Unsouled (Cradle: Volume 1) by Will Wight follows the story of Lindon, an ‘Unsouled’; a boy unable to follow a magical path in a world that revolves around the paths of the sacred arts. He is determined to follow a path… any path, and decides to forge his own.
The Cover: The cover is simple, depicting a wooden token/badge on a plain background. It has a strong white font that contrasts well against the red background. I would not associate the image with a fantasy novel. I would question if this was a thriller as it is not clear to me, but it does represent the Asian culture the world is built around. It is a good fit with the story, but I don’t feel it is a strong representation of the genre.
The Good Stuff: I really enjoyed the story line in this book. I am a big martial arts fan and this reminded me so much of the movies I used to watch in my younger days. The world building works well for me and I can imagine the clan villages, their politics, their clothing, etc… clearly in my mind. The main character has a strong focus on his goal and I find the magical elements is intriguing.
The Bad Stuff: I hate to say this as I am no expert on writing, but a review is an opinion piece, so I will share my opinion. I thought the writing style was weak. There are sentences starting with ‘As’, ‘And’, and ‘But’. There is a lot of telling and unnecessary wordage. There is also description in the fight scenes that slow down the pacing. In my opinion this all detracts from the story.
Overall, this is a good story and I feel it is worth reading. I enjoyed it and will look at reading more of the series. I’m giving this one a fist smashing, sword slicing, 3 out of 5 golden bookmarks.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.