![Uncrowned (Cradle Book 7) by [Wight, Will]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/5130VypFECL._SY346_.jpg)
So yeah, I'd love to rate this 5 stars, just like every other Cradle book in the series, but frankly it doesn't deserve it. I adored much of this novel, and until the last 10% devoured every moment of it gleefully. I'll try to avoid spoilers just in case, but for the most part this novel was amazing as usual. The characters are spot on, we got to see and meet some more important people of power, and it even introduced my new favorite character: Akura Fury, who's a total riot. Seriously, I love that guy.
The pacing was spot on for a majority of the book, with the pre-tournament phase handled in a very adroit manner; time skips were done well, with enough detail given and shown to appreciate changes and growth. Then the tournament arrived, and we sped through the first couple rounds, and I began to have hope. Tournament arcs are notoriously bad because suddenly the author decides we need to know every single member of every single team, and they inevitably drag on forever, much longer than they should have. So needless to say, I was dreading the pacing on this, and at first it appeared I was worrying for nothing. Then suddenly the tournament format changed, and I realized i was at the 85% mark of the book, and realized that it absolutely wouldn't wrap up in a single book, which is BAD BAD BAD.
Up until now, every novel in the series had managed to wrap up the main plot points in a book, while still ending with a hook to get you to read the next one. That's good novel writing form. This ISN'T an online webnovel, where everything doesn't end and just continues on - it's a series of novels, where each of them has an actual ending.
So I'm going to be blunt: the ending sucked. Way below the author's general quality. Not only was the tournament interrupted (shocking! gasp! /sarcasm, that was predicted by a lot of people, myself included) it was interrupted after a main character loses, and not only will the tournament continue, it also forcibly decrees that no adjustments to the rosters will be made. So not only is it annoying, it also has a Deus Ex Machina timing interruption at the worst possible moment. Then, wonder of wonders, there's an actual cliffhanger. Not even a kinda/sorta/maybe cliffhanger, this is a flat out cliffhanger. I feel like I paid for half a novel. I don't CARE that I love your series - if I buy a book I want all of it, not only the first half.
So as for the rating.... can you see my dilemma? The novel is superior quality, the characters are great, the editing is superb, the pacing is great, the fights are great, hell, even the final battle is great... it's just all lowered by a deeply unsatisfying ending, almost even infuriating. So I can't in good faith give this a 5 star, and frankly 4 star feels too good for it, because that still counts as a 'positive review'. If i could give 3.5 star I would. Note to the author: if you're worried about a book being polarizing (as noted in your blog), then don't f***ing do it that way. Pissing off your fan base isn't the way to do it. Wish I could express my dissatisfaction more so than a review that will no doubt be lost in the shuffle.
- File Size: 3706 KB
- Print Length: 336 pages
- Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
- Publisher: Hidden Gnome Publishing (September 26, 2019)
- Publication Date: September 26, 2019
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B07X8ZH6BS
- Text-to-Speech:
Enabled
- Word Wise: Enabled
- Lending: Not Enabled
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#1,050 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Asian Myth & Legend eBooks
- #3 in Asian Myth & Legend
- #15 in Epic Fantasy (Kindle Store)
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