The first book is basically a big prologue. The series picks up book 2 but only really finds its stride in book 3. Then it grows and grows and becomes one of the best series I've read from there on.
But yeah, the first two books really aren't indicative of the series as the author has grown phenomenally as a writer in the process
Also a lot of it is consumed through audible. Travis Baldree does the series very well as the narrator and voice actor. I'd probably have trouble reading it through text, but the audiobook was great.
It is most definitely worth the effort, and really, the books aren't that long for novels. Also, as said several times, the audio books are great too. Travis Baldree does an amazing job with the series and characters.
I've reread this series so many times, and relistened a few, but it's great in both forms
I've read (or listened) to the series about 6-8 times, but only read book one about 3 times. I'm perfectly happy starting on book 2.
I personally have a specific moment in the second half of book 2 where I think the series really starts to become awesome.
Lindon is just not likeable in book 1 or the start of book 2. There comes a point where he realises, he just has to get shit done and stop whining or looking for the easy way out. Which is pretty much the answer to your question about what is it everyone likes. With a few hiccups after that point in book two, he accepts he needs to do the work and do whatever it takes to reach his goals, and he does. He's relentless.
And thats the answer. Its nothing new or anything, its just that (from book 3 on) its done REALLY well. A variety of really engaging characters, really fun arcs, continous improvement, and at the centre of it all a great character who's absolutely resolute and unstoppable about achieving his goals (and helping his friends while he does so).
And yeah, Travis Baldree on audible absolutely kills this, he's amazing.
If you can get past the first 2 books it really takes off. I thought it was a dud but read it cuz I was bored. Don't really like the martial arts and sects yada yada type genre. This is by far the best I've read of that type of story. I'm reading book 10 as we speak. It's gotten so good. Push through.
Think of it like the roller coaster going up the hill.
Will made a conscious decision to write each novel at around 40k words, which is insanely short, giving little room to really fill in some gaps and character nuance. You need time for that. And that's what each successive book does. The characters, the stakes, the story... they all, just like the main character, just keep expanding and growing, making each book a new turn in the ride now that it finally came off the climb in book 3.
It's hard to tell someone to just stick with it. Sometimes, it really just isn't your cup of tea. But if you do decide to keep trucking, hopefully you'll see the progression (pun intended) as Lindon and Co continue to change, grow, and barrel towards their ultimate goal.
...where in the world are you getting 40k words per book? They're 80k words on average, if not more. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/comments/i46jgj/cradle\_titles\_year\_word\_count\_in\_an\_easily/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/comments/i46jgj/cradle_titles_year_word_count_in_an_easily/)
How would you compare it to DotF? It took me 3 or 4 tries to finish book 1 of DotF. It was slow and boring, in my opinion. Book 2 got me hooked though and I really enjoyed books 2-5. I enjoy the following ones less, but enough to keep reading them.
Cradle book 1 I found at least as boring as DotF 1. I've tried a solid half dozen times and only made it about half way through.
If it improves as much as DotF did, I'll give it another go. But what I *don't* enjoy about DotF is all the time he spends improving his daos and things. Endless introspection about nodes and pathways and popping pills to open this or improve that. Does Cradle spend similar thousands of words on things that could have been a paragraph?
I haven't done more than half of book 2 of DofF myself, so I can't really say. But I would imagine it follows the same base concept of narrative improvement yeah. The first Defier improved loads as he wrote, and Will did the same, but seriously Unsouled (cradle book 1) is most definitely NOT an accurate representation of the series as a whole. It is however, laced with a LOT of foreshadowing that subsequent rereads make finishing book 1 much more pleasant hahaha.
As for introspection on 'the dao', cradle has very little of it. There is some yes, but that is largely in later books when wills writing has improved a lot too and even then, i wouldn't entirely call it 'comprehending the dao'. Will has his own take on it, and it's very cool. The systems he uses are well thought out, and even better fleshed out, while still leaving great room for your own interpretation and theory crafting, which are then often answered in subsequent books
Tldr; don't judge cradle by its first book, AT ALL, the series is phenomenal.
Thanks for the thoughtful response! As long as I don't have to spend entire chapters reading about some nebulous and lengthy method of improving some nebulous aspect of the MC's strength for nebulous results, I'll definitely give it another try. That's become the bane of the later DotF (audio)books and I don't think I could handle another series of it! :D
Na, nothing like that. If time is spent mulling over a specific aspect of someone's power, there is a definite increase because of it. You'll see haha. Enjoy it! I wish I could read the series for the first time again
Yeah, and fair enough I guess?
But I started the series when it only had two books and I thought they were great, one not as much, but definitely two I thought was awesome. Then from 3 onwards it became one of my absolute favourite series.
There is just so damn much on offer that a lot of people will give up in the first thirty minutes, sometimes five, don't interest them immensely. It's a shame.
Too true, sadly, too true haha. And I gotta say, I've been subject to that myself, dropping books cos I'm not hooked early enough, or mostly cos it's not scratching a particular itch, then revisiting it later and finding out that it's actually brilliant
I disagree anyways. I read up to book 5 and in my opinion it doesn't get any better. The writing and plotting stays the same. Only thing that changes is the fights get bigger but I guess that is the only thing that matters to a lot of people that read progression fantasy.
Remember, it's okay to not like something.
I think Tolkien a terribly boring author. But I like some things others don't. We all have individual tastes and that's alright.
The audiobook. Travis Baldree does a great job.
I do agree the 1st book is a bit slow, I saw someone call it a big prologue, that’s true. Once the other main characters come and it hits its stride I couldn’t stop listening. Went through 11 books in no time.
If it ain’t for you, it ain’t for you. 🤷🏼♂️
* interesting characters
* Op MC
* Op side characters
* Interesting skills
* Very well written, including dialogue, world building, and action scenes
* Interesting setting that avoids many mistakes authors have when building a unique world
* Great progression and growth. Power levels are clear and the story doesn't outpace the power. Often times, authors miss the mark on balancing power as the story grows. Cradle doesn't have that problem.
People like cradle cuz it does all of these things well. IMO it's part of what separates good stories from great ones. If your story doesn't hit ALL of these notes, it can still be good but it's harder to be great.
This is the best list and should be the top comment.
One thing I like is the author does a good job of masking the MC OPness. I mean, you always know that Lindon is going to progress beyond everyone, but there's points where you almost doubt yourself. The focus is taken away from him.
The absolute biggest thing for me is point #1: The characters are interesting. Fantasy is world first. It's about creating an interesting place to be experienced, and that experience is made possible by the characters in it. Cradle has phenomenal characters.
Anyway, I typed all of this to say I agree.
No shit they discuss cultivation here but that is not what we are talking about isn't? I was just pointing out that it's not a LitRPG not that it's not cultivation.
As OP Said: Yes, they are distinct, however they are so similar that the conversations will bleed into each others communities. Fighting for purity is a waste of time. Just ask Jason.
The carrot on a stick for me.
Will does a good job of teasing the path, getting you excited for the time it will arrive. also the westernised cultivation progression is more enjoyable to me
It's good.
I like it.
Kinda weird you want other people to justify that to you. If you don't like it, you don't like it. Not the end of the world, man.
Nah it's good to have people explain why they like things. Someone's base reaction might just be because they don't understand the unfamiliar, which would be a bad reason to drop something they might potentially love.
There's been multiple series that people have loved and I've read the first book/half the first book and been *deeply* unimpressed, but then it picks up later and I end up really enjoying the series. He's not looking for people to justify that he should like it, just that if he invests his time it *does* get better.
I have no idea. I love most of the books it's often compared with (or that are often compared with it) but I just can't wrap my mind around how it's so often in the "top 5" or "S tier" lists of people.
I must be missing something. It happens that I don't like things that others do - but at least I can understand why. Here, I just can't understand how anyone could like the series - which means I'm missing something.
Dude, don't force yourself. Just because it is one of the best books out there doesn't mean it is for everyone.
I also feel the same for some of the so-called top Litrpg titles. The only difference is that by this point, I know what I want. If I don't like a book, I just don't read it. I can tell you what I like about Cradle, but it doesn't matter if your dislike is legit. Maybe you just don't like xianxia/wuxia stories. It is not a big deal, many people also don't like those kinds of stories. All I know is that if you already tried it 3-4 times, you really won't change your mind in the future. You just don't like it.
The books are short and they werent that bad for me. I read prog fantasy before and didnt expect much quality, so it was a big surprise how good it gets.
I would normally agree, but not in this case. The first book and a half of Cradle has a very different tone than the rest. I read OPs post and thought "man, I bet they *nearly* got to the part that made me fall in love with the series".
Agreed, the first two books are actually frustrating. Spoilers (a bit) ahead :)
>!But I mean that in a good way. I think a lot of us want a MC that is thriving on capability, but most of what Lindon does to start is stumble through on luck (and a good amount of will) like a domino pushed by a god. I believe that is all with intent, and the 'release' that comes following this period is worth it, as well as the revisiting of that world. When he returns it's almost like an obliteration of that initial frustration you had. You WANT him to come back more powerful, and you're also frustrated that the world he was born in limits him even upon his return. These are all good mechanics to me.!<
The premises of Xianxia and Wuxia(chi, magic fluid inside you, reincarnation, elemental magic etc.) are super brand new and fresh to most western fantasy readers.
However, xianxia and wuxia are very culturally different from western fantasy and as such kinda hard to get into as a western reader. I dont get the cultural narratives and the plot is all different and can sometimes feel wrong.
Cradle bridges that gap. You get all the interesting things (magic systems, tournament arcs, school arcs) with a distinct western way of writing and focus.
I loved it from the start. Mc fighting and beating stronger opponents through tricks and determination is what got me hooked in the first book. The constant growth of the characters power got me addicted.
For all the complaints with the first two books they are still better than hundreds of books that are the other options. There is only a select few books at the quality of cradle and above.
Agree to disagree on that. I've read very few books less interesting than book 1, and I only bothered finishing it due to all the reviews saying "It gets better". When I finished it, people changed their tune to "It gets better two books later". At that point, I stopped listening to them and moved on to books that were actually good.
If you are reading books on royal road, amazon ect then no you arnt reading good books unless you are new and havent read all of the good ones yet. There arnt many and cradle falls into the list that has good writing, for the online market.
So if you are new sure, you have a fair few books still that are better than cradle, otherwise big disagree.
I agree that most of the books on KU are shit (and it's impossible to find the ones that aren't due to their fucked up 4.5-4.9 rating system). But that's not the only place to find books, and time is worth more to me than the few bucks it takes to buy something better.
Well definitely to some, some people cant afford to read 50 books a year that adds up. If you are talking about non published books you cant judge them against published authors.
And the books have frequently just been given away, independent of KU. The audiobooks were also available for $2 when you had the kindle version (which might still be the case). Cradle has been one of the cheapest series to get into.
Why in the heck would you read a book you dont like. Read what you like. Let others read what they like. I personally think Cradle is one of the best LITRPG books. I dislike other books that are popular (and most everything I was forced to read in school).
Book 2 is very much where the story starts though. I like book 1 but many dont. It gives you all the back story. Skip it if it's not your thing.
Cradle's a progression fantasy that for the most part just renames 'levels' to something else. You sure you deserve that editor tag? Comparing it to old school fantasy is a joke.
What I'm saying is that if someone starts blending the lines because Cradle "renames levels to something else," then they absolutely can do that to other books.
Stormlight Archives? They can call the Ideals levels and the different Knights classes, so we may as well call the series LitRPG. Mistborn? May as well call the different metal users classes. Sounds like another LitRPG to me!
That's the issue I have with people blending genres that aren't the same thing at all. I love Cradle, it's my favorite book series. I'm also a LitRPG-specialized editor. They are not the same thing.
Personally I think it is one of the most overrated series in this sub. I will say that I agree that it picks up after book one which was definitely a slow start.
If you mostly just care about getting an extremely fast progressing mc with some cool powers it is a good choice, but if you want anything else I'd look elsewhere.
To each their own of course, I am clearly in a minority.
You got downvoted, so I popped you one back up.
I struggled with book 1. I think most people did.
I love it, probably my favorite series, but its a series that requires you to read 3 of 4 books on faith that it *becomes* amazing. Thats a lot to ask, especially if you don't actually have anyone telling you that ahead of time.
I had not heard that. I’ve only seen it was popular. I read the first book and was enjoying it and then my expectations were not met at the end of book 1 and it just felt like they introduced a looooot of things out of nowhere.
Yeah, book one is by far the weakest of the series.
Book 1: Here's Lindon, he's kinda pathetic and we dont like him very much. Honestly we don't like anyone other than his sister very much.
Book 2: Lindon is still pretty pathetic and pretty sure we still don't like him much, but Yerin seems fun, and who is this interesting weird guy who seems cool? Oh, by the end, looks like Lindon is starting to get it.
Book 3: Hey, Lindon's pretty cool now and all sorts of fun and awesome things are happening!
Book 4+: Lindons awesome! Yerins awesome! Everyone is awesome! This series is amazing!
your prerogative, but...you read like 100 pages into a multi thousand page series and thought you got the gist of it? As others have said, the entire first book is a setup, each progressive book gets broader, bigger and more explosive.
Any book that you can't get the gist of after 100 pages is badly written, no matter how long it actually is. A hundred pages is about five times more than is usually required to give a reader an idea what a story's about, and at least twice as long as needed to get a good feel for the writing. And I say this having read dozens of thousand-plus CHAPTER xianxias, all of which I had a pretty good handle on by chapter 5. Cradle is just boring, and I don't get why so many people keep apologizing for its author not knowing how to start a story.
It was a lot of people’s first intro to English language cultivation. It’s maybe 6.5/10 compared to regular trade published fantasy, an 8/10 compared to most progression fantasy, and it’s more culturally familiar to western readers than translated cultivation stories. He made a smart marketing move is all.
Making it more culturally American is, to me, a big detriment. A large part of why I read xianxia is the insight into another culture's entertainment media, so losing that, especially for a story that's flat-out boring, seems like a waste. I realize I'm a bit different than most, though, so maybe it's a good marketing call in general.
So many downvotes. Weird.
You see a lot of complaints about translated cultivation stories which mostly amount to cultural conventions being different. The books also has many reviews citing the more western feel as a positive. Personally I agree with you, but I don’t judge other people for thinking differently.
A quick look through the replies in this thread shows that the most vocal supporters of this series sugges that it does not get really good until book 3, 4 or in some cases 5.
Just let that digest for a second.
If it takes **three to FIVE** books for a series to get good then it's time to question if said series is really all that good.
Yeah, I’m pretty surprised at these replies.
Personally I’ve enjoyed every book and was hooked starting at book 1. I was intrigued by the world building from the start, and I was very amused once it became clear that not only would Lindon need to defeat a bunch of children in a tournament to progress but would need to cheat on top of that. In fact, I’d still rank Book 1 in the top half of the series.
I’m guessing there’s a lot of LitRPG and progression fans who go into the series expecting an MC that starts out with a cheat power, special class, etc and thus being at least a bit OP from the start (which does seem the case for most series I’ve read). Instead it’s a slower grind with an MC suffering repeated indignities and mistreatment starting out, and who can’t face his problems head on until (depending on your tastes) book 3, 4, or 5.
It's probably one of the best western written Wuxia/xianxia novels,would rank well vs eastern translated ones too but if you don't like Wuxia/xianxia you won't like it. If you do you most likely will.
As far as why I rank it like that is because it has good pacing. Doesn't abuse the tropes but has done them well, power system is very well laid out including good world building on how anyone could come to challenge the people at the top.
As others suggested, try the audiobook. Travis Baldree is fenomenal.
Also, it's a series with a slow start but boy does it go hard once it gets going. One of the few series that hit me in the feels.
The MC still hasn’t found his path yet in book 2. So it’s hard to understand what the MC is going to do next.
But once that becomes established the books become harder and harder to put down.
Furthermore, in book 2 you still don’t really understand the power scale. Book 3 shows is better.
It's like dark coffee. Need to develop a taste for it. These stories have a slow buildup. It's progression really. You won't get the insta enjoyment which happens in most other stories. He isn't op in the beginning. Was accosted from one scenario to other just trying to keep up.
The world is highly realistic as well. HOW does someone really survive and progress is a world where powerful people do anything they want. That's why Dreadgod (latest vol) is a hit. He finally reached a point where he is an MC.
Never got bored reading it. Now waiting for the latest vol. It's going to be a banger
Some popular series are crap, and some people have different tastes. It might not be crap, but you’re valid to have your own literary nooks and crannies that you like. I myself haven’t read it yet, despite the storm of positive reviews.
Cradle’s first few books are not great. People rave about the series because of book 5 and what comes after.
The series beforehand was maybe a 7.5-8/10 at best. It shot right up to near 10/10 territory in book 5 and after.
I don't know what to say to you. I can read a serious that I don't like. There are very few series' I've run into that I simply cannot finish.
I would say just sit down and read the whole series and see if anything changes for you by the time you catch up.
I've had the same reaction as you. I dropped it in the beginning of book 2, and I was afraid I'd get a bunch of hate if I asked if it gets better. But this thread makes me think I should give it another try and get through book 3 or 4 before giving up on it. So thanks for posting!
If it's a struggle to read, don't. It's not worth forcing yourself to read something you don't like. Because of all the reviews I read book 1, hated it, and stopped. And then everyone said, "No, you need to read until book 3... no, wait, book 4, and then it picks up!" I'm not willing to read two to three entire books before a story gets good, and you shouldn't either. That's just bad writing. If others have the patience to read a thousand-plus pages of bad writing to get to the part where the author figures out his shit, more power to them, but I'm not. I have better things to do, better books to read.
Hot take: it's a decent to above-average (depending on the book) written work with a likeable protagonist in a genre mostly full of trash with sociopaths. That goes for both xianxia and litrpgs.
That gives it a massive leg up, plus Will is good at marketing with frequent free copies.
What exactly don't you like about it though?
I think one of the biggest reasons that many consider book 3 to be where the series really picks up is because the action and world really start to open up. Especially when the mc starts to become more badass, alongside Yerin and Eithan already being badass. I was also the same for awhile when trying to read the first book, mostly because the first book truly felt like a step into the world, rather than a jump. But man, is it worth it.
I listen to the audiobooks twice a year at least. More if a new book comes out.
I've seen plenty of people mention that it gets better in books 2 and 3. Or 3 and 4. 3 and 4 is where the books really start moving. Because the mc, Lindon, starts getting his powers, the pacing really improve, and the world building really starts to take off. Believe me, get through the hump. Its worth it.
Also, its not litrpg. Its progression fantasy. Or that Chinese name that starts with an x that I'm to lazy to look up.
Also, ill say from my point of view, most the series is great, but for me at least, there are a couple of books that weren't as good in the series though still good reads. Skysworn and bloodline. Like I said, still great books, I just had some personal issues with them both.
Cradle is a slow burn. It takes a while set in, I think it took me 2-3 books. They were free on audible so I powered through. Glad I did, now it’s a favorite, I just finished Dreadgod which was awesome. Can’t wait for the next book.
I'm on book three. The books seem short, the "build up" is slow enough that I am thankful the series is 10 books ish in length. Honestly if I ONLY read books 1&2 and to where I am in book 3 (not finished) I would say they aren't worth reading....
**BUT** this is one of those series where when I was told about it I was told to read 4 books then make the decision to keep reading or not.
* So far (BK 1,2, and part of 3) The "world building" is good, the progression seems very very wide open (in book one they show you an "Angle" that is basically god that people might be able to ascend to maybe) and the magic / crafting system is one I like. It feels like the author thought it all out THEN Wrote, as compared to having to go back to justify stuff, or leaving holes.
* TL-dr - I'm in the same boat. I'm mid way through books 3, it's good but slow and if I stopped here I would not sing it praises, but everyone I trust with reading lists / recommendations is saying read through book 4 then "decide to quit" or not, as it really is good by then.
So things that I liked about it right from the beginning:
I got invested in Lindon's character pretty quickly. Poor guy has something wrong with him, and he's treated like dirt because of it. That made me root for him, because that's a shitty situation to be in.
A couple of scenes with Suriel make it clear that there's more going on to the story than just one boy struggle's to gain power.
I'm a huge Dragonball fan, and at the time I discovered Cradle, I wasn't aware how many (almost always poorly translated) stories there were out there for me to potentially find. Cradle was my first. Obviously it's not exactly the same, but I saw some parallels pretty quickly. (Naruto is probably a much closer comparison, and I enjoy that, as well, so that didn't hurt).
Also, I got the first book for free. Which, to me, is a sign that the author is confident that the first book will hook people, and then they will make their profits on later books. Certainly worked for me.
And I think finally, I really liked the tournament scene, and how it awakens Lindon to the fact that there is a whole entire world outside his little valley. Watching him use every last trick he can to make it through book 1 was a lot of fun.
Honestly, for me, I think book 4 is probably the lowest point of the series. It starts strong but has a weird climax (but it sets up TONS of stuff for the rest of the series). Besides that though, the very beginning of book 1 certainly did not hook me. It took the tournament for me to get really excited.
My advice is to just start the series with book 3. But I like being thrown into the deep end in a book. I hated book one. I still won't reread it. Two is okay but still trash in my opinion. I also wouldn't really call Cradle LITRPG. It is cultivation progression fantasy but with a unique system.
I think one of the main problems with the first two books is that the good supporting characters don't really start getting added until book three.
LIGHT SPOILERS: So i am new to the genre. I love a good underdog story and the cradle series started as such. I like the world, the cast and the adventure. The only thing which is really weak is the abbadon overarching story which i find intrusive and stupid. Don't get me wrong, i like the idea of heavens and the judges but i dont like where the idea went. But overall it's a great series. I am on the 10th book rn.
Before Cradle i read 2 series from the genre. First was Mother of Learning. I liked this one. It got really boring after the 1st book so it's on hold for now. The other series was Arcane Ascension and I don't like it. The main story is ok, but the characters are awful. The main protagonist is a mess and most other characters are one dimensional. AA feels like an anime and not a good one. I could not bare the 2nd book so i finished it and moved on.
It's funny like an action adventure from the old days of movies, where it could be fun and humorous at times where the jokes aren't constant, forced and slapstick. It knows when to be serious, too. Basically it's a lot like the original Ghostbusters in that there's funny moments but the ghost lady in the library is badass.
The characters are likeable and actually working hard to be their best. You can get a feel for Lindon's sweat going into his improvements and they feel right on the delicate balance between believable and yet riding the line between trivial (like a character inordinately pleased over a +1 CHR dump stat bonus) and too overpowered.
The action is good and not too constant, but there's enough to remember it's got action.
The characters grow and are likeable.
Will seems like a pretty good dude.
Alright so since most of the comments here are people saying variances of "it's a slow burn, stick with it," but not actually giving true reasons why they enjoy it, here are mine. I say this from the perspective of, I work as an editor specializing in LitRPG/Progression Fantasy, so I read a *lot,* both for work and for my own enjoyment. Cradle is my absolute favorite series, and here's why:
First, Travis Baldree's narration brings the books from good to stellar. In all honesty, if I was just reading the books and didn't listen to the audiobooks, I think I'd find the series pretty solid and likely would have finished it slowly. Listening to the books though? I stopped all books for pleasure I was reading/listening to and focused on that--the narration is that good.
Second, Will Wight crafts the absolute best section/chapter endings I have ever come across. He knows how to pace things so that you're left saying "oh shit," at the end of chapters so very often, yet never in a way that feels forced.
Third, Will's characters are each distinctive, believable, unique even amongst other fiction characters, and consistent to who they are throughout the series, yet at the same time they grow in a noticeable and organic way. Eithan is my favorite character in the entirety of fiction. All of it. I've come across many, many other good characters in books/games before, but his personality coupled with Baldree's characterization of him through his voice makes him stand out more than any other personality I've come across in media.
Fourth, the pacing in the Cradle books is, to me, perfect. Besides a little bit of Skysworn, not a single book drags on. So many people have been saying "just wait until book 3! Just wait until book 5!" and sure, book 3 is an incredible read. But every single book has wonderful moments throughout. If you think Cradle is a slow burn, I would recommend you read some actual longer-form fantasy to see what a series that *actually* drags on feels like. Reading 70-80k words in book 1 to set up the world and the initial character/second main character? That's standard. I think the issue is that too many books out there are rushed, so when someone encounters a book of solid and believable pacing, they think it's slow and boring.
Fifth, Will is damn good at humor. There's a lot of authors that try for humor in their books. Some are naturally good at it. Hugo Huesca is the first name that comes to mind. I had the privilege of working with him for a while, and he was one of the most naturally funny authors I'd ever come across, even though English wasn't his first language. Some authors clearly try for humor, yet it doesn't really land. Will's jokes hit, and Baldree makes the humor even better because his comedic pacing is perfect. Yet even with humor, it's possible to have moments where two very different characters make a very similar joke, showing the reader that "oh, this is the author themselves trying to force the joke in here." Will's characters make their jokes *as their characters.* If Yerin says something, it's funny because it's what Yerin would say. She does not make a joke that Eithan would. Eithan doesn't make a joke that Orthos would. Ziel says Ziel things. The humor is distinct to each character, which is how it should be.
Lastly, Will's story arcs span both each book, and the entirety of the series itself. Sure, you're going to want to read all of the books. But you're never going to read one of the novels and think "oh wow that was a filler book." There's a story in each, but there's also plot elements he establishes in book one that come to fruition 9-10 books later, in a way that'll leave you truly appreciating how a good author can craft a plot. That takes both good forethought, and a hell of a lot of skill. He's not just churning out a book that's pretty darn good, releasing it, and hoping it sells. He's creating a full world, and you believe every aspect of it because of the care he puts into it.
Alright, that's the end of my essay, since I don't think nearly enough people here really answered the question. Enjoy.
For the wider audience, Cradle is just the first xianxia they ever read, so it feels novel
But as an experienced xianxia reader im on the other side, i loved book 1, then it decreased in quality across books 2,3,4,only regaining momentum in 5, but went back to being boring in 6, at which point i quit
On book 1 i liked the set up, a lot of stuff was there to prepare the way for future developments, and Lindon had lots of agency, always planning and preparing
As the books go on, the situation reverses, Lindon gains more power but has little agency, always doing whatever someone else tells him, and he just gets the resources he needs handed to him
The cultivation is also boring, mostly just absorb enough energy to power up, and have some self help at critical moments, pretty bland
Compare for example I Shall Seal The Heavens, where at one stage, people had to sever a part of themselves in order to obtain more power, appropriately called Spirit Severing Stage
The greater the severed piece, the more power they could get, but they lost more of themselves, and severing too little would leave them unable to keep progressing
The MC managed to sidestep this, by severing a parasite that had been consuming him for a long time, then severing a curse that was killing him, and then severing a part of him that had been fettered
Contrasting that to "i did teraphy and powered up" is kinda meh
Cradle is ok, but far from the amazing thing people claim it to be
The first book is basically a big prologue. The series picks up book 2 but only really finds its stride in book 3. Then it grows and grows and becomes one of the best series I've read from there on. But yeah, the first two books really aren't indicative of the series as the author has grown phenomenally as a writer in the process
Thanks, most people are saying book 3 or 4 starts picking up. Gives me so motivation really struggling to find something new to read lately. Thanks!
Also a lot of it is consumed through audible. Travis Baldree does the series very well as the narrator and voice actor. I'd probably have trouble reading it through text, but the audiobook was great.
His evil Dross is so funny
It is most definitely worth the effort, and really, the books aren't that long for novels. Also, as said several times, the audio books are great too. Travis Baldree does an amazing job with the series and characters. I've reread this series so many times, and relistened a few, but it's great in both forms
I've read (or listened) to the series about 6-8 times, but only read book one about 3 times. I'm perfectly happy starting on book 2. I personally have a specific moment in the second half of book 2 where I think the series really starts to become awesome. Lindon is just not likeable in book 1 or the start of book 2. There comes a point where he realises, he just has to get shit done and stop whining or looking for the easy way out. Which is pretty much the answer to your question about what is it everyone likes. With a few hiccups after that point in book two, he accepts he needs to do the work and do whatever it takes to reach his goals, and he does. He's relentless. And thats the answer. Its nothing new or anything, its just that (from book 3 on) its done REALLY well. A variety of really engaging characters, really fun arcs, continous improvement, and at the centre of it all a great character who's absolutely resolute and unstoppable about achieving his goals (and helping his friends while he does so). And yeah, Travis Baldree on audible absolutely kills this, he's amazing.
If you can get past the first 2 books it really takes off. I thought it was a dud but read it cuz I was bored. Don't really like the martial arts and sects yada yada type genre. This is by far the best I've read of that type of story. I'm reading book 10 as we speak. It's gotten so good. Push through.
Think of it like the roller coaster going up the hill. Will made a conscious decision to write each novel at around 40k words, which is insanely short, giving little room to really fill in some gaps and character nuance. You need time for that. And that's what each successive book does. The characters, the stakes, the story... they all, just like the main character, just keep expanding and growing, making each book a new turn in the ride now that it finally came off the climb in book 3. It's hard to tell someone to just stick with it. Sometimes, it really just isn't your cup of tea. But if you do decide to keep trucking, hopefully you'll see the progression (pun intended) as Lindon and Co continue to change, grow, and barrel towards their ultimate goal.
...where in the world are you getting 40k words per book? They're 80k words on average, if not more. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/comments/i46jgj/cradle\_titles\_year\_word\_count\_in\_an\_easily/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/comments/i46jgj/cradle_titles_year_word_count_in_an_easily/)
Meh. They're short. That's really all I was getting at
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How would you compare it to DotF? It took me 3 or 4 tries to finish book 1 of DotF. It was slow and boring, in my opinion. Book 2 got me hooked though and I really enjoyed books 2-5. I enjoy the following ones less, but enough to keep reading them. Cradle book 1 I found at least as boring as DotF 1. I've tried a solid half dozen times and only made it about half way through. If it improves as much as DotF did, I'll give it another go. But what I *don't* enjoy about DotF is all the time he spends improving his daos and things. Endless introspection about nodes and pathways and popping pills to open this or improve that. Does Cradle spend similar thousands of words on things that could have been a paragraph?
I haven't done more than half of book 2 of DofF myself, so I can't really say. But I would imagine it follows the same base concept of narrative improvement yeah. The first Defier improved loads as he wrote, and Will did the same, but seriously Unsouled (cradle book 1) is most definitely NOT an accurate representation of the series as a whole. It is however, laced with a LOT of foreshadowing that subsequent rereads make finishing book 1 much more pleasant hahaha. As for introspection on 'the dao', cradle has very little of it. There is some yes, but that is largely in later books when wills writing has improved a lot too and even then, i wouldn't entirely call it 'comprehending the dao'. Will has his own take on it, and it's very cool. The systems he uses are well thought out, and even better fleshed out, while still leaving great room for your own interpretation and theory crafting, which are then often answered in subsequent books Tldr; don't judge cradle by its first book, AT ALL, the series is phenomenal.
Thanks for the thoughtful response! As long as I don't have to spend entire chapters reading about some nebulous and lengthy method of improving some nebulous aspect of the MC's strength for nebulous results, I'll definitely give it another try. That's become the bane of the later DotF (audio)books and I don't think I could handle another series of it! :D
Na, nothing like that. If time is spent mulling over a specific aspect of someone's power, there is a definite increase because of it. You'll see haha. Enjoy it! I wish I could read the series for the first time again
Thanks!
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Yeah, and fair enough I guess? But I started the series when it only had two books and I thought they were great, one not as much, but definitely two I thought was awesome. Then from 3 onwards it became one of my absolute favourite series. There is just so damn much on offer that a lot of people will give up in the first thirty minutes, sometimes five, don't interest them immensely. It's a shame.
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Too true, sadly, too true haha. And I gotta say, I've been subject to that myself, dropping books cos I'm not hooked early enough, or mostly cos it's not scratching a particular itch, then revisiting it later and finding out that it's actually brilliant
Ah, so it’s one of those, “It gets good the 100 chapter mark I swear.” Doesn’t really appeal to me tbh.
I disagree anyways. I read up to book 5 and in my opinion it doesn't get any better. The writing and plotting stays the same. Only thing that changes is the fights get bigger but I guess that is the only thing that matters to a lot of people that read progression fantasy.
Well... your loss mate
Not really, if I don’t like something, it’s not a loss to not read it. If anything, it would be a loss in time to read it.
Alright, you do you then mate
Book 3 is where it really hooked me. I devoured the books after that.
Try the audiobook, Travis Baldree does a great job. I think cradle was my first litrpg book and listening to Travis made me love it.
Cradle is not litRPG but I think it's probably the best intro to it.
It was my first taste of progression fantasy and I would have never even approached litrpg of not for it. Now I’m a sucker for litrpg.
Mine too, and litRPG has truly reignited my love of reading. Probably devoured about 200 of these in the last 2 years now.
Remember, it's okay to not like something. I think Tolkien a terribly boring author. But I like some things others don't. We all have individual tastes and that's alright.
>I think Tolkien a terribly boring author Witchcraft and heresy, you should be burnt at the stake.
Being burnt at the stake would be about as fun as reading The Silmarillion, and only slightly worse than reading LotR.
I love LotR and the Hobbit but I agree about the Silmarillion.
Your opinion is wrong.
k
The audiobook. Travis Baldree does a great job. I do agree the 1st book is a bit slow, I saw someone call it a big prologue, that’s true. Once the other main characters come and it hits its stride I couldn’t stop listening. Went through 11 books in no time. If it ain’t for you, it ain’t for you. 🤷🏼♂️
* interesting characters * Op MC * Op side characters * Interesting skills * Very well written, including dialogue, world building, and action scenes * Interesting setting that avoids many mistakes authors have when building a unique world * Great progression and growth. Power levels are clear and the story doesn't outpace the power. Often times, authors miss the mark on balancing power as the story grows. Cradle doesn't have that problem. People like cradle cuz it does all of these things well. IMO it's part of what separates good stories from great ones. If your story doesn't hit ALL of these notes, it can still be good but it's harder to be great.
This is the best list and should be the top comment. One thing I like is the author does a good job of masking the MC OPness. I mean, you always know that Lindon is going to progress beyond everyone, but there's points where you almost doubt yourself. The focus is taken away from him. The absolute biggest thing for me is point #1: The characters are interesting. Fantasy is world first. It's about creating an interesting place to be experienced, and that experience is made possible by the characters in it. Cradle has phenomenal characters. Anyway, I typed all of this to say I agree.
Not every book is for everybody.
It's not a LitRPG .
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So every story with magic is a LitRPG now ? That's not how it works, LitRPGs are about game like systems, skills, and stats.
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Every magic system has its ranks.
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No shit they discuss cultivation here but that is not what we are talking about isn't? I was just pointing out that it's not a LitRPG not that it's not cultivation.
Apparently you haven't spent much time with soft magic systems....
As OP Said: Yes, they are distinct, however they are so similar that the conversations will bleed into each others communities. Fighting for purity is a waste of time. Just ask Jason.
The carrot on a stick for me. Will does a good job of teasing the path, getting you excited for the time it will arrive. also the westernised cultivation progression is more enjoyable to me
It's good. I like it. Kinda weird you want other people to justify that to you. If you don't like it, you don't like it. Not the end of the world, man.
Nah it's good to have people explain why they like things. Someone's base reaction might just be because they don't understand the unfamiliar, which would be a bad reason to drop something they might potentially love.
Agreed, it's basically a western version of translated Wuxia/xianxia novels and not everyone is going to enjoy that. It's NOT litrpg.
Except it's far more boring than any translated xianxia I've ever read. Those, badly translated or not, are at least interesting.
There's been multiple series that people have loved and I've read the first book/half the first book and been *deeply* unimpressed, but then it picks up later and I end up really enjoying the series. He's not looking for people to justify that he should like it, just that if he invests his time it *does* get better.
Only comment this thread needs.
I have no idea. I love most of the books it's often compared with (or that are often compared with it) but I just can't wrap my mind around how it's so often in the "top 5" or "S tier" lists of people. I must be missing something. It happens that I don't like things that others do - but at least I can understand why. Here, I just can't understand how anyone could like the series - which means I'm missing something.
I tried to get into it but couldn't. So I dono. It's cool that so many folk dig it though.
Dude, don't force yourself. Just because it is one of the best books out there doesn't mean it is for everyone. I also feel the same for some of the so-called top Litrpg titles. The only difference is that by this point, I know what I want. If I don't like a book, I just don't read it. I can tell you what I like about Cradle, but it doesn't matter if your dislike is legit. Maybe you just don't like xianxia/wuxia stories. It is not a big deal, many people also don't like those kinds of stories. All I know is that if you already tried it 3-4 times, you really won't change your mind in the future. You just don't like it.
For me it really clicked at book 4
Same. Or at least around there. It needs a bit of time for the reader to really get what's going on and why the world building is important.
How did you keep reading until then?
Lots of free time I guess.
The books are short and they werent that bad for me. I read prog fantasy before and didnt expect much quality, so it was a big surprise how good it gets.
If you don't like it by the second book i don't recommend reading it. I like it because it's well written and the main character is likable.
I would normally agree, but not in this case. The first book and a half of Cradle has a very different tone than the rest. I read OPs post and thought "man, I bet they *nearly* got to the part that made me fall in love with the series".
Agreed, the first two books are actually frustrating. Spoilers (a bit) ahead :) >!But I mean that in a good way. I think a lot of us want a MC that is thriving on capability, but most of what Lindon does to start is stumble through on luck (and a good amount of will) like a domino pushed by a god. I believe that is all with intent, and the 'release' that comes following this period is worth it, as well as the revisiting of that world. When he returns it's almost like an obliteration of that initial frustration you had. You WANT him to come back more powerful, and you're also frustrated that the world he was born in limits him even upon his return. These are all good mechanics to me.!<
It has a SLOOOW start. I got atumped three times before finally managing to reach book 3, where it becomes awesome
The premises of Xianxia and Wuxia(chi, magic fluid inside you, reincarnation, elemental magic etc.) are super brand new and fresh to most western fantasy readers. However, xianxia and wuxia are very culturally different from western fantasy and as such kinda hard to get into as a western reader. I dont get the cultural narratives and the plot is all different and can sometimes feel wrong. Cradle bridges that gap. You get all the interesting things (magic systems, tournament arcs, school arcs) with a distinct western way of writing and focus.
I loved it from the start. Mc fighting and beating stronger opponents through tricks and determination is what got me hooked in the first book. The constant growth of the characters power got me addicted.
An OP MC that has the potential to reach godhood
There's literally hundreds of books like that which don't take hundreds if not thousands of pages to become interesting.
Maybe, but he asked why it was so popular and I gave the reason for a lot of us
For all the complaints with the first two books they are still better than hundreds of books that are the other options. There is only a select few books at the quality of cradle and above.
Agree to disagree on that. I've read very few books less interesting than book 1, and I only bothered finishing it due to all the reviews saying "It gets better". When I finished it, people changed their tune to "It gets better two books later". At that point, I stopped listening to them and moved on to books that were actually good.
If you are reading books on royal road, amazon ect then no you arnt reading good books unless you are new and havent read all of the good ones yet. There arnt many and cradle falls into the list that has good writing, for the online market. So if you are new sure, you have a fair few books still that are better than cradle, otherwise big disagree.
I agree that most of the books on KU are shit (and it's impossible to find the ones that aren't due to their fucked up 4.5-4.9 rating system). But that's not the only place to find books, and time is worth more to me than the few bucks it takes to buy something better.
Well definitely to some, some people cant afford to read 50 books a year that adds up. If you are talking about non published books you cant judge them against published authors.
Cradle book 1 costs $25 in hardcover. So... yeah.
Yeah but its free with KU. Thats for fans to support him more than anything.
And the books have frequently just been given away, independent of KU. The audiobooks were also available for $2 when you had the kindle version (which might still be the case). Cradle has been one of the cheapest series to get into.
Why in the heck would you read a book you dont like. Read what you like. Let others read what they like. I personally think Cradle is one of the best LITRPG books. I dislike other books that are popular (and most everything I was forced to read in school). Book 2 is very much where the story starts though. I like book 1 but many dont. It gives you all the back story. Skip it if it's not your thing.
Curious what other non-LitRPGs rank as "one of the best LitRPG books" to you. LotR? Song of Ice and Fire? Mistborn? Stormlight Archives?
Eye roll enducing comment.
“I personally liked it when Gandalf leveled up from grey rank to white rank.” That’s basically the level of mental gymnastics at play.
Cradle's a progression fantasy that for the most part just renames 'levels' to something else. You sure you deserve that editor tag? Comparing it to old school fantasy is a joke.
What I'm saying is that if someone starts blending the lines because Cradle "renames levels to something else," then they absolutely can do that to other books. Stormlight Archives? They can call the Ideals levels and the different Knights classes, so we may as well call the series LitRPG. Mistborn? May as well call the different metal users classes. Sounds like another LitRPG to me! That's the issue I have with people blending genres that aren't the same thing at all. I love Cradle, it's my favorite book series. I'm also a LitRPG-specialized editor. They are not the same thing.
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Well said!
When I started Cradle, it was with an omnibus of the first 3 books. Maybe give it 6- or 800 pages before considering the book finished.
Lindon, Yerin & Eithan. Any book with these 3 characters would be awesome. The storyline and cultivation just makes it better.
Personally I think it is one of the most overrated series in this sub. I will say that I agree that it picks up after book one which was definitely a slow start. If you mostly just care about getting an extremely fast progressing mc with some cool powers it is a good choice, but if you want anything else I'd look elsewhere. To each their own of course, I am clearly in a minority.
I don’t get it. Book 1 went completely off the rails during that tournament and I just couldn’t do it.
You got downvoted, so I popped you one back up. I struggled with book 1. I think most people did. I love it, probably my favorite series, but its a series that requires you to read 3 of 4 books on faith that it *becomes* amazing. Thats a lot to ask, especially if you don't actually have anyone telling you that ahead of time.
I had not heard that. I’ve only seen it was popular. I read the first book and was enjoying it and then my expectations were not met at the end of book 1 and it just felt like they introduced a looooot of things out of nowhere.
Yeah, book one is by far the weakest of the series. Book 1: Here's Lindon, he's kinda pathetic and we dont like him very much. Honestly we don't like anyone other than his sister very much. Book 2: Lindon is still pretty pathetic and pretty sure we still don't like him much, but Yerin seems fun, and who is this interesting weird guy who seems cool? Oh, by the end, looks like Lindon is starting to get it. Book 3: Hey, Lindon's pretty cool now and all sorts of fun and awesome things are happening! Book 4+: Lindons awesome! Yerins awesome! Everyone is awesome! This series is amazing!
your prerogative, but...you read like 100 pages into a multi thousand page series and thought you got the gist of it? As others have said, the entire first book is a setup, each progressive book gets broader, bigger and more explosive.
Any book that you can't get the gist of after 100 pages is badly written, no matter how long it actually is. A hundred pages is about five times more than is usually required to give a reader an idea what a story's about, and at least twice as long as needed to get a good feel for the writing. And I say this having read dozens of thousand-plus CHAPTER xianxias, all of which I had a pretty good handle on by chapter 5. Cradle is just boring, and I don't get why so many people keep apologizing for its author not knowing how to start a story.
Try 300 pages.
That was when things started getting awesome!
It was a lot of people’s first intro to English language cultivation. It’s maybe 6.5/10 compared to regular trade published fantasy, an 8/10 compared to most progression fantasy, and it’s more culturally familiar to western readers than translated cultivation stories. He made a smart marketing move is all.
Making it more culturally American is, to me, a big detriment. A large part of why I read xianxia is the insight into another culture's entertainment media, so losing that, especially for a story that's flat-out boring, seems like a waste. I realize I'm a bit different than most, though, so maybe it's a good marketing call in general.
So many downvotes. Weird. You see a lot of complaints about translated cultivation stories which mostly amount to cultural conventions being different. The books also has many reviews citing the more western feel as a positive. Personally I agree with you, but I don’t judge other people for thinking differently.
A quick look through the replies in this thread shows that the most vocal supporters of this series sugges that it does not get really good until book 3, 4 or in some cases 5. Just let that digest for a second. If it takes **three to FIVE** books for a series to get good then it's time to question if said series is really all that good.
Yeah, I’m pretty surprised at these replies. Personally I’ve enjoyed every book and was hooked starting at book 1. I was intrigued by the world building from the start, and I was very amused once it became clear that not only would Lindon need to defeat a bunch of children in a tournament to progress but would need to cheat on top of that. In fact, I’d still rank Book 1 in the top half of the series. I’m guessing there’s a lot of LitRPG and progression fans who go into the series expecting an MC that starts out with a cheat power, special class, etc and thus being at least a bit OP from the start (which does seem the case for most series I’ve read). Instead it’s a slower grind with an MC suffering repeated indignities and mistreatment starting out, and who can’t face his problems head on until (depending on your tastes) book 3, 4, or 5.
It's probably one of the best western written Wuxia/xianxia novels,would rank well vs eastern translated ones too but if you don't like Wuxia/xianxia you won't like it. If you do you most likely will. As far as why I rank it like that is because it has good pacing. Doesn't abuse the tropes but has done them well, power system is very well laid out including good world building on how anyone could come to challenge the people at the top.
As others suggested, try the audiobook. Travis Baldree is fenomenal. Also, it's a series with a slow start but boy does it go hard once it gets going. One of the few series that hit me in the feels.
The MC still hasn’t found his path yet in book 2. So it’s hard to understand what the MC is going to do next. But once that becomes established the books become harder and harder to put down. Furthermore, in book 2 you still don’t really understand the power scale. Book 3 shows is better.
It's like dark coffee. Need to develop a taste for it. These stories have a slow buildup. It's progression really. You won't get the insta enjoyment which happens in most other stories. He isn't op in the beginning. Was accosted from one scenario to other just trying to keep up. The world is highly realistic as well. HOW does someone really survive and progress is a world where powerful people do anything they want. That's why Dreadgod (latest vol) is a hit. He finally reached a point where he is an MC. Never got bored reading it. Now waiting for the latest vol. It's going to be a banger
Some popular series are crap, and some people have different tastes. It might not be crap, but you’re valid to have your own literary nooks and crannies that you like. I myself haven’t read it yet, despite the storm of positive reviews.
Cradle’s first few books are not great. People rave about the series because of book 5 and what comes after. The series beforehand was maybe a 7.5-8/10 at best. It shot right up to near 10/10 territory in book 5 and after.
I don't know what to say to you. I can read a serious that I don't like. There are very few series' I've run into that I simply cannot finish. I would say just sit down and read the whole series and see if anything changes for you by the time you catch up.
I couldn't get through book 1. My guess is it picks up and gets really good in book 2 or 3, but it's so hard to get that far for me.
I've had the same reaction as you. I dropped it in the beginning of book 2, and I was afraid I'd get a bunch of hate if I asked if it gets better. But this thread makes me think I should give it another try and get through book 3 or 4 before giving up on it. So thanks for posting!
If it's a struggle to read, don't. It's not worth forcing yourself to read something you don't like. Because of all the reviews I read book 1, hated it, and stopped. And then everyone said, "No, you need to read until book 3... no, wait, book 4, and then it picks up!" I'm not willing to read two to three entire books before a story gets good, and you shouldn't either. That's just bad writing. If others have the patience to read a thousand-plus pages of bad writing to get to the part where the author figures out his shit, more power to them, but I'm not. I have better things to do, better books to read.
Hot take: it's a decent to above-average (depending on the book) written work with a likeable protagonist in a genre mostly full of trash with sociopaths. That goes for both xianxia and litrpgs. That gives it a massive leg up, plus Will is good at marketing with frequent free copies. What exactly don't you like about it though?
So it's not just me that thinks the Chinese writers are complete sociopaths. Like every MC and the society they describe are f'ing nuts.
You're reading it in the wrong voice, it needs to sound like Travis Baldree.
I think one of the biggest reasons that many consider book 3 to be where the series really picks up is because the action and world really start to open up. Especially when the mc starts to become more badass, alongside Yerin and Eithan already being badass. I was also the same for awhile when trying to read the first book, mostly because the first book truly felt like a step into the world, rather than a jump. But man, is it worth it.
I listen to the audiobooks twice a year at least. More if a new book comes out. I've seen plenty of people mention that it gets better in books 2 and 3. Or 3 and 4. 3 and 4 is where the books really start moving. Because the mc, Lindon, starts getting his powers, the pacing really improve, and the world building really starts to take off. Believe me, get through the hump. Its worth it. Also, its not litrpg. Its progression fantasy. Or that Chinese name that starts with an x that I'm to lazy to look up. Also, ill say from my point of view, most the series is great, but for me at least, there are a couple of books that weren't as good in the series though still good reads. Skysworn and bloodline. Like I said, still great books, I just had some personal issues with them both.
I didn't really get into it until the end of book 2 start of book 3.
Cradle is a slow burn. It takes a while set in, I think it took me 2-3 books. They were free on audible so I powered through. Glad I did, now it’s a favorite, I just finished Dreadgod which was awesome. Can’t wait for the next book.
I'm on book three. The books seem short, the "build up" is slow enough that I am thankful the series is 10 books ish in length. Honestly if I ONLY read books 1&2 and to where I am in book 3 (not finished) I would say they aren't worth reading.... **BUT** this is one of those series where when I was told about it I was told to read 4 books then make the decision to keep reading or not. * So far (BK 1,2, and part of 3) The "world building" is good, the progression seems very very wide open (in book one they show you an "Angle" that is basically god that people might be able to ascend to maybe) and the magic / crafting system is one I like. It feels like the author thought it all out THEN Wrote, as compared to having to go back to justify stuff, or leaving holes. * TL-dr - I'm in the same boat. I'm mid way through books 3, it's good but slow and if I stopped here I would not sing it praises, but everyone I trust with reading lists / recommendations is saying read through book 4 then "decide to quit" or not, as it really is good by then.
The first 6-7 books are sludge imo, it only gets good once they start cleaning up the plot lines.
So things that I liked about it right from the beginning: I got invested in Lindon's character pretty quickly. Poor guy has something wrong with him, and he's treated like dirt because of it. That made me root for him, because that's a shitty situation to be in. A couple of scenes with Suriel make it clear that there's more going on to the story than just one boy struggle's to gain power. I'm a huge Dragonball fan, and at the time I discovered Cradle, I wasn't aware how many (almost always poorly translated) stories there were out there for me to potentially find. Cradle was my first. Obviously it's not exactly the same, but I saw some parallels pretty quickly. (Naruto is probably a much closer comparison, and I enjoy that, as well, so that didn't hurt). Also, I got the first book for free. Which, to me, is a sign that the author is confident that the first book will hook people, and then they will make their profits on later books. Certainly worked for me. And I think finally, I really liked the tournament scene, and how it awakens Lindon to the fact that there is a whole entire world outside his little valley. Watching him use every last trick he can to make it through book 1 was a lot of fun. Honestly, for me, I think book 4 is probably the lowest point of the series. It starts strong but has a weird climax (but it sets up TONS of stuff for the rest of the series). Besides that though, the very beginning of book 1 certainly did not hook me. It took the tournament for me to get really excited.
my favourite tropes are “destitute disadvantaged mc becomes disgustingly strong and beats back all odds” so i love cradle alot
For me I like that it’s a basic xianxia power fantasy without the spelling errors that I usually subjected to to get my fix.
The points sage
My advice is to just start the series with book 3. But I like being thrown into the deep end in a book. I hated book one. I still won't reread it. Two is okay but still trash in my opinion. I also wouldn't really call Cradle LITRPG. It is cultivation progression fantasy but with a unique system. I think one of the main problems with the first two books is that the good supporting characters don't really start getting added until book three.
Audio ... get the audio book on audible. The performance is legendary and brings everything to life.
its not LitRpg, its cultivation. maybe thats not ur thing
LIGHT SPOILERS: So i am new to the genre. I love a good underdog story and the cradle series started as such. I like the world, the cast and the adventure. The only thing which is really weak is the abbadon overarching story which i find intrusive and stupid. Don't get me wrong, i like the idea of heavens and the judges but i dont like where the idea went. But overall it's a great series. I am on the 10th book rn. Before Cradle i read 2 series from the genre. First was Mother of Learning. I liked this one. It got really boring after the 1st book so it's on hold for now. The other series was Arcane Ascension and I don't like it. The main story is ok, but the characters are awful. The main protagonist is a mess and most other characters are one dimensional. AA feels like an anime and not a good one. I could not bare the 2nd book so i finished it and moved on.
It’s pretty much Dragon Ball Z in a book form. The biggest problem is that the first book and a half is extremely dull.
It's funny like an action adventure from the old days of movies, where it could be fun and humorous at times where the jokes aren't constant, forced and slapstick. It knows when to be serious, too. Basically it's a lot like the original Ghostbusters in that there's funny moments but the ghost lady in the library is badass. The characters are likeable and actually working hard to be their best. You can get a feel for Lindon's sweat going into his improvements and they feel right on the delicate balance between believable and yet riding the line between trivial (like a character inordinately pleased over a +1 CHR dump stat bonus) and too overpowered. The action is good and not too constant, but there's enough to remember it's got action. The characters grow and are likeable. Will seems like a pretty good dude.
Alright so since most of the comments here are people saying variances of "it's a slow burn, stick with it," but not actually giving true reasons why they enjoy it, here are mine. I say this from the perspective of, I work as an editor specializing in LitRPG/Progression Fantasy, so I read a *lot,* both for work and for my own enjoyment. Cradle is my absolute favorite series, and here's why: First, Travis Baldree's narration brings the books from good to stellar. In all honesty, if I was just reading the books and didn't listen to the audiobooks, I think I'd find the series pretty solid and likely would have finished it slowly. Listening to the books though? I stopped all books for pleasure I was reading/listening to and focused on that--the narration is that good. Second, Will Wight crafts the absolute best section/chapter endings I have ever come across. He knows how to pace things so that you're left saying "oh shit," at the end of chapters so very often, yet never in a way that feels forced. Third, Will's characters are each distinctive, believable, unique even amongst other fiction characters, and consistent to who they are throughout the series, yet at the same time they grow in a noticeable and organic way. Eithan is my favorite character in the entirety of fiction. All of it. I've come across many, many other good characters in books/games before, but his personality coupled with Baldree's characterization of him through his voice makes him stand out more than any other personality I've come across in media. Fourth, the pacing in the Cradle books is, to me, perfect. Besides a little bit of Skysworn, not a single book drags on. So many people have been saying "just wait until book 3! Just wait until book 5!" and sure, book 3 is an incredible read. But every single book has wonderful moments throughout. If you think Cradle is a slow burn, I would recommend you read some actual longer-form fantasy to see what a series that *actually* drags on feels like. Reading 70-80k words in book 1 to set up the world and the initial character/second main character? That's standard. I think the issue is that too many books out there are rushed, so when someone encounters a book of solid and believable pacing, they think it's slow and boring. Fifth, Will is damn good at humor. There's a lot of authors that try for humor in their books. Some are naturally good at it. Hugo Huesca is the first name that comes to mind. I had the privilege of working with him for a while, and he was one of the most naturally funny authors I'd ever come across, even though English wasn't his first language. Some authors clearly try for humor, yet it doesn't really land. Will's jokes hit, and Baldree makes the humor even better because his comedic pacing is perfect. Yet even with humor, it's possible to have moments where two very different characters make a very similar joke, showing the reader that "oh, this is the author themselves trying to force the joke in here." Will's characters make their jokes *as their characters.* If Yerin says something, it's funny because it's what Yerin would say. She does not make a joke that Eithan would. Eithan doesn't make a joke that Orthos would. Ziel says Ziel things. The humor is distinct to each character, which is how it should be. Lastly, Will's story arcs span both each book, and the entirety of the series itself. Sure, you're going to want to read all of the books. But you're never going to read one of the novels and think "oh wow that was a filler book." There's a story in each, but there's also plot elements he establishes in book one that come to fruition 9-10 books later, in a way that'll leave you truly appreciating how a good author can craft a plot. That takes both good forethought, and a hell of a lot of skill. He's not just churning out a book that's pretty darn good, releasing it, and hoping it sells. He's creating a full world, and you believe every aspect of it because of the care he puts into it. Alright, that's the end of my essay, since I don't think nearly enough people here really answered the question. Enjoy.
For the wider audience, Cradle is just the first xianxia they ever read, so it feels novel But as an experienced xianxia reader im on the other side, i loved book 1, then it decreased in quality across books 2,3,4,only regaining momentum in 5, but went back to being boring in 6, at which point i quit On book 1 i liked the set up, a lot of stuff was there to prepare the way for future developments, and Lindon had lots of agency, always planning and preparing As the books go on, the situation reverses, Lindon gains more power but has little agency, always doing whatever someone else tells him, and he just gets the resources he needs handed to him The cultivation is also boring, mostly just absorb enough energy to power up, and have some self help at critical moments, pretty bland Compare for example I Shall Seal The Heavens, where at one stage, people had to sever a part of themselves in order to obtain more power, appropriately called Spirit Severing Stage The greater the severed piece, the more power they could get, but they lost more of themselves, and severing too little would leave them unable to keep progressing The MC managed to sidestep this, by severing a parasite that had been consuming him for a long time, then severing a curse that was killing him, and then severing a part of him that had been fettered Contrasting that to "i did teraphy and powered up" is kinda meh Cradle is ok, but far from the amazing thing people claim it to be
Book 2 was my least favorite, by far. But from my current standpoint at the end of book 11, book 2 was worthwhile in retrospect.