Cradle and Willverse

[Cash67]

Read Cradle and thought this should be here. Tag spoilers for all books!!

[Use the Falchion]

Cradle is great! It was my top read of 2023, with Will Wight being my top author of 2023. 

 

I discovered Will Wight when he did his Kickstarter video in 2022, lightly poking fun at Brandon's Secret Project video. I think I may have heard of the series before then, but only in passing. I decided to fund his Kickstarter due to how amusing it was without knowing much else, and I promptly forgot about it. On one lucky Saturday in March 2023, as I started Spring Break, and I remembered Will's Kickstarter. My copy of the first book had yet to come in, so I downloaded the sample of Unsouled on my Kindle App while waiting on something else. I devoured the sample and said to myself "whelp, I'm buying this book ASAP." I did, and by Sunday evening, the entire book was finished. I then CONSUMED, the rest of the series, reading all 11 books out within 6 days. I ate, slept, and read. I hadn't been on a book-binge like this since I discovered Brando Sando himself. It. Was. GLORIOUS. 

Very soon after that, Wight announced The Last Horizon series and had a Kindle sale - and by sale, I mean he gave away his entire bibliography for free. I downloaded every book of his I could. (I skipped a trilogy, but I bought those later.) 

Cradle introduced me to the Progression Fantasy and LitRPG subgenres, both of which I'm still heavily reading. (As in, since March 2023, a majority of my read books are in those two subgenres.*) Thanks to Will Wight, I went from reading maybe 5-10 books in 2023, with half of those being Sanderson's books, to reading over 60 books, with Sanderson being the third-most read. (Will at the top with 15 books and Nicoli Gonnella writer of the Unbound series in second place with 8 books read.) 

Now, when people finish Sanderson's works and wonder what to read next, Cradle and the Willverse are near the top of the list. I genuinely believe that once Stormlight is on hiatus, Cradle can be the next series to fill that void. (Chances are that it won't, sadly, but I believe it can be.)

 

My Cradle playlist: 

"Fool's Gold" by Aries

"Elevate" by DJ Khalil (Originally a MHA theme-song for me, but it works brilliantly with Cradle also)

"Parasite Eve" by Bring Me the Horizon (during THAT MOMENT in "Reaper")

"Standing" by STIM ft. RJ Pasin 

"AmEN!" by Bring Me the Horizon (this is new and not exclusive to Cradle, but it works.)

 

On Will's other works:

The Last Horizon - Thoroughly enjoying, although it's very different from Cradle. Eagerly awaiting The Knight. 

Traveler's Gate Trilogy - I read House of Blades and...I didn't like it. I'll finish it eventually, but I'm fine taking my time. 

The Elder Empire Trilogies - I'm saving these for a rainy day, but I'm also a little hesitant to start them in earnest. I know whichever one I start with will shape my perspective going forward, and that sorta scares me.

 

Someday I hope Will writes a LitRPG series. I know Will wants to bring something special to the genre if he's going to write pure LitRPG series, but I also know that a lot of his fans would love and devour the series because it's his. 

Currently, more than I think any other author right now, Will is the one author I want Brandon to collaborate with.** I think the two could create something really special together. Granted, this helps Will far more than it'd help Brandon, I think it could help Brandon explore some new subgenres and worldbuilding ideas. 

 

So, yeah, I'm a fan of the guy. 

 

*In the Progression Fantasy and LitRPG subgenres, outside of Cradle, my recommendations (with top reads bolded) are:

• Unbound series by Nicoli Gonnella. LitRPG. My second-favorite series of 2023 and my top reread series of 2024. The worldbuilding is really good for the subgenres it's in and the progression is cool. Felix is pretty overpowered, but Gonnella does a decent job at leveling up the enemies he's fighting to match that. Behind the Cosmere and Cradle, this is probably my third-favorite series currently. (9 out of 12 books currently released.)
• Manifestation series by Samuel Hinton. Progression Fantasy. This series is probably the most like Cradle in several ways to me, especially with the beginning. (You've got a magically-crippled main character who has to basically discover an ancient way to catch up to everyone else and goes hard when she does. Later books focus on the "advancing together" theme that Cradle does.) (3 out of at least 4 books currently released)
• Song of Chaos series by Michael R Miller. Coming-of-Age Progression Fantasy. One of my top reads of 2024. If you like the "boy and his dragon" stories, then you'll like this one...since that's exactly what it is. Fun fact, Michael R Miller is going to Dragonsteel Nexus! So (3 out of at least 4 books currently released.)
• All the Skills by Honour Rae. LitRPG. Another "boy and his dragon" series, although more focused on gaining skills and leadership as the series continues. I loved Book 1, really liked Book 2, and felt good about Book 3. I'm still excited for Book 4, but it's going in a different direction than originally promised, IMO. Still, it's worth checking out! (Although I wouldn't read this AND Song of Chaos too close together. They're too similar IMO.) (3 out of at least 4 books currently released)
• Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson. This...isn't the best. But if you like characters that eat/consume enemies to gain power (like Felix from Unbound or a certain character from Cradle), then this series will be good for you. My biggest problem is that the main character goes from "all I've wanted to be is a baker" to "I'M TOTALLY DOWN FOR KILLING THINGS FOR POWER BECAUSE IT FEELS SO GOOD" really, really quickly. (2 out of at least 3 books currently released.)
• Tree of Aeons by SpaizZer. LitRPG. A dude is accidentally killed, due to a role of the dice, becomes a Spirit Tree. This series is interesting. It's written weirdly but not necessarily poorly. (5 out of at least 6 books currently released.) 
• A Budding Scientist in a Fantasy World by Acaswell. LitRPG. A 16-year-old girl who loves science is Isekai'd into a fantasy world in the middle of the night and must survive. What sets this one apart is how focused it is on breaking down the science behind the magic and the System (hence the "budding scientist"), and how methodical the main character is. She clearly outlines her thought process behind the skills and classes she chooses, making it feel far more like she's actually choosing something rather than the plot going "our character wants skill A and now has Skill A because the plot demands Skill A." (1 Book out of at least 1 currently released.) 
• A Summoner Awakens by Kerebos. LitRPG. This is one of those "sent back in time to prevent the apocalypse" stories, but at least the characters are interesting, and the magic is pretty cool. 
• Unintended Cultivator by Eric Dontigney. Xianxia. This is probably the only Xianxia series I'll ever like, and it's not for lack of trying. 
• Amelia the Zero Level Hero by V.A. Lewis.  LitRPG. A girl who got Isekai'd into a Doom-esque hellscape finally escaped to a game-like world, where the System keeps trying to force her to be a hero. She refuses, instead wanting to simply relax. If you like One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100, you'll enjoy this one. 

For the above books, if you want to know when the next ones in the series are coming out:

Spoiler

Manifestation Book 4 (June 11)

Ultimate Level 1 Book 3 (July 1)

Unintended Cultivator Book 3 (July 2)

Amelia the Zero Level Hero Book 4 (July 31)

All the Skills Book 4 (August 20)

Budding Scientist Book 2 (September 17)

Tree of Aeons 6 (September 18)

Unbound Book 10 (October 9)

Song of Chaos Book 4 - Estimated Spring 2025

A Summoner Awakens Book 3 - TBD, with my personal guesstimate being Mid-to-Late 2025. 

These aren't the only series in the genres I'm reading, but these are the ones I recommend the most. 

And yes, I've tried out the fan-favorites like Dungeon Crawler Carl (I'll try this one again eventually), Primal Hunter (didn't grab me), Wandering Inn, and various others. I've either not cared for the samples I read, or I've finished the first book and have no desire to read beyond that point. Maybe I'll try again someday, but I've got a lot more samples to try and actual books to read, so I'm not holding my breath. 

**Leigh Bardugo is a very close second. Around 2022, Brandon stated that Bardugo outsold him and has done so before. (IIRC, they traded the top spot every now and then.) Granted, Sanderson's popularity has exploded since 2022, but Bardugo has a relatively popular adaptation and booktok on her side, so I'd say they're still pretty equal. The two don't have a major overlap in fans, at least not on Brandon's side, so I think the two could really benefit from each other's audience. 

[Use the Falchion]

The Last Horizon Book 3 aka The Knight came out on Tuesday! It's easily the best in the series so far, with the highs hitting higher, the emotional moments hitting stronger, and the puns being even greater. This is because of three specific reasons IMO: 

1. We know the characters. The Captain was fun because we were meeting the main cast, and since the book was about Varic, we got to know him pretty well. The Engineer, while fun, didn't fully work for me because we didn't know Mel as well as we did the others. (What did work for this though, was the fact that Mel felt like an outsider because she didn't know the others well. But this only partially works, because Shyrax has the same problem and fit right in.) In The Knight, we've known Raion for three books now, so we care about him and his story. 

2. Will's more comfortable with the story. Moreso than the previous two books, this one balanced the "apocalyptic ending of the universe" with the "Saturday Morning Flash Gordon Adventure cartoon" vibes pretty well. It explored what Raion and a few others wanted while also being willing to laugh and even make fun of itself a little. And the Bloopers! THE BLOOPERS! I don't think I've laughed so hard at them since the Waybound! 

3. I had a third point, but I forgot it. Maybe I'll edit it back in. 

 

Overall, The Knight is a fun addition to the series, and I hope more fans of Cradle will check out The Last Horizon! (Also, there's a very fun nod to what I believe are some of the mechanics of the Willverse and to Cradle in-particular towards the end of the book, as pointed out by Will's brother Sam.) 

[Use the Falchion]

Will announced the working title for the Cradle anthology book! "Threshold." Sounds pretty cool! Hopefully we'll see it before the end of the year! (And if not, three books in 2025 works for me!) 

[Use the Falchion]

As I reread parts of Cradle and get excited for the animatic movie thingy, I'm left wondering what other paths Lindon could have taken if he split his core even one more time, as well as what other Icons could apply to the core crew. MASSIVE SPOIELRS FOR WAYBOUND

 

Lindon

Spoiler

Lindon was interestingly both the easiest and the hardest to give an extra Icon.

My first thought was that he'd have a very quick connection to the Dragon Icon. Lindon uses the Blackflame techniques, a Path created by dragons. He's bonded to Orthos, the last decsendant of the Blackflame dragons. One of Lindon's pivotal fights in the Uncrowned King tournament was against the last heir to the Blackflame Empire, and who told him his final words, "The Dragon Advances." In Waybound, Lindon even steals some of Northstrider's authority by taking some of his connection to the Dragon Icon and uses it against the Weeping Dragon. Yes, he gave all of the memories and the authority itself to Orthos, so that Orthos could become a Sage, but I imagine that Dross still has records of those memories, and it'd be easy for Lindon to reconnect to the Icon, if he chose to do so. (Although I'm happy he doesn't or won't. Lindon is confident now, but he's not arrogant. Giving him the Dragon Icon would probably push that into arrogance.)

Taking out the Dragon Icon made Lindon the hardest character to give an extra Icon to. I honestly don't think he'd be able to connect to much that we know about unless he formed an extra Path. 

And forming an extra Path is something I hope the animatic covers, if only to keep things interesting to fans who know the books inside and out. Of course, there are debates over what that path may be, and I have LOTS of thoughts on that. But for the sake of keeping this relatively small, and for the sake of keeping with his theme of duality, we'll say that Lindon's third path is a Water/Life path to contrast his Fire/Destruction Path of the Blackflame. In this case, I think he'd form a connection to the Life Icon.

One of Lindon's most impactful scenes early-on involves sneaking to steal some fruit from a Spirit Tree IIRC. The Life Icon is symbolically a tree, and Emriss Silentborn has the Life Icon and is a tree! (Loose connection, I know.) And while Lindon is "The End," his path is also A Beginning in a very real sense. He's the first real person to start the Path of the Twin Stars. He's always finding a way to trail-blaze and assure a path forward, much to the surprise and amusement of his allies and the annoyance (and demise) of his enemies. Genesis, his Soulsmithing hammer, has a name that literally means "the beginning." I don't think this path would focus on healing, but on creating something out of nothing. This also gives Lindon a "they seem to be opposites but go together nicely" thing with Yerin's Death Icon. I also think the Life Icon would work well with the Smith/Creation Icon. The Smith/Creation Icon seems to talk about making something out of nothing, but it's focus, at least to me, seems to be on creating inanimate things out of nothing. The Life Icon would then focus on creating animate things out of nothing, or a way to live out of nothing. 

I have more ideas, but most of them aren't worth mentioning here. Except for one weird one, a Star Icon. I'm not sure this even exists, because it's most certainly not in the books, but with the Twin Stars and the Void Sage, there seems to be hints at a space-theme going on. A Star Icon could complete that. Or maybe that's what the Void Icon is. 

 

Yerin

Spoiler

Yerin's Icons are interesting and weird to me. 

First and foremost, I think that later Yerin should still manifest the Sword Icon. Yes, her Overlady revelation was that she's not the Sword Sage, but that doesn't mean that she can't be a Sword Sage. (Although I think that ship has sailed too, since she was a Herald first and even if she was named after a Sage, it'd be the Death Sage.) I almost thought about giving Yerin the Oracle Icon as well. Yerin has a decent read on people at times, and her role as Eithan's adopted daughter gives her a decent connection to the Arelious Family Bloodline. Combine that with how Eithan trained her spiritual senses during the Uncrowned King Tournament, and I think an argument could be made. But that's unlikely to happen IMO. 

More realistically, after the Sword Icon, I think Yerin would manifest the Strength and the Heart Icons next. Yerin's unusually high physical prowess has been noted by multiple characters throughout the books. I think that her getting the Strength Icon would be a great way to honor that, as well as the internal fortitude she's expressed over the series.

The Heart Icon was a compromise between the Blood Icon (which Yerin would 100% reject) and the Strength Icon. The Heart is a strong muscle, pumping blood all throughout the body. Strength and Blood. But more than that, Yerin is the Heart of the crew. Lindon is the force that drives the crew forward and keeps them together; Eithan is the mentor and the leader early-on, but later passes that torch to Lindon; Mercy is the soul of the group, reminding them why they do what they do; Ziel is the shield of the group, protecting them from danger; Dross is the brain, Orthos is the Old Man, and Little Blue is more akin to a mascot for a lot of the series. But Yerin is the heart. She keeps the group grounded, soothes over frazzled emotions for Lindon and Mercy, while also looking out for Ziel, Orthos, Little Blue, and even Eithan. I wouldn't call her the Team Mom, but she does care for them a lot.  
 

As a joke, I almost put down the Crown Icon, because I'd find it hilarious that the Uncrowned Queen gets the Crown Icon. (And because Malice's Book of Shadows for Mercy has the Strength and Crown Icons, but it'd be more thematically fitting that the character who has the most positive interactions with Malice - and is ultimately the one to kill her and her remnant - gets these Icons.) 

 

Mercy

Spoiler

Mercy gets the Bow Icon because she's close to it, and the Heart Icon. While I called Mercy the "soul of the group" above, I think a very good argument could be made for her being the heart of the group as well. The Shadow Icon could work, but I don't think Mercy's close to it.

 

Ziel 

Spoiler

I gave him the Crown Icon. First, the Crown and the Shield sound awesome together. Second, Ziel is a leader. He led an entire sect in the past, and his Archlord ideal was about giving his life for his sect IIRC. That's what got him the Shield Icon in Waybound. But I think the reality is that no one in the group outside of maybe Eithan (and Lindon towards the end of Waybound) understands the duty that comes with being in charge. Mercy sees glimpses of it, but her own rebellious nature (and Malice's controlling nature) shield her from a lot of it. 

 

Eithan 

Spoiler

Other than maybe the Life Icon, I'm not sure any Icon would do much for Eithan at this point. Maybe the Oracle Icon, but his connection to the Way is so deep and expansive as it is, that It feels moot for him. 

 

[Use the Falchion]

As we wait for the release announcement of Threshold - which, if the release schedule of The Knight is anything to go by, should happen sometime within the next couple of weeks for a December or January release date - I wanted to talk about what other Paths I'd love Lindon to have developed, when, and why. 

This is more of an idea for the animation, if a studio picks it up. The biggest problems with giving Lindon too many techniques in the books is that readers would quickly forget which is which, and that the timeframe is pretty short overall. However, in animation, you can color-code things and make sure that people know what's going on with visual language in a far easier format. For example, we know that Lindon's eyes turn blue when he's using Pure madra and then black and red when using Blackflame madra. If Lindon learned a Storm Path, his eyes could turn yellow beforehand, or brown for earth, and so on and so forth. 

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE SERIES. 

 

Spoiler

First and foremost, I believe these paths have to follow a few core set of rules: 

Rule 1 - These Paths cannot possess the type of powers as other members of Lindon's crew. So while Lindon can have a Core that uses Force madra, he can't have the same rune-focused one that Ziel has. So a Sword/Blood path, a pure Shadow path, a Dream madra path, and a rune-focused Force path are out of the way. 

 

Rule 2- It can't be something that Lindon can't access. Lindon can't have the power of the Sha family, since Royal Madra only comes from the Sha family. 

 

Rule 3 - They ultimately must be balanced. Balance is a core theme when it comes to advancement, and I think that balancing them as a whole will help with the aesthetics. 

 

Next, we don't have rules, but there are two things that I considered important to the new paths:

First, I'd like them to reflect both the Dreadgods and Lindon's own paths. The Dreadgods are Lindon's goal for the majority of Cradle. First it was getting strong enough to save the Sacred Valley from the Wandering Titan. Then it was getting strong enough to kill the Dreadgods and force the Monarchs off of Cradle. At the very end of Waybound, we even see Lindon with Dreadgod armor! I think having Lindon's paths relate to these things would be a cool sort of mirror. 

Second, I want the Paths to primarily consist of common enough Madra and Aura that Lindon can consume them and not have to worry too much about venting, only sorting. One of Lindon's greatest strengths is his ability to absorb madra into his cores with his Remnant arm, and later on the Consume technique. But he also has to vent a lot of the incompatible types out. He's really only keeping Pure, Destruction, and Fire madra. But what if he could keep more types? If Lindon's using Blackflame, but his opponent is using a Water technique, if Lindon had a core that also used water madra, he could absorb the technique as a whole, and not worry about venting the water madra. This is a HUGE bonus on top of the regular benefits to Consume. But the more esoteric the madra type, the harder this gets. 

 

After that, we have the Paths that won't be used: 

Heaven's Glory - I really like the idea of this path, with Heat/Light being a focus, but I have an idea for another path that may work. The two primary reasons I wouldn't want this path for Lindon are Yerin and the Sacred Valley. Heaven's Glory killed Yerin's master. While Yerin may not hate the path itself, she does have a massive grudge against the school. Lindon isn't so callous as to learn their techniques and use them in front of the woman whose master was killed by practitioners of said techniques. For the second point, the Schools and Paths in the Sacred Valley for the most part are...weak. Part of it is because they're being used wrong due to the suppression field, but I'm also positive that there are other, similar paths that exist out in the world that Lindon could find and use if he wanted to. (I.e., When Lindon fights Kiro, the cannon he uses has a Striker technique from a Path of destruction, but we know it's not the Path of the Hollow King, a later Path of destruction we learn about.) Honestly, I think Lindon would be more likely to take manuals from the Heaven's Glory school and then improve and modify them once he's out of the Sacred Valley. And why do that for another path when he's already doing that for the Path of the Twin Stars?

An Ice/Bone/Death Path - I came up with this the other day, and I love the idea of a necromancy path. Add in some Dragon Madra, and you've got yourself a very cool Path! But necromancy isn't Lindon's thing, so we'll leave it. 

Akura Grace's Shadow/Sword Path - It'd be a fun way to memorialize the character, and Lindon does show an affection for Swords. (See Wavedancer and how it's upgraded in Waybound.) 

Path of the Untamed Spark (Fire/Life) - This is a potential alternative to the Water/Life Path because Will's own words on it are very cool. I also think that the idea of fire eating, destroying, and then creating space for new life would actually help Lindon manifest a Fire Icon and the Life Icon. Unfortunately, I can't see Lindon wanting to cultivate and then control a flame that only attacks the living. 

 

Finally, path's I'd LOVE to see Lindon use: 

Path of the Broken Star - I actually took this one out for a bit, but I added it back in. While Lindon does think about this Path a bit, it's lack of real-life applicability would make it difficult to use as a whole outside of the adaptations of Uncrowned and Wintersteel. IF Lindon did want this path, then finding it while Lindon was working with the Skysworn is the best way to go. (After Skysworn but before Ghostwater.) The problems with this Path are that it doesn't really mirror any Dreadgod at this time. You may be able to do something with the Wandering Titan here - like how the Wandering Titan carries around its sword, Lindon now has his own sword to fight against it; and how the Wandering Titan uses Earth madra, this Path uses "heavenly" madra in a way. Ultimately, I'm adding this because it was part of a potential design for Lindon, and I think it's interesting enough to add. I can't think of any Icons this would give Lindon though, other than maybe a deeper connection to the idea of the origin of things for his revelation for the Life Icon. (Which to me would be the phrase "I am the beginning," so it pairs with Yerin's Death Icon as the end, and with his own Void Icon expression "I am the end.")  If this Path has Light, Force, and Sword madra, then it could work. 

 

A Water/Life Path - This is Lindon's most theorized third Path, and for good reason. This type of Path provides balance to Lindon's Blackflame path in a way no other thing we've learned about does. We've also seen Meira use Life Madra to great effect, and since she's not joining the team anytime soon, I can see this popping up. I'm not sure what it's extensive combat capabilities would be unless Lindon used it like Meira, which is why I'm less sold on it day after day, but I still think it's a possible. Lindon would learn this Path during Ghostwater, where he's strengthening himself and surrounded by water aura. This path would contrast the Bleeding Pheonix (water with fire, life with death) and ultimately help Lindon manifest the Life Icon. 

 

Path of the Raging Sky (Water/Wind/Lightning) - WHAT? TWO WATER PATHS, YOU SAY?! Yes, I do say. Maybe it's an assumption on my part, especially since we haven't seen that many water madra users, but I've always assumed that water madra is pretty easy to come by and Paths using water madra are pretty popular. So two water paths it is. I chose this one for several reasons. Primarily, it's because I just like storm and thunder-based powers, and I wanted Lindon to have one. The in-world reason would be more of Eithan's doing, and Eithan would coach Lindon in this path during Underlord in preparation for the Uncrowned tournament, since that's the easiest time for Lindon to split his core again and gain enough sacred treasures to recover any process lost in doing so. In Eithan's mind, Lindon would be making a statement not only to Reigan Shan and the Dreadgod cults with this power, but also to the Aurelius family members on the Rosegold Continent, that he is the "second coming" of Tiberian Aurelius. In many ways, Lindon is already a spiritual successor to the Monarch. Lindon has the Aurelius name by adoption, is being mentored by Tiberian's former advisor, and also later shares the Monarch's dream of ridding Cradle of the Dreadgods. Lindon can be seen as, while maybe not the paragon of sacred artist virtue, definitely as an idea of how dedicated sacred artists should be - honorable, hardworking, dedicated, and willing to find victory at all costs. (Also having Lindon, the "tool" of Eithan use this power against Tiberian's Remnant, the "tool" of Reigan Shan, could be a fun parallel.) This Path is only icing on the cake. As for parallels, it's easy to see that this Path mirrors the Weeping Dragon. The Weeping Dragon killed Tiberian and also has storm-based powers. Using those powers for good now rather than chaos and destruction, is something that appeals to me. I'm not sure Lindon would or could get an Icon out of this, since I don't think it really relates to who Lindon is as a person. One could argue that Lindon is somewhat like a storm, but I'm not sure that fits either. 

Since Water is also in this Path, I can see the Life Path either being a pure Life path or something like an Ice/Life path. 

 

A Fire/Heat/Earth Path - This Path would focus on real smithing and Soulsmithing, and would interestingly contrast the Silent King rather than the Wandering Titan. Lindon would learn this path during his break towards the beginning of Reaper, as a way to potentially revive Dross. 

 

And there we go! We've got four new Paths for Lindon in order to balance out his two longstanding Paths! Hopefully we've balanced everything too:

Fire (Blackflame) - Water (Raging Sky)

Fire (New Path 4) - Water (new Path 2)

Destruction (Blackflame) - Life (new Path 2)

Pure (Twin Stars) - Heat (New Path 4)

Wind (Raging Sky) - Earth (New Path 4)

Force (Broken Star) - Sword (Broken Star) 

Light (Broken Star) - Lightning (Raging Sky)

 

And that's all I have! As you may or may not have noticed, Lindon learns all but one of these Paths before the end of Underlord, so that he can perfect them throughout the series and we have a chance to see the powers grow with Lindon, not just "new powers as the plot demands." The only exception is the last Path, and that's the Path we'd see the least of. 

[Use the Falchion]

THRESHOLD COMES OUT ON THURSDAY FOR KICKSTARTER BACKERS, AND JANUARY 5, 2025 FOR ALL OTHER FANS!!

[Use the Falchion]

Threshold Review: 

 

I read it in one day last week, and boy was it worth it! You get to catch up on the cast and some old friends while you're at it, learn a little about several of the Monarchs, and see new worlds. Honestly, seeing new worlds was probably the highlight of the book. (Outside of learning about the Ghost division of the Abidan.) Will has a knack for making an engaging set of characters almost instantly lovable, and there was one world in particular that I hope he revisits someday. 

Threshold is also a lighter book than many of the previous Cradle books. Maybe it's because the stakes are so low due to power scaling, maybe it's just Will having fun, but there was a lot more lightheartedness in this book. That doesn't mean it was all jokes, but there are several repeated jokes that made me smile or laugh every single time I read them. 

"Training." (IYKYK) 

The final words of the book are also hilarious and bittersweet in a way, but ultimately just plain hilarious. 

 

The one major downside to this story is that we get a short story about one character's continuation, and it...isn't good. Or rather, I'm not satisfied with how it wrapped up. Mostly because I think more should have been done for the character involved (which I hope the animation fixes), but it just left a bad taste in my mouth. 

The story in question is:

Spoiler

Meira's story and wrap-up. 

 

Honestly, I still think Meira should have joined the crew, and I think that the animation should fix that. (This would take a bit of work, but it's still pretty easy to do. Have Meira overhear Lindon's rant about how he didn't want to kill Kiro, and then have either Mercy or Yerin take Meira under their wing at the beginning of Bloodline. It could honestly be as simple as "we need more Underlords to save the Sacred Valley, and the Kingdom doesn't appreciate you, so we're taking you. Deal with it." And then expand on it during Reaper.

The story itself is just overall sad, and while it wraps up the Kingdom's story, it's not satisfying in any way IMO. 

 

Finally, just a random thought, but I'm wondering about something: [THRESHOLD SPOILERS]

Spoiler

Maybe the Gang won't stay in the Reaper division forever, but maybe they'll be the heads of the Abidan in the future as well:

 

Future Makiel - Not sure about, but I'm sure someone could fill the role. Honestly, I could see Eithan filling it, but that would never happen. Emriss, in time, would do an excellent job. 

Future Gadriel - Ziel, easily.

Future Durandiel - Northstrider. See Threshold

Future Telariel - I could see Mercy doing a decent job here as well. Communicating, sensing what's needed, and connecting the right people would be right up her ally. Or Emriss. 

Future Razael - Akura Fury. Yerin loves a good fight, but she doesn't LIVE for the fight. Then again, her interaction with Razael was telling. 

Future Suriel - Either Emriss or Mercy. (If Meira joined the crew, this is where I'd put her, and I'd move Emriss to Telariel and put Mercy with Razael for kicks and giggles.) 

Future Zakeriel - Mercy, maybe?

Future Suriel - Honestly, I don't think we have a good fit here. Ozriel brings up Emriss, but I don't thi

 

Future Ozriel - It'd either be Yerin or Mercy. Yerin has the best connection to Death after manifesting the Death Icon and being the adopted daughter of the current Ozriel, but Mercy would also be a good fit personally. After the Reaper Division fully gets going, I can see her destroying an Iteration as a mercy, and something she doesn't have to feel too sorry about. 

Future Adriel - Lindon, clearly.