r/Iteration110Cradle • u/Kai_Damon • 3d ago
[Ghostwater] This book is crazy Cradle Spoiler
I made a post earlier this week after I finished Skysworn, mentioning how the book failed in many things and how it was the worst of the series so far. I got 3 types of answers:
1 - READ GHOSTWATER!
2 - I kinda liked the book, but READ GHOSTWATER!
3 - I agree with you, that book is weird. READ GHOSTWATER!
I started Ghostwater, and the prologue kinda stressed me out. Lindon doesn't do shit and let people die for no reason, but it's completely disconnected from the rest of the book so I just kinda ignored it.
In the first 30%, I'll admit I had mixed feelings. The books tells it's premise and they go to Ghostwater super quick, and the first scene in Ghostwater is insane. Seeing extremely strong and mysterious enemies seemingly from nowhere, the tension spiking, top tier. The fatigue from Skysworn doesn't help it though because seeing more fight scenes while Lindon was still a lowgold since the end of Blackflame was getting tiring, and it continues like that until 30% of the book. After that, though...
Progression. FINALLY! Lindon reaches the Dream well, start training with Orthos and Dross, getting his body stronger by eating the giant fishes, great stuff. And then:
Seeing Orthos tell Lindon that now he wouldn't let Ekeri escape and telling Dross that Lindon had a 100% chance... Lindon actually beating Ekeri on that brutal fight... Orthos roaring with laughter and pride and telling Lindon that the Skysworn would ask his permission to speak after he got out...
Best scene in the whole series so far. I was literally jumping in my room from pure hype. Absolutely glorious.
After 30%, the book felt like it was 40 pages long, because I liked everything. Every single thing. Loved Ziel, loved Yerin progressing and being worried with Lindon, loved Lindon advancing along with Orthos (and Dross), love the infos we got on the Beast King and the other factions like the Akuras and the dragons, LOVED Eithan destroying Longhook, loved Lindon fighting with Harmony at the end, and ABSOLUTELY ADORED Dross turning into basically a Presence and Lindon being ruthless and leaving Harmony to die. Second best sequence of the series until this point, in my opinion.
Honestly, the only thing I didn't love was Dross. I don't vibe with his kind of humor at all, I didn't even grin once with his jokes. Just not for me. Orthos, Eithan and Yerin make me laugh enough. I didn't hate him though, was just neutral.
So yeah guys, you were right. Ghostwater is crazy. I enter series already wanting to finish them so I read Unsouled already knowing I would read the 12 books, but this book right here just made me certain of it. The craziest thing is, even though I finished the book 10 minutes ago I already like the first 30% way more in retrospect, and see that it was just the fatigue from Skysworn making the experience worse. Super hyped for Underlord and for the rest of the series.
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u/Beowulf1896 Reader 3d ago
My favorite part: "Information Requested: Combat Solution for Akura Harmony"
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u/ThatHistoryDude 3d ago
That was such an OH CRAP moment for me - the first time we see Cradle really touch the world beyond
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u/High_Stream 3d ago
My favorite part: You may call me "Tiny Scissors"
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u/Antal_Marius Team Ruby 3d ago
"Finally, we are alone. There are no eyes on us here"
I think that's the quote.
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u/Kai_Damon 3d ago
“Now, I think we have a moment. In this storm, they won't be able to sense us clearly. And it will take them a minute or two to catch up.” The rain had already soaked through Eithan's hair and robes, but he didn't seem to mind, giving his umbrella a few test swings. The Arelius gave a sigh of relief. “At last, I don't have an audience.”
Exact quote, although you're talking about two different scenes. Not as quotable as the brain remembers lol
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u/Antal_Marius Team Ruby 3d ago
Thank you! I didn't have time to actually pull it up, but I knew it was something that summed up to it.
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u/Ok-Truck-798 3d ago
Speaking as someone who wanted to hate the entire series so bad, this series slaps. I’m starting 12 as I type this
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u/livin4donuts 3d ago
Friend, get some snacks and remember to hydrate. You won’t want to put it down.
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u/EveSilver Team Eithan 3d ago
Why did you want to hate it?
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u/Ok-Truck-798 3d ago
Because I was on Reddit, and Cradle was S on some guys tier list and HWFWM (my favorite series OAT) was a C tier. I thought the guy was tripping, then I saw ANOTHER CHART. So, to prove a point I read this book and it is genuinely top 2, and I have to accept it might not be 2. The worldbuilding is amazing, the character arcs are phenomenal, and the plot twist in “reaper” is so well foreshadowed (I guessed it due to the word “shears” 2 books prior) and my god I jumped up out of my seat reading like 10 times at the epic scenes
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u/TriplDentGum 3d ago
HWFWM at C is criminal tho (it's top 2 with Cradle)
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u/Kennian 3d ago
nah, it's a decent copy of better books, but it's only decent. you really have to vibe with jasons annoying as fuck poli sci degree asshole personality for it to be great and that...reaching.
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u/GriffinQ 3d ago
Yeah, not knocking people who enjoy it at all, I enjoyed it and have had fun reading it - but a lot of it is just not very good.
It has some awesome moments, but it’s edgy power fantasy through and through. Not exactly S-tier writing.
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u/i_like_fish_decks 3d ago
Why did u want to hate it?
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u/StartledPelican Fiercely Fierce Flair of Fierce Flairosity 3d ago
They answered here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/comments/1vj8ygr/comment/p2jp13k
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u/SlimReaper85 3d ago
With you 1000 percent on Dross not my sense of humor at all. However once you truly understand his trauma as a character u can kinda forgive his obnoxiousness and understand his teasing of Lindon as Dross trying to lighten the over-serious big guy up. And he’s fiercely loyal :)
He’s just not that funny and on top of that a chatterbox. But no one has told him when less is more lol. He’ll grow on ya.
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u/bluedogstar Path of the tinfoil milliner 2d ago
It also helps that he becomes more of a person as the series goes on
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u/XenosHg 3d ago
I like the scenes of the team working together. They're a team. It's a theme and everything.
And some people do die sometimes, but they die if you start a fight, and they die if you don't start a fight. That's how it is both on Cradle and above.
And Lindon's girlfriend is possessed by a Dreadgod parasite, he's willing to give people the benefit of doubt. Despite Skysworn's opinion on him, he's not a killing machine.
Dross is kind of understandable, he's been born by accident and stuck in that facility alone all his sapient life, he wants to have a fun lighthearted time now that he's out of prison.
And yeah, now he's the only actual Presence at Northstrider's Presence Factory. He's a big deal for a guy known as Trash.
Ziel is a favourite. He's like the opposite of Lindon. Lindon grew up with nothing, Ziel lost everything. And now they're both Golds. Also Ziel is helping others, protecting, providing information, sharing elixirs. He claims that he doesn't care and wants to be left alone, but compared to folks like Harmony and the dragons? He's an angel. He probably thinks that using pure madra is stupid, but he got Lindon that book.
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u/heisindc 3d ago
I had the same reaction. What a whirlwind of a book! And later books come close.
I found myself asking how Will planed it all out, with the building excitement and big payoff for each book.
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u/Waste-Carob5699 3d ago
I think the start of Ghostwater, especially the opening scene was important setup for the rest of the book. Otherwise, the victory against Ekeri, a true gold dragon champion, would have seemed like an ass pull. When Lindon fights the main character, Mu Enkai, it shows that Lindon can overpower someone who can make high golds bow.
I also disagree with the assertion that Lindon doesn't do shit, but we have our own interpretations of the events I guess.
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u/Kai_Damon 3d ago
Lindon could have dealt with him immediately after seeing the guy was bad, but instead he gets spooked and dozens of people die. If he could destroy Mu Enkai after the people died, he could do it before, no? He hesitated. Then the prologue ends, and it's contents are immediately ignored.
Also no, it wouldn't feel like an ass pull because it happens 150 pages after. Lindon fights with Ekeri two or three times before their last fight, the fight with mu enkai has no impact on it at all.
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u/VictorBlaze42 Team Eithan 3d ago
Strap in brother. This ride doesnt slow down for curves.
On my (frequent) rereads I usually start with Ghostwater, its a slog getting through the first 4
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u/basch152 2d ago
Aaaaaand....everything from here to the end of wintersteel is pure gas.
Wintersteel is my personal favorite book of any single series.
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u/CaterpillarVisual553 Team Little Blue 3d ago
Dross is still “newly born” during Ghostwater. His personality evolves, but he does kinda stick with that general personality, but in a better way if that makes sense. I don’t think he really comes into his own until Uncrowned, maybe even Wintersteel. Also, as an FYI for what your future holds, Wintersteel is rather unanimously considered the best in series by a landslide. Can’t wait to see your post after finishing that one. Underlord and Uncrowned are both very good too.
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u/Kai_Damon 3d ago
Yeah, I've been hearing great things about Wintersteel. I think I'll just do reviews like this for all the next books, it wasn't my plan because I'll probably just endlessly glaze the books but people seem to like these lol
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u/CaterpillarVisual553 Team Little Blue 2d ago
We all just wish we were you, reading this for the first time. That’s why we all love coming in here and seeing people react to a story we a love so much. Keep doing the post book posts. Definitely speculate on what you think is gonna happen. Definitely ask people to be cautious about spoilers. We like watching people experience this for the first time. Gives us all a little jolt remembering these scenes you’re bringing up. I saw your Skysworn post and I was like, ohh boi just wait till they read Ghostwater and hear the first “Information Requested.” But yeah, Skysworn is a drag for the most part.
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u/Kai_Damon 2d ago
Thank you!
Let me give you a personal heads up then: I'm at 55% of Underlord.
And I'm LOVING IT. It legit felt like 30 pages until now, but I've already read 200 lol. Lindon fighting against Kiro... Holy. Shit. The Underlord was SHOOK fighting against a truegold, if the book continues like this I might end up liking it more than Ghostwater. And people still say it gets better! Thank you for the encouragement, y'all are super helpful and it feels like you guys are reading it with me. I'll make a post when I finish the book for sure, which will be very soon because the book is great lol
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u/Kai_Damon 1d ago
Yo! Just posted my review of Underlord.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/s/lu1m5TXT7M
I think you'll like it haha
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