Mark of the Fool 8

Mark of the Fool #8

by J.M. Clarke

A secret has been revealed, and others will follow.

After a terrible revelation, Alex Roth must unlearn everything he knows of Thameland and the cycle of the Ravener, all the while hunting for the hidden priests of Uldar’s Rise.

As the First Apostle prepares to destroy the Fool, the villain receives an unexpected ally.

Meanwhile, Alex himself has received new information about his Mark…information that could utterly change his lifepath.

But he cannot keep his identity hidden forever. Not anymore.

Who will have the last laugh?

Alex Roth?

Or the grinning face of the Fool?

Book 8 of the Best-Selling series. Continue your fantastical journey into a coming-of-age magic academy fantasy with a weak-to-strong progression into power, deepening mystery, a setting inspired by D&D, detailed world building and magical science, action, comedy, slice-of-life, and GameLit elements.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy, Magic, Fiction, Action, Adventure

679 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2024

Reviews

[William Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

unnecessary

I hate talking bad about a book in a series I have enjoyed, but…

Far too often, the beginning of a chapter was a recap of the previous chapter. While that works in a more episodic work, it is tedious when read as a book. Even as separate episodes it was frustrating to be re-introduced to characters we had *just* met. It was still the same ‘scene’! It wasn’t like the new character was off-screen for a bit, either.

Really, nothing truly substantive happened. I mean, his secret is out—but that was clearly going to happen after book 7. And there were a few minor events—a funeral, new spells, new businesses, etc. But there wasn’t a single big *event* to center the narrative force.

Being fair, there *was* a good amount of ground laid for future events. But that doesn’t make for a very interesting book.

I’m still going to follow the series. But I skipped *a lot* of pages and didn’t miss anything substantive.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in this excellent fantasy series. you can tell the story is headed to a big ending with some of the mystery reveals that happen. Great entertaining read. Very recommended

[Steve Naylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.0 stars

A good continuation of the series. Things are out in the open now. The Fool is exposed. What is going to happen now. That what this one deals with. Is Alex going to be forced back to Thameland. What about the secret church; what is their plan? Alex knows one thing. He needs to get stronger and make himself indispensable. He also needs to look into changing his mark from the Fool back to the General as it was in previous generations. I am looking forward to the next one.

[ReadToBreathe · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars
I missed Baelin

[Officially_Genie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh I just love this series! It’s really become a favourite on-going series of mine! I really love Alex and his Kabal.

This book laid down the foundation for an excellent 9th book!! Can’t wait for the audiobook to be released!

[Tony Hinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has mostly stalled for a long time. New life was breathed into it about half way through this episode when Alex finds a challenging goal that will measurably change his situation. We now have a narrative "carrot" which draws us onward.

I can honestly say that I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Pedro Costa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mary Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series!

I've really enjoyed this series! Can't wait for the next book! Just binge read the first eight. I don't have patience anymore for books I think suck. These don't!

[Benjamin Sigman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these!

[Dave Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great addition to the series
This one is pretty good. Has all the stuff I like, less of what I don't, and moved along with better pacing than the last few.

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow plot advancement but it felt right after all that happened in the previous book. We get some new characters and adventures! Looking forward to the next one.

[Melenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lord IDK - Review to come... smh

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page turner, I couldn't put it down...

Then I was left waiting for book 9! Why can't I time travel!? Clarke knows how to build a fantasy setting, and get you invested in his characters. One of the things I love the most about this series is that non of the races are bound by the traditional character race lore. The society is egalitarian. He is friends with a shark man, a prince, a minotaur and a a goat man to name a few. The real treasure is the rich story telling and fleshed out characters. You care about every single character in the story to some degree, even if they only make a short appearance. The author truly has a gift for making his character as come to life.

[Smoke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been a very enjoyable series for me, but this is a incredibly slow book where not much of anything happens. I guess I'll just wait for book 9, because this one was a whole bunch of words without much action. I also don't like the random introduction of a new character that doesn't really have anything to do with the past story. quite disappointed with this one.

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 estrellas siendo generoso

El libro sigue profundizando en la historia pero no hay nada que pase que sea sumamente importante, el final tampoco aporta mucho y se da a entender que en el próximo libro se verá un mayor desarrollo.
Por eso solo le doy 3 estrellas

[Rei Kromulis · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book has no ending it just abruptly stops.

come to think of it, it didn't really start either, it continued from the last book.

if people can, wait for the 9th one to come out before starting the 8th

[Gareth Otton · Rating 4 out of 5]

At this point in the series, I need to clarify what makes a 5-star story for me. I am not seeking perfection. Aside from not making any glaringly obvious writing errors, I am seeking a story that:

1. Is well balanced and well paced to keep me engaged from the first page to the last.

2. Is filled with meaningful content rather than filler so I don't feel like I am wasting my time.

3. Focuses on delivering consistent character-led storytelling so that there is significant growth/progression of the main character(s).

I am explaining this because I am not sure I have read another series I enjoy this much, but I can't bring myself to award a 5-star rating to any of the books. For probably the first 75% of this book, I was over the moon because I thought that, finally, this was a book that had earned that full five-star rating, but alas, it was not to be.

The last 25% of this book breaks all three of my criteria for a 5-star novel. The main issue this book addresses comes to a climax about three-quarters of the way through the story, and what follows is something that feels far too much like a meaningless side quest for my tastes. As is often the case in this series, I will caveat that by saying that it isn't truly meaningless, as there is always a purpose for Alex's actions in this series. However, the amount of time and attention spent on this part of the book drastically outweighs the meaning behind this quest. As is often the case with side-quests, it is a big chunk of a novel that is plot-driven rather than character-driven, and is overly action-heavy for the sake of there being action rather than the story actually needing that.

All this adds up to a novel that is 75% awesome and 25% forgettable. I can happily overlook the last 25% to give this book a high four stars, but it is just too much to ignore for five stars.

It's so frustrating because I genuinely enjoy this series, it just keeps falling shy of consistent excellence.

[The Legend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine enough?
Nothing was really wrong with the book, it had a few long built up climax points happening but no real major events or things settled. No real questions answered.

At 8 books in, it's a bit worrying that nothing big has been settled. It makes one worry that the author is going to pull the horrible writing cliche of saving getting the mark fixed and letting Alex be a full wizard until the very last book and half way through it before rushing to tie everything up in the last half of the last book.

Which would be a disservice to the series. Yes the series is the mark of the fool but it's focus really hasn't been on the mark or his home. It's been on his growth as a wizard and those around him. To not get to see that or to take so long that it won't happen until many more book is just wrong.

I'd want to see at least 2 full books of him with full powers. Three would be better. One where he fixes the mark, a full book of growth and gaining power, then a final book of him wrapping everything up with the later half being what comes after.

I'll be quite disappointed if the author waits until the final book to play out all the storylines. That 8 books in we still haven't seen the mark fixed, the question of what the god was up to, whats up with the big bad, or even learn more about the twin blade about where he came from and his swords. Well that's just super slow rolling. Are we going to be 20 books in before we get answers? It's like if lord of the rings took 10 books just to get to the meeting to decide what to do with ring.

So here's hoping we see some stuff actually resolved or progress soon and it isn't all just mashed into the final book.

[Thorsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series reminds me of the dog in Up, unfocused and easily distracted ... SQUIRREL! The book is too ambitious in its vision of all the things that it wants Alex to do, and we end up with a haphazard mess of daily activities, all loosely justified by Alex only sleeping two hours a night. Then, when genuinely impactful events take place, they get glossed over and hand-waved away. For example, the reason this book got three stars, in fact: Alex learning fifth-tier summoning spells on his first attempt, and then sixth-tier magic in a whole 90 minutes. Only to realize that this is the limit he can do because Mark's interference is too strong? We spent seven books reading about his agonizingly slow progress, only to have it all thrown out the window by not just rationalizing why fifth and sixth-tier would be so easy to learn but then having him go on about how impossibly hard sixth-tier is and how that's the end of his progression... uhh unless he could somehow transform his Mark, of course. It's the laziest, most bullshit power-up ever.

Each book is getting progressively weaker, and it will be interesting to see if we reach the end of the story before I reach the end of my patience.

[KMK · Rating 2 out of 5]

The worst book in the series thus far.

Absolutely nothing happens. No character progression, no challenges, not a single level appropriate encounter. The entire (audio) book is an hour of Alex discussing with various people what could happen at *thing*. Then an hour of Alex's inner monologue and fretting over possible things that could go wrong. Finally the *thing* happens and it's completely trivial, inconsequential and has basically no impact on anything. Rinse and repeat 5 times and that's the book.

While I think this series showed promise with an interesting premise and an imaginative world it has become incredibly boring. Suffering through 2 hours of repetitive buildup only for nothing to happen over and over again is beyond bland. I finished it only because I liked some of the previous instalments but this might be the WORST book I have suffered to the end of.

Bleh

[Doug Sundseth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Assuming a 3-act structure for the series, this book marks the beginning of Act 3. The nature of the threat is largely revealed, the protagonist has begun to solve problems that have plagued him since the beginning of the series, and preparations for the final confrontation are well underway.

This deep into the series, there's not a lot more character development to be done, but more of the world is being shown than has been previously.

The plot is typical of this stage in a long story, with a bit of action and a great deal of preparation for the climax.

If this were book one, it would be far too slow, but for this stage of the story, it works well. This is entertaining and I won't be stopping before the end of the series.

[Alex Stane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd say this LitRPG book, moreso than even DCC or HWFWM, is the only one I've read that I think gets better as it progresses. Now that Alex has the tools he needs, he's able to actually get stuff done and it's got me hooked.

Many of the focal points in this book rely on spoilers, so I'll just say that I think I hit the nail on the head when I referred to the author as 'practical' in a previous review. The reveal in regards to Uldar and the Ravener makes total sense and lines up perfectly with what we already knew. Same with the new stuff with the marks, as well as the Traveller's power. It's easy to tell that Clarke put serious forethought and effort into bringing this story to life.

[Sundeep · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was mostly build-up for climatic events to come. While the aftermath of the battle from the previous battle led to a few important discoveries, it wasn't as tension filled as I hoped it would be given the circumstances. Then we got to see Alex training to improve his already impressive repertoire of magical skills, including some really risky plans for the future. It was nice to see a few glimpses of his business ventures. We did get couple of action scenes too, but overall this book wasn't as satisfying as I expected.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often give five stars but I will this time. Most books of this genre have a beginning and a middle but never seem to end. This author looks to hae a beginning, middle, and end in mind - a rare feat these days. We can see the bones of the climax in Book 8 and Book 9 should wrap up the series or put us at the doorstep of the end.

While the story doesn't progress much in the first half of the book, we do get more character development. Losses hit harder and win seem bigger when you know why the hero's fight.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine addition to this YA series. Simple sentence structure and basic vocabulary, but Clarke was able to keep the plot fresh in this, the 8th in the series.

What stood out to me most in the book is that Clarke backed away some from all the physical violence (there was some, but it wasn't the focus like in previous books). Book 8 focused on intrigue, and matching wits in addition to matching magic and muscle. This book sets us up for the cumulation of the story, which I assume is Alex's mastery over his Mark.

[Ernestine Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

mark of the Fool (Book 1-no 8)

Brilliant series of books. The characters are awesome and reminds you of so many movies of Harry Potters characters. It’s funny, witty, some times sad but always wonderful. Every time Professor Jules speak all I vision is Mrs. McConnahe from the movie series. I listened to the audible series from book 1-7 and read book 8 because I just couldn’t find it. Reading was just as good or even better it seems…only you couldn’t ride and listen. Read the series. You won’t be disappointed. Waiting on book 9.

[William Moses Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a bit of a let down in terms of things happening. It felt like there were two main things that were supposed to happen in this novel. However, the first of these things felt anti-climactic and the second ended up only being teased.

Still, what makes this book a 4 star and not a 3 star read is that overall it was still pretty good. I had very high hopes for this book after the previous one, so while the book did not meet those lofty expectations, it was still a great read and a lot of fun.

[Joe Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came in expecting this book to be weaker, and it was only from the standpoint that it felt like a bridge book to get to the end of the series. After ending last book learning of their god's death, not a lot was continued with that. More was worked into the Fool once being the General, but only with Alex trying to gain knowledge and prepare for the change. Otherwise, he progresses a little at school with summoning, but a lot of the book deals with other nations and the Church finding out he's finally the Fool

[Keenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this series. J.M. clark, you should go to LitRPG Con or another Progression Fantasy convention, because I would love to meet you some day.

For potential readers, this is a slice of life fantasy. So, if you want action, climax, and plot hooks, this is not the book for you. If you find yourself, in the empty spaces of life, dreaming of your life as a mage. Not just a life of adventure, but one of family, quests, and the simple love of the pursuit of knowledge, this book is for you.

[Aaron Fishman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another breathtaking installment to this amazing series

I read 200 books a year, but few make me laugh quite as hard as this one. The characters, unlike many others in this genre, feel very human and real. They laugh, they cry, they make mistakes, and they act both rationally and irrationally while maintaining their wits. The nuance that this author brings to the table is nothing short of amazing. I would highly recommend this series. You will not regret reading it.