In both books we meet our protagonists, at the end of all their growth. the relationships between everyone have already been cemented, they both have teams that work well together and flow easily as a group. both teams have people with detailed backstories and intricate relationships. It feels and reads like we jumped into the middle of bloodline from the cradle series and are expected to figure out the relationship dynamics between everyone, understanding the basic power structure with flashbacks to unsouled instead of a deadicated book. it was an interesting read but I wont be continuing the series past the first 2 book 1s. If Cradle was written like this not many would have gotten into it.
If you like eldritch beings, mysterious guilds that use powers either from the beyond or from themselves to hold up an empire thats collapsing in on itself, then you’ll likely enjoy this. you will have to get through lots of backstory on how both protagonists even matter in the first place. how they are linked to the falling empire and no matter where you start it will feel weird.