It Has Begun

9/25/2019

Posting Uncrowned links as they go live! Looks like it's going up at midnight local time, which for Australia at least is comfortably in the future...

Uncrowned in Australia

Uncrowned in India

Uncrowned in Japan

Uncrowned in the UK

LIVE IN THE U.S.!

-Will

198 Comments

Brian

9/25/2019 08:33:39 am

Will moving to Europe pay off? We'll find out in a few hours!

Will link

9/25/2019 09:13:59 am

Moving to a new continent just to get a new book hours earlier and for no other reason; this is true dedication.

Brian

9/25/2019 09:27:25 am

With the unfortunate side effect of never being able to make it to any cons or book signing. It's it time for a book tour in Europe yet, Will? Or do I need to preach the good word of Wight before we deserve thy holy presence?

Nick

9/26/2019 01:41:45 am

So good to be an Aussie. Finished the book like 5 hours ago, well done Will!

Doodle

9/25/2019 10:36:38 am

Well depends... moving to germany means you cant preorder the the new audiobook yet ;)
And cradle 4-6 are as audiobooks currently not avaible on itunes and audible

Doodle

9/25/2019 01:24:21 pm

Correction audiobooks 1-6 are avaible again on audible but only 1-3 on itunes an hour ago

More of a listener, really...

9/25/2019 03:27:00 pm

Why is that? Audible here has is listed as a thing, but it's not available to buy. I can buy the book just fine though.

Phlinn

9/25/2019 09:14:42 am

I was this close to making up an address in australia so I could temporarily change my address... but I suppose I can wait less than a day.

Nate

9/25/2019 10:49:50 am

VPN might work?

Man who tried VPN

9/25/2019 12:14:43 pm

I tried that, didn't work.

Phlinn

9/25/2019 12:51:27 pm

It determines your home country using a physical address on file for your account. I did find where to nominally change my country, on the 'my content and devices' in the preferences menu.

Nerevar

9/25/2019 09:15:22 am

Oh nice!

Will, does Uncrowned paperback and ebook have matchbook service on Amazon for both? I need fast info lmao, never used it before, so Im curious is it available for the book and is service automatic discount for both or do I have to tinker more to activate it.

Ty kind sir!

Will link

9/25/2019 02:25:18 pm

It should have matchbook on, but I can't check until the pre-order finishes delivering. I'm locked out. But I think so! It's worked correctly on every other ebook of mine.

Joe Clarke.

9/25/2019 03:47:29 pm

wait, you are buying your own ebook? did the Northstrider do something so mysterious even you need to read the book to find out what it is?

I "moved"

9/25/2019 04:15:44 pm

I'm currently vacaying in another country that's 12 hours ahead. I AM UNABLE TO ACCESSS THE BOOK, I EVEN TRIED CHANGING MY ADDRESS 😭😭😭😭😭.

Banished to the Trash Dimension

9/25/2019 09:17:15 am

Alas, I reside within the bleak landscape of Texas, and shall have to wait for thirteen more hours.

Rogue 9

9/25/2019 10:29:57 am

Just be glad you don't have to freeze your cojones off like I do up in Minnesota. Jk I like the winter

Banished to the Trash Dimension

9/25/2019 01:24:50 pm

Texas, being so humid, makes the cold absolutely unbearable. I've lived in Moscow and I still think Texas is worse. To this day I have no idea what the fuck the first settlers were thinking when they occupied this area.

Fellow Texan

9/25/2019 01:46:35 pm

I love in Northeast Texas and agree the humidity is awful.. there is a really cool graph I believe on Wikipedia that shows population numbers in southern states before and after the advent of air conditioning.

Master_tonberry

9/25/2019 09:28:45 am

I actually live in Australia! But...my kindle account is linked to the us site because the Australian one used to be pretty empty

Simp

9/25/2019 10:41:44 am

What's the next book's name

Master_tonberry

9/25/2019 08:47:44 pm

Uncrowned

Jarthon

9/26/2019 02:26:36 pm

I believe he means the one after that which is Wintersteel at least accordingly to the end of uncrowned. If I'm not mistaken, that is a reference to the material the Sword sage's sword is made from as produced by the winter sage.

Santa

9/25/2019 11:13:52 am

Merry Wight Eve!

Cam

9/25/2019 12:43:02 pm

Ahh! I live in NZ why did I not swap from the US amazon site!! *angry bell noises*

Phlinn

9/25/2019 12:52:34 pm

You can log in to the NZ site using your existing account. I did. I would have had to change my country of residence to get it on kindle unlimited though. :p

Ninan

9/25/2019 12:47:04 pm

Also live in India!

Vig

9/25/2019 12:54:29 pm

Possibly get someone in Aus to gift the book to you? Send them a gift card to pay for it. Not sure if it would work though.

Dude from Oz

9/25/2019 01:30:24 pm

Well done on the best seller tag for the book Will.
I am in Australia but have it set for US marketplace. To change to Oz marketplace or not to change. I think I will wait. I have a job interview today and if I get the book now it won’t bode well for my concentration :)

Cam

9/25/2019 01:34:50 pm

Well I had no plans on it but have just spent the last 7 hours straight tearing through this book. Will has outdone himself yet again.

Will link

9/25/2019 02:25:32 pm

Glad you enjoyed it!

Lashan

9/25/2019 09:15:30 pm

Will, monster book ! You sure outdone your other books. This one is yummy

Anant

9/26/2019 06:06:27 am

Awesome book! It felt as if the series advanced to a new level of the sacred arts.
Although I felt as if the whole book was somehow suppressed I guess. The book felt ever so slightly subdued. Not really sure why

Avinash

9/26/2019 07:59:40 am

@Anant
Me too
Don't get me wrong it was awesome
Especially the makeil bit cause in previous books the pov of judges remained separate from cradle so I thought the same will hold true here
But then boom

But

But

But

What but it's all true.

Anyway
It had a subdued vibe ti me too and even though I could tell exactly why

The competition part and prize parts felt very underrepresented for all the hype that was built up

Erroneous Patronus

9/26/2019 11:40:22 am

The heck am I supposed to do the next six months till the next one?

Never enough!

9/26/2019 07:46:10 pm

Awesome! When is the next one coming?

9/25/2019 02:28:29 pm

Knowing that other people have the book and I do not is a form of psychic torture.

Jude

9/25/2019 02:58:39 pm

Okay I'm done reading the book. When will Wintersteel be released? Next month? This week? Tomorrow?

Nehemiah

9/25/2019 03:20:25 pm

""
"Why isn't the next one out yet?"
--You on September 27th
""

The blog post lied to me. It's only the 25th!

Madeline

9/27/2019 09:31:58 am

I still want to know what happens to Kelsa.

Eurotrash

9/25/2019 03:04:42 pm

It's literally been the 26. for 3 minutes now and I have still not gotten the book. Literally the worst thing that have ever happened to me.

Kevin

9/25/2019 03:47:01 pm

Read a ton. Never post reviews, or follow authors. Read this series start to finish (at the time) 8 months ago. Couldn’t put it down. Absolutely fantastic. Keep it up Will! So pumped for the release.

Nono

9/25/2019 03:49:31 pm

Why isn't it out I'm Europe yet?

Jason Wang

9/25/2019 04:58:02 pm

I was feeling the immense pressure of the book telling me to read it. HAHA! THE PROPHECY IS TRUE!!!

Sword Immortal Darknorth

9/25/2019 05:19:43 pm

I see no link to Will's twitch stream, so here's one:

https://www.twitch.tv/willwight

Join Will Wight on Twitch tonight 9PM-12AM EST for the launch of Uncrowned! He'll be reading a chapter out loud and answering questions.

More information here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/comments/d8x28y/uncrowned_twitch_stream_launch_ask_your_questions/

Bill

9/25/2019 05:35:29 pm

The preview is up on Amazon US! You can read the first couple pages now!

Andrew

9/25/2019 08:28:16 pm

So excited, today (the 25th) is my birthday, getting the next book in my favorite series release at midnight is the best thing about today, thank you for putting up with your rabid fans Will!

Walter

9/25/2019 09:03:43 pm

its here ITS HEREEE

Walter

9/26/2019 10:44:51 am

It was good. Did not disappoint. Soulsmith into blackflame is my favorite story arc, but this was a nice continuation. I do have a question about Soul Fire because back when Eithan fought the Underlord at the end of blackflame it was described that soul fire was hard to acquire and under lords horded it, but there was a point in the book where yerin literally just uses it to push off the air. It seems like soulfire is much less valuable now and not even particularly important. Thoughts?

Ali

9/27/2019 12:56:34 am

My guess is that in the blackflame empire (where the first 4 books are entirely staged) there’s a poor number of natural treasures therefore under lords have less access them, thereby restricting the amount of soul fire they can accumulate from breaking them down. Whereas in this latest book the underlords in questions have practically unlimited access to whatever they need as uncrowned contestants

Mike

9/27/2019 04:43:27 am

Easy enough to explain. Soul fire is generated by burning natural treasures. So in the Blackflame Empire it can be hard to make lots of, but they raised the store house at the end of the last book. If you have lots of treasures it's less rare.

Avinash

9/27/2019 12:55:09 pm

Ya
Ali said it soul fire is costly to generate but
Uncrowned tournament is something else entirely and they also got a shit load of natural treasures from akura vault in night valley

And in the tournament north strider was replenishing everything.

jaden

11/1/2019 03:27:13 pm

I thought for aura manipulation outside of your chosen path you needed soulfire to control it but it dose not acually use up the soul fire.

Impatient Monarch

9/25/2019 09:03:43 pm

Help, it's 12:03 and still no uncrowned!

James Hebert

9/25/2019 09:09:23 pm

Central time wins! Uncrowned is here! 11:01 pm!

Impatient

9/25/2019 09:19:00 pm

F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5

treyvon price

9/25/2019 09:39:39 pm

where is it?

isaacxander

9/25/2019 09:48:34 pm

1248 am in the us and its still not here....

Worried sacred Artist

9/25/2019 09:52:02 pm

Heeelllppp is 7 am by me and still no uncrowned

Andy

9/25/2019 10:09:18 pm

When does it come out in the us

treyvon price

9/25/2019 10:17:02 pm

i have no idea andy but im gonna keep checking this forum and refreshing audible till i find out or i can download Unless i fall asleep for the night (as it is currently 1 am here on the east coast) i'll come back and post when its out if im still awake

Andy

9/25/2019 10:38:53 pm

Idk how much longer I can wait for this book

treyvon price

9/26/2019 01:20:08 am

seems to be out for everyone now, including me as of 4 am est 2/26/19

Enukin

9/25/2019 10:42:40 pm

Living in alaska sucks so much literally only Hawaii gets it later than I do

treyvon price

9/25/2019 10:45:06 pm

audio book is apparently coming out 5am est 9/26/19

Bewildered

9/25/2019 11:07:17 pm

Is something broken? It's almost Thursday 27th and I'm still not seeing the Kindle listing.

...

Oh! Apparently I'm an "American". I guess I could transfer my account but making a local one might be easier? More importantly, where's the dead tree version? :-)

Is there any chance of Cradle being released in hardback?

PanickingReader

9/25/2019 11:12:28 pm

Will what time zone are you in? I'm in the U.S. (specifically EST) and it says the book has not released yet on kindle. Is it not working or do I just need to stay up later?

Indreq

9/25/2019 11:27:30 pm

Its past 9am here but as i preordered from .COM site then for them its still 11pm 25th still. Its almost as bad as waiting for certain book titled Doors of Stone... Just kidding, Will is doing awesome job ;-)

PanickingReader

9/25/2019 11:32:07 pm

Just looked at the timestamp, meaning it is not yet midnight wherever will is. Midnight will be 3am for me. I'm going to get it at exactly 3:00am, then read it before going to bed. I may be addicted to this series. Just a little XD.

Avinash

9/27/2019 08:16:14 am

@indreq

We do not speak of them anymore
But since u mentioned it I'll agree that they exist

Vishal

9/25/2019 11:43:18 pm

Yet another awesome read. Wow! Just wow!
Spent the night reading it (In India, got it at midnight bang on!) and my wife was convinced I was unwell coz I just couldn’t sleep!
Thank YOU, Will!

Eric

9/25/2019 11:56:23 pm

Only four more minutes

Dicks McGee

9/26/2019 12:06:39 am

Gaaaddamn that was a good read. I'm astounded how well you pulled motivations and characters together. The only issue is now everything is moving so dang fast I can't wait for the next one!

Spice Ninja

9/28/2019 11:37:28 am

I agree with you on everything. I was so upset because I need more, the ending was just as abrupt as the scene, and now I have to wait for the next book (which hopefully will come out after the last two books of the elder empire series).

PanickingReader

9/26/2019 12:27:10 am

I can't buy it, whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. It only has the option for a free sample. I don't want a free sample I want to buy the book!

NoLongerPanickingReader

9/26/2019 12:29:59 am

I did it! For some reason it only let me download it if I clicked on it from the recommended lst and not if I searched it. Anyone else have this issue?

Francis link

9/26/2019 12:37:49 am

Holy shite that first combat scene!
More
More
More
More!

Nick

9/26/2019 01:45:12 am

The first one?? THE LAST ONE!!

Francis link

9/26/2019 03:16:46 am

Yeah but I'm not reading this book, im savoring it!

Don't make me rush to the end! :)

Chris

9/26/2019 12:51:33 am

Anyone else having the issue of preordering and the book not showing up? I even tried to re-buy the book, but it tells me I preordered so it won’t let me.

Maahn

9/26/2019 01:33:36 am

Well. I was awake till 5am, but I finished it. Halfway through chapter 4 I said to myself I'll stop at the end of the chapter and sleep. But then things happened and I had to know what happened next. Said the same thing for each chapter afterwards, and then suddenly I'd finished it and it was morning. Amazing book Will.

Scott Nichols

9/26/2019 02:16:31 am

I was expecting it tomorrow not today, I was only at Skysworn in my refresher read through but I saw it downloaded and I immediately started it. Not what I was expecting but it kept me hooked every step of the way. In other news, Will I must say your cliffhanger endings are getting better. Damn it. The wait for Wintersteel has begun

Jake

9/26/2019 04:05:29 am

Welp that's the best cradle book omg when is the next one coming out.... seriously will it is the best book I have ever read.

Chris

9/26/2019 06:34:58 am

Can someone help out and remind me what the level tiers are. For the life of me I can’t remember and would rather focus on reading this book than looking back through the others to figure it out. I appreciate any insight given.

Phlinn

9/26/2019 08:28:06 am

Foundation
Copper
Iron
Jade
Lowgold
Highgold
Truegold
Underlord
Overlord
Archlord/Sage
Monarch

Maahn

9/26/2019 08:35:01 am

Archlord/Sage
Herald
Monarch

Bewildered

9/26/2019 05:47:04 pm

Tiers seem to come in units of 3 so the high level info may not be complete. Remember originally Gold was the top tier, and then we learnt about Outside the Valley. Thus:

Foundation

Copper
Iron
Jade - The 3 usual Sacred Valley tiers.

Lowgold
Highgold
Truegold - The 3 common tiers outside the Sacred Valley

Underlord
Overlord
Archlord/Sage - The Lord(Archlord?) tiers

Monarch - The highest tier given for Cradle
Dreadgod? - The most powerful beings on Cradle but tier or beast class?
Herald?

Avinash

9/27/2019 08:06:05 am

Till archlord as it's mentioned.

Sages are archlord who created their own path instead of following a predefined path.
Then heralds.
After that a choice
Ascend or stay as monarch .

Required

9/27/2019 03:56:43 pm

Thus far we’ve seen:

Foundation

Copper
Iron
Jade

Lowgold
High gold
Truegold

Underlord
Overlord
Archlord
-Archlords who can feel/connect to the Way can become Sages

Herald
-there may/may not be three tiers in Herald based on the previous patterns. We don’t know

Monarch

Outside the tiers:
Dreadgod

Phil Thomas

9/26/2019 07:13:26 am

Read it. Loved it. As predicted by you when’s book 8 out? :)

Taylor

9/26/2019 07:41:32 am

The clifhangers are killing me...

9/26/2019 07:49:34 pm

Yes! ☝🏼 that! Exactly!

Valin link

9/26/2019 08:04:38 am

Just finished chapter one. Wow!

Erik

9/26/2019 08:05:45 am

Very good read! Great storytelling! Got the book about 12:05 am on the 26th, right on time! Was lights out at 4:30 am cursing Will's name! Cliffhanger! If you have read the book you'll understand!

So my question is when is WinterSteel going to be released?

Steven Brown

9/26/2019 08:08:53 am

Holy cow that was a fun ride didn't last as long as I wished but I really want to do it again LOL. Months of hard work devoured with an hours by the readers. I'm usually pretty good at guessing where stories are going but I was so involved I didn't have time to really get there for got there. So that made it all the more fun. As a hobby writer this really makes me want to hit a keyboard... With a bat or something and then start putting some stories out myself LOL.

Ali

9/26/2019 08:44:19 am

Well blimey..... opening my kindle to find Uncrowned downloaded this morning. I was like a kid in a candy shop. Now I have the horrible realization I have to wait who knows how log for the next one. The end of the book says “Available soon!” ..... WHEN IS SOON. I need it now.

In brief though, that was great. What a cliffhanger but also I got a bit sad at the ending. In part because I got to the end but also the results of the storyline

Erik

9/26/2019 11:12:56 am

SOON probably equals 6-7 months! DOH!

Jonathan

9/26/2019 08:56:57 am

I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't have any problem getting my book. I preordered on 9/24 and it was downloaded to my device around 11:30pm Mountain time on 9/25.

The book was awesome! but now I have to wait again, it's like walking in the desert and finding a pool of clear water, just small enough to keep me alive, but not enough to quench my thirst.

Shame on you Will for my new addiction! And STILL only glimpses into Sacred Valley!

Gao

9/26/2019 09:48:02 am

now geat book but I had a slight problem, my version stopped at the half point when the Abidan showed up.
where do I get the other half with the finals of the tournament and orthos creating a dragon cult in sacred valley?

help me out here!

Solomon Zaugg

9/26/2019 10:23:44 am

I got up at 6:00 am this morning in France, but we 7 hours ahead of the US so I couldn't read the book until school lunch break.

Brian

9/26/2019 10:30:32 am

I'm only seeing a Kindle and Audiobook option on Amazon, will there be a Paperback option soon?

Phlinn

9/26/2019 11:21:07 am

He posted a link to the paperback version on facebook.

"Paperback Uncrowned is up! It isn't properly linked to the main page, so here's a link for now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999851136/ "

Bewildered

9/26/2019 05:50:24 pm

That link's US only. Are non-US Amazon's not selling the tree version? TBD doesn't have it listed either.

Brian

9/26/2019 06:10:25 pm

Thanks!

Brian

9/26/2019 10:38:09 am

Please sir, I want some more.

Phlinn

9/26/2019 11:18:32 am

Congrats Will. You climbed from the teens to #8 on the amzone best sellers list since I checked a few hours ago. Wonder if you'll make it to #1...

I don't think the stats include kindle unlimited borrows. Anyone know different? List is at https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kindle-Store/zgbs/digital-text

Bewildered

9/26/2019 05:52:01 pm

#4 for books according to this: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Books-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/zgbs/books/25/ref=zg_bs_nav_b_1_b

Boeginator

9/26/2019 01:27:18 pm

This was an amazing read! Very well paced. except the week between 2nd and 3rd (?) round. I felt that too many significant things were happening off screen.

But the ending... mindblowing. After that it's time for them to finally make out.

great way to finally ' appease' all of us with regards to the sword sage death. Subtle like a dragon's breagh to the face but I guess that was necessary after all the discussions surrounding it.

What I would really like to see in one of the future books is how Lindon compares to a jade or go back home and kick some ass. Why? because often in these kind of progression stories I feel like the protagonist is 'stuck' since, despite growing strong, their enemies enemies grow strong with them too and the relative power levels stay the same. Nearly no one ever goes back and gives a serious and well thought comparison to previous levels.

Again loved the book! How is progress on the next one? :D

Bewildered

9/26/2019 05:56:24 pm

A return home would be awesome!!! Honestly I'm curious if they'll go underground, perhaps use the doors in the Sacred Valley. Plus, like Kaladin in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series, the sort of before and after is interesting, seeing how the folk back home respond to the changes. Plenty of great scenes could be written!!! And of course like Orthos notes, Lindon could ash a bunch of idiots, or since heroes aren't supposed to be homicidal, at least pound some sense into them without even tapping his cores.

Avinash

9/27/2019 12:51:36 pm

@ boeignator
Still not sold bro
But even then at being gold max iam still not sold at the sages death I mean leaving his madras aside and let's assume the prison also stops use of icon if it was for a monarch
He still should have his skill as a swordman and his fighting experience.
As shown by yerin in the tournament.

Boeginator

9/28/2019 05:00:59 am

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't really explained how it could happen. What I meant was that Will included some dialogs where people where like 'oh yeah that shouldn't have been possible... like ever'. The lack of it the previous books was what many people were discussing and finding weird.

Orthos and Kelsa

9/26/2019 02:32:24 pm

Yooooo can we get more with Orthos and Kelsa i'm actually really interested in their side story for some reason.

Also i love this book, disappointed i finished it so fast. Can't wait for the next one!

James

9/26/2019 04:40:58 pm

Still waiting for the next one. Whats taking so long? Just kidding, love your books Will, the cliff hangers kill me though.

Caleb

9/26/2019 05:56:34 pm

Ugh. Just finished it. Why isn't the next one out yet? Can you at least put up the pre-order for it so I can make sure I get it the second it comes out?

James

9/26/2019 06:29:41 pm

I just spent the last 9.5 hours listening to Uncrowned and of course I'm already waiting in anticipation for book 8! Thank you for this great series Will.

Jeff

9/26/2019 07:12:53 pm

Great as always. It still leaves me wanting more, especially with the cliffhanger ending. Given some clues in this and past books, how common are harems or poly-romances in Cradle?

Madeline

9/29/2019 07:37:07 pm

Given Yerin's Blood Shadow's weird interest in Lindon, I'm curious what a Redmoon Hall artist with a self aware Blood Shadow does if their Blood Shadow ends up being romantically interested in someone the sacred artist doesn't like. That's bound to be awkward on so many levels.

Clint

10/10/2019 09:19:45 pm

Maybe being fed the artist's madr a and life aura imprints some of their mental or emotional state. The blood shadows seem to be all instinct so maybe it just seems what it wants

Francis link

9/26/2019 07:13:40 pm

Two words to look forward to:

authority
Icon

Sarah

9/26/2019 07:37:29 pm

So, I've been looking at Rebel Galaxy Outlaw by Double Damage Games and I'm wondering if you, Will Wight, had any part in writing the game, which is why you've brought it up?

Sky Luke Corbelli link

9/27/2019 02:39:22 pm

It probably has the most to do with Travis Baldree, the audiobook narrator for the Cradle series and also one half of Double Damage Games.

Jasper

9/26/2019 07:38:18 pm

Will!! Fantastic book, but come on! How could you leave us like that????? The ending was so entrapping but so infuriating and disappointing! You better come out with Wintersteel SOON because I’m freaking out.

AeresMei

9/26/2019 08:02:17 pm

So... Um... Just finished... When is the next book coming?!!!

Don't leave us hanging like that man!

Elliot

9/26/2019 09:15:31 pm

Alright so first off I finished the book last night and it was great. Took me about an hour and a half (12:00-1:33). And by the way Will I wanted to scream when I saw the blooper about the sword sage. I mean seriously come on! All kidding aside it was great. So I want to bring this up one more time. A couple of weeks ago me Avinash and a couple of other people (sorry I forgot your names) had a discussion about the sealed monarch and how it might be Whisper. Basically there is a Monarch that imprisoned himself somewhere on Cradle. We went back and forth on the subject and eventually I settled on this theory. Sacred Valley is basically one big prison that siphons energy from everyone above Jade. This would explain why no one is a Gold and how the Sword Sage got killed. So now based on the evidence from Uncrowned it would seem that it is true that Sacred Valley siphons madra which we see firsthand from Orthos. He says and I quote “I mean your whole valley. My power has leaked away day by day since I arrived, and now I am no higher than a Jade.” This is also evidences by the death of the Sword Sage. The Safe of the Frozen Blade also knows there is something going on there. Again I quote "If you knew..." The Sage’s voice shook. "If I traveled there to avenge him, I would be as vulnerable as he was.”And we also know the Akura clan has marked Sacred Valley restricted. If a Sage knows something surely Akura Malice does. Maybe the Monarchs are aware of a deadline Monarch hidden away. His crimes so great he decided to lock himself away. What if they know who Whisper really is. I can’t wait to find out in Wintersteel. Thanks for writing such a good book.
P.S. Hey Will I know it’s worth it to fail my test for a quiz but I think I aced it. Must be all the Dream Well water

Katie

9/26/2019 10:42:16 pm

Definitely something to do with Samara’s Ring. No doubt in my mind.

Vishal

9/27/2019 01:21:19 am

I agree with your views. However, how did Yerin hit gold in the valley? I can’t seem to mentally reconcile with that! Unless it’s a blooper? Or will Will address that in subsequent books? Can’t wait to find out!

Avinash

9/27/2019 08:27:12 am

@Elliot
Bro u read it in 90 min 300 pages
Wow
Do u have the library of heavens path

Tell me

All kidding aside
Ya the theory that the valley sucks the madras proved to be true.

Also I think the monarch prison was supposed to be created to trap the monarch and not self made

So the valley is looking good as the prison

Maybe ozriel created it after creating penance and used it instead of penance to trap the dreadgods whose creating was the act he was repenting for.
If the valley is the prison then there is a good chance that whisper is a guard in the prison as the monarch was forced into the prison not went voluntarily.
So he wouldn't be allowed to roam and talk to people.

Someone mentioned the rings of Samara here which I also thought had to do something with the valley since the first book
I mean it was a hell of a obvious hint to being important.

But even then at being gold max iam still not sold at the sages death I mean leaving his madras aside and let's assume the prison also stops use of icon if it was for a monarch
He still should have his skill as a swordman and his fighting experience.
As shown by yerin in the tournament.

Sean

9/29/2019 08:37:21 am

So here's some food for thought. I think there is something going on with the Wei Elder. In Unsouled, when the grand patriarch guy showed up, he indicated there was a specific life he was looking to take. When he showed up, the Wei first elder was mysteriously absent from the tournament, yet when Suriel rolled back time so that Markuth? Never arrived, the first elder was sitting there in his seat. I think there's a lot more to him than we know

Avinash

9/29/2019 12:23:07 pm

@sean
R u certain
It's been a long time but I seem to recall markuth killing him as the opening act after saying something about his rivalry with the Wei clan head of his generation.

Noah Benjamin S Seigel

9/26/2019 09:20:36 pm

Loved the book! now I'm going to get drunk so I can stop thinking about the next one
Ps if NS doesn't train WSL I'll lose my mind literally
Also looking forward to seeing which icon WSL gets

khan

10/1/2019 02:47:26 am

icon? probably the same as NS. Dragon Icon. maybe he will acquire it by killing and devouring a bunch of black dragons with his hunger binding. what icon his path of twin stars will have I wonder..

Katie

9/26/2019 10:38:50 pm

I love this series. I do a re-read before each new book and they never get old—but this one felt really rushed, compared to the others. I promise we rabid fans will back off a bit so you can expand on more things! Like, for some reason, I know of wanted to hear Orthos’ version of Lindon’s story, even if it was just first impressions. Or more of that arc in general. I bet it’s amusing. And I’d have liked more of the in-betweens, between trials.

Kain

9/27/2019 01:16:56 am

Well, I'm ready for the next book :)

Solomon Zaugg

9/27/2019 04:22:13 am

me too, in less than 18 hours

BlackMage

9/27/2019 04:38:05 am

Just finished. The book was as great as expected.

* twiddle thumbs *

* twiddle thumbs *

* twiddle thumbs *

waiting for WinterSteel .....

Jude

9/27/2019 05:16:00 am

Please Will, no matter what, do NOT split the story into two separate books with one focused on Yerin and the other on Lindon. I'm scared of this.

BlackMage

9/27/2019 07:19:20 am

While Lindon may be the MC, I would certainly like to read more about Yerin. IMHO it's a good thing that the next book will tell Yerin's story (I think!)

Madeline

9/29/2019 07:43:18 pm

While I sort of agree with you, I wouldn't mind... extra books. Because at this point, she's got three years of stuff that has happened to her, obviously traumatic and terrifying stuff, that isn't likely to ever be given to us in detail, that I really wish we could find out. One or two additional books covering those missing years would be appreciated, especially since the The Fall of the Wei Clan report at the end of Unsouled had me certain Lindon would tragically return to Sacred Valley to save everyone from the Dreadgod attack and have the bittersweet experience of being acknowledged a savior but knowing his leaving to become the savior resulted in the death of everyone he knew and loved. The simple fact that she is alive at all is unexpected, and I want to know what happened to her.

James

9/27/2019 06:02:43 am

All of this cliffhanger talk makes me nervous. I downloaded the book and was going to read it this weekend end but now I think I will wait until it is closer to the next book being released. As much as i was looking forward to it, I don’t want to wait months hanging.

Vishal

9/27/2019 06:16:16 am

You sir, are made of sterner stuff than us!

ColdSteel

9/27/2019 06:15:12 am

I enjoyed this book, don't get me wrong, but it could have been so much better. I think Will should fire his beta readers because they let him down this time.

My overall impression is that there was once an awesome and complete book here but it was too big. So, it was edited, and edited, chopped and chopped until it was small enough to fit Will's word count formula. Stuff that should have been left in there, like Lindon's visit to the Archlord treasury with Fury to pick out his weapon, were dropped. That was frustrating.

The ending was strange and very abrupt to say the least. The other books are whole entities with endings that are complete and satisfying while still providing an enticing bridge to the next book. This one just felt truncated.

Most of the tension about the results of the tournament is gone now because the MC has already lost. Hard to get excited about Lindon standing around cheering for everyone else to win in the next book. While I think Yerin winning was the right choice, it creates a bit of a problem for the next book and I look forward to seeing how Will solves that.

Having the book end on a cliffhanger is an odd choice. I wonder if Will knew that he couldn't finish the book without making it much larger so he decided to break it in two and this is the result. If so, it would have been MUCH better to call this Uncrowned part 1 and then follow it with part 2 later because that would have changed reader expectations.

The overall feeling I was left with on finishing the book was one of vague dissatisfaction and disappointment. Most of the book was very enjoyable and the pacing was fine but the holes that should have been filled in and the ending left me wishing that more time had been taken to make it a more complete story. Still and all, it was a book written by Will and was thus very good. I look forward to the next one.

Jude

9/27/2019 06:18:48 am

Are you Dross? Because you read my mind and said the exact stuff I wanted to say.

Chris

9/27/2019 07:25:40 am

I wholeheartedly agree with your feelings about the book but I'm not so sure that the ending was as cut and dry as Lindon losing and Yerin winning. Will left that eventuality completely open at the end. We're never told what happened to Yerin after the battle. And Eithan letting Lindon mistakenly think he was the loser would be so Eithan. With the explosion of energy that is described at the end of their battle I'm thinking that they were both killed, which would have ended their battle in a tie. With the reaction from Sages, Archlords, and Monarchs in attendance it would seem everyone was blown away by what they both did at the end. It might just be wishful thinking on my part but Lindon being out of the tournament wouldnt make sense for the storyline.

Chad

9/27/2019 07:50:57 am

That's how I imagine it playing out. Tie

I will say one thing. If you read the ebook and have your progress turned off... the abrupt ending will cause you to utter profanities. My wife even came into the room to find out what was the matter. 5 star story... 1 star cliff han... cut off ending.

Avinash

9/27/2019 08:02:02 am

@coldsteel & Chris

I agree with cold steel
It really felt like chunks were missing from the book that created gaps in the flow .

Also Chris

Lindon really did lose
I can't quote the exact word but it was mentioned he died due to being a little slow.
And that was cause yerin used the sword icon

Also as clearly divided at the end the current contestants and the knowkedout contestants were by the unimpressive hound division

Chris

9/27/2019 09:07:26 am

Avinash

The comment that he was too slow due to the second sword icon were Lindons thoughts so cannot be regarded as fact. Also when the contestants were divided at the end there was no mention of where Yerin was standing as to again leave that open. Also when Lindon was running through the halls at the end I think it mentioned that people were cheering him? Seems strange if he straight up lost the battle. I think it was also mentioned that Lindon and Yerin released Arch level power on the last blow, that would have killed them both because neither would have had any power left to defend themselves.

Avinash

9/27/2019 12:49:27 pm

@chris
Fifteen young Underlords stood in the center of the arena. The remaining participants in round four. Lindon was the only one to have been eliminated so far, and whatever was happening, it pained him that Yerin and Mercy were facing it while he was looking in from the outside. Fourteen of them looked ready for battle, but Sha Miara was the lone exception. She stood staring at the sky, wearing a grave expression.

15 mentioned as well as yerin.

Lionheart86

9/27/2019 12:09:13 pm

I agree you about the ending. I am not a fan of cliffhangers. My speculation is that Northstrider is going to take on Lindon and train him how to effectively use his white arm and to further develop Dross. Yerin will study under the Winter Sage and develop her own path to Sage.

Comment on comments

9/27/2019 01:54:46 pm

Absolutly valid points. Some chopped up parts and abrupt ending. I simply do not get the good feel from reading this book as the two previous. 4 stars out of 5. Rushed. Kelsa?

Phlinn

9/27/2019 09:51:53 am

Question for you Will: Have you considered taking the cradle box set off of Kindle Unlimited? Since it's technically a different book, would that let you sell it on other platforms, like Barnes and Noble? I know that KU limits your options.

On a different note, are you going to a box set for Skysworn, Ghostwater, Underlord? I'd gladly buy one if you did instead of needing to reborrow it each time I decided to read the series.

kris

9/27/2019 12:47:59 pm

I agree mostly with ColdSteel's comments. I understand needing to leave a hook for the next book, but this was just insulting. Foolish of me to expect the event the book was NAMED for to conclude by the end.

What I initially found compelling about Lindon was his refusal to accept that something had to be a certain way just because it had always been done that way. I felt his greatest strength WAS the fact that he started later than everyone. So he could make decisions about his advancement that others may not have been able to. The Iron body is a perfect example. He was able to go far beyond what even Eithan expected because he wasn't an 8 year old kid suffering through it. Same with Dross, an experienced Soulsmith wouldn't even have tried what he did. But now......we're not seeing much of that at all. The training scenes for him were ok, but completely left out any actual combat training. He uses Dross to handle things he can't , or come up with techniques, or run scenarios over and over...which is just sloppy and lazy and worthless in any sort of real fight. I'd rather see him use Dross to help his Iron Body develop muscle memory faster or something. Dross was a great addition because it helped Lindon get the most out of his spiritual and physical senses which everyone else has had YEARS to learn how to use. Not as a 'hey this is too hard for me, you do it' item.

Same with weapon training. You're making a big deal of Lindon not finding anything that really fits him, probably so there can be a big 'forges his own weapon' scene. Which is great, and I look forward to that. But then he'll have this powerful item that he'll still swing like he's chopping trees....to paraphrase one of your characters.

There was a teaser about Orthos in Sacred Valley at the end of the last book, and then this book spent ...what, 10 pages max on it? True we found out a little about what had happened, but it created more questions than it answered. Why is there this large camp of outcasts? Why is someone from the Kazan clan helping them? Seeing as how Lindon killed one of them. Orthos talks about his power level, does that also affect them physically? How MUCH madra they have? Which techniques they can use? Do they lose the advantage of a body transformed by soulfire? Can someone even USE soulfire in Sacred Valley? And then you just ignored that entire storyline.

The Abidan parts I particularly didn't like this time. I usually enjoy those glimpses into the larger universe, but the scene at the end felt like it was just shoved in to create more tension. And to shorten the timeline (and number of books) needed for our cast of characters to leave Cradle. Which is absolutely your decision as the author to make. This was just a poor way of doing it in my opinion. Plus the Hound is evidently an arrogant idiot. The Angler is all of the Ocean's 11 team in one and can evidently make a weapon better than a Judge. And the Mad King gets a weapon then waits a century to try it out….oh, and he evidently wants to….kill everyone I guess? I get hating the Abidan, but not the wholesale destruction of Iterations.

The final scene also felt out of character for that person. There was nothing in the entire book about them being the kind of person to physically assault someone to get answers. The impression given is that they can pretty much just show up and ask and get immediate answers.

While for the most part I enjoyed the tournament scenes, there were waaayyy too many participants introduced. 9 from here, 12 from there….this group of dragons….then this other group of different dragons. But somehow all of them are against the main group. So the contest already is invallid as 20 against 9 is only going to end one way, no matter how talented the 9 are. Oh, and it's evidently ok to ambush and kill participants before they get to the tournament. Which….why wouldn't everyone just do that then? Fury could have easily shown up and killed….whatever the angry gold dragon girl's name is. Who can now apparently switch back and forth between an almost-human form and a regular dragon form?

I liked Yerrin's advancement, but overall I felt the training scenes involving the Blackflame team were wasted space. Great, you can't train against each other, so here's a box of books and rocks for you to study. Those letters from home will surely spur you on to victory! Now blindfold yourself and listen for the feel of the mice relieving themselves to prepare for combat! Not that I disagree with the skill, but it just wasn't introduced or followed up on very well.

And there are STILL errors in the timeline when switching between characters. You need to broaden your beta reader pool or find a better editor to help you shape your stories. You have all the pieces, they just aren't as well put together as they could be.

Overall, this book is easily my least favorite of the

kris (again)

9/27/2019 12:51:47 pm

Stupid word limit cut off the end...

Overall, this book is easily my least favorite of the entire series. While I appreciate you working hard to get these amazing stories to us as fast as you can, I'd much rather you take another 2 months and put out a better book

Jon

9/27/2019 01:53:28 pm

Amazing. Not other word can be used except absolutely. It was absolutely amazing.

Nerevar

9/27/2019 02:52:53 pm

Great book and nice pace.
The things I ramble below is my honest opinion and criticism, that aside Im def ordering the paperback within days.
SPOILER ALERT! DUH!

I somewhat agree with what some people say. The very Uncrowned tournament which was set up as the main theme is extremely demanding to encompass in one book in proper manner.
For example my expectations were that we would meet another new and powerful characters, new rivals for Lindon, like Harmony 2.0 and some others. This IS the greatest tournament afterall, but the vast majority of characters we already met.
I suppose Sophara could be said to be the new rival, but for me atleast itd didnt fit all that much, which could be also because of my misconception, since she wasnt introduced as this really powerfull and looming, dangerous character from the getgo like Harmony.

Ninecloud court is particular dissapointment in this regard, since I envisioned them as extremely powerful and influental group which doesnt even care much about things like Ghostwater, but here we didnt meet one character to challenge our heroes from their sect.
On the brightside, we meet plenty new Heralds, Sages and other bigwigs and get some nice and shiny new information about Cradles lore and so on.
This is also the only book that doesnt have a clear conclusion to its Arc unlike other books. That in itself doesnt have to be a bad thing
per se, but indication that the story has expanded and grown so much that it cant fit its usual tidy format.

In reality many of these perceived "flaws" are relative and the quality of the next book will decide how Uncrowned is really graded, since Uncrowned is basically its little bro and setup for the Act 2.

Back to writing Will!

And ty for this wonderful series.

Erik

9/27/2019 05:30:13 pm

As of 8:30 PM EST 9/27/2018 Uncrowned is #1 in Epic Fantasy on Amazon. It is also currently the #5 Best seller in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Bewildered

9/27/2019 06:25:02 pm

Er 2019 surely? :-)

Erik

9/27/2019 07:56:39 pm

Yup my fat fingers... 2019

Matthew Ferguson

9/27/2019 10:35:16 pm

Overall I do happen to agree with a lot of what has already been said. For me the biggest curiosity is the conclusion of the tournament. A week between each match from here on out? Soooo that's what? 3 more months before we move on?

Sooooo what happened to Yerin's super pill? The one mentioned in book 3 and later 6 that Eithan commissioned. *cough*

Makiel does come across as an idiot. He makes a prototype weapon of mass destruction and then doesn't take care of it? It takes him a year to find it after it is stolen? How many Abidan ARE there anyway? Wouldn't it take ages to train them?

I really enjoyed Lindon's training scenes, because it helps him make up for lost time. I mean repeating everything you do over and over totally makes up for his lack of talent compared to Eithan and Yerin and all the other monsters in this competition. Fury was an epic character too. Basically Eithan 2.0 only 100 times stronger. BUT That dose remind me.........WHAT'S A HERALD? Seriously, they're stronger than an Archlord right? Does every faction only have 1? Is it Archlord>Sage>Herald>Monarch>Dreadgod?

Northstrider hitting Lindon was confusing for me too. Why would he bother? Was he testing Lindon's reflexes one more time or something?

This book DOES leave a lot of questions out there not the least of which is what you're going to do with the uber weapon delivered to Cradle. If Sophara gets it, she'll listen to her Monarch and use it on Northstrider, if Eithan gets it, he'll use it on the Lion. The only one I see picking it up and NOT using it right away is Sha Miara, and I STILL can't figure out why she was let in the tournament in the first place. What was the point? How does it push advancement of Cradle?

Avinash

9/28/2019 04:17:59 am

@matthew
Yes herald is the stage between lord and monarch

Also north strider didn't hit Lindon
He just caught him to ask about dross
U know the thing he wants very badly and for which he spent a shitload of time and resources in ghost water.

Matthew Ferguson

9/28/2019 04:56:15 pm

Hmmm I guess it's simply that at no point on page does Lindon ask about Heralds. He asks about Underlords, about Monarchs, but never about Heralds.

And yeah I know he wants a Dross. Still seemed odd that he would physically stop Lindon. Since he could just look at him and stop him.

9/28/2019 04:23:51 am

Yes, it is Archlord<Sage<Herald<Monarch<Dreadgod in terms of power.
Herald is stronger than an Archlord/Sage, but cannot do the space travel thingy.
It seems that you have to be a Sage or a Monarch to do the Space travel. The additional bonus you get by spending time to become a sage, rather than pushing for advancement to Herald, is getting the ability to do space travel early. Otherwise you have to wait to be a Monarch to do space travel.

It is possible that the pill that Eithan commissioned will show up in next book. Yerin needs something for quick advancement if she is to have any chance of beating Sophara.

With the Uber weapon (Penance), if Sophara gets it, she may use it on Northstrider or Malice. If Malice dies, that would be a huge, huge blow to human kind.
If Eithan gets it, he may not use it on Regan Shin. He is wise and may keep it in reserve against the Dreadgods.

If Sha Miara wins, she might use it against Regan Shin, who is considered the greatest enemy of Ninecloud court. But who knows what she might do, as she is a 15 year old, who entered the tournament because she was bored.

Avinash

9/28/2019 03:16:08 pm

@rk
space travel is heart sages power not all sages
the winter sage flew to get yerin and carried the team back by flying
similarly sword sage couldnt do it too
so its quite clear that space is heart sages domain
most likely might be she uses spatial icon

Matthew Ferguson

9/28/2019 05:06:01 pm

See I think using it immediately is the smartest thing you could do. If you keep it you become a target, if you use it then you can hide behind Malice or Northstrider until you gain power. Shen's demise would help the main Aeurelius clan, rob the crazy (lets take the Dreadgods to the exact place they want to go) plan of its teeth, AND keep the non-humans off balance.

I think Northstrider is the more likely target from the dragons though, because of the context clues mostly. Mercy mentions Northstrider is the premiere enemy of dragonkind. Fury mentions without him they'd be over run. And when Northstrider showed up to officiate it was Shen who called him on it.

Anybody else think Eithan is Tiberian Auerelius's son. The fallen Monarchs? If I'm right then...well a lot of things kinda fall into place. From what he wants Yerin and Lindon for, To his hatred for Shen. To Shen even paying him any attention. Otherwise why would a Monarch even notice an Underlord? And Malice telling him she was counting on him. She needs the help.

Arrgh, whatever is done that one item completely upsets the balance of things. That to me is why even though Lindon is out, I'm excited for Wintersteel.

Matthew Ferguson

9/28/2019 05:09:12 pm

Forgot to say this. If Eithan IS the son of a fallen Monarch. Wouldn't he want to replace his father? And wouldn't he need a Herald and a Sage?

Avinash

9/29/2019 07:08:36 am

@Matthew Ferguson
Using it immediately might be the best option cause even if u took cover behind a monarch they will try to get u to use the weapon for their purpose
And the other monarch might try to pressure u indirectly too.

Eithan is atleast the heir of the main family seeing how shen knows him and knew he escaped and taunted him which implied he tried to kill him but failed.

Lastly u do not need a herald of a sage to be a monarch but rather that a herald is the closest thing to a peer there is who isn't also a rival
And sages are the cream of the Corp those who created a new path and and reached to its end (almost) so they are useful .

Avinash

9/29/2019 07:10:35 am

@Matthew Ferguson
Also regarding him trying to succeed his father/clan head
U forgot ozriel is the founder of his clan
Why follow his last head when he can follow the founder who left an invitation too

Chris

9/30/2019 11:53:35 am

Matthew and Avinash

As to your comments regarding Eithan's true identity. I have a sneaking suspicion that Eithan is Ozriel. No one knows at this point where he came from. He seems to know more about everything than anyone else, and seems to be plauing, planning, scheming on a level much higher and much further than he should be. With his power he could easily hide himself in plain sight and seems to be grooming Lindon and Yerin to be Abidon level talents to help save the world.

John

9/30/2019 11:56:53 am

Chris!!
That's been my theory as well. The timelines are very similar to when Ozriel disappeared and Eithan walked out the gate.

Hill Hight

10/7/2019 10:31:49 am

@Chris
I hadn't even considered this! Could totally explain how Eithan knew his relative place in the first round, thus allowing him to stay at the bottom of the 64 competitors that passed, even though his bloodline powers wouldn't help with that shit at all!!! That bugged me so bad. He knows/can "see" waaay too much given Cassius' explanation of their bloodline powers in BF

Veritas

9/27/2019 11:00:50 pm

As your popularity grows so does the facility of your audience diminish. Stay true to the path that you've created. It works.

Benjamin dalton link

9/27/2019 11:24:48 pm

So...a new chapter in the book of Lindon’s Advancement. Ghost world had me enthralled. Under lord had me somewhat addicted. This series had gone from somewhat passable to a pleasant surprise that kept me entertained. It stops here. The money machine has kicked in and it’s ll about putting out kindle titles of barely passable length to be considered a novel. Gone are the epic days of the black flame training trials. We now just make the same jokes through eithan and now dross, and we even moved on to heron being a bit of a class clown. I agree, I agreed, I’m agreeing. Lol.

It’s not too bad except that it’s obvious that the whole of the uncrowned tournament was written outside of the rest of the novel. I mean out of context and place and pace.

And a cliffhanger instead of a couple of hundred extra pages to boot

theseasasleep

9/28/2019 03:16:55 am

Wow, no, Will, do not listen to anyone accusing you of submitting to a money machine. What a particularly low and undeserving blow! Does the book have its flaws? Yes, but no more than any other book in the series. It was a great read - I savored it as I devoured it over the course of the night - and it gave me at least one new character to love while deepening my love for characters like Lindon, Dross, Eithan, Yerin, etc. I basically read the end through my fingers, I was so nervous and excited and upset. A good tangle of emotions, if you ask me.

Everything else I want to say is too spoilery for the first week of the book's premiere. Perhaps you could create a blog post specifically to allow for spoiler discussion? If not, I'll bite my tongue for a bit longer and come back to this comment thread in a week or two.

Nerevar

9/28/2019 05:05:22 am

Some people are overly dramatic.
Impending success -> greed mode activated->exploitation of the fans begins and thus Will has changed in span of a few short months.

Unable to cope with burning desire to roll in obscene amount of money he succumbed and became a new Dark Lord.

Our dear Will Wight is long gone now...
Meet the new Sith Lord that replaced him... WILL WRIGHT! ! !

kris

9/28/2019 01:59:30 pm

I don't believe that Will has become money -hungry and is looking to cash in. As I said in another post, I realize that what started as a means of self publishing (Hidden Gnome Publishing) is now an actual business with staff and other overhead expenses that have to be met. However I believe there are other way to monetize his IP for a steady revenue stream. And honestly I'm not sure what his staff is doing. His social media presence is all over the place. Unless you follow him on Facebook, scour all the reddit posts, and/or read the entrails of small animals, you never really know where he's going to be. Gee it would be nice if on his OFFICIAL website there had been an announcment that he was online right before the launch. I don't see any sort of real advertising done outside this web site. The cover art suits the series well, but it's also not all that complicated. It's appallingly evident that there isnt a copy editor or even really an editor to review these books prior to launch. Sooo...what are all these people doing?

Look, it's his business and his stories. Will can do whatever he pleases. I've just seen this a lot in the contracting world I live in. Someone breaks off to start their own company because they're tired of how big a chunck of cash the Prime gets. And it's fine when it's just them and maybe one other person. Usually both retired military so they have an alternative income while they get everything started. Then they win one or two more positions and all of a sudden they have to start dealing with insurance, health care, retirement....etc etc. It's easy to get overwhelmed, and also easy to not realize what you need and don't need as well as how to manage overhead. Especially difficult to eliminate positions or staff that you may not REAALLLY need.

As his popularity grows, I believe it even MORE important to put out great books. Not just books with a great STORY, which all the Cradle books gave. But books that are solid, error free, and polished. As you attract more readers outside the core fan base....well, you've heard the expression "You never have another chance to make a good first impression"?

9/28/2019 04:08:48 am

Loved, loved, loved the book!!!

Can’t wait for next book!!! Any ideas when that will be? How about releasing it by end of this year....as a Christmas present?

Jason Wang

9/28/2019 05:36:58 am

*Sort of a spoiler*

Damn, I'm already done! And there is ANOTHER cliffhanger! Y U Do dis...

IDontKnowFish

9/28/2019 10:16:35 am

Dang it, curse you will. You wrote too good of a book and I now have to wait for the next one again.

chad

9/28/2019 11:46:12 am

On his youtube channel, Travis Baldridge read a teaser to Uncrowned but I did not read the scene is this book. Did I miss it? It was a dance scene with Orthos, Linden Yerin etc.

If this sample was legit then Uncrowned was recently split into two parts. shame.

chad

9/28/2019 11:47:49 am

Oops... I meant Travis Baldree. Sorry Travis

chad

9/28/2019 11:50:16 am

Oh jesus! Just ignore or delete my stupid post. I just learned that the teaser Travis read was a fricken spoof!

aHappyReader

9/28/2019 01:09:00 pm

Uncrowned - Another great book!
now here comes the but... I read Underloard 3/4 times but, not getting any unstoppable urge to re-read uncrowned. Will, great job on the book but it had the potential to be a masterpiece. It's important that the overarching story must move forward, it is also equally important to have definite conclusion to each novels. That's the formula Marvel uses.
SPOILER warning for the following part -
1. Plot was great. Abidan plot was a little weak and hound seemed unworthy of his moniker. Maybe a little back story of the Angler path would've made me realise why he was caught off gaurd. Otherwise great.
2. Finally Lindon get's to train the way he was suppose to. But I didn't get to reveal in his accomplishments, because I don't know what he accomplished in his iron training. worst part was that the first time he uses his big new move was anti-climactic. So I didn't feel what his gains was from his training. His coming up with the technique was great! I would like to see a little bit more of his analytical brain than just "training in simulation".
3. I know it's unrealistic for him to really achieve Uncrowned title. So it was very important for me to see him just destroy one/two of his opponents. I didn't even get to see a full fight with dross's battle plan!! in the island I was hoping to see a fight like the last stand in "Avengers: age of Ultron". man that would've been awesome. Eithan, Saeya, Yerin, Mercy, Lindon maybe Veris too.
4. Liked the character dynamics between mercy-lindon-yerin-pride, northstrider-eithan-veris.

Overall a solid hit! loved it. Though right now I'm on top of Mt. Everest and don't know how to get down. It's all right, will, I've brought enough oxygen. Take time for the next one. Good luck.

Scott Pike

9/28/2019 03:55:30 pm

Will,why are a bunch of your older books that were already released on audible showing up as "new" releases in the new releases section of audible.com?

Avinash

9/29/2019 06:56:32 am

@scott
if u r talking about elder empire
its cause they are being released for frst time in audio book

9/28/2019 04:22:58 pm

Love the series. The story was great. The book had a lot of misses. I think Will is so focused on his word count, that he sacrifices detail for story. This isn’t inconsistent with anything he has produced to date, just a bit more extreme. Love the series. Love the story. Can’t wait for the next installment. But, left feeling a bit disappointed.

Jacob

9/28/2019 04:26:09 pm

Just wanted to congratulate you on another fantastic book and to thank you in general. Love the series. With that being said I hate you for cliffhangering me every time. Keep up the awesome writing!

9/28/2019 05:24:23 pm

Does Reigan Shen’s path of the key sound like the Key to Tartarus territory from where they summon weapons?

And is it possible that he has trapped Tiberius Aurelius in his territory rather than killing him?

Jacob

9/28/2019 06:38:05 pm

ETA on next cradle book

DK link

9/28/2019 08:32:06 pm

Overall an enticing read as always with great action scenes. Just felt the same as many of the other commenters here in that the pacing felt way too rushed. Would have loved to see the ~ 9 months training arc leading up to the tournament in more detail. The ending was also one of the most disappointing/abrupt/confusing conclusions thus far. Curious to know how the beta readers approved the flow this time around. Feeling more frustrated with the overall ending cliffhanger and MC's loss rather than eager for the next installment.

Francis

9/29/2019 12:43:48 am

Lindon losing to Yerin - sure it sucks in general but,

- Yerin has been trained by a Sage. For a significant amount of time.
- Lindon has been a proper sacred artist for what, couple years? And in those years got maybe a few pointers? (Granted, Ghostwater *really* pumped him up)
- What if he was better off losing? ie Northstrider taking notice and personally training him from now on?
- Dross is infinitely cool. However I'd hate for Lindon to rely on him all the time

9/30/2019 02:41:01 am

I agree, Lindon relies on Dross too much.
It would be ideal if Northstrider trains him but temporarily disables Dross so that Lindon can grow without the crutch.

Nick

9/29/2019 09:43:46 pm

Uncrowned. Huh.

Big fan of the series so far. However, Uncrowned feels like Skysworn to me. Lindon comes out sort of the same as when he started. I am fine with Lindon failing, because how someone deals with failure is the cornerstone of their overall success. Every path ends (or at least copes) with a fall. Unfortunately, his failure falls directly on the heels of his failure in the Blackflame fight. To me, that one felt like a failure as well. Sure, maybe he won some goodwill that will maybe keep Northstrider from just ripping Dross out of him, we will see.

Mercy was the biggest disappointment though. She did NOTHING in this book. She let Pride walk all over her. She didn't help Lindon with his training. Lindon and Mercy don't even spar in the training lead up to the tournament. The group crown stage was a cluster and painful to read. It was like no one had any idea what was coming. Certainly not Mercy. Not the first tournament right? So why the poor preparation and terrible teamwork? The training section left me deflated. He hung around, got battle plans on everyone, and used Dross to win. Yay. The Sage added nothing to Lindon's value. Dross got a couple Sage scales, but that felt like just about the sum of her contribution. Compared to what he went through in Ghostwater it was like he stopped at a convenience store and got a gatorade for the big fight.

Also, I need to reread about Sophara's ghostwater abilities, because, what? The Sword Icon kinda lost me as well. What is an Icon anyway? A brief connection to the Way? Or something.

It was half a book. It ended in the big middle. Lindon should lose in the big middle, not the end. I have to call this one a foul tip.

I don't mean to be overly harsh. I enjoyed the book and will happy get the next, but I felt this one was a little off. It was good, but could have been a lot better.

Robert

9/29/2019 11:17:46 pm

@Nick

I'm on my phone so I can't respond in detail except to say that I agree with yours and a lot of other reviews/responses here and on Amazon.

You're right about Mercy. How little she did both with his training and in general (at least that we see ) is a glaring omission now that you point it out.

However you're wrong about one thing. There have been 17 precious tournaments* but 1, there's no guarantee that every tournament has the same format, and 2, we know this specific tournament is different because Northstrider came in and said forget what you haf planned, I'm running the entire thing as I see fit, designed by me. Remember what the Ninecloud spirit announced for the first stage eight before Northstrider appeared was completely different.

*This brings up another issue of timeline problems in Cradle history as a whole. When you take into account what's been said about various monarch's, heralds and sages ages and historical events.

Also in Underlord, Charity is said to be Mercy's grandniece. Now we learn Fury is her father and Fury is also Malice's son (from before she was a monarch...another timeline reference) making him Mercy's half brother. Unless Fury had Charity with his own niece (I think? Ick!) that would make her Mercy's niece not grandniece.

Emily

9/29/2019 10:29:37 pm

Thank you!! Every one of these gets better and better (with the exception of ghostwater for me). You may even convert me away from my continued elder empire asks.

James Kirschner

9/30/2019 12:00:29 am

Do treasures ever go into a vault, or just come out? How could Eithan catch up two apprentices to him so quickly? What does a sage scale do for Dross? Why doesn’t Lindon have Dross translate very interesting conversations with little blue, only lame stuff? Why, when the game plan is to look as bad ass as possible, does Eithan try to look as lame as possible? Why does everyone let Shia Mara compete? How does the population stabilize with the mortality rate we see in Cradle? Why are there so many angry people?

These are just some of my questions.

Veritas

9/30/2019 09:07:09 am

1.) I don't understand your question.

2.) You can reach the peak of true gold with just two pills.

3.) Dross is still advancing. He's a baby presence and that would go against his personality.

4.) Eithan always seeks to be underestimated. "Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak. If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him." -Sun Tzu

5.) She's only 14 (If I recall correctly) and became a Monarch at 12. Why not give her a pass to gain experience. Advancement is not the only path to power.

6.) It's massive on a scale that would be difficult for a person to fathom. Think of it as trying to understand the scale of a billion vs a million. 1 million seconds is 11.57 days whereas 1 billion seconds is 31.7 years.

7.) Being wiped out every so often by Dreadgods probably has something to do with it.

Michael

9/30/2019 12:37:27 am

Man that's frustrating. Will I LOVE these books, but that is a sour way to end. Feels like you ran out of time and published what you had. I would have preferred to wait till Christmas and got more of a conclusion for this one.

Your fight scenes were freaking rad, best of the series and I couldn't love all the character more. The scene with the chained dragon was terrific. This one felt rushed though. Hopefully the next is a bit longer and has a satisfying end to go with the next cliff hanger.

Indreq

9/30/2019 07:14:01 am

I am not sure this series needs cliffhangers to motivate people to buy next book. Everybody will buy them anyway but satisfaction from reading complete book would be much higher.

rishik

10/9/2019 12:59:31 am

I loved the uncrowned book a lot! but there were some parts of the story that didn't reach my expectations. for starters-

1) lindon losing does not fit well with the plot and I was actually hoping he would make it to top 8 and get the mark of the uncrowned. plus it would be cool if he got taught by a sage and learnt sage techniques.

2) lindon won't get a chance to battle sophara in the tournament.

3)the penance weapon that was announced by the heavenly messenger, lindon won't get a chance to fight for it.

I really enjoyed the book. and I can't wait for the next book, wintersteel and your books are amazing and you are an amazing author.

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