Bloodline: Cradle, Book 9

Let's be honest, Uncrowned and then Wintersteel were masterpieces. So many threads. So many pivotal scenes. The action. The resolution. Any book following those two is automatically at a disadvantage.Bloodline isn't Wintersteel. Bloodline is a completely different kind of book. A transition book. The kind of book that is laying the groundwork for the next major arc in the series.After I read Bloodline, I had to stop my brain from thinking. I gave it a couple days and then read it again. Then I gave it another couple days and reread the whole series before reading it again.Takeaways:1. There were so many things that I didn't expect that ended up happening. Many of those things were awesome (no spoilers).2. I find myself more excited about the coming books than I do Bloodline. The next book pretty much writes itself and I want to read it. Lindon now has himself the perfect opponent, the same opponent that I thought would be a cool contrast during Wintersteel.More importantly Cradle will now be forever impacted (because of Spoilers). There are so many ways the story could twist and turn (because of spoilers).3. I LOVED the return of Suriel. She became the champion of the Abidan portion of the story and it was the better for it. Plus, the scenes with Lindon... they were so cozy and heartwarming. Especially when she said sorry (spoilers). Her inclusion in the story added so much heart back to this series.4. Dross... Dross, Dross, Dross... He was so human in this. The decisions he made. The paths he helped the group tread. I look forward to seeing how he evolves.5. While it made the story slowdown... the return to home for Lindon was very real. You can never really go home because it's never the same. And Lindon got to experience that repeatedly, like a hammer to the brain. I'm the kind of reader who appreciates verisimilitude in what I read. So I happily embraced the slowing down of the story. It was harsh and uncomfortable and overall real.That said, I have real hope for the little kingdom the group seems to be carving out for themselves. It looks like it will be epic.6. I loved the return of Elder Whisper. I'd been waiting for it and it didn't disappoint. That final sentence... It epitomizes what the next major arc of the story is going to be. And that arc excites me.7. The Sect of the Twin Stars...! That's all I'm saying.Now, not everything was perfect. I think everyone else' story took a back seat to Lindon's. The story suffered slightly for it. I also found the story a little shorter than I would have liked. Another 50 pages would have really fleshed out the story and made it come to life. But that's all I've really got against this book.It's a great book trying to tell a difficult story after two phenomenal books. You want more of the same but it's trying to convince you that the plot twists that are coming are even better. It managed to convince me, so I'm on board.

Bloodlines sits in a bit of a weird place to me. It’s great, let’s not get it twisted, but it’s sandwiched between two of my favourite books of the series. Wintersteel is the dramatic culmination of the three book Uncrowned Tournament Arc and has so many great moments in it that it’s hard to list them all. And Reaper rivals it.Then between them both is Bloodlines, which in some ways is a more reflective book. It’s technically the culmination of what set Lindon on this path all those books ago but in another way it’s about coming home and seeing that, while it might not have changed, you certainly have. It’s about being a new person and how you don’t quite fit into the ways that things used to be. It’s about learning that who you are now isn’t who you used to be and isn’t who you will become.It’s definitely not the end. It makes it very clear that it’s building up to something big and the last three sentences are great. There’s everything you know and love about the previous books from snappy conversations, Eithan, and solid world building. I really enjoyed reading it but when looking back it’s hard to see it between the twin stars that come before and after.It’s a good book. Read it.Then go onto Reaper.

So normally all of will books get a 5 star. This one was a good addition to the ongoing saga but just didn't have the same feeling of excitement and elevation that the others had. Without giving away spoilers, I think I just struggled with how the main characters dealt with the situation at hand and thought they played too nice for too long which just felt slightly forced perhaps.That aside, enjoyed greatly the setup for what comes in the future and would not say the slight weakness in my view, took away anything from the book overall and would still recommend.

In a world where everyones trying to be dark, edgy or push new boundries its utterly refreshing to read something so beautiful in its almost old school simplicity.The cradle books remind me of saturday morning cartoons or some of the great popular anime like Dragonball Z or Avatar.In fact it follows extremely closely to those models, with the main protagonist and his rag tag band of unusual followers spending the majority of their time constantly striving to improve and upgrade their powers in order to eventually stave off a huge pre-ordained tradgedy.Easy to read, overtly simple and straightforward - but with a subtle depth that catches you almost off your guard. Before you know it you genuinely care about the character, their relationahips and their goals and have been genuinely affected by their conflict, loss and success.Highly reccomend to readers of all ages.

I absolutely love the Cradle series, allow yourself to be captivated by the world created by Will Wight's vast, magical, quirky imagination, so enchanting, thrilling and funny in equal measure. With a hero/heroine you really root for and care about and a great ensemble cast of supporting characters each with their own story and personality, which draw you in & endear them to you as much as the main characters. Can't wait for the next book!

Cradle is absolutely a fantastic book series. This is unfortunately possibly the weakest book in the series though (in my opinion). That doesn't make it a bad book by any stretch, it just doesn't live up to its predecessors as well.The book felt a bit rushed to me... things like progression was skipped over more than I think they ever have been. Pointlessly risky decisions were made with little to no justification really given.A lot of the situation in sacred valley seemed like almost a waste of everyone's time, and as far as I can tell Lindon knowingly left someone that helped him out early on to die with no effort made at all to save them...?The book did do some set-up for the next book(s) though, I just wish there had been a bit more to this one.

I am absolutely loving this series, a friend and my brother recommended it and it has not yet disappointed. Hoping to see it get an animated series, but we will see. Keep writing Will wight!

The way the author reveled just little pieces of information and build this magic system and universe to everything results in this book and the next one. A piece of art, maybe other people would like more drama evolution of personal relationships, I liked the history this way, flawless World building, just wonderful.

Sehr empfehlenswert, Fantasy at its best. Man kann es kaum glauben, aber es schafft der Autor wieder eine neue Ebene einzubauen und das Ganze noch weiter zu verkomplizieren, ohne aber den grundsätzlichen Verlauf der Geschichte Aus den Augen zu verlieren. Man darf gespannt sein, was er in den nächsten Bänden noch hinzufügt. Verwunderlich ist, dass er da nicht die Übersicht verliert und auch bei allen anderen handelnden Personen immer noch deren Kontakt zur Geschichte gut erzählt.

One thing I love about Will Wight's books; the smooth transition and the continuity between each installment. Bloodline was not an exception. I've read the book twice now.I don't want to write any spoilers, but there are a few laugh out loud scenes and few scenes that were emotionally hard to read. No matter how far Lindon goes he still has the scars of being considered "less than". There's a small part of the book where someone says something unintentionally hurtful and Lindon's spirit grows "disordered" though he doesn't externally react. I related to that. How many of us have had thoughtless words thrown at us based on assumptions that leave us feeling hurt and confused but we choose not to show how those words affect us externally?There was so much I appreciated about this book, it definitely left me wanting more and made me pull every passage about Suriel and Ozriel from Unsouled onwards. The next book is called Reaper and if you go back to Unsouled you'll see who that refers to.I do wish I had more of Lindon pushing the limits of his icon as a Sage, and though we had warning the ascension from Underlord to Overlord brings minimal change, it still felt a bit anti-climactic. Hoping to see both Him and Yerin push their boundaries in the next installment and I sincerely hope we see Dross again.

The series is so good, I have binge read 9 books straight. The battle scenes are really good. Would recommend it.