Awakened

The Quintessence: Crucible, Book One (An Epic Cultivation LitRPG Saga)

By: C.M. Carney

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Cultivation. Progression. Ascension.

On the world of Crucible, where humanity’s spiritual artists train to fight in a war of universal proportions, Aryc Tal Venn has the potential to be one of the gods.

But when he accidentally unleashes heretical powers during his Challenge, he is forced to flee his home or face the wrath of the Inquisition.

With his sister by his side, Aryc begins a quest to uncover the truth of his own existence.

Only to discover a terrible secret.

A secret with the power to destroy humanity.

Will Aryc master his unnatural powers in time to save the people of Crucible or will he be the harbinger of humanity’s destruction?

Hit "Buy Now".

Awakened – Book One of The Quintessence: Crucible is the first novel in a new epic LitRPG cultivation universe brought to you by C.M. Carney, author of the number one best-selling LitRPG saga The Realms that began with Barrow King.

The book is chock full of Qi cycling, measurable power progression, immortal gods, intriguing characters, deadly mysteries, and universe shattering threats. It is perfect for all fans of progression fantasy, including lovers of LitRPG/GameLit, western cultivation, wuxia, and xianxia.

©2020 C.M. Carney (P)2020 C.M. Carney

Pretty good beginning but...

I only have a couple points of criticism, and I'm sure there personal but there are plenty of people like me.

1st of all "blighted" channels. OMG every single time the author talks about blighted channels, he acts is though it's for the very first time, launching into an in depth explanation of how, where, and when the MC learned of blighted channels. It was to the point where if he mentioned it, I was rolling my eyes and wondering if I should fast forward through this part.

2nd is how emotions ran through the magic channels of the disciples. It was wierd to me how an icy chill ran through his channels. I personally think it should have been his spine and the channels should be reserved for magic stuff not emotional stuff. And as a side note, they never had a warm fuzzy feeling run through thier channels. It always seemed like the negative emotions effected the channels, why? May not matter, but to me after reading technical wonders of LitRPG like "He Who Fights With Monsters" and "Chaos Seeds" it was kinda a let down. And like I said this is just personal, it seemed like I heard Chi 1 to many times which actually makes no sense.

As a final note, I think this is a good book, worth the mo ey or credit to pick up, if you looking for you next series, this could be it.

Slow burn

Awakened, the first book in the The Quintessence: Crucible series, is a bit of a slow burn. The entire book feels like a setup to an epic adventure. The world of Crucible is incredibly complex and much of this book focuses on letting up in on the world building. and I can only imagine the story bible Mr. Carney has likely crated for this series. Don't mistake my saying there is a lot of world building to mean there is no action because that is far from the truth. There is definitely action. Now while it is billed as a LitRPG novel, it doesn't feel as 'gamey' as other LitRPGs. Yes, there is talk about leveling and the like, but it's not in your face like it is in many other LitRPG novels. It's feels more organic (not sure that's the right word but it's the one I am using so there!) with the characters learning to master their skills and abilities seeming to come more from training than 'hey, killed 9 monsters, exp points gained!!!' Not that there is anything wrong with that. I like those kind of LitRPG books as well. Awakened just feels like a more traditional fantasy with some minor stat info involved. Will that change as the series progresses? No clue. I'd be fine either way, though how it's written now feels more natural to the story being told. Speaking of there story, it's a complex 'chosen one' tale filled with characters you'll like and those you'll like to hate. Definitely interested in seeing where the story goes from here. I've been a huge fan of Nick Podhel ever since I listened his work on the KingKiller Chronicles, and I am happy to say he delivers an excellent performance as always.

Very entertaining.

The premise for the book and world is well done. The story itself is fairly captivating. There were a few very small hiccups, but they didn't detract from the overall experience. I very much look forward to the next installment.

love this book

love this author's take on cultivation. I am eagerly waiting the next installment good job

good start

i enjoyed this book has cultivation in not many stats. an is somewhat syfy once you get deep into the book talks about how the culture started an there were other races their before them i dont want to say to much about it with out giving anything away. if you are a fan of Arcane Ascension. you will like this book it take a more of a mature role compared to the other books the author has written very good.

Definitely a different take.

This series doesn’t quite sit firmly in any one of the expected genres. There’s several twists and it’s a good book. Not my favorite, but worth a read if go through books like I do.

it's a good story and it's got a great start.

it's a good story and it's got a great start. Mr. P is fantastic as always. I really like the whole different take on this world's cultivation reason to exist. Makes me wonder if there really was a disaster on Earth or if there was just a mass kidnapping to start their own hatchery.

loved it!! 5 stars!

This was a fantastic start to what seems like could be a great series! I can't wait for the next book to be ready!

unique cultivation book

I'm generally not into cultivation books, but I really enjoyed this one. The storyline moved well and had some interesting aspects to it. really looking forward to book 2.

Great and entertaining book.

I can't wait for more! I keep getting hooked on series to find out it's not complete yet! I will be waiting.