertly weaves together elements of action, mystery, and intrigue, keeping readers engaged from start to finish. Fans of the series will be excited to see how the story unfolds and what new adventures await Corin and his companions. Overall, "Sufficiently Advanced Magic Book 4" promises to be another thrilling installment in the Arcane Ascension series, offering readers a rich and immersive fantasy world filled with magic, intrigue, and epic battles..
Reviews for "Lost in the Pages: Journeying Through 'Sufficiently Advanced Magic Book 4"
1. Sarah - 2 stars - I found "Sufficiently Advanced Magic Book 4" to be quite disappointing compared to the previous books in the series. The plot felt disjointed and rushed, with multiple storylines that weren't properly developed or resolved. The characters also lacked the depth and complexity that I had come to enjoy in previous installments. Overall, I felt that this book fell short of the high standards set by the earlier books in the series.
2. Michael - 1 star - As a fan of the previous books in the series, I was looking forward to "Sufficiently Advanced Magic Book 4." However, I found it to be a major letdown. The pacing was incredibly slow, and the plot meandered without any clear direction. The characters seemed to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of repetitive actions, and there was a lack of meaningful character development. Additionally, the world-building felt convoluted and confusing. Overall, this book was a disappointment and failed to live up to its predecessors.
3. Emily - 2 stars - "Sufficiently Advanced Magic Book 4" was a disappointing read for me. The story felt unnecessarily convoluted, with too many subplots and minor characters that detracted from the main narrative. The pacing was inconsistent, with chapters that felt rushed and others that dragged on for far too long. Additionally, the dialogue seemed forced and lacked authenticity, making it difficult for me to connect with the characters on an emotional level. Overall, I was not pleased with this installment in the series and hope that future books will bring back the magic that was missing here.
4. David - 2 stars - I have been a fan of the "Sufficiently Advanced Magic" series since the beginning, but I have to admit that the fourth book left me feeling underwhelmed. The plot lacked the originality and excitement of the earlier books, and it felt like a rehash of familiar tropes and storylines. The characters also seemed to stagnate without much growth or development. While there were a few enjoyable moments, overall, I found this book to be a disappointment compared to its predecessors. I hope that future books in the series will recapture the magic that made me fall in love with the series in the first place.