What is Reddit's opinion of Sufficiently Advanced Magic (Arcane Ascension Book 1)?

Hey all!

Sufficiently Advanced Magic, the first book in my Arcane Ascension series, is currently on sale on the US Kindle store for 1.49.

Sadly, it only appears to be for the US store right now. (Amazon is the one that put it on sale, not me.)

For those of you who haven't heard of the book, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is a love letter to Japanese RPGs ("JRPGs") like Final Fantasy, Bravely Default, Tower of Druaga, Tales of Symphonia, Fire Emblem, and Azure Dreams. It also has similarities to some shonen anime, most notably Hunter x Hunter.

The content of the book is split between dungeon crawling sections - some solo, some with a small group - and sections where the central protagonist is learning magic at a magical academy.

The series has a heavy focus on learning the rules of magic and how to exploit them. As such, there's a tremendous amount of magic system detail, which may not be fun for everyone. If you enjoy trying to figure out how a magic system can be used in creative ways, you might like this sort of thing. If you tend to prefer more whimsical and open-end magic, it's probably not for you.

(This self-promotion post was pre-approved by moderators.)

Six Sacred Swords is my first book in the new Weapons and Wielders series. The story follows Keras Selyrian, a talented swordsman who begins a journey to seek out the titular Six Sacred Swords. The story is heavy inspired by Japanese adventure and role-playing games, such as Final Fantasy, Bravely Default, and Ys. This one in particular is most strongly inspired by The Legend of Zelda, and you'll see some obvious Zelda influences in there if you're a fan of the franchise.

This is much more of a adventure focused book than most of my previous novels, with most of the story involving exploring dangerous uncharted wildernesses and dungeons. It's also a smaller scale story in terms of the size of the cast and the focus - it's more about an individual adventure than something of world-scale importance. (At least for now.)

This book takes place in the same setting as Sufficiently Advanced Magic, but years earlier. You can read the series in either order. Notably, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is currently on sale for 0.99 on the US and UK Kindle stores to celebrate the launch of Six Sacred Swords. If you're trying to figure out where to start, Six Sacred Swords is more of an adventure with characters that are already very powerful, and Sufficiently Advanced Magic is better if you're in the mood to start with younger characters that are coming of age and just learning magic.

Thanks to /r/fantasy for the amazing support you've always given my books, and feel free to post if you have any questions!

Hey all,

I know some of you enjoyed Sufficiently Advanced Magic and have been waiting for the sequel to come out on audible. It's out today!

If you're not already familiar with the series, my Arcane Ascension books aren't full-on LitRPGs. Instead, they're more of an epic fantasy series that takes place in a world that runs on RPG-like mechanics (but those mechanics are treated as a normal part of that world and integrated into society). There are no "players" from our world, and it's not actually in a video game - it's just a fantasy world that runs on game-like physics.

For example, there are gigantic dungeons with respawning monsters and treasure, but those are explained from an in-universe perspective and integrated into the local society and culture. Similarly, there are analogues to character classes called "attunements" that can be leveled up over time - but the levels are generally measured based on the color of your aura, rather than a numeric value. (Measurements for things like mana levels do exist, though, and they're plot relevant).

All and all, it's a game-like world, but not quite what most people would call a LitRPG.

Anyway, if you're in the mood for that sort of thing, feel free to take a look, and I hope you enjoy it!

Saw someone mention my book here earlier and I remembered that some people in the subreddit might be interested.

For those of you who aren't already familiar, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is a novel with a mix between dungeon crawling and time spent learning magic at an academy.

It's set in a world that's heavily inspired by Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy and the Tales series, but where game mechanics are treated like normal elements of the world. For example, there are justifications for respawning monsters, dungeons with rooms that constantly changing, character classes, levels, etc.

There's a heavy emphasis on learning the rules of how magic works. If you enjoy that sort of thing, you might like these books.

That's very kind of you!

All my books are on there. The most popular one is Sufficiently Advanced Magic. It's a RPG inspire magical academy novel. If you like detailed magic systems and an emphasis on people studying the rules of magic, you might like it!

On a continent where humans are granted magical marks that supposedly contain the power of a goddess, young nobles attend a university with their retainers, learning magic and swordplay while they form connections with other nations.

Fire Emblem? No, I'm talking about my own Arcane Ascension books.

When I first saw the trailer for Three Houses, I laughed like mad because of how similar it sounded. My books are heavily JRPG inspired, so it makes sense, I was just tickled by the whole goddess mark thing and some of the similarities between the nations.

In spite of the similarities, there are some significant differences as well: my books have a very significant focus on magical research, and my protagonist isn't a teacher like Byleth. His focus is more on learning how magic works and training to rescue his brother, who disappeared into a giant tower five years earlier. If I had to compare my protagonist to someone in Three Houses, he's probably closest to someone line Lindhart in terms of skill set, but with a very different personality.

Aside from my own books, I'd also highly recommend Mage Errant, Mother of Learning, and Forge of Destiny - they're all magical school stories that have some of the elements you'd probably find similar to Three Houses.

I thought to check the price on the US Amazon page, and while it may not quite match the sale our Canadian counterparts have, $3.99 is not exactly expensive: https://www.amazon.com/Sufficiently-Advanced-Magic-Arcane-Ascension-ebook/dp/B06XBFD7CB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496421171&sr=8-1&keywords=sufficiently+advanced+magic

I'm definitely considering picking this up, I did enjoy the War of Broken Mirrors novels, and am a fan of JRPG's in general.

I'd like to take a moment to signal boost Sufficiently_Advanced_Magic. It has the Magic Highschool trope that Harry Potter popularized, but it's well written and makes sense. Also the protagonist is fairly socially anxious, and he's the universe's version of a computer programming student.

I got a kick out of How to Defeat a Demon King in 10 Easy Steps. In a world with RPG video game mechanics (choosing a class, leveling up, unlocking skills/abilities) a completely ordinary girl attempts to, you guessed it, defeat a demon king. It is funny, quirky, has a short training arc which I love, and is a short standalone book so it was a great palate cleanser between series, but it is only available on Audible.

Also, the author, Andrew Rowe, has a series about an otherwise ordinary person (the Gift he is given is one of the lesser Gifts) which is a solid read. The first book, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is free on Amazon for now.

Oh, wow, I didn't know we were going to do a post for Stabby winners and got in here a wee bit late. =D

I'm Andrew Rowe, winner of the Stabby for the JRPG-inspired novel Sufficiently Advanced Magic. I've been a community member for a lot longer - /r/fantasy is my primary "home" on the internet, and I've been thrilled by the level of support I've gotten from the community over the years.

If anyone is still reading the thread, feel free to throw questions my way!

Perhaps not exactly what you're asking for in this thread (I haven't read any of the stories you've listed), but Sufficiently Advanced Magic (Arcane Ascension Book 1) is a litrpg book that has been posted here before. It felt like Azure Dreams for the Playstation, only with a cool crafting system and a well-developed world. I read it and found it pretty fairly rational and very enjoyable, in a junk-food/guilty-pleasure way.

Amazon link

/u/asuraemulator writes the Starbreaker series, which is cyberpunk with JRPGish inspiration. You can see some clear Megaten and Final Fantasy inspiration in there.

Will Wight's Traveler's Gate Trilogy is basically a shonen anime in book form, and shonen tropes are very JRPGish, so there's some similarity there.

My own Sufficiently Advanced Magic is directly JRPG inspired. The magic system is based on having a Final Fantasy or Bravely Default style job class system where the character classes can be earned in the world and their abilities are deeply integrated into the world's cultures.

The giant spires that people climb (like the one on the book cover) are basically gigantic RPG dungeon crawls, very reminiscent of the Darm Tower in Ys or the Ancient Cave in Lufia, etc.

My goal was to write something that was very reminiscent of a JRPG, but with society, religion, etc. being informed by the existence of monsters, the types of magic, etc. As such, there's a lot of time spent on magical tech development, and much of the story takes place at a RPGish magical university (think Trails of Cold Steel).

Will Wight's Cradle series has pretty clear power levels, but they're title based, rather than numeric. (Copper progresses to Iron, which progresses to Jade, etc.) The most recent book also has some numeric rankings within each (e.g. the #2 ranked fighter at the Jade level).

There's some of this in my own Sufficiently Advanced Magic as well, also with a title based system rather than numbers.

Will's books tend to be more action heavy, whereas mine are very heavy on world building and magic system details.

Note that neither is explicitly "hunting down bad guys in order of power level" - it's just that there are characters of varying different power levels, and enemies tend to get tougher over time.

If you want something with a much more explicit numeric order, the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is the anime One Piece, where they do that during one of the arcs.

> Hi Mr Rowe. Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you had any news on Attuned? Many thanks! Joel

No problem! I changed the title of Attuned just before release. It's now called Sufficiently Advanced Magic, and it's now available in both Kindle and Paperback formats on Amazon. You can find it here.

Thanks for the interest, and feel feel free to let me know if you have any other questions!

If you haven't checked it out already, Sanderson's second Mistborn arc (starting with Alloy of Law) includes some of this.

Mother of Learning is a web serial that incorporates a limited degree of this; you see things like trains running based on mana rather than steam, for example.

If you're interested in characters actively learning the way magic works, you may want to check out my own novel Sufficiently Advanced Magic. It's a JRPG-inspired magical school novel with a great deal of magic systems detail, including things like researching how to make new magic items.

I'd recommend the Cradle series by Will Wight. It's inspired by Chinese xianxia novels and it focuses on a martial artist that is working to make himself stronger.

You might also like my own most recent novel, Sufficiently Advanced Magic. In specific, it's inspired by Japanese role-playing games, light novels, and manga. The setting is a Europe/Asia hybrid, similar to what you'd see in something like Final Fantasy or Tales of Symphonia

Hey all! Sufficiently Advanced Magic is the first book in my Arcane Ascension series, and it's currently on sale for $1.49 in the US Kindle store.

The sequel, On the Shoulders of Titans, just came out earlier this week, so it's a great time to pick it up if you're interested.

For those of you who aren't familiar, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is a mix between a dungeon crawler novel and a magical school story. It focuses on Corin Cadence learning magic and attempting to climb the Serpent Spire, a colossal tower that his brother vanished into five years before.

Stylistically, the series is heavily inspired by Japanese role-playing games like Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, the Tales series, and The Legend of Zelda. The magic system is strongly inspired by the job class system in some of the Final Fantasy games and Bravely Default.

This means the story deliberately includes a lot of game-like elements, but explains them within the context of the setting. So you'll see justifications for things like respawning monsters, ever-changing dungeons, and analogues to character classes and leveling up.

If you like game-like fiction, you might enjoy this. If you tend to prefer for your magic to be more mystical and unexplained, you probably will not like this book. There's a huge emphasis on learning the rules of magic and figuring out tricks with them, which isn't for everyone.

Thanks to everyone who has supported my books so far, and I hope anyone who checks the books out enjoys them!

Hey all!

Sufficiently Advanced Magic is the first book in my Arcane Ascension series, a novel series inspired by Japanese role-playing games (e.g. Final Fantasy, Bravely Default, Lufia, Fire Emblem, etc.) and similar anime.

It's told from the perspective of Corin Cadence, a seventeen year old who is seeking to climb the Serpent Spire, a colossal structure filled with monsters and traps. His primary goal is to find his brother, Tristan, who disappeared into the spire five years before.

To do this, he'll need to learn magic, and find all the help he can get.

The content of the novel is split between dungeon crawling sections in the spire (and other locations) and Corin learning magic at a university. As a fair warning, the magic system discussion gets extremely detailed. My style is to try to make sure that all of the spells, items, etc. the main character uses to solve his problems appear to be properly explained in advance. This type of style doesn't appeal to everyone.

Due to the JRPG inspiration, the magic and the setting come across as very RPG-like. This is deliberate; my intent was to draw from RPG tropes and create a setting where these tropes are organically integrated into the setting in ways that make sense. This isn't going to appeal to every reader, either.

If you're still reading and interested, you can check the book out here!

Sufficiently Advanced Magic is fun if you want a xianxia progression feel in a more western magic system.

The magic system for the Divine Dungeon series is inspired by cultivation novels.

Awaken Online is good if you like video-game like stories.

Will Wight is the guy you're looking for. Though the interconnectedness doesn't really start showing until you read Unsouled

Will Wight is a big Sanderson fan, and like Sanderson's Cosmere all of Will Wight's current book occur in a interconnected network of worlds, each with their own unique magic system. There are some characters (The Abidan and others) who are able to travel between worlds and interact with them, much like Sanderson's Cosmere.

He is also friends with Andrew Rowe (Or is possibly also Andrew Rowe), author of Sufficiently Advanced Magic and two other books. Simon, Will's Traveler's Gate protagonist, actually had a cameo in Sufficiently Advanced Magic.

When asked, they replied they may do some sort of crossover or joint work at some point in the future.

I'll second Cradle for this. It's probably the best Western example of a xuanhuan novel. You might also enjoy reading some translations of wuxia, xianxia, and xuanhuan novels, which often have a strong focus on martial arts mixed with magical or psuedo-magical spiritual abilities.

The web serial Forge of Destiny is another amazing Western example of this subgenre.

A lot of my own characters do this as well, especially Mara in my Arcane Ascension books and Keras in my Weapons and Wielders series.

While Forge of Destiny and Cradle are more similar to xianxia/xuanhuan, my books are flavored more like JRPGs. Think Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Fire Emblem, etc. Since characters in those series frequently mix magic and martial arts, my characters do so in a similar style.

I can't believe I'm the first person to suggest this, but you probably want Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe. The kid is not an overly powerful mage, but has to traverse the tower of death traps using his wits and clever ways no one has thought of before with his magic. Feel is sort of a D&D campaign/ dungeon crawl but with LitRPG overtones and protagonist who might just be on the spectrum.

Will Wight's Cradle series is a more Asian inspired take on magic with the protag again being considered deficient magically and having to think his way around the situations in unconventional ways to gain strength. Even by the middle of the third book, he's still not brimming with power.

Brent Week's Lightbringerhas some VERY powerful characters in it (in fact one of the POVs is the most powerful man alive), but one of the POVs is a kid just getting his feet under him. Good series, but probably the least similar to what you're asking for here.

Hey all,

Sufficiently Advanced Magic, the first book in my Arcane Ascension series, is currently on sale for 0.99 on the US and UK Kindle stores.

The Arcane Ascension series focuses on a group of magical university students who are training for military service and entering colossal dungeons called "Spires". Our central protagonist, Corin Cadence, has a personal reason for wanting to do this - his brother, Tristan, disappeared into the Serpent Spire five years ago and never returned.

The series focuses on a mix of learning magic at a university and dungeon crawling. It's strongly inspired by anime and Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy, Bravely Default, Ys, Lufia, and Azure Dreams.

This sale is also a part of my launch celebration for my latest book, Six Sacred Swords, which takes place in the same universe at an earlier period of time. That book focuses on Keras Selyrian, a veteran swordsman from another continent, searching for the legendary Six Sacred Swords. It's similar in style to the above, but a little more adventure focused, and the protagonists are powerful characters from the start.

You are looking for the newish genre LitRPG. A tremendous example of which is Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe on here as /u/salaris

Here is the blurb from GoodReads.com: >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.

It is incredibly readable, I couldn't put it down. There are definitely some criticism to be made of it, but no more than a lot of other fantasy stuff that is well regarded and eminently readable.

Andrew Rowe's Sufficiently Advanced Magic might fit the bill., though plays with the formula a bit.

It is a fun mix of LitRPG (it's fantasy world contains elements of litrpgs but that are just part of the world) and Xianxia.

It has one male MC and POV.

The MC does get some special advantages (but not always seen as such), and I assume this increases as the series goes on.

And the ebook is on sale at amazon right now for $1.49!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XBFD7CB/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Corin appears in all of the Arcane Ascension books. That is Sufficiently Advanced Magic, On the Shoulder of Titans, and now, The Torch that Ignites the Stars.

Corin makes a cameo appearance in the Weapons and Wielders books. It is of note that Corin is not the main perspective of these books. The premise of the book is that Keras is telling Corin a story, and Corin shows up for those scenes, but none of the others. Corin would be, like, 7 when the main W&W narrative takes place. Weapons and Wielders is Six Sacred Swords and Diamantine.

Hey all,

Just wanted to give you a heads up that the Kindle version of Sufficiently Advanced Magic is on sale in Canada right now.

No other regions at the moment, sorry - Amazon Canada picked the book out for a sale, so I have no control over it. I'm hoping to put it on sale in the US and UK through a Kindle Countdown deal within about a month or so, but I don't have a specific date yet.

Sufficiently Advanced Magic is a JRPG inspired epic fantasy with lots of world building and magic systems detail. Most of it takes place at a magic academy, but there's also some dungeon crawling through a JRPG-style dungeon.

The RPG inspiration is pretty obvious, so if you're not into that kind of thing, you might want to skip this. It's also very heavy on magic system details.

Here's a quick synopsis:

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.

If you're not in Canada, but you're interested in checking it out, you can find the US version here and it should be available on all other Amazon stores as well. The book is also available through Kindle Unlimited if you have that.

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