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Cradle #9
Bloodline
It’s time to go back home.
In the years since Lindon left Sacred Valley, he has attained power beyond anything his family thought possible. Now he’ll have to put those powers to the test, because a Dreadgod is on its way.
Lindon and his allies set out to evacuate the valley before the arrival of the Wandering Titan, but their sacred arts are weakened by an ancient curse. They’ll have to persuade the squabbling inhabitants of Sacred Valley to leave behind their home and set off into the outside world.
But it has been a long time since Lindon left, and more has changed than he realized.
He has always sought power to save his family…but now he might be too late.
In the years since Lindon left Sacred Valley, he has attained power beyond anything his family thought possible. Now he’ll have to put those powers to the test, because a Dreadgod is on its way.
Lindon and his allies set out to evacuate the valley before the arrival of the Wandering Titan, but their sacred arts are weakened by an ancient curse. They’ll have to persuade the squabbling inhabitants of Sacred Valley to leave behind their home and set off into the outside world.
But it has been a long time since Lindon left, and more has changed than he realized.
He has always sought power to save his family…but now he might be too late.
12 pages, Audible Audio
First published April 6, 2021
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July 29, 2023
4.5/5 stars
I am not sure whether this is an unpopular opinion or not, but Bloodline is the best of the series so far for me.
First, I want to say thank you so much to Christine Sandquist from Black Forest Basilisks; the detailed summaries of the entire Cradle series to date provided by Christine were super helpful to me. You can check out the summaries here if you need some refresher: https://blackforestbasilisks.com/crad...
As for Bloodline, the ninth book in Cradle series by Will Wight, I will just immediately claim that this is my favorite installment of the entire series so far. Lindon is coming back home to the Sacred Valley, and without going too much into details on what the plot is about, almost the entire novel revolves around Lindon trying to accomplish what he sets out to do in Unsouled. In both power and mentality, Lindon has come a long way from home. However, attaining great powers doesn’t mean things will proceed as easily as he expected. Why? Because humans can be stupid, selfish, and ignorant.
If you haven’t read Bloodline, I assure you that this book will definitely infuriate you, and that is not a bad thing; it’s good. Convincing a group of thick-headed ignorant people that we genuinely want to help them can be one of the most challenging tasks to do sometimes. This isn’t uncommon; I’ve experienced it, and I’m totally sure a lot of people in the world as well. The first half of this book was intentionally designed to be infuriating. Lindon and his friends genuinely want to help the people of the Sacred Valley, but they were prevented by the ignorance and uptightness of the civilians. And I loved all of these so much. Bloodline explore this issue in a merciless—and realistic—manner, and I do believe the first half of this novel displayed Wight’s most mature plotline in the series so far. But it’s not all infuriating content; we still get heartfelt insight into Lindon’s psyche, and the staple banter and interaction between the characters were still evident.
There’s so much satisfying payoff in Bloodline. I’ve mentioned that I had a bit of a difficult time connecting with Lindon's character for the first five books. I get why he’s obsessed with pursuing advancements quickly, and I also understand the motivation behind it, but I don’t think I ever really felt his kindness until this book. Also, it was immensely rewarding to read the developments that the characters have accumulated throughout the series. The first half of Bloodline consisted of Lindon and his friends flexing their strengths, and I had a bloody great time reading these moments, but that’s not the best part of the book. The second half of the novel was superior; a non-stop barrage of intense action scenes that, in my opinion, exhibited the finest action sequence within the entire series so far. It was epic, high-stakes, and the actions were breathtaking. Plus, seeing a group of loyal friends—after going through a lot of hardships together—putting all their strengths to face one deadly villain is something I’ll never get tired of. People frequently say that blood runs thicker than water; family is blood, and friendship is water in this context. The problem with this saying, however, is that humans literally need blood and water to survive. And Lindon won’t be able to survive without his friends and vice versa.
Bloodline is a bloody fine volume. It seems like I will always be at an odd with the general reception. Somehow, the books in the series that the fans of the series often consider disappointing/the weakest ended up becoming my favorite volumes of the series. For example, Skysworn, Uncrowned, and now Bloodline. I also think of Wintersteel, what many fans of Cradle think as the absolute best, as the third weakest book—still great, though—of the series so far. But do note that weak or disappointing in Cradle frequently means that it’s still a great book overall. And fortunately, I guess we can all agree that Underlord was awesome, and Cradle in its entirety is an incredibly engrossing series. There’s only three more books to go; we’re almost at the end of the line here, folks. And more than ever in the series now, I can say that I cannot wait for the next installment. Will Wight is creating history in self-published fantasy right now, and I’m glad to follow its journey.
You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Alya, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Devin, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Sarah, Seth, Shaad, Summer, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
I am not sure whether this is an unpopular opinion or not, but Bloodline is the best of the series so far for me.
First, I want to say thank you so much to Christine Sandquist from Black Forest Basilisks; the detailed summaries of the entire Cradle series to date provided by Christine were super helpful to me. You can check out the summaries here if you need some refresher: https://blackforestbasilisks.com/crad...
As for Bloodline, the ninth book in Cradle series by Will Wight, I will just immediately claim that this is my favorite installment of the entire series so far. Lindon is coming back home to the Sacred Valley, and without going too much into details on what the plot is about, almost the entire novel revolves around Lindon trying to accomplish what he sets out to do in Unsouled. In both power and mentality, Lindon has come a long way from home. However, attaining great powers doesn’t mean things will proceed as easily as he expected. Why? Because humans can be stupid, selfish, and ignorant.
“Ah, yeah, but wounds can be deeper than you realize. Even when the healing is done exactly right, sometimes time is still the best cure.”
If you haven’t read Bloodline, I assure you that this book will definitely infuriate you, and that is not a bad thing; it’s good. Convincing a group of thick-headed ignorant people that we genuinely want to help them can be one of the most challenging tasks to do sometimes. This isn’t uncommon; I’ve experienced it, and I’m totally sure a lot of people in the world as well. The first half of this book was intentionally designed to be infuriating. Lindon and his friends genuinely want to help the people of the Sacred Valley, but they were prevented by the ignorance and uptightness of the civilians. And I loved all of these so much. Bloodline explore this issue in a merciless—and realistic—manner, and I do believe the first half of this novel displayed Wight’s most mature plotline in the series so far. But it’s not all infuriating content; we still get heartfelt insight into Lindon’s psyche, and the staple banter and interaction between the characters were still evident.
'Lindon let out a breath of relief, but responded lightly. “Apologies. I’m afraid your hair is done for.” Eithan wilted against the tree. His eyes slowly closed. “Put me out of my misery. Make it quick.”'
There’s so much satisfying payoff in Bloodline. I’ve mentioned that I had a bit of a difficult time connecting with Lindon's character for the first five books. I get why he’s obsessed with pursuing advancements quickly, and I also understand the motivation behind it, but I don’t think I ever really felt his kindness until this book. Also, it was immensely rewarding to read the developments that the characters have accumulated throughout the series. The first half of Bloodline consisted of Lindon and his friends flexing their strengths, and I had a bloody great time reading these moments, but that’s not the best part of the book. The second half of the novel was superior; a non-stop barrage of intense action scenes that, in my opinion, exhibited the finest action sequence within the entire series so far. It was epic, high-stakes, and the actions were breathtaking. Plus, seeing a group of loyal friends—after going through a lot of hardships together—putting all their strengths to face one deadly villain is something I’ll never get tired of. People frequently say that blood runs thicker than water; family is blood, and friendship is water in this context. The problem with this saying, however, is that humans literally need blood and water to survive. And Lindon won’t be able to survive without his friends and vice versa.
“He could have set himself up like a king in some corner of the world. Could have scooped you three up, set fire to Heaven’s Glory, and left. But he stuck around for people who treated him like their least-favorite whipping boy. Don’t know who he was before, but that’s who he is now.”
Bloodline is a bloody fine volume. It seems like I will always be at an odd with the general reception. Somehow, the books in the series that the fans of the series often consider disappointing/the weakest ended up becoming my favorite volumes of the series. For example, Skysworn, Uncrowned, and now Bloodline. I also think of Wintersteel, what many fans of Cradle think as the absolute best, as the third weakest book—still great, though—of the series so far. But do note that weak or disappointing in Cradle frequently means that it’s still a great book overall. And fortunately, I guess we can all agree that Underlord was awesome, and Cradle in its entirety is an incredibly engrossing series. There’s only three more books to go; we’re almost at the end of the line here, folks. And more than ever in the series now, I can say that I cannot wait for the next installment. Will Wight is creating history in self-published fantasy right now, and I’m glad to follow its journey.
“The legacy you inherit is nothing compared to the legacy you leave behind.”
You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Alya, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Devin, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Sarah, Seth, Shaad, Summer, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
September 5, 2021
2nd Reading:
I remember this book causing me so much internal frustration reading about Sacred Valley and this time, there was a little, but not nearly as much as I remember.
This book does a great job of simply continuing on with the story we have set and it all flows so smoothly. I do love we get to see a few characters from the earlier books and see them again. Everyone is so paranoid in this book and everyone thinks it's a trap. That's what strikes me about the society of sacred arts is they all expect a trap and no one does anything out of the goodness of their heart. The strong rule and the weak die or take orders.
This series is on their verge of going cosmic and there is such a tone of doom at the end of it. I can't wait to see what happens next. Reaper comes out November 2nd. I almost finished this 2 months ahead of schedule. What can I say, but I got swept up in this story.
1st Reading:
This was released on April 6th and I finished this book on April 6th. The previous 2 books were all about the uncrowned King Tournament, which was amazing and exciting and the best stuff he has written. It's the culmination of the story we read so far. So anything after the tournament is going to be a little bit less. It's coming down from the mountain.
This book is about circling back around in life and taking stock of how far one has come in life. It's like graduating from High school and going back into your elementary school and seeing how small and dingy things look. Seeing it through adult eyes and then comparing that to your memories of being there as a kid.
A dread god is going to attach Sacred Valley, Lindon's homeplace. This is what Lindon has been training for, sweating for and nearly killing himself for. He has wanted to save his home and family. The even is about 20 years early, but still, Lindon is ready and his friends are there to help him. Eithan still has some of the best lines.
One thing happening is we have lots of point of view from other people in this story, people we haven't really seen through their eyes, but we don't have a lot of point of view from Yerin or Mercy and why isn't there more Eithan.
The book is fast paced as ever, but there is something about seeing how small minded people in Sacred Valley are and there are times I want them to just leave and move on.
I did like this book, but it's not my favorite in the series. It has set up the next book and answered a few questions and asked many more.
Overall, I love this series. It's a great entertaining read.
This next part might be a bit spoilery, but not too much.
There is that saying that a prophet will never be accepted by his hometown. That is true here of Lindon. Lindon left a useless unsouled and that brought consequences to his tribe and family. He is back as an advanced warrior, more advanced than anything his community could even imagine and they can only have disdain for him. They either can't believe he has power at all since he is unsouled or, they can't accept him and don't trust him.
Lindon does make it to Overlord level in this book, but he is the only one to level up.
Another great thing is so see how the most powerful people in the world are starting to interact more with Yerin and Lindon as they become part of the power elite. I can't wait for Reaper, book 10.
I did, as always, think he could have given us more. I always feel like there is never enough information given to us. I wanted to see what happens to Lindon's family after the ending and the story didn't give us that. There are just little character moments that get sacrificed to keep the pacing up.
I remember this book causing me so much internal frustration reading about Sacred Valley and this time, there was a little, but not nearly as much as I remember.
This book does a great job of simply continuing on with the story we have set and it all flows so smoothly. I do love we get to see a few characters from the earlier books and see them again. Everyone is so paranoid in this book and everyone thinks it's a trap. That's what strikes me about the society of sacred arts is they all expect a trap and no one does anything out of the goodness of their heart. The strong rule and the weak die or take orders.
This series is on their verge of going cosmic and there is such a tone of doom at the end of it. I can't wait to see what happens next. Reaper comes out November 2nd. I almost finished this 2 months ahead of schedule. What can I say, but I got swept up in this story.
1st Reading:
This was released on April 6th and I finished this book on April 6th. The previous 2 books were all about the uncrowned King Tournament, which was amazing and exciting and the best stuff he has written. It's the culmination of the story we read so far. So anything after the tournament is going to be a little bit less. It's coming down from the mountain.
This book is about circling back around in life and taking stock of how far one has come in life. It's like graduating from High school and going back into your elementary school and seeing how small and dingy things look. Seeing it through adult eyes and then comparing that to your memories of being there as a kid.
A dread god is going to attach Sacred Valley, Lindon's homeplace. This is what Lindon has been training for, sweating for and nearly killing himself for. He has wanted to save his home and family. The even is about 20 years early, but still, Lindon is ready and his friends are there to help him. Eithan still has some of the best lines.
One thing happening is we have lots of point of view from other people in this story, people we haven't really seen through their eyes, but we don't have a lot of point of view from Yerin or Mercy and why isn't there more Eithan.
The book is fast paced as ever, but there is something about seeing how small minded people in Sacred Valley are and there are times I want them to just leave and move on.
I did like this book, but it's not my favorite in the series. It has set up the next book and answered a few questions and asked many more.
Overall, I love this series. It's a great entertaining read.
This next part might be a bit spoilery, but not too much.
There is that saying that a prophet will never be accepted by his hometown. That is true here of Lindon. Lindon left a useless unsouled and that brought consequences to his tribe and family. He is back as an advanced warrior, more advanced than anything his community could even imagine and they can only have disdain for him. They either can't believe he has power at all since he is unsouled or, they can't accept him and don't trust him.
Lindon does make it to Overlord level in this book, but he is the only one to level up.
Another great thing is so see how the most powerful people in the world are starting to interact more with Yerin and Lindon as they become part of the power elite. I can't wait for Reaper, book 10.
I did, as always, think he could have given us more. I always feel like there is never enough information given to us. I wanted to see what happens to Lindon's family after the ending and the story didn't give us that. There are just little character moments that get sacrificed to keep the pacing up.
June 7, 2021
“Ah, yeah, but wounds can be deeper than you realize. Even when the healing is done exactly right, sometimes time is still the best cure.”
Unsouled ★★★ 3/4
Soulsmith ★★★ 1/2
Blackflame ★★★★
Skysworn ★★★★ 1/4
Ghostwater ★★★★
Underlord ★★★★ 1/4
Uncrowned ★★★★ 1/2
Wintersteel ★★★★ 1/2
Bloodline ★★★★
Bloodline is yet another great entry in the cradle series and Wight still manages to maintain the high quality the series has. I won’t be able to say much about the plot but it takes place after the tournament that happened in the last couple of books and it focuses on the Dreadgods which are currently the biggest danger the content has!
The writing is good as always, I noticed with this book that I don’t highlight much when I am reading those books because the writing is not purple or highly quotable and veers toward simplicity which is not a bad thing. In fact, I do like the tone of the story mixed with the humor and as usual, Dross outshines when it comes to this mix.
[Too bad his technique is…hm. Is it bad that I want to say “his technique is dross”?]
The book focuses on the aftermath of the tournament and that’s why it is mostly character-driven. I did not expect much action and advancement and techniques and yet we had all of those in this book. The characters are trying to save Sacred Valley and so it is a book about origins and where the story started from. It was so comical when all out heroes asked the villagers to scan them and they would think they are Jade or even “Gold”. It is so funny because I remember earlier in the series when I used to think Gold was a big deal and now it is like a very mediocre thing. The stakes keep increasing and the protagonists are also seeing things differently which is very convincing because I felt the same about everything.
The pacing is slower than the last books but it is still relatively fast, it is also shorter than Wintersteel and I was afraid the books were going to keep getting bigger but looks like they will maintain their average size. The world-building keeps improving which I think is crazy after 9 books!
“The legacy you inherit is nothing compared to the legacy you leave behind.”
Summary: Bloodline still maintains everything I love about this series, the writing is simple and funny but it can be complex too. The characters are still precious and lovable as usual, it was a bit slower and less intense than the tournament ARC but I think this is expect-able. I am looking forward to Reaper already and I am so intrigued by its name!!!
March 27, 2023
A Dreadgod is heading for Sacred Valley. Lindon is determined to save the people from his home at all costs. Unfortunately Lindon and his friends are weakened by Sacred Valley's curse and the people of Sacred Valley are far from trusting.
Bloodline is largely what I expected in a very good way. Lindon is too good for the people of Sacred Valley. I needed to get that off my chest. It may simply be the nature of the Valley, but most of their leaders are absolutely ridiculous. It goes along with the idea that a dishonest man sees a lie in everything. If the majority of the leaders in Sacred Valley were on fire, they wouldn't let anyone outside their clan put them out.
Bloodline is by far the most serious and introspective book in the series. This book is about tragedy and survival more than anything. It just felt heavy. Nothing Lindon could do seemed to be good enough. He goes home to try to save everyone and despite his strength they treat him more like a usurper than someone attempting to help. The crew spend much of their time trying to convince people they needed to flee and avoiding the ambushes of the very people they're trying to save.
Bloodline was a strong book. Many unknown aspects are revealed which was greatly appreciated. I will need to read it again soon to find out what I missed on my first read.
Bloodline is largely what I expected in a very good way. Lindon is too good for the people of Sacred Valley. I needed to get that off my chest. It may simply be the nature of the Valley, but most of their leaders are absolutely ridiculous. It goes along with the idea that a dishonest man sees a lie in everything. If the majority of the leaders in Sacred Valley were on fire, they wouldn't let anyone outside their clan put them out.
Bloodline is by far the most serious and introspective book in the series. This book is about tragedy and survival more than anything. It just felt heavy. Nothing Lindon could do seemed to be good enough. He goes home to try to save everyone and despite his strength they treat him more like a usurper than someone attempting to help. The crew spend much of their time trying to convince people they needed to flee and avoiding the ambushes of the very people they're trying to save.
Bloodline was a strong book. Many unknown aspects are revealed which was greatly appreciated. I will need to read it again soon to find out what I missed on my first read.
May 21, 2021
I found Bloodline to be the weakest installment in the entire series so far. Even the first book was better, it at least held the magic of every first book. Lindon coming back home was the event I had been waiting for so long, and turned out to be disappointing. I guessed it couldn’t really be helped as the scope of series was too huge, that the homecoming event won’t matter much to the plot. Still, the whole back and forth thing with trying to save people who didn’t want to be saved felt completely unnecessary, because it didn’t matter a bit in the end. The whole book was a set up for the next installments and also to provide closure to Lindon’s past life so he could moved on. It was of course still fun to read like every Cradle books and the gang were still amazing as ever.
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July 7, 2023
Lindon finally coming home to Sacred Valley goes beyond what I’d hoped and what I’d feared. I’d hoped he’d kick those Jade and Iron asses and I’d feared his parents would belittle him despite it. But it turns out my imagination fell well short – it was actually both better and worse. Better because his ass-kicking was epic and worse because his own clan and the Heaven’s Glory School betrayed him left and right and no one recognized or appreciated what he was doing to save people. And it made me so fucking mad on his behalf.
This book feels like it will have a fundamental impact on Lindon’s character arc – he pushed himself to advance at a ridiculous pace to save Sacred Valley from the Dreadgod attack he knew would come some day. Now that he has achieved his goal to the best of his ability and has not gotten the accolades he expected and deserved from his own family and clan, his mindset is bound to change. Presumably he will still be pushing himself for advancement because it just seems in his nature, always trying to prove he is worth something. (And as sad as it is that Lindon only feels he has self-worth if he does well in the sacred arts, I do hope his family, at least, will come around and see what he wants them to see: a powerful, talented Overlord/Sage.) Another motivation for advancement, apart from self-worth, will probably be killing a Dreadgod and maybe eventually even dealing with the Mad King and/or the Vroshir.
Speaking of the larger picture, I must admit I’m having a hard time caring about the Abidan and the Way; whenever I reach those sections I find myself less invested. My only guess as to why is that I haven’t come to love the characters, which, due to the limited page-time they get, aren’t established all that deeply. I hope I will feel differently in the next books.
All in all, I loved this book almost (!) as much as I did Wintersteel. This book just hit me hard emotionally, possibly because with Lindon’s homecoming it was especially character-driven. I do hope we’ll get to see more of Jai Long and Jai Chen then we did here – and that Dross will be okay.
Onward!
1 Unsouled – 4 stars
2 Soulsmith – 3.75 stars
3 Blackflame – 4.25 stars
4 Skysworn – 4.5 stars
5 Ghostwater – 4.5 stars
6 Underlord – 4.25 stars
7 Uncrowned – 4.5 stars
8 Wintersteel – 4.75 stars
9 Bloodline – 4.5 stars
This book feels like it will have a fundamental impact on Lindon’s character arc – he pushed himself to advance at a ridiculous pace to save Sacred Valley from the Dreadgod attack he knew would come some day. Now that he has achieved his goal to the best of his ability and has not gotten the accolades he expected and deserved from his own family and clan, his mindset is bound to change. Presumably he will still be pushing himself for advancement because it just seems in his nature, always trying to prove he is worth something. (And as sad as it is that Lindon only feels he has self-worth if he does well in the sacred arts, I do hope his family, at least, will come around and see what he wants them to see: a powerful, talented Overlord/Sage.) Another motivation for advancement, apart from self-worth, will probably be killing a Dreadgod and maybe eventually even dealing with the Mad King and/or the Vroshir.
Speaking of the larger picture, I must admit I’m having a hard time caring about the Abidan and the Way; whenever I reach those sections I find myself less invested. My only guess as to why is that I haven’t come to love the characters, which, due to the limited page-time they get, aren’t established all that deeply. I hope I will feel differently in the next books.
All in all, I loved this book almost (!) as much as I did Wintersteel. This book just hit me hard emotionally, possibly because with Lindon’s homecoming it was especially character-driven. I do hope we’ll get to see more of Jai Long and Jai Chen then we did here – and that Dross will be okay.
Onward!
1 Unsouled – 4 stars
2 Soulsmith – 3.75 stars
3 Blackflame – 4.25 stars
4 Skysworn – 4.5 stars
5 Ghostwater – 4.5 stars
6 Underlord – 4.25 stars
7 Uncrowned – 4.5 stars
8 Wintersteel – 4.75 stars
9 Bloodline – 4.5 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2024
I love this series. This book was frustrating though. The inhabitants of Sacred Valley were such dicks though. Trying to murder Lindon and co constantly. I loved all the cosmic stuff, it was cool to see what a top tier battle looks like with them wrecking a universe over and over again.
Looks like we're finally going into the Labyrinth next book. Can't wait to see what that's all about. Only three books until the end, sadly.
Looks like we're finally going into the Labyrinth next book. Can't wait to see what that's all about. Only three books until the end, sadly.
April 6, 2021
Good, but lacking
While I did enjoy Bloodline, I feel that it is one of the weaker entries in the series. There are the usual amazing fights, but the book lacked some of the character development and steadier pacing seen in Wintersteel. My thoughts on this book is likely influenced by how much more I liked Wintersteel in comparison. I feel that this book could have greatly benefited from a larger page count and slower pace. If I had to rank this book, I would say it falls somewhere in the middle of the series, but definitely a part of the bottom half.
Upper Tier: Ghost Water, Underlord, Wintersteel
Middle Tier: Blackflame, Uncrowned, Bloodline
Bottom Tier Tier: Unsouled, Soulsmith, Skysworn
While I did enjoy Bloodline, I feel that it is one of the weaker entries in the series. There are the usual amazing fights, but the book lacked some of the character development and steadier pacing seen in Wintersteel. My thoughts on this book is likely influenced by how much more I liked Wintersteel in comparison. I feel that this book could have greatly benefited from a larger page count and slower pace. If I had to rank this book, I would say it falls somewhere in the middle of the series, but definitely a part of the bottom half.
Upper Tier: Ghost Water, Underlord, Wintersteel
Middle Tier: Blackflame, Uncrowned, Bloodline
Bottom Tier Tier: Unsouled, Soulsmith, Skysworn
December 23, 2023
I kinda expected a lot more in this. Though it’s fast paced and the pages flew by, Lindon’s visit to sacred valley was kind of a let down? But I see potential for Lindon’s personal growth. The Abidan side plot is getting interesting as well. Excited to see what comes next.
May 21, 2023
Can’t wait to read this book. Someone should lock Will in a room with a typewriter! Hehe just joking....or am I?!
August 14, 2024
Edit: Adding in second impression!
Listened through the audiobook and let me say, after being forced to go at a slower pace, the pacing of the book doesn't seem so extreme.
It's important to recognise that unlike the previous books, I feel this one definitely deals with heavier themes of family, community, and wanting to do the right thing. Lindon's experience in being reunited with his family only to see that everything is the same (except Kelsa) really got me in the feels. As someone who lives on that other side of the world to my family, whenever I visit, it's the same hit in the gut of how they are the same and I am changed. His parents not recognising him for his achievements and Lindon slipping back into silence humilty and not speaking up for himself was really on point for the characters involved. At times I wanted to shaking Lindon and scream "BE PROUD OF WHAT YOU'VE ACHIEVED AND TELL THEM!!!!!!!!" but family trauma doesn't fade so quickly or neatly. His whole life, he was looked down upon by his clan AND his family. Even though he now KNOWS that he's much better and more powerful than they can dream of, he can't seem to shake off old habits. I hope in future books that we'll see his parents come to a realisation about their son's strength and, hopefully, apologise.
Moving on.
When listening to the Audiobook, Eithan's one-liners don't seem so overbearing as they did during the read through. However I do stand by my critique of not hearing or even mentioning anything about Mercy's permanent advancement. I also hold to a critique about the Abidan seeming to drop Cradle like a hot potato after saying the whole series that they'd never abandon Cradle. I do understand it's to do with the Mad King overpowering 2 Judges, but I guess I didn't feel the weight of that defeat enough to understand how they seemed to let go of Cradle so quickly.
This book is very reminiscent of Skysworn in it's place in the series. It's wrapping on a major plotline and introducing the main conflict for the last 3 books.
As my first impression, this is probably one of the weaker additions to the series.
It is suuuuuper fast paced... And I'm not sure it's for the better. Certainly in the last 30% of the book it feel right but the first half... It's just really fast. Characters feel a bit 2D from previous books. I would say a lot is to do with this book doesn't have a lot of the structure of the last 2 books which were based on the Uncrowned King tournament. Maybe on a second read it would flow better.
I know it was about getting to Sacred Valley quickly and was prepared for that but 2 pretty significant events seemed to be just stuffed at the beginning before the race to save Sacred Valley. I felt they would have been done more justice if placed after this. As such, they feel out of sync with the rest of the book as well as hollow as they were given both too much attention but overall, not enough so its just awkward on the first read.
The emotions and other things Lindon goes through going back and meeting with family and Clan... Right on point. Written super well and accurate to what would have been expected from what we know of the culture of Sacred Valley. Spent the read being furious on Lindon's behalf though. After everything he went through...
I'm also a bit disappointed about the lack of impact Ziel had on this story. I felt he was... Unnecessary? Could have been replaced with someone else. I also found Eithan to be too much of a comic relief. Too many one liners and not enough substance. He didn't feel deep or sincere enough as he as in previous books despite also being sneaky.
Also, I'm faaaairly sure Mercy is an Underlord at the end of Wintersteel, but here she is an Overlord with no note of how. In general, advancement is pushed to the side in the book, which is a departure from the previous 8 books. Going back to the suppression field around Sacred Valley makes it not really important, but it's still a bit jarring.
Super interested in what's going to happen now going forward, especially with the Abidan.
First impression rating: 3.5/5
Listened through the audiobook and let me say, after being forced to go at a slower pace, the pacing of the book doesn't seem so extreme.
It's important to recognise that unlike the previous books, I feel this one definitely deals with heavier themes of family, community, and wanting to do the right thing. Lindon's experience in being reunited with his family only to see that everything is the same (except Kelsa) really got me in the feels. As someone who lives on that other side of the world to my family, whenever I visit, it's the same hit in the gut of how they are the same and I am changed. His parents not recognising him for his achievements and Lindon slipping back into silence humilty and not speaking up for himself was really on point for the characters involved. At times I wanted to shaking Lindon and scream "BE PROUD OF WHAT YOU'VE ACHIEVED AND TELL THEM!!!!!!!!" but family trauma doesn't fade so quickly or neatly. His whole life, he was looked down upon by his clan AND his family. Even though he now KNOWS that he's much better and more powerful than they can dream of, he can't seem to shake off old habits. I hope in future books that we'll see his parents come to a realisation about their son's strength and, hopefully, apologise.
Moving on.
When listening to the Audiobook, Eithan's one-liners don't seem so overbearing as they did during the read through. However I do stand by my critique of not hearing or even mentioning anything about Mercy's permanent advancement. I also hold to a critique about the Abidan seeming to drop Cradle like a hot potato after saying the whole series that they'd never abandon Cradle. I do understand it's to do with the Mad King overpowering 2 Judges, but I guess I didn't feel the weight of that defeat enough to understand how they seemed to let go of Cradle so quickly.
This book is very reminiscent of Skysworn in it's place in the series. It's wrapping on a major plotline and introducing the main conflict for the last 3 books.
As my first impression, this is probably one of the weaker additions to the series.
It is suuuuuper fast paced... And I'm not sure it's for the better. Certainly in the last 30% of the book it feel right but the first half... It's just really fast. Characters feel a bit 2D from previous books. I would say a lot is to do with this book doesn't have a lot of the structure of the last 2 books which were based on the Uncrowned King tournament. Maybe on a second read it would flow better.
I know it was about getting to Sacred Valley quickly and was prepared for that but 2 pretty significant events seemed to be just stuffed at the beginning before the race to save Sacred Valley. I felt they would have been done more justice if placed after this. As such, they feel out of sync with the rest of the book as well as hollow as they were given both too much attention but overall, not enough so its just awkward on the first read.
The emotions and other things Lindon goes through going back and meeting with family and Clan... Right on point. Written super well and accurate to what would have been expected from what we know of the culture of Sacred Valley. Spent the read being furious on Lindon's behalf though. After everything he went through...
I'm also a bit disappointed about the lack of impact Ziel had on this story. I felt he was... Unnecessary? Could have been replaced with someone else. I also found Eithan to be too much of a comic relief. Too many one liners and not enough substance. He didn't feel deep or sincere enough as he as in previous books despite also being sneaky.
Also, I'm faaaairly sure Mercy is an Underlord at the end of Wintersteel, but here she is an Overlord with no note of how. In general, advancement is pushed to the side in the book, which is a departure from the previous 8 books. Going back to the suppression field around Sacred Valley makes it not really important, but it's still a bit jarring.
Super interested in what's going to happen now going forward, especially with the Abidan.
First impression rating: 3.5/5
November 2, 2021
Another terrific entry in this highly addictive series.
May 29, 2021
I'd give this book 3.5 stars.
The reason why the rating is so low is that I feel like Will spent too much time focusing on a part of the story that might have been interesting, but was in fact very irritating and frustrating and enraging to read. Additionally, I find a particular decision Lindon makes later on very frustrating.
There were some nice moments in the book too, but I felt kind of irritated for the most part. The book also felt very similar to Skysworn in some ways, .
I guess one final thing contributed to this rating being a 3.5 and not a 4. I've come to expect really good things from Will, and this fell below expectations. Probably, if I reread the first Cradle book and Skysworn, I might rate them similarly, but that's only because he's written several AMAZING books in this series and my expectations have risen over the years. So, I will simply wait for the next book and read it because, of course, I'm very interested in continuing to follow Lindon and the others' journey.
The reason why the rating is so low is that I feel like Will spent too much time focusing on a part of the story that might have been interesting, but was in fact very irritating and frustrating and enraging to read. Additionally, I find a particular decision Lindon makes later on very frustrating.
There were some nice moments in the book too, but I felt kind of irritated for the most part. The book also felt very similar to Skysworn in some ways, .
I guess one final thing contributed to this rating being a 3.5 and not a 4. I've come to expect really good things from Will, and this fell below expectations. Probably, if I reread the first Cradle book and Skysworn, I might rate them similarly, but that's only because he's written several AMAZING books in this series and my expectations have risen over the years. So, I will simply wait for the next book and read it because, of course, I'm very interested in continuing to follow Lindon and the others' journey.
February 27, 2024
Bloodline was the book I've wanted since I finished Unsouled and envisioned the possibilities of Lindon coming home. I won't say anymore than that, but I always love the underdog trope where the underdog gains experience, grows stronger, levels up, and their origin gets to see how far they've come. Will they be in shock and awe, disbelieving? Will they be angry and bitter? Will they be dismissive and petulant? Or, hopefully, will they be happy and appreciative, loving even? All of these questions have swam in my head for the past 8 books. Here we are.
I enjoyed how this book revealed a lot of things going on in Sacred Valley that weren't known or explained in the beginning of the series, mostly because the characters didn't know themselves. I needed answers and, to Will Wight's credit, he gave them. Some of them were satisfying and other answers left me wanting, which explains much of my feelings with Bloodline, in general. I did have a really hard time, at first, with how a number of the characters responded to Lindon. As I gave it more thought after finishing the book, however, their responses were realistic and made sense. I came around to appreciate how Wight wrote that whole culture and it was all very believable.
The largest set piece and main conflict that was setup in the previous book, Wintersteel, involves the Wandering Titan Dreadgod. The battles involving it and the Monarchs was thrilling to read and imagine in my mind. Once again, Wight shows off his action writing chops and creativity in his well thought-out magic system. As has been the case in this progressive fantasy series, there's always more heights, more levels to raise to with seemingly no end in sight. The goalpoasts keep getting pushed back, so to speak, and what was once thought impossible is not simply just very unlikely. I feel like it was in this book that I had that moment where you sit back in awe at all of the character growth and development throughout the series when you read about what Lindon and Yerin are capable of. It's a joy to read, even if you can't help but feel there's a thick layer of plot armor around them enough to make Mercy blush.
The conclusion was a thrilling finish that left my heart beating a mile a minute. As in awe as I was of the events that transpired, I couldn't help but feel something was missing in this story. It may just be my initial disappointment to Lindon's homecoming not happening quite the way I hoped. Or it could be that the big bad was never as threatening as everyone talked it up to be (destructive, yes, but not fearsome). I think it is most likely just disappointment that I feel with Lindon and resonate with that, to some people, he will just never be good enough. You are for me Lindon.
Cradle
Unsouled - 7.5/10
Soulsmith - 8/10
Blackflame - 8.5/10
Skysworn - 9/10
Ghostwater - 8/10
Underlord - 9.5/10
Uncrowned - 10/10
Wintersteel - 10/10
Bloodline - 9.5/10
Reaper - 10/10
I enjoyed how this book revealed a lot of things going on in Sacred Valley that weren't known or explained in the beginning of the series, mostly because the characters didn't know themselves. I needed answers and, to Will Wight's credit, he gave them. Some of them were satisfying and other answers left me wanting, which explains much of my feelings with Bloodline, in general. I did have a really hard time, at first, with how a number of the characters responded to Lindon. As I gave it more thought after finishing the book, however, their responses were realistic and made sense. I came around to appreciate how Wight wrote that whole culture and it was all very believable.
The largest set piece and main conflict that was setup in the previous book, Wintersteel, involves the Wandering Titan Dreadgod. The battles involving it and the Monarchs was thrilling to read and imagine in my mind. Once again, Wight shows off his action writing chops and creativity in his well thought-out magic system. As has been the case in this progressive fantasy series, there's always more heights, more levels to raise to with seemingly no end in sight. The goalpoasts keep getting pushed back, so to speak, and what was once thought impossible is not simply just very unlikely. I feel like it was in this book that I had that moment where you sit back in awe at all of the character growth and development throughout the series when you read about what Lindon and Yerin are capable of. It's a joy to read, even if you can't help but feel there's a thick layer of plot armor around them enough to make Mercy blush.
The conclusion was a thrilling finish that left my heart beating a mile a minute. As in awe as I was of the events that transpired, I couldn't help but feel something was missing in this story. It may just be my initial disappointment to Lindon's homecoming not happening quite the way I hoped. Or it could be that the big bad was never as threatening as everyone talked it up to be (destructive, yes, but not fearsome). I think it is most likely just disappointment that I feel with Lindon and resonate with that, to some people, he will just never be good enough. You are for me Lindon.
Cradle
Unsouled - 7.5/10
Soulsmith - 8/10
Blackflame - 8.5/10
Skysworn - 9/10
Ghostwater - 8/10
Underlord - 9.5/10
Uncrowned - 10/10
Wintersteel - 10/10
Bloodline - 9.5/10
Reaper - 10/10
April 6, 2021
A Rushed but Good one...
Maybe, this book coming after Wintersteel may have affected my view but I felt this book could have been a lot better if enough pages were given in the first half of the book for Character development and interactions than speeding up the pace from the very beginning and also I didn't enjoy the final battle as I thought I would.
But the setup for the next book was really well done... I'm pretty excited about it...
Maybe, this book coming after Wintersteel may have affected my view but I felt this book could have been a lot better if enough pages were given in the first half of the book for Character development and interactions than speeding up the pace from the very beginning and also I didn't enjoy the final battle as I thought I would.
But the setup for the next book was really well done... I'm pretty excited about it...
May 16, 2022
Buddy read with Snezana
Bloodline is the 9th book in the Cradle series. I remember when I finished Wintersteel, I told myself it was the best in the series, then I read this emotional rollercoaster and I’m torn, I love this book so much. This book features the usual awesome battle scenes, well developed characters, great friendship and amazing world building. The question that I’ve been asking since I found out about the Sage of the Endless sword got answered here, everything finally makes sense. There’s also more insight in what’s happening with the Abidan judges, I can’t wait to see how it all connects with the events at Cradle.
The magic system in this series is one of the best I’ve ever read, just when I thought that this is it the author levels up, the description of the magic and how it works is simply amazing.
The magic system is called the Sacred Arts.
I just realized I never explained the magic in my previous reviews, so the characters in the book pick something called a Path(they are lots of Paths) then they learn martial arts mixed with magic aura or mandra which give them super strength, speed and ability to control objects and their environment, depending on how strong the person is.
I love how this series is action packed ant at the same time have a great plot and characters. I thought this book will be slow cause of the plot but I was so wrong, it made me feel different emotions, I was angry, frustrated and scared most of the time I spent reading this book, I could hardly put it down.
Right from Unsouled we know that the main reason and the motivation for Lindon’s advancement is so he can save Sacred Valley, now the time has come but it came sooner than expected.
While the other books focused on advancement and other life threatening thing, this book is about others, how good, kind and selfless these characters actually are.
Lindon goes back home to help evacuate his people and warn them of the coming titan, of course they don’t believe, I was so angry at how they treated Lindon and his friends. Like he is helping you, a part of me wanted Lindon to either kill them all or leave them to their fate.
I’ve loved Lindon right from the beginning of this series and this book told me I was right to, Lindon is just amazing, despite the fact that these people owes him nothing he did all he can to help them.
Yerin, Eithan and Mercy are the kind of friends we need, they all went into a danger zone and risked their life for people they don’t know to help their friend, this book was such a touching one.
I like Ziel, Northstrider and the Jai siblings, can’t wait for more of them. I still like Kesla and I can’t wait for her to advance.
Bloodline is the 9th book in the Cradle series. I remember when I finished Wintersteel, I told myself it was the best in the series, then I read this emotional rollercoaster and I’m torn, I love this book so much. This book features the usual awesome battle scenes, well developed characters, great friendship and amazing world building. The question that I’ve been asking since I found out about the Sage of the Endless sword got answered here, everything finally makes sense. There’s also more insight in what’s happening with the Abidan judges, I can’t wait to see how it all connects with the events at Cradle.
The magic system in this series is one of the best I’ve ever read, just when I thought that this is it the author levels up, the description of the magic and how it works is simply amazing.
The magic system is called the Sacred Arts.
I just realized I never explained the magic in my previous reviews, so the characters in the book pick something called a Path(they are lots of Paths) then they learn martial arts mixed with magic aura or mandra which give them super strength, speed and ability to control objects and their environment, depending on how strong the person is.
I love how this series is action packed ant at the same time have a great plot and characters. I thought this book will be slow cause of the plot but I was so wrong, it made me feel different emotions, I was angry, frustrated and scared most of the time I spent reading this book, I could hardly put it down.
Right from Unsouled we know that the main reason and the motivation for Lindon’s advancement is so he can save Sacred Valley, now the time has come but it came sooner than expected.
While the other books focused on advancement and other life threatening thing, this book is about others, how good, kind and selfless these characters actually are.
Lindon goes back home to help evacuate his people and warn them of the coming titan, of course they don’t believe, I was so angry at how they treated Lindon and his friends. Like he is helping you, a part of me wanted Lindon to either kill them all or leave them to their fate.
I’ve loved Lindon right from the beginning of this series and this book told me I was right to, Lindon is just amazing, despite the fact that these people owes him nothing he did all he can to help them.
Yerin, Eithan and Mercy are the kind of friends we need, they all went into a danger zone and risked their life for people they don’t know to help their friend, this book was such a touching one.
I like Ziel, Northstrider and the Jai siblings, can’t wait for more of them. I still like Kesla and I can’t wait for her to advance.
April 13, 2021
Not good... maybe a 2.5/5
I really enjoy this series. However, I almost didn’t finish the very first book because Lindon was such a weak and pathetic main character. I’m not referring to his lack of power but his milksop personality. Somewhere in that first book though he started changing into someone with a backbone and real spirit. A hero who was both thoughtful and humble, but still capable of great violence. It’s been fun reading about his progress ever since.
Unfortunately, Lindon seems to have regressed significantly in this latest installment. He is constantly apologizing to people that disrespect or outright attack him and his friends. Of course, no one is going to take him seriously when he is rolling over and showing them his belly. So instead of influencing others by being confident and assertive, he hesitates until he is forced to use overwhelming magical power on much weaker foes to get any respect. It’s not a triumphant homecoming. It’s just sad and pathetic.
There are definitely some exciting moments in the book, but there is very little overall progress and some sloppy writing in need of editing. If I had to summarize the whole book, it’s that Lindon has come far in power but is woefully underdeveloped as a leader. And as for rescuing Sacred Valley residents, FEMA might have done a better job. Maybe this is a setup for his future growth or maybe the author is just tired of writing this series. I don’t know, but compared to the previous book this one is a bummer.
I really enjoy this series. However, I almost didn’t finish the very first book because Lindon was such a weak and pathetic main character. I’m not referring to his lack of power but his milksop personality. Somewhere in that first book though he started changing into someone with a backbone and real spirit. A hero who was both thoughtful and humble, but still capable of great violence. It’s been fun reading about his progress ever since.
Unfortunately, Lindon seems to have regressed significantly in this latest installment. He is constantly apologizing to people that disrespect or outright attack him and his friends. Of course, no one is going to take him seriously when he is rolling over and showing them his belly. So instead of influencing others by being confident and assertive, he hesitates until he is forced to use overwhelming magical power on much weaker foes to get any respect. It’s not a triumphant homecoming. It’s just sad and pathetic.
There are definitely some exciting moments in the book, but there is very little overall progress and some sloppy writing in need of editing. If I had to summarize the whole book, it’s that Lindon has come far in power but is woefully underdeveloped as a leader. And as for rescuing Sacred Valley residents, FEMA might have done a better job. Maybe this is a setup for his future growth or maybe the author is just tired of writing this series. I don’t know, but compared to the previous book this one is a bummer.
March 24, 2025
Re-re-read: Going to knock it down to 4 stars, just cause of how aggravating the clans can be. The last few hours are absolutely wonderful.
Re-read: Probably not my favorite Cradle book, but still really good. The clans really annoyed me this time through, though much of the book is absolutely fantastic.
I think this may be the best Cradle book yet. It had high stakes, humor, and humans being humans. By that I mean idiots. You want to slap half the people in this book, but you should have expected that going in. The action is top notch, the stakes have never been higher, and the book keeps your attention the entire time. Seriously, after the 50% mark it just reads like one big climax, constant action. This book cements the series as one of my favorites. Oftentimes, the longer a series, particularly one that has power on this massive a scale, goes on it tends to start falling apart. As characters get stronger and stronger, the stakes get ridiculous. Here, it works. It really, really works.
Re-read: Probably not my favorite Cradle book, but still really good. The clans really annoyed me this time through, though much of the book is absolutely fantastic.
I think this may be the best Cradle book yet. It had high stakes, humor, and humans being humans. By that I mean idiots. You want to slap half the people in this book, but you should have expected that going in. The action is top notch, the stakes have never been higher, and the book keeps your attention the entire time. Seriously, after the 50% mark it just reads like one big climax, constant action. This book cements the series as one of my favorites. Oftentimes, the longer a series, particularly one that has power on this massive a scale, goes on it tends to start falling apart. As characters get stronger and stronger, the stakes get ridiculous. Here, it works. It really, really works.
April 6, 2021
Cradle: The only books I read in one day.
May 6, 2021
The decline in quality for this series is disappointing. An entire book about saving a group of people the reader has no reason to care about at all, and who are not made to be sympathetic at any point.
April 30, 2022
Another fabulous entry in the Cradle series! As to be expected, the ending was as strong as ever! I particularly enjoyed the idea of an enormous enemy moving slowly across the land towards you. It's inevitable, and that builds tension! It reminds me of Diamond Weapon crossing the sea in Final Fantasy 7. I don't know if it's a trope as such, but it's one I enjoy.
This one started very strong, with a gut punch of emotions. For me, the rest of the book raced ahead very, very quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly for my taste? And then ended fantastically.
I shall be diving into book #10 immediately :)
This one started very strong, with a gut punch of emotions. For me, the rest of the book raced ahead very, very quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly for my taste? And then ended fantastically.
I shall be diving into book #10 immediately :)
September 14, 2023
4.5/5
Whilst not quite reaching the heights seen in Uncrowned and Wintersteel, Bloodline is still another excellent entry into this wonderful series.
Lindon and Co temporarily scale back in power for the majority of this book but that doesn’t lessen the action or intensity at any point. It actually feels refreshing to see Lindon and the gang go against characters that are weaker than them, and those we saw in the series very first book. The climax here is especially explosive and sets the stage for what I’m sure is going be a Herculean story in Reaper.
Whilst not quite reaching the heights seen in Uncrowned and Wintersteel, Bloodline is still another excellent entry into this wonderful series.
Lindon and Co temporarily scale back in power for the majority of this book but that doesn’t lessen the action or intensity at any point. It actually feels refreshing to see Lindon and the gang go against characters that are weaker than them, and those we saw in the series very first book. The climax here is especially explosive and sets the stage for what I’m sure is going be a Herculean story in Reaper.
January 27, 2023
Great storytelling, per usual. An incredible read. In many ways, this felt like an ending to the series. Except that we have so many storylines left to close! I'm hooked, y'all. And, to be honest, I'm sort of dreading the end of it. (See that?)
But there's no chance I'm not jumping right to the next book, so here we go 😆
But there's no chance I'm not jumping right to the next book, so here we go 😆
April 7, 2021
Bloodline is as much fun as any other entry in the Cradle series. There is a lot more social commentary this time around - shades of anti-maskers etc who refuse to do the right thing even if it could save their lives. If you are a Cradle fan, you will love it. If not, then this book is not going to change your mind.
November 2, 2023
Another volume of 'Cradle' done. The end approaches in a steady pace.
Another volume that I'd consider an absolute banger and had a great time reading.
Another volume that increased the overall enjoyment and greatness of this series.
Another volume, that just refuses to let 'Cradle's formula get uninteresting.
But all of that is nothing new.
And it should probably not suprise anyone, that has read the series up to this point.
I actually find it quite challenging, to come up with a review for 'Bloodline', as I probably don't have to sell this to anyone. If you are at this point of the series, you'll probably be comitted to follow until the end. Because if not... Well not to get personal but I don't know what's wrong with you.
The only critizism one can really still have about the series, is that it doesn't really exceed a good action flick / power-fantasy. But you know what? This is exactly what Will Wight set out to do with his highly acclaimed series, and he suceeds in every way possible. It is simply addicting.
He just keeps it interesting without changing the core essence too much.
Some praise though about why I especially loved this entry - in some aspects even more than the hyped predecessor 'Wintersteel' (yes, it's also my #1, I know):
The banter and interplay between the characters is back; and at an all-time high.
'Uncrowned' hat lots of it, but in a more competative fashion. Same with Wintersteel, although tuned down a bit due to... Well everything going on.
But here, now that the group is back to working together - sacrificing themselves for the personal goal of one of their members, seeing them stand up for each other, mocking each other, just around each other, brought me soooo much joy and satisfaction.
I am a bit sad, that Lindons and Yerins new couple-status wasn't played on more (or basically at all tbh), but apart from that this brought me everything I ever wanted from this story. Character interactions is one of the things in books I search for the most. And this finally brought it back.
Also, despite what I read in a lot of people's reviews, I did not find the story of this book unsatisfying or frustrating in ANY way. It was quite the opposite actually and the "stupid denial of offered help" did not really occurr. At least that's how it felt for me.
It was simply the satisfying showing off the new powers and completely flexing on all the stupid fuckers, that treated Lindon wrong in the beginning of the series.
Finally one last thing I need to mention is all the Abidan stuff in here. Because that is the only part of 'Bloodline', that I found mildly annoying / did not care for 100%.
I always found the chapters of the judges and abidan very interesting and unique before, providing original narrative voices and ways of displaying certain god-like powersets. But in here... I don't know, I feel like if that is what the series is working toward, it might become a problem later on.
'Cradle' never had a true antagonist; never had an evil character, that our heroes had to face off against. At least never one, that was the overarching villain or anything.
Of course, there are the Dreadgods, but they are beasts. Not interested in any of the characters or politics, since they are simply THAT strong. A kind of chaotic force, not a planning and "mindful" villain with human motifs or anything.
But with what the Abidan chapters, I think that type of villain has been introduced and I am not sure, what to think of it.
We'll see in the future.
So for now, this is my updated Cradle-Ranking (so far):
1. Wintersteel (Vol.8)
2. Uncrowned (Vol.7)
3. Bloodline (Vol.9)
4. Blackflame (Vol.3)
5. Underlord (Vol.6)
6. Ghostwater (Vol.5)
7. Skysworn (Vol.4)
8. Unsouled (Vol.1)
9. Soulsmith (Vol.2)
Another volume that I'd consider an absolute banger and had a great time reading.
Another volume that increased the overall enjoyment and greatness of this series.
Another volume, that just refuses to let 'Cradle's formula get uninteresting.
But all of that is nothing new.
And it should probably not suprise anyone, that has read the series up to this point.
I actually find it quite challenging, to come up with a review for 'Bloodline', as I probably don't have to sell this to anyone. If you are at this point of the series, you'll probably be comitted to follow until the end. Because if not... Well not to get personal but I don't know what's wrong with you.
The only critizism one can really still have about the series, is that it doesn't really exceed a good action flick / power-fantasy. But you know what? This is exactly what Will Wight set out to do with his highly acclaimed series, and he suceeds in every way possible. It is simply addicting.
He just keeps it interesting without changing the core essence too much.
Some praise though about why I especially loved this entry - in some aspects even more than the hyped predecessor 'Wintersteel' (yes, it's also my #1, I know):
The banter and interplay between the characters is back; and at an all-time high.
'Uncrowned' hat lots of it, but in a more competative fashion. Same with Wintersteel, although tuned down a bit due to... Well everything going on.
But here, now that the group is back to working together - sacrificing themselves for the personal goal of one of their members, seeing them stand up for each other, mocking each other, just around each other, brought me soooo much joy and satisfaction.
I am a bit sad, that Lindons and Yerins new couple-status wasn't played on more (or basically at all tbh), but apart from that this brought me everything I ever wanted from this story. Character interactions is one of the things in books I search for the most. And this finally brought it back.
Also, despite what I read in a lot of people's reviews, I did not find the story of this book unsatisfying or frustrating in ANY way. It was quite the opposite actually and the "stupid denial of offered help" did not really occurr. At least that's how it felt for me.
It was simply the satisfying showing off the new powers and completely flexing on all the stupid fuckers, that treated Lindon wrong in the beginning of the series.
Finally one last thing I need to mention is all the Abidan stuff in here. Because that is the only part of 'Bloodline', that I found mildly annoying / did not care for 100%.
I always found the chapters of the judges and abidan very interesting and unique before, providing original narrative voices and ways of displaying certain god-like powersets. But in here... I don't know, I feel like if that is what the series is working toward, it might become a problem later on.
'Cradle' never had a true antagonist; never had an evil character, that our heroes had to face off against. At least never one, that was the overarching villain or anything.
Of course, there are the Dreadgods, but they are beasts. Not interested in any of the characters or politics, since they are simply THAT strong. A kind of chaotic force, not a planning and "mindful" villain with human motifs or anything.
But with what the Abidan chapters, I think that type of villain has been introduced and I am not sure, what to think of it.
We'll see in the future.
So for now, this is my updated Cradle-Ranking (so far):
1. Wintersteel (Vol.8)
2. Uncrowned (Vol.7)
3. Bloodline (Vol.9)
4. Blackflame (Vol.3)
5. Underlord (Vol.6)
6. Ghostwater (Vol.5)
7. Skysworn (Vol.4)
8. Unsouled (Vol.1)
9. Soulsmith (Vol.2)
May 7, 2021
Feels like half a book. After what happened with Wintersteel and Uncrowned i.e. Will trying out a technique to cut less stuff from his books, I was really surprised to see something so short. To my surprise it feels both simultaneously too slow and too fast.
It feels too fast because, in addition to the constant hanging threat of the dreadgod, a lot of major things seem to happen offscreen or go unmentioned. A good example of this is that the book treats Mercy advancing to Overlord like something we should know from the last book. No mention as to when this occurred, what her revelation was, why, if this was so easy, didn't she advance to overlord to fight sophara in the last book...etc. She's just an overlord now. There's other more spoilery stuff that I won't mention here, but this is perhaps the most egregious example. It feels like it could have just been lampshaded fairly easily but its just...not.
Things being glossed over isn't uncommon in the Cradle series, not because the books are bad, but becausee they tend to be so jam packed with other stuff that you're never really sad about stuff that was left out. Even in uncrowned where I feel like a lot of things I would have liked to see either didn't happen or happened off screen, everything that did happen was awesome.
This isn't the case here, a huge part of the book felt super repetitive (which is why the book simultaneously felt slow). I won't spoil it, but the crew essentially has to deal with the same exact problem on 3 or 4 different occasions. Its super annoying and repetitive and Its astounding to me that we witness that so many times rather than several other important or abbreviated things. In addition, while the threat of the Titan hangs over SV, a lot of time is spent on Dross and Eithan's shtick which is normally fine, but feels a bit over the top given all the stuff thats going on. Generally the books feel awesome and the humor is a big plus. In this case it feels like the humor almost tries to carry the book which feels a bit out of place given the stakes and significance of saving sacred valley to Lindon's journey. At the same time, I don't think humour was a problem, I think it didn't 'justify' the humour with non-humorous stuff.
I'm not going to get into the good things about the story since the review is getting long enough and if you're on book 9 of the series you already know most of what Will does really well. So although there's a lot of negatives I wrote about, its still not a BAD book per se.
Overall I think I rate at something like a 3. It may slot in acceptably into the overall series, especially if some of the things that didn't happen in this book, happen in the next, but as its own book, it doesn't do it for me, which puts it at the bottom of the cradle book tierlist.
It feels too fast because, in addition to the constant hanging threat of the dreadgod, a lot of major things seem to happen offscreen or go unmentioned. A good example of this is that the book treats Mercy advancing to Overlord like something we should know from the last book. No mention as to when this occurred, what her revelation was, why, if this was so easy, didn't she advance to overlord to fight sophara in the last book...etc. She's just an overlord now. There's other more spoilery stuff that I won't mention here, but this is perhaps the most egregious example. It feels like it could have just been lampshaded fairly easily but its just...not.
Things being glossed over isn't uncommon in the Cradle series, not because the books are bad, but becausee they tend to be so jam packed with other stuff that you're never really sad about stuff that was left out. Even in uncrowned where I feel like a lot of things I would have liked to see either didn't happen or happened off screen, everything that did happen was awesome.
This isn't the case here, a huge part of the book felt super repetitive (which is why the book simultaneously felt slow). I won't spoil it, but the crew essentially has to deal with the same exact problem on 3 or 4 different occasions. Its super annoying and repetitive and Its astounding to me that we witness that so many times rather than several other important or abbreviated things. In addition, while the threat of the Titan hangs over SV, a lot of time is spent on Dross and Eithan's shtick which is normally fine, but feels a bit over the top given all the stuff thats going on. Generally the books feel awesome and the humor is a big plus. In this case it feels like the humor almost tries to carry the book which feels a bit out of place given the stakes and significance of saving sacred valley to Lindon's journey. At the same time, I don't think humour was a problem, I think it didn't 'justify' the humour with non-humorous stuff.
I'm not going to get into the good things about the story since the review is getting long enough and if you're on book 9 of the series you already know most of what Will does really well. So although there's a lot of negatives I wrote about, its still not a BAD book per se.
Overall I think I rate at something like a 3. It may slot in acceptably into the overall series, especially if some of the things that didn't happen in this book, happen in the next, but as its own book, it doesn't do it for me, which puts it at the bottom of the cradle book tierlist.
April 6, 2021
3.5/5
Enjoyable but had its issues and was a weaker entry in the series. The biggest issues were the pacing (waaaaay too fast) and the lack of character interactions. Both of these can be traced back to the size of the book: it's just a bit more than half the size of Wintersteel, 304 vs 540 pages. There was a lot of stuff that could have been given more pages: Lindon and Yerin's newfound relationship, Ziel, Eithan's backstory, Lindon's interactions with the Valley residents, etc. Despite all the action that happened in this book, it felt like a set-up for the next book. More of a Skysworn than a Wintersteel.
Enjoyable but had its issues and was a weaker entry in the series. The biggest issues were the pacing (waaaaay too fast) and the lack of character interactions. Both of these can be traced back to the size of the book: it's just a bit more than half the size of Wintersteel, 304 vs 540 pages. There was a lot of stuff that could have been given more pages: Lindon and Yerin's newfound relationship, Ziel, Eithan's backstory, Lindon's interactions with the Valley residents, etc. Despite all the action that happened in this book, it felt like a set-up for the next book. More of a Skysworn than a Wintersteel.
July 24, 2022
This is definitely a satisfying installment. It wasn't long ago for me when I was reading the first book and this really has us go full circle again. Sage, indeed, returning home. Very impressive.
Of course, the whole dread god destroying his home puts a little damper on the already sad return, and these asshats don't deserve saving, but that's not the point.
I got a lot out of it and so did almost all of the characters we've grown to love. Big action. OP action. Payoff. :)
I can't believe there's more, but we've had the introduction to the true scope for a while now. Gods and many worlds, here we come!
Of course, the whole dread god destroying his home puts a little damper on the already sad return, and these asshats don't deserve saving, but that's not the point.
I got a lot out of it and so did almost all of the characters we've grown to love. Big action. OP action. Payoff. :)
I can't believe there's more, but we've had the introduction to the true scope for a while now. Gods and many worlds, here we come!
October 8, 2022
Bloodline is very heavy compared to the series' previous books. The anxiety, death, and destruction can take an emotional toll. There are still moments of fun - I think that's Ethan's sole purpose at this point *smile*.
Lindon is a better person than the Wei Clan, and the whole Sacred Valley deserves. I am anxious/excited to see what will happen next!
Lindon is a better person than the Wei Clan, and the whole Sacred Valley deserves. I am anxious/excited to see what will happen next!
June 8, 2023
'Bloodline' (Cradle #9) by Will Wight.
Status: First Read.
Dates Read: 22nd January to 22nd January 2022.
Rating: 4.75/5.
Review:
I knew nothing could ever top 'Wintersteel', but 'Bloodline' comes close... so damn close.
After the events of the first book, I had always wished for Lindon to return to the Sacred Valley, especially as Lindon advanced further into the Sacred Arts. We finally get that in the ninth book of the series. Lindon eventually returns home, but everyone back home (from the clan Elders to his parents) is still skeptical about him. This hits hard.
I do need to add that the Wei Clan Elders and the Heaven's Glory school are a piece of shit. I hoped for Lindon to obliterate all of them. It is, indeed, the power of Will Wight's writing and characterization that evoked such strong feelings within me.
The stakes were raised in this book (as compared to the previous one), and even though it was spectacular, it still felt a notch below the previous book. But not every book can be as great as Wintersteel.
Still, Bloodline is a thoroughly enjoyable read. It answers many questions that were set up since the first book. Yeah, it even tackles some queries readers may have had about the Celestial plane involving Ozriel and the Abidan.
The book is about Lindon's journey back home expecting people to be proud of him instead to find people still doubting him and crediting others solely for his advancement. Despite everything, Lindon tries to save the Sacred Valley, risking everything. So far, Lindon's characterization was based only on advancing further or looking after his friends, but this hits differently. This is the Lindon I have been waiting for.
It was a thoroughly entertaining read. There were some epic action scenes, but despite it, the book felt character-driven (and that's good!). Loved the tone this book sets up for the rest of the series. On to the next one!
📚 📚 📚 📚 📚 📚 📚
Status: Second Read.
Dates Read: 2nd June to 4th June 2023.
Rating: 4.75/5.
Review:
'Bloodline' turned out to be almost as good as 'Wintersteel' during this re-read. It has everything going right for it. And it packs such an emotional punch to the guts that you end up having a love-hate relationship with this book. I won't be singing praises of this book as I have already done so in an elaborate manner in my first-read review. But I must confess that this book stands up to the standards it set on a re-read as well.
This book narrates Lindon's return to the Sacred Valley. It brings his story to a full circle – a story that began with him leaving the Sacred Valley to find suitable means to protect it from a forthcoming calamity to finally being the one who saves it (in a way). And yet the story opens up new avenues to continue Lindon's tale.
While on a mission to evacuate the Sacred Valley, Lindon doesn't get the welcome he deserves. His treatment at the hands of the Wei Clan Elders and the utter disregard of his capabilities by his parents was particularly difficult to read. But these sections pave the way for an action-packed and emotional ride that culminates in a thoroughly riveting conclusion.
Although reading Lindon's plight in Sacred Valley felt like emotional torture, the book had me gripped enough to read page after page in a single sitting. 'Bloodline' is yet another brilliant addition to the Cradle series that expands the series beyond the reader's imagination and raises the stakes even higher. It would be difficult for one to not pick up the next book in the series as soon as possible once you have completely devoured this book.
📚 📚 📚 📚 📚 📚 📚
Status: First Read.
Dates Read: 22nd January to 22nd January 2022.
“Not my blood,” said the red-soaked Archlord.
Lindon let out a breath of relief, but responded lightly. “Apologies. I’m afraid your hair is done for.”
Eithan wilted against the tree. His eyes slowly closed. “Put me out of my misery. Make it quick.”
Rating: 4.75/5.
Review:
I knew nothing could ever top 'Wintersteel', but 'Bloodline' comes close... so damn close.
After the events of the first book, I had always wished for Lindon to return to the Sacred Valley, especially as Lindon advanced further into the Sacred Arts. We finally get that in the ninth book of the series. Lindon eventually returns home, but everyone back home (from the clan Elders to his parents) is still skeptical about him. This hits hard.
I do need to add that the Wei Clan Elders and the Heaven's Glory school are a piece of shit. I hoped for Lindon to obliterate all of them. It is, indeed, the power of Will Wight's writing and characterization that evoked such strong feelings within me.
The stakes were raised in this book (as compared to the previous one), and even though it was spectacular, it still felt a notch below the previous book. But not every book can be as great as Wintersteel.
Still, Bloodline is a thoroughly enjoyable read. It answers many questions that were set up since the first book. Yeah, it even tackles some queries readers may have had about the Celestial plane involving Ozriel and the Abidan.
The book is about Lindon's journey back home expecting people to be proud of him instead to find people still doubting him and crediting others solely for his advancement. Despite everything, Lindon tries to save the Sacred Valley, risking everything. So far, Lindon's characterization was based only on advancing further or looking after his friends, but this hits differently. This is the Lindon I have been waiting for.
It was a thoroughly entertaining read. There were some epic action scenes, but despite it, the book felt character-driven (and that's good!). Loved the tone this book sets up for the rest of the series. On to the next one!
📚 📚 📚 📚 📚 📚 📚
Status: Second Read.
Dates Read: 2nd June to 4th June 2023.
Rating: 4.75/5.
Review:
'Bloodline' turned out to be almost as good as 'Wintersteel' during this re-read. It has everything going right for it. And it packs such an emotional punch to the guts that you end up having a love-hate relationship with this book. I won't be singing praises of this book as I have already done so in an elaborate manner in my first-read review. But I must confess that this book stands up to the standards it set on a re-read as well.
This book narrates Lindon's return to the Sacred Valley. It brings his story to a full circle – a story that began with him leaving the Sacred Valley to find suitable means to protect it from a forthcoming calamity to finally being the one who saves it (in a way). And yet the story opens up new avenues to continue Lindon's tale.
While on a mission to evacuate the Sacred Valley, Lindon doesn't get the welcome he deserves. His treatment at the hands of the Wei Clan Elders and the utter disregard of his capabilities by his parents was particularly difficult to read. But these sections pave the way for an action-packed and emotional ride that culminates in a thoroughly riveting conclusion.
Although reading Lindon's plight in Sacred Valley felt like emotional torture, the book had me gripped enough to read page after page in a single sitting. 'Bloodline' is yet another brilliant addition to the Cradle series that expands the series beyond the reader's imagination and raises the stakes even higher. It would be difficult for one to not pick up the next book in the series as soon as possible once you have completely devoured this book.
📚 📚 📚 📚 📚 📚 📚
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