Sufficiently Advanced Magic

Are you tired of fantasy wizards waving their hands mysteriously to accomplish whatever the plot requires? Do you like the defined magic systems in Brandon Sanderson's or Brent Weeks' books? There's a good chance that this is the book for you.

Sufficiently Advanced Magic marks the launch of Andrew Rowe's new Arcane Ascension series. It's his third published book and (in my opinion) his strongest work yet.

This book is set in the same universe as Rowe's War of Broken Mirrors series but takes place many years later, similar to Legend of Korra or Alloy of Law. There are a few easter eggs for those who've read his other series, but no prior knowledge is needed.

Rowe's magic system is incredibly detailed and thought out, taking inspiration from series like Mother of Learning and Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. In the world of Sufficiently Advanced Magic, anyone can become an “attuned” by proving themselves worthy in one of the seven enormous towers spread across the continent. All you have to is not die, which is kind of hard when there are mysteriously deadly puzzles and hordes of monsters waiting for you in the towers. Once you are attuned, you have access to different kinds of mana, which in turn allow you to perform different types of magic. There is a wide variety of magic types, so just because the system is “defined” doesn't mean it's overly limited. Also, as you get more powerful you get to level up through the colors of the rainbow!

There's an interesting mix of different technologies. You can ride a train through the deadly wildlands between nations and even buy an automobile if you are rich enough, but knives and swords are still pretty common weapons. Guns exist, but so do magical dueling canes that can shoot, well, magic. There's also a Goddess, multiple god-beasts, secret societies, a brewing war, and more.

Most of the story takes place in the magical academy of Lorian Heights, where the main character tries to figure out how to improve his magical abilities, occasionally trying to “game” the system to come out ahead. It felt a little bit like Hogwarts, but where you feel like you as the reader could practically be taking notes in each class scene. Again, Rowe really knows his stuff with magic systems.

We experience the story in first-person narration through the eyes of Corin Cadence. He's a young noble who is willing to brave the dangers of the tower to earn an attunement and discover what happened to his brother, who went missing five years earlier. Finding his brother is one of his driving motivations throughout the book. Corin is smart and logical and generally a fun, well-developed character.

Corin forms a core group of friends as the story progresses, similar to a party in a role-playing game (after all, this book borrows a lot from the litRPG genre). These characters are less developed than Corin, as is to be expected in a first person book, but most of them are engaging. You get to meet snarky professors, loyal friends, teenagers who like to be mysterious, and more.

The overarching plot of the novel is Corin's quest to find his brother. In the first few pages, Corin enters the tower and begins a deadly test to earn an attunement and discover why his brother disappeared.

Don't be fooled, though. The first 10% or so had me convinced the entire book would be a dungeon crawl. It's not. This is definitely a magic school book at its core. Corin realizes that he is too weak to find his brother without growing stronger and gaining allies.

Of course, things get more complicated than that. Corin finds himself entangled in politics beyond his understanding. A conflict is brewing between various nations, monsters, and beings of godlike power, and Corin finds himself at the heart of it.

I thought the book did a good job of balancing over the top fight sequences with learning magic in a school environment. Both types of scenes are done well and you typically switch between them before one starts to get tiring.

The prose is pretty straightforward and doesn't take itself too seriously. Corin cracks jokes and in general is a pretty entertaining POV. The style of writing leans pretty heavily on the analytical side. Expect lots of internal thought processes as Corin thinks his way through various decisions. This can be a little much at times, but it's also a refreshing change of pace from wanting to smack characters for not seeing the obvious possibility right in front of them.

You should read this if you like very detailed magic systems and a logical main character. Expect a lot of rationally thinking through different options and experimenting with magical abilities.

On the other hand, if heavily analytical writing and a major focus on the mechanics of the magic system don't sound interesting, this might not be for you.

You should read this if you like cool fight scenes, dungeon crawls, and deadly puzzles. A good 20% or so of the book takes place in a setting similar to a DnD dungeon and the rest is in a magic school.