Hollow Core

School of Swords and Serpents, Book 1

By: Gage Lee

Narrated by: Pavi Proczko

Jace Warin never wanted anything more than to attend the School of Swords and Serpents to escape the labor camps and restore his family's stained honor.

But the determined young martial artist soon discovers the school he's always dreamed about is teeming with secret plots and sinister designs. To survive, he will have to master long-lost jinsei techniques, repair his wounded soul, and face down a most unexpected enemy: The Academy's ruthless headmaster and cunning professors.

Hollow Core is the first book in the School of Swords and Serpents series, a tale of wuxia adventure, cultivation mastery, and lurking threats.

“Wow, this book is crazy-good. If the Harry Potter series were somehow violently smashed together with the characters from Mortal Kombat, you might have something that comes close to the School of Swords and Serpents.” (James A. Hunter, best-selling author of Rogue Dungeon, Bibliomancer, and the LitRPG epic Viridian Gate Online)

©2019 Shadow Alley Pres Inc (P)2020 Shadow Alley Pres Inc

Fantastic!

Great story and narration!

Jace has a damaged core, but wants to attend the Academy and win back his family's honor. Coming from the lowest rung it will be an uphill battle all the way as he faces discrimination for being a commoner, and is weak due to his issues with his core. He will have to be creative with the talents that he has if he hopes to stand a chance.

Pavi doe a tremendous job with the narration!

This story was great! I cant wait to find out what happens next!

Funny cultivation novel

This is the first cultivation novel that I "read" that is set in modern times, though not quite the world we know. I'll definitely be picking up the 2nd book.

Don’t expect an overpowered character

This is definitely an underdog book where the character has to climb and fight tooth and nail to get anywhere. It isn’t a story that’s going to make you feel good all the time that’s for sure. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The character has a more Chinese idea of honor than American and readers should keep that in mind.

Good one

it was a good story but some parts were irritating like how his friends abandoned him went things were bad for the mc but also i wanted to bitch slap the mc more than once

It's definitely not a YA story

If you a looking at the reviews then you are seeing both extremes. I think it's because the premise sounds like it would be another YA story of a world with magic in a school and an underdog. however the surge doesn't just put everything in a pretty path for the main character.

I had been waiting for a series with amazing world building and characters that felt real. This is filling this spaces for me. He will have struggle after struggle, but he will keep working through it. I am excited for the rest of the story