294 pages
Published Nov. 7, 2016
Sacred artists follow a thousand Paths to power, using their souls to control the forces of the natural world.
Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan.
When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must defy his family's rules...and forge his own Path.
2.5 stars out of 5
Was recommended this by someone whose taste I respect.
Not sure though. Silly litRPG by a 16-yo anime fanboy. Learned later (book 3) that is was selfpublished. Yeah, that absolutely shows.
It isn't bad persé. It's like that loose tooth you just have to fiddle with.
But, and that's a big but, the start appealed to my subconscious and my imagination. So I'll continue reading.
What a refreshing, short read. Although short is relative, as the series goes on for eight more books and I feel inclined to read them all.
Wight manages to make my blood boil by writing such convincing self-righteous assholes. It's good to know that Lindon will manage to advance for nine books in total and I am curious to read what else lies ahead for him.
Characters remain rather shallow. A price I am willing to pay here, because so much stuff happens and most of it is exciting. With the examination of the science of Madra it feels somewhat like hard-fantasy/LitRPG. Overall a quick, fun read of the YA variety.
Unsouled by Will Wight
In this fantasy, a vaguely East Asian-based society is rules by people who can use a natural force called "madra" to fight, create, and manipulate the works arrive them. Everyone is tested for their affinity to one of the various paths of usage and are assigned a future: except the Unsouled, who show no affinity and this are only objects of shame and pity.
Wei Shin Lindo is one such, but he honers to break out of this rigid system and show that he is every bit as capable as his peers.
What occurs carries Lindo far beyond anything he found have imagined, with the fate of worlds moving around him.
This is a great, fun adventure reminiscent of Avatar, the Last Airbender. The practice is great, the characters fun and the working is interesting without being overwhelming in detail.
It's definitely a pleasure to see …
Unsouled by Will Wight
In this fantasy, a vaguely East Asian-based society is rules by people who can use a natural force called "madra" to fight, create, and manipulate the works arrive them. Everyone is tested for their affinity to one of the various paths of usage and are assigned a future: except the Unsouled, who show no affinity and this are only objects of shame and pity.
Wei Shin Lindo is one such, but he honers to break out of this rigid system and show that he is every bit as capable as his peers.
What occurs carries Lindo far beyond anything he found have imagined, with the fate of worlds moving around him.
This is a great, fun adventure reminiscent of Avatar, the Last Airbender. The practice is great, the characters fun and the working is interesting without being overwhelming in detail.
It's definitely a pleasure to see Lindo use his wits to overcome his weaknesses, although I can see a definite Dragon Ball Z possibility of endless power creep if the writer isn't careful.
But I hated to put the story down and I looked pretty much every choice made. What a fun read!
Move forward, stay alive, and I will come retrieve you when you've grown.
My first time reading a Will Wight novel and I think I'll stick with the Cradle series.
After feeling uninspired in my recent readings Unsouled was the right mix of fantasy, magic and the young adult reduced the complexity level of the story and kept me engaged for the entire story.
Don't let that any of that deceive you though, Unsould showed the reader what was behind the curtain of our hero's village and it's a big world.
While reading the book I felt this was a good mix of Harry Potter meets Red Rising. Lindon lacks the skillsets his peers, and eventually enemies, have and this forces him to strategize, plan and use his disadvantages as a strength. I appreciate when our underdog protagonist has to be creative in their plans and avoid going for …
Move forward, stay alive, and I will come retrieve you when you've grown.
My first time reading a Will Wight novel and I think I'll stick with the Cradle series.
After feeling uninspired in my recent readings Unsouled was the right mix of fantasy, magic and the young adult reduced the complexity level of the story and kept me engaged for the entire story.
Don't let that any of that deceive you though, Unsould showed the reader what was behind the curtain of our hero's village and it's a big world.
While reading the book I felt this was a good mix of Harry Potter meets Red Rising. Lindon lacks the skillsets his peers, and eventually enemies, have and this forces him to strategize, plan and use his disadvantages as a strength. I appreciate when our underdog protagonist has to be creative in their plans and avoid going for a 'smash and grab' to win.
The book starts off with an omniscient point of view and continues several times throughout the book. By having Wight allude to a larger story beyond Sacred Valley you can prepare for the scale of the series and anticipate what Lindon is capable of.
This may be a trope of young villager ends up in world greater than he expected but those stories have a reveal towards the end but getting crumbs of details right from the beginning I felt better prepared for Lindon's journey (even if he wasn't).
After a month of wandering through books I'm happy to settle on Cradle and with five more books ahead of me I'm happy to settle in and see where this story goes.
