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Arcane Awakening #2

Imperial Wizard: Ambitions

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Their monstrous foes have been driven off, but the city is far from safe.Verdan has found more questions than answers in the time since awaking, but the world waits for no one, and new threats are drawing close. With growing suspicion of the Sorcerer Sects, Verdan must give the people of Hobson’s Point the tools to protect themselves. Failure means death and the fall of the final independent city.Time is limited, but never underestimate a Wizard backed into a corner.

578 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 13, 2023

671 people are currently reading
352 people want to read

About the author

J. Parsons

15 books67 followers
A long time lover of fantasy adventures, I've finally moved from just writing for family and friends to publishing my books online.

I hope you enjoy my work.

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5 stars
879 (54%)
4 stars
513 (31%)
3 stars
179 (11%)
2 stars
28 (1%)
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10 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
2,560 reviews72 followers
December 11, 2023
Meh.

Started very slow and never picked up. Mostly just character work with a sword of Damocles hanging over them that is quickly resolved at the end.
Profile Image for Russell Gray.
682 reviews137 followers
March 17, 2024
This book, much like the first one, was a mixed bag.

You should read this book if:
You focus more on the plot and magic system than the characters or the writing because I think the premise is strong and I liked where the story went. The primary draw for me continues to be the magic. The battles involving the sorcerers, various magical creatures, witches, and our wizard MC are among some of the most mechanically interesting spell-focused battles I've read in gamelit.

The plot has an unfortunate tendency to revolve around the characters making the dumbest available choices, but there are enough moving parts combined with a consistent pace to keep things interesting.

You might avoid this book if:
You rely on strong characterization and great prose to hold your interest. There's really no other way to say it: the characterization isn't strong. I think the adage of show, don't tell is overused, but it applies here. Or I should say that the author relies too much on direct characterization, telling us what the character is rather than indirectly showing us who they are with their actions.

It was hard to get invested in some of the story events since I cared little about the existing characters from the first volume, let alone the late additions in this one.

The writing also has glaring flaws: repetitiveness and redundancy within paragraphs and even within the same sentence. Saying, "He swung his leaf-bladed spear in a wide arc and then stabbed forward with the spike on the butt of the spear..." is excessively wordy and redundant. We don't need to be reminded that it's a leaf-bladed spear every time Kai swings it, nor do we need a reminder that he's stabbing forward with the spear just because he's using the other end of it. It's like the author doesn't trust the reader to remember what they read a mere 10 words ago. This kind of prose is painful for me to read and constantly impedes my immersion.

I want to point out that the writing improved a bit from the first volume in other ways, specifically when describing things with similes and metaphors. "...the spell took shape as power poured out of him like water and hung in the air like a drop of water..." The first book included lines that reminded me of poorly translated prose. I didn't notice anything nearly this egregious in this book.

Though if you agree with Stephen King that the road to hell is paved with adverbs, you will struggle with lines like: "I feel as though there are some further considerations here," Macannan said eventually, looking up at Verdan questioningly.

The story's weaknesses battled with its strengths to leave me feeling neutral in the end. Both of these books were closer to 3-star reads for me, but I rounded up because the author could always make some adjustments in future volumes. I plan to read the next book, and once I knock something down to 3 stars, it usually means I'm bailing on the series.
176 reviews3 followers
November 27, 2023
Really enjoyed this sequel! Great mixture of action and intrigue that created a wonderful story! Great character works through and super interesting magic system! Also loved the world building in this book! Highly recommend this series.
110 reviews
November 15, 2023
An interesting addendum -- I'll be back for more

Not the best or most polished of tales, but an interesting story nonetheless. As danger circles, our wizard uses his ingenuity, gathers allies, and finds that he needs to budget time to take care of himself-- eating, sleeping, and facing the pain of his past-- if he wants to survive and invest in the future. We see his struggles and his growth-- and how those he's befriended are able to return that friendship. We also see how our wizard and friends weather the seige of their city.
I look forward to seeing how the relationships with minor characters develop; we have an interesting and diverse cast at this point. We also have a bit of romance brewing, as well as our wizard's decisions to train (or not train) a potential apprentice.
This book comes to a decent resolution-- a "happily for now"-- with lots of potential remaining for future books. I'm interested in seeing where the story goes, what our various characters get up to, and what else our wizard is able to invent (or discover) when folks leave him alone to do a bit of research :D
I do so enjoy magical scientist types, and our wizard is that, as well as a warrior. (I'm particularly interested to see how things go with the lady alchemist...)
Profile Image for Robert.
273 reviews
December 10, 2023
Hidden agenda

I detest when authors hide their homosexual agenda in books. 86% in to the book we get homosexuals in one of the main side characters.
Profile Image for Sydney Mugerwa.
Author 2 books21 followers
March 30, 2025
Imperial Wizard Ambitions is a great story, written poorly. It has immense potential, but the narration drags it down, feeling more like a secondhand retelling than an immersive experience. Reading it is like hearing someone describe a painting of a fire rather than feeling the heat yourself.

The characters are disappointingly half-baked. There’s far too much telling and very little showing, making it difficult to connect with them. The pacing is sluggish, and by the time I reached the end, I was more relieved than satisfied. The author seems uncertain about the Wizard’s power level, which fluctuates inconsistently. The Idrissyl, despite their supposed abilities, are hardly distinguishable from regular men. Sylvie and her kind are little more than wolves, while the witches often outmatch Verdan in raw power. The Fwyn, despite being non-human sorcerers, are largely restricted to a single ability, making them feel underwhelming.

One of the biggest disappointments is Tobias who more or less started all this. The mysterious merchant was introduced in the first book with so much promise, only for his arc to fizzle out entirely. Why even bother.

The research behind the world-building is evident, and the foundation of a great story is there, but the execution is sorely lacking. Unfortunately, I’ve run out of patience for this series.
Profile Image for Amalga Mat1on.
110 reviews4 followers
December 20, 2023
Shaping up to being a really solid series.

This series feels like a slow-burn version of Legends of the Arch Magus, but more gritty and without the power fantasy aspect. I mean that in a really good way. This is a story of an MC bringing life, innovation, and power back to a dying town, in a world that has been divided by "Might Makes Right" Sorcerer Sects and Monsters.

The assortment of allies are fun to read and see develop. On top of that, seeing how much the side characters shine along with the MC in the battles highlight how much agency ALL of them have. This is one of the strongest aspects of the series. The fights are very well written.

The only negative/complaint that I can easily point out, are some of the crafting, alchemy, and magic development chapters. There are already over half a dozen interesting characters that can be followed for additional development/dialogue/world-building. Seeing less development from them, and more words going towards small innovative creations, felt dragging. However, this may have been due to the tension made throughout the book of the countdown to everyone being killed.

Nonetheless, great book, cool characters, AWESOME fights, and really looking forward to book 3.
Profile Image for Ford Miller.
730 reviews7 followers
December 18, 2023
Good story. Slow at times. Over written explanations and insights.

The story overall was a good, fun and enjoyable read. Having said that, the story became convoluted and slow too many times, leading to the effect of wanting to put the book down and stop reading. The main issue was the over-explaining of the main character's assessment of the situation. Also the author never really could get a handle to balance the uncertainty of the main character using his power, and what the powers actual relevance was to his enemy. Too many times, as the reader, I would ask, why it is that it's such a difficult task that he's dealing with. There are many social issues the author tried to get into... I felt these were add-ons and didn't really contribute or hurt the story.. it felt more like filler that was unnecessary. I liked the world building and the main character on a basic level but it was a struggle to finish this book even though I enjoyed the story overall. I'm not really certain I would be interested in reading the third book.
Profile Image for Tony Hisgett.
3,021 reviews36 followers
August 31, 2024
The overall story was good and I enjoyed it more than the first book, although I wasn’t keen on the way it became ‘disaster driven’ again. Also there were a few problems that caused some minor irritation.
The investigation into the traitor eventually points to the perpetrator (far too slowly), but then nobody does anything about it and the traitor is left to cause chaos.
Also I had one niggling doubt that slowly grew as the Weeping Death poured more and more resources into the capture of the enclave.
The Sects have to be much bigger than the author first intimated or the losses they are suffering would mean, even if they won, it would be a pyrrhic victory, as they would be so weakened any other Sect could quickly take them over. OR the sect is really large with hundreds and hundreds of Sorcerers to absorb the losses, in which case why didn’t they just take over the enclave many years ago.
The end of the book builds to the compulsory big battle, unfortunately the author goes into ‘comic book’ mode and the fight becomes more silly than exciting.
326 reviews9 followers
November 15, 2023
decent but some flaws

I liked the first book in the series much better. This book at times felt like a todo list with done action mixed in. There wasn’t nearly enough time spent on character development or world building. Finally, the MC missed painfully obvious clues at times, and acted in a manner that just doesn’t make sense. For instance, the MC creates this dangerous new invention that could change the works. He’s paranoid about it being stolen. The next thing he does is put it in the hands of complete strangers whom he leaves alone with it. These strangers are from an organization that has already proven to be infiltrated by his enemies, and one of the strangers was recommended by someone who had already been acting both suspiciously and antagonistically toward him. The device is then stolen.
Profile Image for Nehemiah Rockett.
7 reviews
December 28, 2023
While I loved this book, I REALLY wish we could get a time jump and more progression in the series beyond where it’s currently at.

This book was a direct continuation of book one. It is frustrating to have so many avenues of potential plot building introduced, but be explained away as a problem for a different day. I feel like a time jump in between books would help further this story along, instead of it being another 560+ page continuation of the last one. While also understanding Verdan experiencing a time jump of his own, It feels as though there is a disconnect with new problems always surfacing.

The author does a great job of story telling. I’m hoping for a significant improvement of speeding up the timeline in the next book. I feel as though the last 5 pages contained more updates than the book in its entirety.
Profile Image for Kevin.
1,765 reviews31 followers
July 23, 2024
The more I read this series, the more I see how the author was inspired by the Daniel Black Series.

Too many things are similar for it to be a coincidence.

Meh. The story was okay, but I'm getting tired of some McGuffin causing the protagonist not to be powerful in these stories. Something is always causing them not to be at full power. I just want to see the opposition get slapped away with looks of disbelief on their faces.

I don't know if I will read the sequel or not. I had this book for a while.
We will see.

3/5 Stars
Profile Image for Travis.
2,938 reviews50 followers
December 8, 2023
Imperial wizard: ambitions is the second book in this series, and it's a pretty good second book. We learn more about the wizard's past, more about his magic, as well as more about current magic systems, and even find out that there's agreements still in place from when he lived among other things of course. It all makes this a very well told second book, and I'm happy to read more in this series.
398 reviews
January 10, 2024
Boring, couldn't finish

I could not get interested in this book. The MC is a boring, and not very likable in the sense that he has so many hangups, he should be overpowering but is almost useless in a fight. Constantly gets allies killed because of his weird passive behavior. There's also so much "fluff" and long-winded explanations. The first book was good, but this second one seems written by a different author. Not sure why so many good reviews because this is not a good read.
211 reviews
January 18, 2024
There is plenty happening in the book, but it is a slow burn until the actual action in the last third of the book. There seems to be plenty of space to keep growing.

It was a good book that kept me entertained during a long bus trip.

PS - The relationships are well done - there is no sexual content, only some hints of amorous relationships. And unlike some other commenters, I find the hints of what *type* of relationship it is, well done. Just like in real life, to each his own. No hidden agenda of the author detected :-)
Profile Image for Jordin Butler.
54 reviews1 follower
February 13, 2024
Just as good as book 1!

I like the idea that Verdan wants nothing to do with war and death. It’s a treat watching him try and balance helping people around him, while trying his best to just live the life of a pseudo-scientist wizard. This world needs him, and it’s awesome seeing him come to terms with that, while fighting demons of the past. The action is great, the author’s descriptions are on point and easy to understand, and even growing love interests are fun to read about. A 5/5 for me. Can’t wait for the next entry!
18 reviews
April 26, 2025
What happened to fantasy?

I disliked the use of vulgar profanity since it added nothing to the scene where it was used. I also resent the inclusion of same sex attraction in the story. What does this have to do with fantasy? Hasn't this author ever read any of the classic fantasy that relied on adventure, suspense, and comraderie? Read Jeff Wheeler if you are interested in better fantasy and storytelling. I bought the next book in the series, but will delete it and ask for a refund.
Profile Image for Christopher.
501 reviews7 followers
November 27, 2023
A good sequel that does a great job of building on the established cast. I wouldn’t mind the pace slowing down, as the long promised alchemy shop has yet to materialize, with Varden running from danger to danger, making this really a pretty traditional fantasy over the potion ship slice of life I thought this might turn into.

Recommended if you liked the first one. I am excited to read the next entry in the series.
2 reviews
December 3, 2023
Interesting Premise strengthened with good Characterization

I like premise and setting of this story. But what really sells is how the author makes the main character human and relatable, you get caught up in his internal struggles as much as his external ones, which makes you really empathize with him. I also like the interwoven magic system/systems which feel intelligently put together with plenty of room for exploration/expansion.
2 reviews1 follower
January 31, 2024
I really like the characters in this series - they are well written, intelligent and thoughtful about their choices. They have real problems and make mistakes, but they have good reasons. The pace moves right along, its hard to put down, and it comes to a conclusion of the story arc at the end. The books leave room for more expansion of world building and character growth that lead me to look forward to more of them!
33 reviews
February 1, 2024
Good ready

An alright sequel, as far as sequels go. It does manage to lose all momentum from the first book, and never quite picks up that pace again until the very very end - which felt like something of a reward for having faith and sticking with it to be honest. The character interactions and relationships feel pretty limp and with some distorted logic on the side, but I think they'll also reward the reader for trusting the process. Looking forward to the next installment.
40 reviews1 follower
February 5, 2024
An enjoyable addition to the fledgling series

When I first started this series, I wasn't sure I'd stick with it long enough to actually learn the systems involved in the story. I can honestly say I enjoyed the whole book, and while I wish more aspects had been covered, I'm content waiting for the next installment. I'd definitely recommend this series to anyone with a more classical interest in fantasy series with a focus on wizards.
Profile Image for Sundeep.
Author 9 books11 followers
February 23, 2024
Plenty of action, so much so that I wish some of the slice-of-life scenes had been longer. Also, unlike the first book, POV scenes from the side-characters were much reduced.

It was good to see some cool enchanting items being worked on. Looking forward to the mystery item that's not yet decoded fully, as well as the ruins being explored.

The ending was darker than I was expecting, though it does puts the danger represented by sects in perspective.
Profile Image for Frank Bertino.
1,771 reviews20 followers
November 30, 2023
Entertaining Read

Verdan, the Imperial Wizard, is trying to balance using a wizard's power to protect the city and his friends against the potential of spreading the power and sliding into the path of extreme warfare. I like the action, humor, and romance. I look forward to the next book.
27 reviews2 followers
December 4, 2023
Escalating tension

Book 2 deals with the defense of the city from the sorcerer sects and is entertaining throughout. The supporting characters grow in power along with the MC and along with new allies try to fight against multiple attacks leading to a climactic battle. Highly recommended for the mature and intelligent MC and his supporting band.
5 reviews
January 9, 2024
Good but

Some awkward conversations and plot problems.

Zero explanation in why the protagonist could kill some some sorcerers so easily and others not so much. What happened to sorcerers not seeing aether and pure aether being able to pierce their shields? Why couldn't the wizard use that for the last fight? Lots of plot problems like that.
Profile Image for Randy Smith.
649 reviews22 followers
January 25, 2024
NOT Bad.

Good story with a good storyline and a lot of potential. Though, for some reason, I did not find myself being swept into this story, like many great stories that I have read in the past. I can’t put my finger on what is lacking, but for now I will continue to read this series and see where it goes.
20 reviews
February 11, 2024
A fun book to read to your kids, best since Harry Potter!

An interesting world with lovable characters that fight evil. Sounds like a good book to read aloud to kids. Nice job J Parsons, you have joined my top 5 fantasy writers still writing. Namely Shirtaloon, Peppers, Van Der Heyden, and Antibes. Thank you.
Profile Image for BlueFalkon95.
512 reviews1 follower
April 20, 2024
awakening of imagination

A great story of a wizard, sorcery and witches meeting up and fighting for life from the start. They meet up with other people and combine together to fight for their city. An incredible storyline shows the author’s imagination and brings together those who normally wouldn’t band with others.
52 reviews2 followers
December 1, 2023
Love this series

Intriguing cast of characters with the primary being a well thought out wizard. Really enjoy the feeling of diversity and a while wild world waiting to be explored.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews

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