Book Review: Skysworn (Cradle, #4) by Will Wight
Skysworn by Will Wight
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Cradle (Book #4 of 12)
Genre: Fantasy, Progression Fantasy, Xianxia
Pages: 292 pages
Published: 30th September 2017 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)
Wei Shi Lindon may not have any advancement happening to him in this book, but the series did. Skysworn, just like each respective previous books, once again upgraded the overall quality of the Cradle series.
I honestly think that Skysworn was even better than Blackflame; imagine my surprise when I found out that many readers thought of this one as a downgrade for the series. I respectfully disagree. What happened in Skysworn is the direction that the series needs, although I highly enjoyed Blackflame, I didn’t have that uncontrollable urge to continue with the series. But now? I might be having nightmares if I don’t continue with the series.
“I don’t have any love for the Jai clan, but as for you, if I saw you on fire I’d hold an umbrella for you so the rain didn’t put you out.”
The previous three books have focused the main storyline on Lindon’s advancement towards a greater power, and yes, at its core this is the main strength of Cradle and Progression Fantasy. However, the series was starting to get stale and repetitive for me, Will Wight made the right choice by making Skysworn an action-packed and thrilling installment, and I loved it very much. Reading this was the first time in my time of reading through the series that I had utter difficulty putting the book down; the actions were incredibly well-written, vivid, imaginative, and superbly paced.
“When a horse carries a man, which of them is the stronger party? It is only suitable that a dragon should carry lesser creatures.”
Skysworn focuses its narrative on the long-awaited duel that Lindon has to confront since the end of Soulsmith, but that’s not all, the duel was exciting but what elevated the series was the monstrous and gigantic new threats brought forth by the appearance of the Dreadgods. It is by far the most intense installment in the series so far. The horror and overwhelming sheer power displayed by the Dreadgods made the breakneck pacing in Skysworn bloody delightful to read. This marks the fourth book in a twelve book series, and the large-scale event and crimson disaster unveiled in Skysworn pretty much showed the amazing potential of the series.
The characterizations were better, and I continue to love Eithan, Jai Long, Yerin, and the side characters of the series, maybe even more now. The brilliant actions aside, another huge improvement that occurred in Skysworn was the scale of emotions the main character, Lindon, exhibited. I was indifferent towards Lindon; he felt like an empty vessel written merely to show the gradual rise in power and magic system of the series, but now I’m starting to care about his journey, and this is a crucial aspect for me in my reading experience.
“After an injury like this, it is your thoughts that are most deadly. Your fears, your pain, your despair, they are deadly poison. Do not let them rule you.”
The world-building has also been expanded, and the ending of this book made me super excited to continue with the series. I know it feels repetitive for me to keep on saying “this is my favorite book in the series so far” in my reviews of the series, but it is my honest assessment. You might as well get used to it; there’s a huge chance I’m going to repeat this statement again in my review of Ghostwater, Underlord, and the rest of the series. Skysworn was gripping in every sense of the word, it was the most pulse-pounding book in the series so far, and if the next books ended up being better than this, I know I’ll be including Cradle in my list of favorite series. It’s quite terrifying to think that I have only three published books left in the series so far to read, I will do my best to prolong my journey through Cradle, which I’m damn sure I’ll fail.
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