Corin Cadence is finally ready for his shot at Serpent Spire, one of the parts of The Tower, a Cube-like structure that dominates the fantasy landscape. Those who survive this judgment earn an "attunement", the source of all magic power in this fantasy world.
But Corin is more interested in discovering what happened to his older brother Tristan, who disappeared during his judgment several years ago. So he takes the leap into what is frequently mortal danger in order to explore the tower and maybe get a boon from the goddess who runs it, who can possibly tell him where his brother is.
When I picked this up, based on a Reddit mention, I was expecting another relatively straight LitRPG, in which Corin would be slowly levelling up while exploring the Tower. That's not what I got. And it's better for it.
The first section of the book covers Corin's Judgment, which was rather what I expected (acquiring items, solving puzzles etc, a couple of exciting fights), but when he picks up his attunement, the style changes dramatically. See, once people have picked up an attunement, they have to go to this world's Hogwarts equivalent, and so the book suddenly turns into Harry Potter.
That's not to denigrate the book. It's a nice device to see occasionally, and this does it well. We've got the internal politics, the various classes that allow natural infodumps and the teachers who all seem to have decided on the Mad-Eye Moody teaching system.
It's pleasantly complex, with a few different schemes running at the same time, and a decent amount of nuance given to what could have been a relatively basic plot. There are wider implications for his actions during his judgment that unfold in the background, with infrequent hints, which does slightly make the plot rush to catch up towards the end of the book.
Corin is a believably flawed protagonist, with his personality quirks coming through the narration convincingly. Even if the running joke of "I'd better research that later" gets old.
His circle of compatriots, while given a little short shrift are all distinct characters, and it would have been nice to have seen more of them, though it's a slightly massive book as it is. (I listened to the audiobook, rather than reading it, and it comes in at about 20 hours, but actually works really well given the occasionally contemplative style.) I particularly enjoyed the Slytherin-like romantic interest.
All in all, a very good book, and I await the sequel with interest.
Tagged: Book Fantasy Wizards vs monsters Novel Audio