'Unsouled' (Cradle #1) by Will Wight | Book Review | The Book Physician
Surviving the brutal culture of the Sacred Valley through Unsouled Lindon's perspective in the first book of Will Wight's popular progression fantasy series ‐ 'Cradle'.
“Fate is not fair, but it is just. Hard work is never in vain…even when it does not achieve what you wished.”
Rating: 3.75/5.
Review:
Strengths:
Main Protagonist:
Loved Lindon as the main character. He is the only properly sketched out character in the book. Being an Unsouled, despised by others, Lindon uses his resourcefulness to somehow make it past his weakness. Reading the book through his perspective shed more light on his determination, ambition to be better than the most, and resourcefulness amidst adversity.
Magic System:
Categorised as Xianxia fantasy (progression fantasy), the Cradle series focuses on the cultivation system as its magic system. Since I'm a fan of hard magic systems, Cradle's cultivation system appealed to me. It seems like a hard magic system with a well-defined set of rules - though most of the rules aren't mentioned in detail in the first book, I'm hopeful the sequels to delve deep into it.
Scope:
The introduction of a celestial (I'm sure they are classified as something different apart from being called the Judges of the Abidan Court) and the inclusion of their r reports within the text was completely unexpected. I initially thought the books would focus on Lindon and his progression within the Sacred Valley, but the celestial and the reports indicate that the scope of the books and the worldbuilding is immensely vast. I'm in for the ride, buddy!
Weaknesses:
Pacing:
Although the first volume of the Cradle series is a light quick read, in terms of pacing it is a mess... albeit an enjoyable mess. Interspersed with some brilliant fast-paced moments, the narrative hits a low with its slow drudging parts, especially in the first half of the book. However, if you do persist through the first half, you are rewarded with some fast-paced moments in the latter half.
Secondary Characters:
Although the book teases us glimpses of expansive worldbuilding beyond the Sacred Valley, one of the glaring weaknesses seems to be the one-dimensional portrayal of the secondary characters. Most, if not all, of the secondary characters, are portrayed with just one personality trait. Most of the characters that Lindon interacts with are powerful bullies. Even his family members are defined with a personality trait - father having ambition beyond familial love, the mother being a scholar, and sister being strong. Nothing beyond that, unfortunately.
Almost Gary Stu:
Although Lindon is one of the best things in this book, he tends to get away from almost impossible situations - most of the time with his resourcefulness but sometimes simply by sheer luck.
Narrative Structure:
The book begins with the Spirit Testing and we are introduced to Lindon right in the middle of it. The second chapter begins almost 9 years after the events of the first, and we see a grown-up (yet young) Lindon already matured enough to deal with his fate of being an Unsouled. While the book is comparatively short and fast-paced towards the end, the first half drags on. It might have worked a bit better if we would have got a chapter in between of Lindon dealing with being unsouled (and if the other secondary characters of the Sacred Valley would have been developed a bit more).
The inclusion of the celestial reports within the chapter seemed a bit out of place. I loved those reports; they made me intrigued enough to read more of the Cradle books. But what strikes odd is their placement within a particular chapter itself. They hardly seemed to serve a purpose within the context of those particular chapters. In my opinion, the inclusion of these reports as separate Interludes among the chapters would have made the reading experience even better.
Overview:
Loved it! Despite the flaws, 'Unsouled' was quite an enjoyable read. If you go past the first half of the book, the book starts getting better and better, slowly drawing you in and making one interested enough to look forward to the next book. I'm going to persist with the series.
Recommended for:
Readers who want to get a taste of the Xianxia fantasy/progression fantasy genre.
Readers who want a light, quick, and enjoyable read.
I'd never heard of Xiaxian progression before,thank you very much for introducing me to this series!! I freaking love it! Once you start,you can't stop!!
Great!!