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bookslikegranola 's review for:
The Path of Ascension
by C. Mantis
A really fun litrpg/xianxia in a space opera setting (although the start is maybe bit rough in the writing, but it does improve).
Matt lost his family to an outbreak of monsters that devastated his home planet. Now, with the awakening of his first Talent, he will do whatever it takes to become powerful enough to control his life and protect others. The litrpg system was super fun, with clear levels from 0 to 50, with character specific “Talents” given at levels 1, 3, 25, and 50. Rifts are small pocket dimensions with monsters that one can fight to level up, improving physical and magical strength (and getting treasure and magic skills). Rifts, planets, and materials also have levels, making a very clear progression that I really enjoyed. I will say that the gender dynamics isn’t great in the first part of the book, but I can head cannon it away as Matt being a stupid 14 year old, and then the rest of the book (and all the subsequent books) are much better as the author seemingly gets a handle on his material. I will say as a whole, the books do struggle a bit with tone and consequences, where some books are very free with a kill-or-be-killed world and then the next one makes it very difficult to actually die.
Highly recommended if you like litrpg’s or want to try one.