Unsouled

2.00/5.00

Dissappointing start to a series that I have received a lot of hype on. Progression fantasy is one of my favorite genres to listen to. I prefer reading books in general, but progression fantasy is one genre where I can just listen to the audiobook and be happy about it. While the character work in this book is impressive, the prose, the plot, and most importantly the worldbuilding is dissapointing. The book has some dark vibes in terms of the cultural worldbuilding that I found hard to digest. It was strangely reminiscent of Dark Academy books, which is problematic. The plot is interesting but fails spectacularly to deliver. I will try a few more Cradle book before I decide to DNF the series.

Emotional Impact -> There wasn't any moment where I actually enjoyed this book. It was okay at best. At least I wasn't bored. Characters -> The main character is more complex than I expected. Some anti-hero vibes, some trauma in him that is done pretty well. But all other characters are pretty basic. The main character stinks of plot armour and mary sue vibes. This needs to change. Plot -> Not that interesting. There is a big twist about 25% into the book, which is so jarring that it feels more like a lurch. And it wasn't very interesting either. Divine intervention from Suriel was predictable and left me wondering what was the point? She didn't really help Lindon much other than show him how weak he is. How is he supposed to carry out this mission ? Why is he more suited to this than other ? Becasue he was brave ? Lindon's sister is also brave and just. She is also a lot more powerful. She feels like a better choice for this mission... Maybe Suriel's motivations are yet to be revealed. The ending was interesting. I will say this, the plot was unpredictable.. just not sure if that is good or bad. Prose -> Barely above average.World Building -> Here are my biggest gripes. The needless, emotionless creulty of the Wei Clan makes me feel nauseous. The author also fails to make use of this environment to introduce moral struggles with his characters. Many of the horrible aspects of this primitive culture are just glazed over and accepted as a matter of fact. No one has any humility ? No Remorse ? No empathy ? ONLY competition ? Why? These people are not struggling to survive. This is not a dystopian setting. It makes no sense.... IT feels a bit YA. The casual cruetly allows the author to shock and raise the stakes for a character we all know has extreme plot armour.