Blackflame

I am pleased that we are no longer outside of civilisation, and I enjoyed the city from dragon bones idea and setting. I love Orthos. One thing I will say though, which is still a longstanding grievance I have with this series, is that Lindon is a bit insufferable because he succeeds ceaselessly. I understand that this is like a microcosm and we are following this guy because he is the chosen one, and I know this is kinda like some kind of book version of the anthropic principle - you'd never write a book about someone who just isn't a main character. BUT it's maddening. Best iron body, fastest progression, most prepared, wins against higher ranks who should demolish him, most creative, inventor of techniques, charming, tall, handsome, smart.... endless list of stand-out qualities and not a single flaw other than being unsouled (quickly overcome in the first book). Anyway, the read at least is enjoyable and if you don't mind the above mentioned, which I myself have grown used to, then it will certainly be fun to read.

4.25/5 (rounded down to 4/5 for Goodreads)

Blackflame is the 3rd novel in Will Wight's series, Cradle. The story continues to follow Lindon as he attempts to grow strong enough to contend with an impending threat. However, this novel focusses specifically on Lindon training to prepare for a fight against Jai Long which was revealed at the end of the last book. But as he enters the Blackflame Empire, Lindon must work through several trials on a brand new path if he is to become strong enough to fight Jai Long.

Lets start with the things that didn't quite work as well for me so we can end on a high note!
Firstly, the villains weren't built up enough. There are promises made that aren't necessarily fulfilled and the solution feels kind of cheap. The match-up with heroes vs villains also felt a little off as again promises were made but weren't met. Maybe they will be in the future, but to base the whole book on this purpose and then toss it away felt annoying.
The pace was both good and bad too. Bad because it rushes through pretty much a whole year very quickly. But it did keep the story moving, however with little time to breathe and take a break.
Also when the levelling up happened it felt powerful in the previous installments but here it kinda just happened and then the story rolled on.
There is also a distinct lack of real consequences or anything to make me concerned about anyone. People are again pushed to their limits but i don't feel like they're in any danger.

On to the good stuff.
So why the 4.25/5 you ask. Well the action is awesome. It feels powerful and there are cool trials (i love trials a protagonist has to overcome) that Yerin and Lindon go through.
The path of Blackflame is also awesome. A true power upgrade for Lindon and a match for his Pure Madra as well as finally giving him something else to use on his Path of Twin Stars.
More Eithan is always warranted and a definite favourite.
The introduction of Orthos is also cool. He is most definitely the coolest animal companion!
Character development is also good too. Yerin starts to grow a bit as well which is a nice touch.
But more importantly this book feels like it has finally started in a direction. The first two books felt like an introduction and a taster of what's the come, but here we have finally reached what feels like an actual story.
And its for this reason that Blackflame feels stronger, it feels better and it starts to show us just what is in store for Lindon, Yerin, and Eithan.
But the main reason why i rate it higher, is because I enjoyed it more. I devoured this book very quickly. Its an entertaining read and that's just as important of a scale to judge the merit of a novel upon.
It also leaves us questioning some things at the end with an intriguing ending for several characters.

Overall Blackflame is a strong improvement from Book 2, Soulsmith. While there are still a few hiccups here and there I am definitely on board with the overall story and keen to see how it continues in the next book, Ghostwater. Will Wight, don't fail me now!

Music Recommendation: Royal Blood - Back To The Water Below

If you aren't reading this series, you need to get onto is ASAP!

Man, this progression fantasy genre is like crack. All the gratification I want in similar fantasy books but never easily given, whereas here, it's par for the course. This book upped the ante for Lindon and with it being only the third book, I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

Excellent

Will Wight once again continues to build thr world of Cradle in book 3 as Lindon continues to grow beyond what anyone ever truely expected of him. The fight senses are excellently written and I cannot wait to read book 4.

What can I say, riveting, page turning story telling....like the song “Who let the dogs out”!!! Except instead of dogs, we have sacred artists.......all along you already have knowledge that Lindon is destined to be someone great.......still, reading along, you just keep saying “how will he become something much more”???!!!!

If you want to read a progression story, this is it!!!! From someone who can not do anything, to becoming a Lowgold, in a span of three books, and no, no shortcuts(which Lindon loves to do and look for), and no not only Lindon, but Yerin, Jai Long and the rest..........if this were animated or made into a series or movie, this would be GOOD!!!!!!

The only rant, stop with the I am so weak and whiny attitude!!!! Also the the fists pressed together............a simple bow is always enough!!!!

Book 4 here we go!!!!

Series really kicked it up a notch here. The worst part continues to be the actual main character, but he's fine. Just fine. This series lives and breathes with its supporting characters, world, and plot. Eithan is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters ever. So fascinating, he elevates every single scene he is in.

The ending of this one was very good. I was expecting the book to end with the duel it was setting up since the end of the last one, but it doesn't, and I appreciate the unorthodox story structure here. The end comes rather unexpectedly (if you're not looking at how many pages are left) and with plot twists you probably wouldn't expect. It took me a week or two to start Blackflame after the second book, but I started Skysworn immediately after finishing this time, so it did a good job hooking me.

4.5/5 stars, because I can't justify to myself giving 5 stars to a book whose main character I could literally remove from the story and replace with a cardboard box and not care about the difference.

This exceeded all my expectations

One of the finest writings in the book I have read.
The story progresses very smoothly and the MC is becoming OP but we as a reader will feel that he should become more OP than now, that's the magic of this book. And all the characters are neatly written & very lovable (I'm talking about Sylvanreed)

Executive Summary: This series started out pretty solid, but this book got really really good. I read the first half over several days, but I read the second half in one sitting. For that reason it was a pretty easy 5 star for me.

Full Review
A friend of mine was recommending I read Will Wight for a long time, but there are just so many books/authors out there that I never got around to it. It took getting a free copy of the first book of this series to get me to finally give him a shot.

I keep coming back to Naruto not because this series is a knock-off of that, but because some of the notes it hits keep reminding me of my favorite parts of that series. I'd be really shocked if Wight isn't a fan/wasn't inspired by that or other Shonen fighting series.

This book starts off right where the last one left off, and Lindon is once again training to take on a challenge far beyond his power. It's not until he starts this trial (that reminded me slightly of the Chunin exams) that this book really gets good.

I was only going to read another 2-3 chapters and instead I stayed up an hour later than I intended just so I could finish. I also rushed right out to buy the next book.

This series has some really great characters. Lindon is likeable enough but he's kind of the typical protagonist for this kind of a story. I really love both Eithan and Yerin as well. Eithan is both mysterious and hilarious. The book also introduces another fantastic new character whose name I can't recall but he's a giant insane Dragon-Turtle so really what does it matter what his name is?

There were some pretty interesting developments with Lindon in this book and some pretty intriguing revelations about Eithan as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this series goes next.

I'm not sure how many people are reading Will Wight, but I'll be joining my friend in recommending him, at least to my friends who enjoy Shonen fighting series.