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Crucible of Ascension #1
Mage Mangler
OH BROTHER . . .
Adam Henshaw joined the army to bury his past and put his talent for violence to better use. He wanted a fresh start; he got a massacre. When monstrous warriors tear through a portal and drag the survivors into a realm of powerful magic and brutal politics, Adam is forced to adapt or die. To find a path home, he must master that magic and turn it against his captors.
TRAIN. GROW. ASCEND.
Through fast fists, raw determination, and a little luck, he earns a place at a Warrior Mage academy. But while Adam learns the rules of the Union, his past refuses to stay buried.
A VIOLENT CRIMINAL. A WILD CARD. A PSYCHOPATH.
Earl Henshaw is disposable. He's also Adam's brother, which makes him the perfect choice to send through the portal in pursuit. But for Earl, there is no magical academy waiting for him on the other side. There is only blood and dust in the roaring arenas of the Union. The cosmos is vast, but it isn't big enough to hold both of them.
Adam Henshaw joined the army to bury his past and put his talent for violence to better use. He wanted a fresh start; he got a massacre. When monstrous warriors tear through a portal and drag the survivors into a realm of powerful magic and brutal politics, Adam is forced to adapt or die. To find a path home, he must master that magic and turn it against his captors.
TRAIN. GROW. ASCEND.
Through fast fists, raw determination, and a little luck, he earns a place at a Warrior Mage academy. But while Adam learns the rules of the Union, his past refuses to stay buried.
A VIOLENT CRIMINAL. A WILD CARD. A PSYCHOPATH.
Earl Henshaw is disposable. He's also Adam's brother, which makes him the perfect choice to send through the portal in pursuit. But for Earl, there is no magical academy waiting for him on the other side. There is only blood and dust in the roaring arenas of the Union. The cosmos is vast, but it isn't big enough to hold both of them.
- GenresAudiobook
599 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 22, 2026
17 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 17, 2026
Fun and gritty LitRPG. I liked Adam and Earl right away. The leveling up is done at a pace that keeps the reader current without taking over the whole story. The audiobook narrator was excellent! Very Red Rising in vocal performance.
March 4, 2026
Triumphant Return
Kevin Sinclair is back with a fury!! I love his writing but this is best by a country mile.... It Is stripped down to grit and muscle.. Memory and raw pain wrapped in two brothers entangled in a torturous history of bruises and torture and a twisted love....
Highly recommend
JD Glasscock
Author of the Series Blood Brothers, Nocturne and Warborn
Kevin Sinclair is back with a fury!! I love his writing but this is best by a country mile.... It Is stripped down to grit and muscle.. Memory and raw pain wrapped in two brothers entangled in a torturous history of bruises and torture and a twisted love....
Highly recommend
JD Glasscock
Author of the Series Blood Brothers, Nocturne and Warborn
March 3, 2026
Love this
Book was great hope second one continues the action vibe love the familial angle not gonna lie I hate the oppressive nature of the dimension and its people but its what kept me going thru the story until the end cause I couldn't wait for the main characters to exact retribution for all they have been through
Book was great hope second one continues the action vibe love the familial angle not gonna lie I hate the oppressive nature of the dimension and its people but its what kept me going thru the story until the end cause I couldn't wait for the main characters to exact retribution for all they have been through
February 24, 2026
This is your expected Isekai adventure and somehow we end up in another strange world. Unlike a lot of others we see a Brother forced into following his Brother and seperated into different situations whilst utilising their unique talents and personalities.
The resultant story works well as Sinclair gives us opposite paths and personalities of Mage & Fighter but keeping everything fresh by switching between their stories. The world building is always something that this author has excelled at, and after reading a few series from him especially his aggravating Oshboh character from Artem series I'm confident this will prove as exciting and read.
The resultant story works well as Sinclair gives us opposite paths and personalities of Mage & Fighter but keeping everything fresh by switching between their stories. The world building is always something that this author has excelled at, and after reading a few series from him especially his aggravating Oshboh character from Artem series I'm confident this will prove as exciting and read.
February 23, 2026
Best New LitRPG in Years!
I’ve read a lot of LitRPG and this is one of the best I’ve come across. Great balance of action and character development, interesting worlds, magic and the balance between the two brothers is a lot of fun to read. I absolutely cannot wait for the next one to come out!
I’ve read a lot of LitRPG and this is one of the best I’ve come across. Great balance of action and character development, interesting worlds, magic and the balance between the two brothers is a lot of fun to read. I absolutely cannot wait for the next one to come out!
March 24, 2026
Mage Mangler aliens come every 50 years (at a specific location in Jordan) to collect human warriors over the course of about 2 months. The military knows this and so they set up camp awaiting their arrival. They were no match and all the soldiers got taken away, including one of our MMCs Adam, a young soldier. After it was deemed too many soldiers were taken the governments of the world started sending "expendable" people, criminals and mercenaries and such who were known to be good fighters, to try to get the soldiers back. Enter Earl, Adam's older brother.
Adam and Earl have very, very different experiences upon being taken. Adam gets sent to a Mage Academy so most of his scenes involve his going to classes and training. Earl is set up to be a warrior and gets sent as slave labor to a mine to toughen up and is made to fight in an arena, which he loves because he loves to fight! (The song choice is in honor of Earl.)
I would recommend this book for someone who's looking for an action filled, exciting book that is reminiscent of Mortal Kombat. It's not short but it's very fast-paced!
Adam and Earl have very, very different experiences upon being taken. Adam gets sent to a Mage Academy so most of his scenes involve his going to classes and training. Earl is set up to be a warrior and gets sent as slave labor to a mine to toughen up and is made to fight in an arena, which he loves because he loves to fight! (The song choice is in honor of Earl.)
I would recommend this book for someone who's looking for an action filled, exciting book that is reminiscent of Mortal Kombat. It's not short but it's very fast-paced!
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March 22, 2026(Audio courtesy of Tantor Media, Kevin Sinclair, and NetGalley.)
5⭐
If you've looked at my recent reads, this will come as absolutely no surprise, but I LOVE ME some litRPG and have been reading every series I can get my hands on. So when I saw this one pop up on NetGalley, it was a no brainer!
Mage Mangler is beyond excellent. It has a polish that has been lacking from a majority of the litRPGs I've read in my frenzy over the past few months and is right up there alongside Dinniman in terms of confident writing.
The tension sings, there are strong emotional stages, and it features one of the only successful likeable asshole protagonists I've ever encountered. Earl, you're the worst in the best way. (Coming off another novel with an asshole MC who was the worst in the worst way, Earl's POV is refreshing enough to bring a tear to the eye.)
Obviously one of the most important aspects of any litRPG is the worldbuilding and mechanics. This one was well developed and easy to follow. I particularly liked the strict three stat/three class system and the ways…certain…things…break those rules.
I'll be counting the hours until we get book two!
Audio-Specific 🎧: 17 Hours, 6 Minutes. Simon Wright really brings Adam and Earl to life and his voice work enhanced the book on every level. His accent was charmingly thick and enjoyable, but it might make it harder for some people to follow if you run the book at higher speeds. Otherwise, perfect!
📌 TL;DR: Next book in series WHEN??
5⭐
If you've looked at my recent reads, this will come as absolutely no surprise, but I LOVE ME some litRPG and have been reading every series I can get my hands on. So when I saw this one pop up on NetGalley, it was a no brainer!
Mage Mangler is beyond excellent. It has a polish that has been lacking from a majority of the litRPGs I've read in my frenzy over the past few months and is right up there alongside Dinniman in terms of confident writing.
The tension sings, there are strong emotional stages, and it features one of the only successful likeable asshole protagonists I've ever encountered. Earl, you're the worst in the best way. (Coming off another novel with an asshole MC who was the worst in the worst way, Earl's POV is refreshing enough to bring a tear to the eye.)
Obviously one of the most important aspects of any litRPG is the worldbuilding and mechanics. This one was well developed and easy to follow. I particularly liked the strict three stat/three class system and the ways…certain…things…break those rules.
I'll be counting the hours until we get book two!
Audio-Specific 🎧: 17 Hours, 6 Minutes. Simon Wright really brings Adam and Earl to life and his voice work enhanced the book on every level. His accent was charmingly thick and enjoyable, but it might make it harder for some people to follow if you run the book at higher speeds. Otherwise, perfect!
📌 TL;DR: Next book in series WHEN??
March 20, 2026
Provided with an advanced copy of the audiobook for review purposes.
Warrior 2011 but make it a LitRPG… set in space… with magic… and space racism…
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed both characters, Once i made the connection to the movie I kept imagining Earl as Tom Hardy and it made every single chapter with him in that much better. I know Earl is supposed to be a pretty psychotic individual but Simon Wright’s narration brings another level of humor and personality to the character.
Adam felt a little less memorable to me early on, but he definitely grew on me towards the end of the book. I’m really excited to see the direction Kevin Sinclair brings this series in.
Warrior 2011 but make it a LitRPG… set in space… with magic… and space racism…
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed both characters, Once i made the connection to the movie I kept imagining Earl as Tom Hardy and it made every single chapter with him in that much better. I know Earl is supposed to be a pretty psychotic individual but Simon Wright’s narration brings another level of humor and personality to the character.
Adam felt a little less memorable to me early on, but he definitely grew on me towards the end of the book. I’m really excited to see the direction Kevin Sinclair brings this series in.
March 20, 2026
First thank you NetGalley for a free copy of the audiobook. My review is voluntary.
I think fans of LitRPG will love this. It was an interesting plot and I enjoyed listening to what was happening to the two brothers. It ends on a cliff hanger as things really start heating up. This isn’t my favorite genre so I probably won’t continue the series, but the writing was well done. However, I will say the brothers are in their 20’s but the voices seemed like a man in his 50s, so I kept thinking they were two old guys.
I think fans of LitRPG will love this. It was an interesting plot and I enjoyed listening to what was happening to the two brothers. It ends on a cliff hanger as things really start heating up. This isn’t my favorite genre so I probably won’t continue the series, but the writing was well done. However, I will say the brothers are in their 20’s but the voices seemed like a man in his 50s, so I kept thinking they were two old guys.
March 13, 2026
Mage Mangler
By Kevin Sinclair
Pub Date: Mar 24 2026
I don't normally read litrpgs. This one has a great, engaging story. I think that the story is so engaging because the narrator, Simon Wright, is fantastic. I still can't stand stat sheets but everything else in this book is so good I was able to look past the annoying stat sheets.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Media for the opportunity to read this book early in return for my honest review.
By Kevin Sinclair
Pub Date: Mar 24 2026
I don't normally read litrpgs. This one has a great, engaging story. I think that the story is so engaging because the narrator, Simon Wright, is fantastic. I still can't stand stat sheets but everything else in this book is so good I was able to look past the annoying stat sheets.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Media for the opportunity to read this book early in return for my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews