His story collection is as prolific as it is expedited. This 350,000+ word, 1,700 page tome is only volume one of a planned ongoing series, which Tucker is aiming to publish at one per year. And the action scenes are cleverly designed and well executed – a staple of any of Tucker’s previous novels. The supporting cast each have distinct, affecting personalities. Scorio is a multi-faceted character who is so driven that it often ends up being his downfall. I must state again that it is easy to see how much thought and effort Tucker has poured into this story, and it yields impressive results. But overcoming these mental hardships may even be more challenging than the physical act of daily survival in this unkind world. It’s only when he starts to bond with other outliers and outcasts does he see a potential future for himself – something that could break the chains he was born unto. Things don’t start well for Scorio, and they quickly go from bad to worse very early in the story. It’s all a big bag of ‘what the hell is really going on?’ and that’s all part of the fun, as it’s clear that Tucker has put quite a bit of thought into developing this world and its occupants. And if you train hard enough, you just might be spoonfed some memories of your past lives. Yet in the city proper, there lies the great Academy, where Great Souls are reborn to train hard to learn how to control their mana and ascending abilities. The city is bordered by ever-encroaching ruins, seeping with mana pockets and hellspawned fiends. There are boroughs that run the full 360 degrees around the inside of the circumference of the tube, and gravity pushes everything outward toward the floor, so you can walk radially or diametrically in any direction and not fall into the sky/ground/wall. The light source is a wick that runs through the center, end to end. (You may want to take a minute to absorb that before we move on.) The city is an oddly-shaped cylinder, lying sideways. Tucker takes his time with developing his main character Scorio, as we focus much of the early going on his past, his role in current society, and his inviolable thirst for power.īastion is a city in hell where mana-wielding Great Souls are endlessly reincarnated to fight fiends in the Pit until a prophesized leader breaks the cycle and brings everyone back to their home planet. ‘Bastion’ is unlike other progression fantasies where the MC levels up and powers run wild. More than two long years have passed since Phil Tucker’s last fantasy offering, and what does he have to show for it? A massive, massively entertaining cannonball splash into the progression fantasy genre.
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