The Ascension

Mark of the Crijik #5

by ThinkTwice

Book 5 of an Isekai LitRPG Adventure about an unexpected hero coming of age in his new home, progressing in power and abilities as he unlocks the secrets of magic and a System that may not be as trustworthy as it seems.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic

678 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2024

Reviews

[Steve Naylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.0 stars

This was probably the best book in the series since the first book. Every other book has felt like a side quest. I kept asking myself how this affects the plot going forward. This is the first one I feel deals with the big picture part of the story. The world now knows there is another marked one. Andros's life changes completely in this one. He meets the other marked ones. They are in the same situation he is in, but it is also completely different for him. He has been getting dreams about the phoenix. He goes and tries to investigate, and he finds the marked one of war there. He is the one that is closest to his ascension, which means he is also closest to death. He has come up with a plan for how to survive the ascension, but it is at the cost of the Phoenix. Andros and his friends are in his way. They need to protect the phoenix, or everyone connected to the phoenix will die, including Agni and Amanda. Before this one I was getting kind of bored with the series. I am glad I stuck with it.

[Dantegideon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was that Inné, the divine of war?

"I am Inné, the divine of war," said Inné, the divine of war.

It was Inné, the divine of war. Inné, the divine of war, had arrived.

"Inné, the divine of war!" I shouted. "Have you ever heard of semantic satiation?"

"I have not!" said Inné, the divine of war. "For I am Inné, the divine of war!"

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

That. Was. Awesome! I loved this book soooooooo much ❤ ❤ ❤. And I thought The Burning Lake was the best. Well think 🤔 again, because ThinkTwice really up'd the anti when they wrote The Ascension... Andross Silver and his team of friends really have their work cut-out for them, if they want to stop Inné's Ascension. Because if he manages, the world would be destroyed. Turns out that the real stars in this book and Agni, Amanda's Phoenix Guardian, and the progenitor of all Phoenixes. Without them and Andross I think, well you know the old adage about a certain creek and a paddle or the lack there of. And btw I knew Kyle would be back, and what fun!
So yeah grab this book. I guarantee you won't be able to put it down!

Here's a couple of quotes that tickled me:

[I—The Strongest Sword Divine—Reincarnated and Created a Harem Of My Enemies. Now, I Will Storm the Monsters Castle and Save the World.]

“I feel like the world is hugging me. No wonder you slept in a dirt bed for years.”

[Johann Lawson]

The way that this book is steadily losing everything that drew me to the first one is crazy. I mean, the plot is still interesting, but the writing has become so repetitive that it genuinely makes me feel like the author wrote the entire final draft exclusively on a Samsung S4, while waiting at the red light of an intersection on a hand-me-down bike.

Author has some great ideas. Author does not have good execution. Sorry babes.

For example:
Every major actionscene features a dramatic shift!! punctuated by a character you THOUGHT was down for the count saying "[No.]" in Big Bad Bold Script. And then something shocking happens! WOoo!

It got tiring on book 3. BOOK 3. Its actually so corny. And really, thats the heart of ts bro? Its corny. Corny. That's all I can say. Shuck it, fuck it, and leave the cob to the side.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I did like some of this, and there were events happening, this book feels padded.
I feel a quarter of this could have been cut without issue.

I don't know if these authors have editors, or if "big books" are the new in, but recently I've seen a lot of books that were over-padded. Needless ramblings instead of getting on with the plot. This didn't need to be this long.

I also don't like how this feels so YA at times. It's confusing, he is not really a four year old. Unless the First Night scrambled his brains more than usual.

I will pick up the sequel, but this series is annoying with its pacing. I still remember that whodunit (Gesti Sky) book too. That wasn't needed as a full book.

2.5/5 Stars

[Levia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andross brings more.

In any situation or new meetings Andross has this inspiring quality. He bridges gaps, and finds common ground. Yes, it can come across as innocence, even with his actual age. So much happened. I had a bad feeling after the end of the previous book, but things happened way out of line with anything I could have expected. I love that new relationships are so positive. Even an end is a new beginning.

[Chitalu Andrew Kabalika · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. This book more than any other in the series, has disappointed me. I have been patient with this story, hoping the payoff would eventually be worth it.

I am disappointed to say it is not worth it and if you are hoping for the grand mysteries, world building etc to make up for the frankly sub-par writing and crawling paceof the plot? Then you will be let down like I was.

Shame.

[Josiah Ploeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun Continuation

This was a fun read and I enjoyed seeing Andross’ continued exploits with his friends. It was a good story, though I feel like there wasn’t a ton of character development outside of Andross becoming more accepting of being a divine. Looking forward to the next one though and will definitely be reading it.

[Mike Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Series

This story of a guy literally reborn on a planet with magic was fantastic. He gets marked by a different god that had brought him into this world. In this book he helps the Phoenix who’s been imprisoned for centuries.

[Kevin Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Story

What a story, I love it from page to page, chapter to chapter. My only criticism, who proof reads your books because there are far too many missed spelling mistakes.

[Jonny0z0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

birdocalypse

Ya , hey um a cliffhanger with a frickin giant flaming god bird , , Really subtle .

🔥🦅

…. Sincerely , Random Reader …

[Doreen Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

Still an engaging story that I would recommend to others. There are also a lot questions that I hope are answered in the next book.

[Johnie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great one sitting read

I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG and progression type of books with lots of action.

[Ryan Propst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

Really engaging story, well written can’t wait for book 6, love the character development and world building along with the magic

[Zebulon Griggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story keeps adding characters and depth. The action remains fresh.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly a great story, but The Phoenix was decided to be a "they". Turns out I have less patience for that kinda bs than I used to.

[Jessie Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

worst book of the series.. Inna was pretty lame. he had a head starts on his plans. he had the mcs family hostage and the mc had no idea. yet and still Inna failed...

[George Rokkos · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book I’ve read in the month! Love Andross and his friends so much! This book was full amazing returning characters and awesome new characters that I can’t wait read again! I loved the plot of this book the intrigue, the adventure, the characters! It was awesome I highly recommend this series! Can’t wait for next book!

[Vader · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish