Blurb: (From Book 1) Five years ago, Corin Cadence’s brother entered the Serpent Spire — a colossal tower with ever-shifting rooms, traps, and monsters. Those who survive the spire’s trials return home with an attunement: a mark granting the bearer magical powers. According to legend, those few who reach the top of the tower will be granted a boon by the spire’s goddess.
He never returned.
Now, it’s Corin’s turn. He’s headed to the top floor, on a mission to meet the goddess.
If he can survive the trials, Corin will earn an attunement, but that won’t be sufficient to survive the dangers on the upper levels. For that, he’s going to need training, allies, and a lot of ingenuity.
The journey won’t be easy, but Corin won’t stop until he gets his brother back.
Review: This series for me is one of the standards that define the progression fantasy movement. It is much better than the average book in the genre, having successfully stolen the good elements during the genre's infancy and improved on them. So I heavily recommend it.
I have the feeling that many recent books, especially those that are self published, have been influenced by this story. As such, the setting isn't as inventive as it was originally. It nevertheless is fun, and I find the cast of characters enjoyable to follow. The world is very well fleshed out, with a lot of depth spent on the magic system and interactions between the rather large central set of characters. If you're in the market for a fantasy book with a cool magic system following a set of (university) students, then this a good pick.
I also feel the rare need to explicitly mention the author. I find their blog an occasional interesting read, and from my understanding, they have been a huge benefit to the community.