Ascension by S.T. Gibson – Review

Published: July 8, 2025

Publisher: Angry Robot

Series: The Summoner’s Circle #2

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 400 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
From bestselling author of Evocation comes it’s hotly anticipated and spellbinding sequel, where Rhys steps into his new role as High Priest. A perfect read for lovers of urban fantasy.

Now the High Priest of Boston’s famed and secret Society, Rhys McGowan has a lot on his shoulders. With the help of his adoring witch wife, Moira, and his newly rekindled relationship with psychic boyfriend, David, Rhys is destined to become the most powerful High Priest ever. 

However, Rhys’s insatiable ambition may be his undoing…

The second book in the bestselling Summoner’s Circle series sees beloved characters return for an all new dark and enthralling adventure.

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Catholic guilt, demon summoning, and megalomania! This book has it all! In all honesty, Ascension really does have a little bit of everything – Society politics, romance, drama, and occult stuff galore. I’ve been looking forward to this gorgeous sequel to Evocation since I closed the last page of that book in 2024 and I’m delighted that Ascension lived up to my personal hype/expectations.

This picks up soon after the events of Evocation, with Rhys now High Priest of the Society and David his second in command. Rhys, Moira, and David are happily co-existing in their relationship and Rhys is mostly confident they can break the blood curse he took on from David. It seems as if all should be copacetic, but Rhys’s personal need for more really puts things into a tailspin from the get-go. He starts pushing himself to the point of exhaustion, constantly overextending himself and neglecting both David and Moira, and at some point he turns full on megalomaniac. He has too many demons picking at him, demanding offerings and he is no longer the one holding the reins which quickly becomes a problem when another practitioner is injured at his hands. 

While there is some excellent plot going on in Ascension, ultimately this book is about the relationships between Rhys, Moira, David, and even extends to members of the Society that they call friends. It’s a study in what happens when work or any other passion project consumes a person to the point they don’t know who they are anymore. The consequences harm those we love who we should be loathe to hurt in such a way, but Rhys does this time and time again, learning to what extent his beloved Moira and David will tolerate his behaviour. Fortunately it also shows that a person can come back from this and be forgiven with sufficient remorse and groveling. Rhys fucked around, found out, and became a changed man.

S.T. Gibson is a master at complicated characters and the chemistry between everyone – friends, spouses, enemies, and otherwise – really make this series something special. I also love the way Gibson writes the occult aspects of the story, making it such a normal part of the characters’ everyday lives but also maintaining this sense of mysticism. I would highly recommend this series for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House and I have my fingers crossed there will be more installments!