The Sorcerer's Ascension (The Sorcerer's Path) [Kindle Edition]

Brock Deskins (Author)

Book Description

Torn from a life of comfort and luxury, his family destroyed by political intrigues and aspirations, a young boy must quickly grow into a man before the deadly streets of Southport devour him. Follow Azerick through a page-turning adventure that pits him against thieves, thugs, murderers, and men of power that will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
Azerick must fight just to survive, but for him survival is not enough. A hunger to avenge the wrongs committed against him burns deep within. But that is not all that lies within the young man. There is a power waiting to be unleashed that may be the key to achieving the justice and security he seeks--if it does not destroy him first.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

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From the Inside Flap

A brief history of Valaria and plot basis for the book.

Valaria and much of the world was once under the oppressive domination of dragons. To throw off the yoke of oppression, the elves created powerful beings by magically infusing a few chosen elves with the blood of dragons. The humans, with the aid of the dwarves, created a virtually impervious suit of armor that would protect its wearer from the awesome physical power of dragons as well as their formidable magic. The armor was named after the primary smith, Dundalor Ironforger, and given to the greatest human warrior in the land, Magnus Ollander.

Magnus was declared the first king of Valaria and an Ollander has sat the throne for the last thousand years. Valaria had been at war with its southern neighbors for over a decade until King Jarvin ascended the throne after his father's murder.

Jarvin ended the war, but being bastard born, was never fully accepted by the nobles of the land. His subsequent decrees gave more freedom and prosperity to the commoners at the cost of the wealthiest and most powerful lords and merchants. Many also feel that the war could have been won which of course would have created even more wealth for those of means.

If Jarvin is simply overthrown by force, those usurpers may become embroiled in a civil war with not only the commoners that support Jarvin, but a feud between lords who would each want to stake a claim to the throne. By reclaiming Dundalor's armor, the possessor would not only be a nearly unbeatable warrior, but possess the very symbol that created the first king of Valaria and brought in a new age. It is hoped that by claiming the armor, it's historical significance will make the commoners more amenable to a new bloodline and its strength will dissuade military action by the other nobles.

If Jarvin learns that an unknown enemy is seeking the armor and if he is faced with a rival wearing the armor, he must have a weapon capable of defeating the wearer or at least create something of an equalizer if he cannot prevent the usurper from acquiring it. That is why Duke Ulric wants it, and that is why King Jarvin is trying to keep him from it or find another artifact to counter it if he fails.

Ultimately, the armor is a symbol to the people of the land and the reverence many still hold for Magnus Ollander will in part be transferred to the wearer. Or so it is hoped.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 662 KB
• Print Length: 371 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005RR2UI6
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,357 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A book of 3 parts December 1, 2011

By Thomas Jensen - Norway

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

As the title says this novel seems to me like three different books.

The first book is about the young boy who looses his family, and the pscychological trauma that he suffers and the trials he has to live through on the streets. This part of the book is well written and engaging (though like the rest of the book it suffers from several cases of bad editing and spelling errors), and really got me into the book and its story. This part of the book is dark and have a serious tone.

The second book is about Maude's Marauders, a group of stereotypical adventurers, that seems directly drawn out of a bad roleplaying session. You have the grumpy dwarf, the witty and charming priest, the brusque and manly warrior woman and the extremely feminine elf wizard. This part of the books feels like it was written by a different author. The tone changes completely, and the plot is removed from the city and surroundings where we find the main protagonist. I'm betting the protagonist and this group will eventually hook up in a different book, but in this one the switch from Azerick's dark tale to this whimsical and supposedly witty story just felt jarring, and drew me out of the story.

The third part of the book is when Azerick finally is learning how to use magic. For this he has to go to The Academy. Now, if done right "the magic school" plot can be very fun and engaging, but here it is unfortunately bogged down in clichès. The new boy is of course bullied by the rich student and his cronies, he immediately bonds with his roommate, and he suffers from som kind of block that won't let him learn any more magic. But what truly brought me to a halt here was the distinction between wizard and sorcerer. It was directly drawn out of the D&D handbook. The rules that applies to wizards versus the sorcerer "class" were nearly identical. I will gladly suffer some similarities in fantasy books, but when I can recognize classes and even terms from D&D and other RPG's it totally breaks immersion.

This book started out great, but gradually became bogged down with clichès, and stereotypical characters. I really feel like the main protagonist have potential and I hope the author can realize it in further installements.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Standard but thoroughly enjoyable fare November 18, 2011

By Warren Igny

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is your standard coming-of-age fantasy story about a young boy growing into his power. The author doesn't introduce anything new or original here, but that does not make the story any less enjoyable. These kinds of books are a dime a dozen, but this one does it right. With the exceptions of a few typos and grammatical errors, I found this book to be a tight, well-written book that I devoured in one day and one that left me on the hook for the next book, which I hope is coming soon.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars it only gets better February 21, 2012

By Anthony Shine

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

so all the grievances are true, this does start as your standard-run of the mill boy-to-man hero adventure. the book does also read as what seems to be three almost seperate stories at times. All of that said the book is still an ok read, not great mind you, but definately enjoyable. Not to mention the author seems to find his balance through out the subsquent books which i think are way better. If i had to dp it again, i would still buy this book just so i would have an understanding of what is happening in latter books in the series; for some it will be like eating their vegtables before they can have some icecream, for me it was more like eating my mashed potatoes...not bad, but certainly not pizza.

More About the Author

Brock Deskins was born in a small town located in rural Oregon. At age twenty, he joined the army and served as an M1A1 tank crewman, dental specialist, and computer analyst. While in the military, he became an accomplished traveler, husband, and father of three wonderful children. His military career completed, attended college to brush up on his skills as a computer analyst and gain new skills as a writer. Brock received his degree in computer networking and is devoting his full time and limited attention span to writing.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#45 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#65 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#45 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#65 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy