Clapping the eBook shut in Will Wight always manages to craft such intricate and tasteful magic systems, even when they initially threaten to overwhelm the reader with their ecstatic colour. Clapping the eBook shut in fear, it would be months before I downloaded it again and sank chin deep into the narrative. However , download it this one did, and was captivated. What I'd initially mistook for simplicity of characterizations, I soon discovered was an economy of verse when it comes to defining his protagonists and villains. He paints them with clear, clean strokes, full of spartan definition and aesthetic.
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Instead of impressionist, baroque or rococo, they're artfully cel-shaded delights. His humor comes in swift, sharp jabs -- a wry delivery in haiku instead of drawn-out sonnets. So much of the fun in the Traveler's Gate series is partaking in the mechanics and architecture of his various magical disciplines, letting the author guide you through their chemistry and logic, witnessing how the pieces fit together. In Unsouled , true to nature, there's an initially off-putting moment: The sensation that you might be reading a Naruto for grad lit majors.
The prose is smoother, right out of the gate, and more refined than previous series debuts, showcasing how his work is becoming much easier to dive into for both fans and newcomers alike; but during the first few sections, my reader's presence hovering over the shoulder of Wei Shi Lindon, the protagonist kept tilting left and right, peering around for Sasuke, Sakura and Rock, as Hidden Leaf Village and chakra -chi analogues abound.
And then it happens: House of Blades proved that Wight can forge something different, but just as satisfying, as a recliner made of smelted broadswords. Granted, there are a few moments that struck as slightly askew: The first debut of the Cradle series gets a 4. Just lovely, through and through. Jul 25, Nate rated it it was amazing Shelves: Lindon is an Unsouled. He cannot manipulate his spirit energy beyond very basic maneuvering.
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As a result, his society looks down on him because he's useless in their eyes. Despite his deficiencies he works hard and doesn't think cheating is beneath him to get ahead because in his culture cheating is honorable. Then, one day, his life changes after he is saved by a being from "heaven". I bought Soulsmith before I even finish Lindon is an Unsouled. I bought Soulsmith before I even finished it. Leveling up is key to advancement in this society Jul 12, Dave Ricchiazzi rated it it was ok Shelves: This read like an anime aimed at young boys.
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Was not a particularly large fan, despite enjoying most of Wight's other work. Jul 17, Francesca Tacchi rated it it was ok. I've never, never stopped reading a book! Needless to say, I'm very disappointed. I'm a big fan of Wight works, but this book just didn't have all the creativity I love about the author.
Sure, the magic it's interesting, but the plot it's simply nonsensical and the main character is dangerously close to a full gary stu for my taste. I mean, everyone of importance even a literal celestial being! Also what Lindon want and what Lindon does it's, apparently, the center of the universe for no good reason at all. The aforementioned celestial being basically bring Lindon's back to life because? She find her story soooo heartbreaking and inspirational?
Am I suppose to believe this crap? As if Lindon's the only one who could catch the attention of a celestial being! But Lindon is just too special, I suppose? Also, he's an Unsouled, he's supposed to have a major handicap, but so far be an unsouled only seems to serve the purpose to make his normal achievement seems so great. He doesn't even have some special ability to distinguish himself, he simply Which every other person could do, but apparently only Lindon have ever though of that. Really, why am I supposed to care about this brat? Worst thing is so far there's not a real plot and I'm faaar past half this book , it's just Lindon that wants to save his Valley from some nondescript disaster, and to do so he needs to become powerful.
End of the story. Maybe there will be something more, but for now Not even an hint of something more deep than this. And maybe I'd have enjoyed a story this simple I'm not a snob, I like simple stories, I do if Lindon wasn't so unbearable. It's not even said, being an unsouled, as I said, doesn't even seems this big an handicap! It looks like Wight is saying "oh yeah and then Lindon must do this thing. Because he's the main character, duh" with no other plausible explanation. Also this book keeps reminding me of a lot of animes I've seen and it's not really helping Jul 21, Richard Nell rated it really liked it.
God damnit Will Wight. Nov 22, T. Branson rated it really liked it. Unsouled was an okay book. It took me forever to get into it. I must have read a chapter and put it down like 10 times. Plus, there's a lot of terminology and prose that just confused me so I skipped a lot paragraphs that plainly had no impact on the story.
Probably the worst of it are these weird interjections at random places that are like database entries, but there' Unsouled was an okay book. Probably the worst of it are these weird interjections at random places that are like database entries, but there's no indication as to who is reading them, and it's just a summary of events in a clearly "telling" sort of way when we could have just seen whatever it was happen if Wight would have just written the event taking place for the reader.
Thankfully these don't happen all THAT often. At about the midway point things started to take a turn for the better. I was fairly unimpressed with the ending and do wish I would have seen more progress with our hero Lindon in terms of power. That always ranks books high on my list: Feb 03, Rebecca rated it liked it. This felt largely like set up for what's going to be a great story, so it didn't quite grip me on it's own, but is a series I'll be continuing with. I really loved the fact that a huge part of this is caught up in non-western social etiquette, clan hierarchies, and detailed magic system.
I also found the Abidan super interesting and really look forward to learning more about them. Jul 08, Jeremy McLeod rated it it was amazing. Will Wight knows how to tell a story He came out of nowhere with the Traveler's Gate series, which surprised me with its humor and depth of world building. His next series doubled down literally with two versions of each book, one from each side of the main conflict Wight is what would result from an ungodly union of Branden Sanderson and Jim Butcher, and I'm loving every second of it. This is a class Will Wight knows how to tell a story He came out of nowhere with the Traveler's Gate series, which surprised me with its humor and depth of world building.
This is a classic hero's journey set in a universe of godly fighters and monstrous remnants, where the cultivation and control of life energy known as madra is the basis of civilization on the world of Cradle. Lindon, however, is not satisfied with his place on the lowest rung of society, and is determined to do everything he can to prove his worth. Back-of-the-book level spoilers follow Oh, and did I mention that there's a high-technology, space-time time manipulating civilization of angel-like wardens watching over countless worlds Cradle among them?
Well, there is, and Lindon's life is changed forever the day one of those wardens is drawn to Cradle in the course of her duties. Pretty soon Lindon gets the shock of his life, and suddenly his drive for self-improvement has a whole new level of urgency Nov 06, Calvin Park rated it really liked it Shelves: In a very real way there are plots within plots and worlds within worlds here.
I very much enjoyed the unique cultural setting. The idea of honor as central to morality and life as opposed to legality was very interesting and to see how that played out in character decisions and relations between clans was fascinating. Wight manages to wrap this deep world building in a perfectly paced plot. Things moved briskly, and while there were one or two very brief info dumps, I never felt like there was a good place to set the book down for a breather.
The two main quibbles I have with the book are, first, that many of the side characters lack depth. But I did find myself wishing that side characters were more fleshed out.
Book review: Escape to Pagan - a Hong Kong family’s amazing wartime survival tale
Second, this book definitely feels a little bit like the prologue to a larger, wider story. Will Wight has given us the start of what is sure to be a wonderful, gripping, and downright fun series. Coupled with the fascinating and authentic non-western setting this novel is one that shines. Sep 19, RC rated it it was ok. Its got potential , but felt like it was targted at a way younger audience than me. Characters and story were fairly plain with little to no world building. The ending was a bit more interseting and sets up the next book , but I am not sure if its enough to get me to read the next book honestly unless I run out of interesting books to read.
Hard to reccomend unless you really have some specific reason to read it, also as usual reminder to myself not to trust good reads ratings when the number of Its got potential , but felt like it was targted at a way younger audience than me. Hard to reccomend unless you really have some specific reason to read it, also as usual reminder to myself not to trust good reads ratings when the number of reviewers is less than 1k.
Jul 01, Kevin rated it really liked it Shelves: This was a real surprise, a very different kind of fantasy. The author seems to have been either highly influenced by Avatar The Last Airbender or wuxia, and wove it into a very heroic story. The hero Lindon is very much under-powered, and unlike so many stories, he's not by the end of the novel secretly the chosen one, or highly powered. He gets through his many trials with his wits and a little luck. Feb 26, Coco.
V marked it as to-read Shelves: May 21, Rob rated it really liked it Recommended to Rob by: This is a short, fast-paced fantasy adventure series in the vain of many shonen fighting series, especially Naruto which definitely puts this series into my wheelhouse. I really enjoyed it and plan to continue reading. Full Review A good friend of mine who I innendate with book referrals almost constantly has been telling me to check out Will Wight for awhile, but like most all? He actually recommended House of Blades , but when the new book in this series came out they were giving this book away for free so I figured it was finally time to give him a shot.
One of my favorite fantasy series, Codex Alera does a very similar thing. Then of course there is Naruto. I'm sure there are numerous other examples but those are the first two that come to mind. There are some similarities to both series but Mr. Wight definitely does a good job putting his own spin on the trope. The magic system is interesting enough, but so far it doesn't seem to be too well explained or very unique. The supporting characters and the world building are both pretty good. I was hoping for a bit more of the magic school trope as our protagonist strives to rise above his station in life, but we'll see what the latter books hold.
I do like the contrast of a character whose much less powerful than everyone he encounters because it forces them and therefore the author to explore interesting ways to either use the limited magic they have or to simply work around it. Many of the work-arounds proved to be some of my favorite part of the story so far.
These books seem pretty short about pages compared to most fantasy I read which tends to be door-stopping epics. It makes for a nice change of pace and I already bought the second book to jump right into it. I haven't seen too many people talking about Will Wight, but I feel like he's one of those Indie authors going under the radar of many readers who'd enjoy his work like myself. Oct 17, Travis rated it really liked it Shelves: Unsouled met these and then exceeded these expectations.
With this new series, it is clear that Will Wight has improved as an author in every way. The story picks up with the main character, Lindon, failing the basic magic aptitude test that everyone takes when they come of age.
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Because of this, he is ostracized from his clan and denied any possibility of advancing in social status. However, his clan specializes in illusion magic and follows the contradictory philosophy of "honor by any means. Throughout the book, Lindon must compensate for his diminished abilities through cunning, deception, and lots of hard work. The magic system is fantastic and fully integrated into the worldbuilding.
People have the ability to absorb vital aura from their surroundings and use this to strengthen their spirit. This, in turn, allows them to perform magic related to the type of aura they absorb. Once someone has progressed enough in their abilities, they "level up" and gain new powers. This pulse-pounding Hong Kong war memoir hinges on a stunning event: When a Japanese officer prepares to finish the job with his samurai sword, Devereux sees red.
His wounded brain struggled back to consciousness. Six veterans who lived through conflict remember lessons of the second world war. Miraculously rallying, Jack shoots his wannabe executioner dead. Nonetheless captured by the Japanese, he must deal with the maggots that infest his injury and much more strife. Meanwhile, back in Mandalay, desperate to evade the advancing Japanese, his wife Kate, her baby son — the author — and her mother, Harriet, leave home in a rush with what they can carry.
Roaming the jungle, the formerly well-to-do family unit forages, posing as members of the Mon Burmese tribe fleeing the Chinese army. The formidable Harriet, who speaks Japanese, leads the straggling team towards its destination: En route, they face lethal dangers ranging from starvation to vipers. But Japanese troops, who can force-march 35 miles a day, pose the most disturbing threat. In the story, Chinese prisoners are subjected to live bayonet practice, among other atrocities, which their captors find amusing.
Like German torpedoes, American and British ones were defective — while escorting an Arctic convoy to Russia, one British destroyer suffered the indignity of sinking itself.
Another cutting observation he makes concerns the belief that the Japanese were natural jungle fighters with extensive jungle training behind them. In fact, many Japanese feared the jungle, because the climate in Japan, China, Formosa Taiwan and Manchuria presented the wrong environment for acclimatisation. Their success actually stemmed from toughness and discipline. Promotion came from valour instead of connections or wealth, according to the author, who was born in Burma in and spent his early years there, as his outstanding yarn recounts. For 25 years, Brian Devereux worked freelance in the film industry.
The Devereux saga is tremendously gripping and gory. It serves as a reminder that, in war, victims often fail to die cleanly and continue in a grossly agonised state, maggots and all. Escape to Pagan is also a story of hope. When he feels a tremor that he discovers was caused by the A-bomb, Jack has the sense to stay underground in his last prison, a Nagasaki mine. Then, the Devereux family reunites, sort of. Naturally, the sensational, true-life tale that raises the question of why anyone bothers with novels has one more twist.
Skip to main content. Hong Kong's second world war history. Thursday, 31 March, , 7: Thursday, 31 March, ,