Synopsis
Years ago, Lindon left his home as a powerless Unsouled. Now, he goes to war with the most powerful beings in the world over the future of Cradle itself.
The Weeping Dragon has a grudge to settle, and Lindon intends to take out the Dreadgod with his friends by his side. But rival Monarchs know his plans, and they won’t let things end so easily.
If Lindon does win, he will ascend to the heavens. But he may not find a safe haven there either.
In the worlds above, Suriel and Ozriel face off against the Mad King to determine the new shape of the cosmos. The victor will decide the fate of countless universes.
Whether he wins or dies, Lindon will soon leave this life behind.
The time has come to say good-bye to Cradle.
Review
Tl;dr review: This is the Wei! Brilliant. Amazing. Completely satisfying end to one of the best fantasy series of all time!
A bittersweet moment for all Cradle fans. Eagerly awaited, but also dreaded as this would mark the end to the extremely popular series. For anyone who has read the series till now, no introduction needed to either the author or the characters. It was a bit of wait (due to release of The Captain) but a book well worth the wait.
The book picks up right from where Dreadgod left off. Lindon and Co have begun their war against the Monarchs and Dreadgod despite being woefully under powered. Lindon has a plan to get them powered and up to the task, but then no plan survives first contact with the enemy and it certainly doesn’t do so here. On the backfoot from get go, they face near impossible odds all the while trying to squeeze time to train themselves, which obviously the Monarchs aren’t willing to grant.
Not only what happens on Cradle, the plot alternates to Iteration 300: Vesper where the macro plot between the Mad King vs Abidan plays out simultaneously with the shenanigans of Makiel landing Ozriel and Suriel in mortal peril.
Will Lindon & Co triumph over the Monarchs and Dreadgods?
Will Ozriel & Suriel survive the Mad Kings assault?
The terrible trio of Reigan Shen, Northstrider and Malice hound the protagonists trying to capture, kill or force them to ascend to maintain the status quo in Cradle. Throw in the three remaining Dreadgods, this book is a non-stop series of combat sequences, blisteringly paced and completely engrossing.
The book is mostly from pov of Lindon, but alternated with and provides enough page time to Yerin, Mercy, Ziel, Orthos and Little Blue giving them complete character development arcs. The struggle faced by every single one is depicted in a realistic way that I felt myself cheering for them every step of the way. Not just them, but it also provides enough weight for Shen, Malice and Northstrider that it is easy to imagine why they are they way they are. The ending for some of the Monarchs are not what I expected them to be making this all the more interesting to read.
Not only the action, the book has a LOT of heart. The interactions between Lindon and his team as they bare it all putting everything on the line for each other is pure bliss to read. The arc’s of Mercy and Ziel are especially fabulous as they have their own demos to overcome and some ridiculously heart-rending decisions to make.
The surprise nugget for this is is Larian of the eight man empire. She absolutely steals the scene whenever she appears. I really want a side story on Eight Man Empire now! Plus the cameo by Akura Fury… * blows kisses in the air*
Overall it was a smashing read both as a book and as a conclusion to Cradle.
I hope and pray Will comes back to this world and gives us a Sanctum series!
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