A Crucible of Souls

By: Mitchell Hogan
Location: FIC HOG
Genre: Epic Fantasy    
Series: Sorcery Ascendant Sequence #1 

A rollicking good old fashioned fantasy!  A big fat epic fantasy with touches of Tolkien, Williams, Eddings, Jordan, and Feist!

Raised by monks after the death of his family in a suspicious fire, Caldan receives an excellent education and magical training. Upon reaching adulthood he leaves the monastery to make his own way, and try and find out who his family was, and who he really is. 

Life in Anasoma is nothing that Caldan's sheltered upbringing prepared him for, and he soon finds himself homeless and penniless. In desperation he seeks and gains an apprenticeship with the Sorcerer's Guild, despite being several years older than the rest of the apprentices.

While Caldan begins to settle down into his new life, make friends and investigate the mystery of his parents, an ancient evil is stirring, and soon will lay siege to Anasoma, once again throwing Caldan into the middle of chaos.

"This book was a very classic fantasy novel, and by that I mean there were the expected fantasy tropes. For example, “A poor boy grows into a hero and he will overcome all odds and face a great threat”- that kind of thing. Let me just say that novels like this are like comfort food on a cold winter day, they are wonderful and familiar and you read the entire thing in one or two sittings. Say what you like, but there’s nothing like opening up a book and losing yourself in it for a few hours or a whole day and that’s exactly what you can do with A Crucible of Souls." Rebecca