Wintersteel

Holy lol, the next day I wrote this review I got Covid, recovering well.


My 1000th book. It took me 4 and half year reading to reach this level. It reduced so much of my pressure (the pressure of meeting deadlines in software ya know). I will be reading forever. And the reason I choose this book as my 1000 because this is a special one. It's a great continuation of series. Eagerly waiting for next!

Executive Summary: This book really delivers on the promise of [b:Uncrowned 50789354 Uncrowned (Cradle, #7) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567730777l/50789354.SX50_SY75.jpg 72716950]. I found it started a bit slow but finished really strong and I already can't wait for the next book. 4.5 stars.Full ReviewI first read [a:Will Wight 7125278 Will Wight https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1442891069p2/7125278.jpg] early in 2019 when I got a copy of [b:Unsouled 30558257 Unsouled (Cradle, #1) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465881128l/30558257.SY75.jpg 51106215]. A buddy of mine had been trying to get me to check out another series he'd written for a few months before that but I never got around to.Cradle has quickly become one of my favorite series and each new book is a drop what you're doing and make time to read event. The last entry [b:Uncrowned 50789354 Uncrowned (Cradle, #7) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567730777l/50789354.SX50_SY75.jpg 72716950] had a lot of potential but then it just sort of stopped. I still enjoyed it overall, but I was kind of letdown by the way it ended.It did however build a lot of anticipation for this book. I was spoiled and got to read the first seven books in one year. This is the longest I've had to wait for a new entry. I've always been a fan of fighting animes where the characters get stronger and the fight scenes get more and more insane.I will say that at this point in the series Cradle has reached that level. I don't want to spoil anything, but there are some (to me anyways) some very nice nods to Dragonball in this novel.I've enjoyed both the character development and the fight sequences of this series, but more than anything what sucks me in the most is the various magic systems that power the various characters and factions. I'm not entirely sure where things are going, but I'm excited to find out.

“I am the End.”

I'm still reeling—this book left me speechless.

Wintersteel is hands down the best in the Cradle series so far. The fight scenes were intense, the emotional stakes were higher than ever, and the character development was nothing short of brilliant. And Eithan? He's a total scene-stealer. I just want to give him a hug for being such an incredible badass.

Lindon truly came into his own in this volume. In previous books, he was sharp but often felt like he was relying too much on luck or being pulled forward by others. But his loss to Yerin was a major turning point. It forced him to dig deep and rebuild himself, and seeing him through another's eyes was a powerful moment of growth. It felt like he finally stepped up as a true force to be reckoned with.

Even characters like Little Blue and Ruby, who could have easily been sidelined, became key players. Will Wight masterfully weaves their growth into the story, making it feel natural and essential, like threads in the Way itself.

And that ending? I was floored. It was pure dominance, and the power on display was breathtaking. I had an inkling space powers would come into play, but what we got was beyond anything I could have imagined. Here we go onto Bloodline

That must be one of the most surprising turn of events in the series, in fact there were a lot of surprises, one of the best books in the whole series, I just can not believe what happened, I was already thinking of something mind blowing, but what happened was way, way better than I imagined!!!!!

As the story progresses, each book becomes better but Lindon, you are still the same, naive, always thinking of the small matters not the big picture....

Yerin, what can I say, genius, selfish, inferiority complex, but still.............no wonder Cradle has such rabid fans!!!

Eithan, my, my, oh was I calling you, no please do continue whatever plots and plans your devious mind is developing

Mercy, you are becoming a female Lindon, naive inspite of being a Monarch's daughter and allegedly successor, I was hoping you will come out of your own darkness, shining but unfortunately.........

And more, a lot more, the foreshadowing, the battle between Monarchs and Dreadgods, Abidan and their unseen enemy.......

Book 9 and still a lot of mysteries.........from an Unsouled and now..................dreams do come true....for some.......and those bloopers HAHAAHAHAHAHA, from straight drama, action packed storyline, to just plain funny..........

This book was so damn good.

Let's talk about Eithan Aurelius for a second. For 7 books now, Eithan has been continuously the best part of this series. I daresay he's one of the most fascinating characters I've ever read about. Whenever you expect him to zig, he zags. Whenever youve caught on, and expect him to zig, he zigs, and challenges your expectations. Every scene with him is great, and he was used superbly in this book.

Yerin...goddamn Yerin. Just such a good character. I don't have much to say about her here because of spoilers, except that she reminds me of a grown up Toph from Avatar, and that is a supreme compliment.

But that's not all! Even LINDON was great in this book. Since Book 6 and onwards, I've started genuinely liking Lindon. And in this book, he completely won me over. He is just such a badass now and he has done some soul searching to figure out what is important to him.

The world building and stakes to this book were very well done. The book made shocking choices; the tournament does not go in the way I expected it to. The villains do not do what I expected them to. The results are not what I expected.

This series went from “eh, it's entertaining” to “Holy shit, I'm gonna put everything else on hold to catch up” very quickly.