I bought Unsouled on sale and quickly ended up reading all 7 available books in the Cradle series (current as of this review). All I can say is that I enjoyed the setup and each installment and despite there already being 7 books in the series, the pace never feels slow. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series arc and hope Wight keeps delivering.

For context the book is very much about magical practitioners that have to keep advancing from one level of skill to the next. Despite the ‘leveling up aspect’, which is handled deftly, it’s not litrpg. It all takes place in a unique universe with its own magical rules that are divulged only as necessary (exposition is actually pretty minimal and well integrated into the story). The top level story of a group of guardians trying to prevent the universe from descending into chaos weaves in and out of the tale of the main protagonist(s) (the author does a good job of changing points of view to cover a variety of characters on all sides). Lots of action and intrigue. I also like the culture building of the Cradle civilization.

As far as age groups go, I wouldn’t worry about a young adult reading these. Despite the constant fights and deaths, everything is handled in a way that doesn’t feel graphic or unpleasant.

Travis Baldree delivers an able and consistent performance. Some of his character voices are quite excellent and add a lot to the personas.