Unsouled by Will Wight
Blurb:
The beginning of the New York Times best-selling Cradle series!
Lindon is born Unsouled, the one person in his family unable to use the magical Paths of the sacred arts. He uses every trick and technique he can borrow or steal to improve his life, but it seems he will never be able to join the ranks of the truly powerful.
Until the heavens descend and show him the future.
When Lindon becomes the only one who sees the approaching doom, he must leave his homeland to save it…and to see how far he can go by walking his own Path.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
The Cradle series is the best-selling example of the Progression Fantasy subgenre, which includes works of fantasy where the primary plot revolves around a character growing more powerful in their use of magic. Cradle is high-stakes, fast-paced, and action-focused, with minimal time dedicated to world-building, and as such the books are lean and focused. The series is often compared to anime, with fans using phrases like “anime in book form” or “fantasy novels meet Dragon Ball Z,” emphasizing the story’s specialty of loud and colorful super-powered battles.
Review:
Cradle was my introduction into progression and Wuxia fantasy, and boy it did not disappoint. For the longest time I’ve seen progression fantasies and litRPGs (I know Cradle isn’t a litRPG, thank you) soak up the limelight but none of them ever really intrigued me (how blasphemous!). Then, as I was looking for a specific type of story (my half-assed description of which I have since forgotten), I was recommended Cradle… A LOT.
Now, having said that I’ve never read any story in these genres, I could tell Cradle was not a genre-defying, ground-breaking addition to their ranks. Not that there is anything wrong with that, as Christopher Ruocchio so often says about trying to make books exceptionally unique. Cradle is, in its simplest sense, a story about a boy who wants to get stronger. This is a story we’ve all seen hundreds (if not more) of times. The setting, also, is one we’ve seen before (well, if you like to read more than just cookie cutter medieval european fantasy), but there is something about it all that just…works.
It immediately draws you in, and makes you want to explore the world, if not Lindon’s character. For me, I was much more interested in the world of Cradle than Lindon himself. Don’t get me wrong, I can tell he’s going to be super strong and cool™️, but this is a plot driven story at its roots, and the plot is the one that drags you along and doesn’t let up. I think a lot of my attachment is directly because of Suriel’s involvement, which is effectively the equivalent of dangling keys right in front of you, yanking them away, and saying ‘one day’.
What I’m most excited about are the different paths and abilities, that really do seem endless, though we’ve only gotten a small taste. The supporting cast is a bit lacking in this book 1 (which is rectified quickly in book 2, I must say, which I’ve already burned through, but more on that in the next regime), but thats fine, because Cradle is 12 books, so the first book is very obviously going to be its introduction. And it is, based on the numerous info-dumps and stretches of exposition weaved a bit forcefully into the narrative. But it works, because this is a story wrapped up in only a couple hundred pages and tied with a bow, while setting up the stage to come. Making a story with so much worldbuilding and so much ambition be digestible and not a slog is no easy feat (cough cough, Wheel of Time), but Will Wight does it masterfully in Unsouled, book 1 of Cradle.
Overall, this book is perfect for newcomers to the genre like me, but will easily be appreciated by veterans and everyone in between. I cannot wait to keep reading.
