Ascendant

Saga of Valor

By: Izaic Yorks

Narrated by: Kyle Snyder

Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Revolution cometh.

The sounds of Valor shall resound and pierce even the deepest reaches of the undercity, and not a soul will remain untarnished. . .

Hasbal, The City of Lights is no longer the capital of industry, but instead, a place frozen in time as its denizens reach ever towards the promised utopia.

Ghost-Who-Walks is on the run from his past and he is dreadfully tired. Centuries have come and gone, and yet he still can not escape his duty. When called upon once more The Ghost will have to decide if he has the courage to fight one last time.

Dirk Ava wants what any other teenage girl might. Someone to love her. The freedom to do as she wishes, and the chance to overthrow the Lord Prime. The daughter of an extremist freedom fighter in a group known as the Shields of Valor, Dirk Ava has been groomed for war from an early age. But when a deep magic awakens within Ava, her entire life is turned inside out. Ava's coming-of-age story sets her on a soul-shattering quest to master her powers, overcome betrayal, and kill the Lord Prime.

©2022 Izaic Yorks (P)2024 Izaic Yorks

unique magic

I really enjoyed this story. The magic was fresh and unique. The storyline kept a great pace and was never dull!

Hooked me & shook me — an updated review

Wow. I don’t know what I expected from this story, but this wasn’t it—it was better. Don’t let the butterfly on the cover fool you, this was not a lighthearted fantasy. Ascendant was intense, gritty, emotional, and wholly captivating.

These characters are absolutely unhinged. My jaw dropped on more than one occasion, which of course brought me immeasurable joy. This coming of age fantasy had complex characters and world building with a dynamic and unique magic system. I was absolutely hooked from the very first chapter. I haven’t stopped thinking about this story or these characters since I finished this read back in November. I could and would read endless books set in this world.

More specifically, I read this as an audiobook. Boy this was immersive. I’m normally someone who listens to audiobooks while I do other things (cleaning, driving, etc), but I found myself just sitting and listening, completely engrossed on more than one occasion (NOT WHILE DRIVING—just to be clear). The narration of the story was enjoyable and (obviously) kept my attention well. My only small issue with the audiobook was that I didn’t love the voices for a couple of the characters, but it wasn’t bothersome, merely a matter of personal preference. I will absolutely be reading/ listening to the audiobook again in the future.

Details:
- Coming of age story
- High fantasy
- Flintlock era
- Dystopia
- Hard magic
- Dark themes & events (SA, un-aliving, & the ouchy sessions—to name a few)

Amazing tale set in such a unique world!

Loved this book!! The intricate details that built the world, the unique framework of the societal rules, and the adventurous spirit throughout made it a thrilling book to dive into. The depiction of how experiences shape and change you was beautifully (and heartbreakingly at times) portrayed as the character development progressed. It was a very beautifully written book with such strong character qualities depicted. Highly recommend!!!!

Solid World Building Makes all the Difference

This was a fairly typical fantasy rebel story that was made much better by, what for me, was a well crafted world that was slowly introduced with just enough mystery to pull me through the whole story and characters that I was at least partially sympathetic to (enough to care what happens to them). The narration was a great fit for the story and helped kept me engaged throughout. The best part ... if the philosophical foundation lurking underneath (I mean valor vs retribution ... this was hard to miss) where, if you wanted it, givers the reader some heavily stuff to consider but is easy to ignore and simply enjoy the story if you just want to have fun.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#Ascendant #SagaOfValor #FreeAudiobkFacebkGrp