worddruid 's review for:

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft

4.0

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I came to this book aware of it as one of the examples of a breakthrough self-published fantasy novel and therefore with pretty high expectations, knowing what a competitive market-place that can be. Broadly, it didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed being immersed in the world that the author created, which has a number of novel elements but also felt embedded in a classical fantasy tradition stretching all the way back to novels such as Gullivers Travels and Candide.
The development of the central character Thomas Senlin really interested me. I think that one of the most successful parts of the book is the way in which he changes before your eyes without the reader really being aware of it, until sudden dramatic moments underscore quite how far he has come from his starting point.
That said, there were some obstacles early on. I found the story to be a little slow to get started, and some of the characterisation seemed a little uneven at the outset

Spoiler

(although it is fair to say that at least some of this is redeemed later in the book by revelations about the characters in question, such as Finn Goll and Adam)

but once I had moved past that I found the story very engaging and difficult to put down. The ending leaves open a range of interesting directions for the surviving characters to travel in (both literally and metaphorically) and I look forward to seeing how things develop in future books.