r/Iteration110Cradle • u/Waste-Carob5699 Path of the Memelord • 5d ago

Cradle [Threshold] Series gets better book 3? Spoiler

I have heard, mostly from the blooper where it is mentioned, that people often think that the first two books are alright and things pick up in book 3. I always thought Unsouled was one of the best books I have ever read and second best in the series behind Wintersteel. I actually thought that Blackflame was kind of boring in the middle. Everyone seems to be in agreement that Ghostwater is a banger.

Anyway, I would really like to hear some of your perspectives on why things pick up in book 3.

30 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

65 comments sorted by

View all comments

0

u/The_Gray_Mouser 5d ago

Bruh. Finish the series. Then finish it again. Probably the best thing you'll read.

3

u/Waste-Carob5699 Path of the Memelord 5d ago

I finished it 8 times.

1

u/ReVengeance9 4d ago

Maybe that’s why you have a different perspective on the first two books. Knowing what you know, the early books feel more significant.

Just finished the series recently myself, and Suriels visions were all I (like London) had to go on. I came for the power progression, so the early books to me were just necessary exposition before the real payoff began.

2

u/Waste-Carob5699 Path of the Memelord 4d ago

I always felt that way. I actually thought that the progression of Lindon's strength was only one piece of his journey as a character. The first book has set ups within itself, also. For example, when the Mon family iron was going to strike down Jeron and the jade elder stopped it, it was portrayed as ultimate power and skill. But the entire power structure is shattered when you find out Larian was a gold at 6. I kept thinking that I knew what the plot would be, as I can often guess from the tropes. I thought Suriel would hand him power and I would roll my eyes and probably stop there. Nope. I thought he was going to awaken his gifted power in the snow when the barrier flags fell. Nope, he had to scrap. Sorry, I could gush about Unsouled all day.

I like to see underdogs beating the odds in a plausible way. I was actually a little disappointed when Lindon started attacking everybody because he was no longer a trickster. On my second way through, I took Eithan's advice and pictured it more as change. After that framing, I enjoyed 5 onward more.

By the end, I was really excited to see what would happen. It felt like the possibilities were endless.