Name: Unsouled
ISBN: 9780989671767

Will Wight

Sacred artists follow a thousand Paths to power, using their souls to control the forces of the natural world.

Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan.

When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must defy his family's rules...and forge his own Path.

Unsouled

mehrsa

➺ 
  3.5/5 🌟


I've only read a few progression novels (I think only Lord of the Mysteries and some of Codex Alera books) and I mostly read shounen manga for progression stories. After hearing this series from my favorite booktubers, I decided to try this out.

This is definitely a fast read and I should have finished this in two days, but it took me a week. Not that it's not good or anything, I just got distracted from a danmei novel I started reading alongside this. I read 70% of this novel in one sitting and after putting it down, it took days for me to pick this back up. 

Anyway, reading more than half of this novel in one sitting only shows how much I was invested in the story. I've always loved overpowered characters, no matter how many people says that they are boring because there's no challenge in reading about them. I loved reading about cool and badass people, they make me so hype. Because of that, I always steer away from books with completely underdog characters. But now because of this book, I'm up for more books with this kind of characters. 

Lindon as a main character is like a typical shounen main character. The weakest in the eyes of the people around him, nothing more than shame. He's not even the cleverest either. He only have the persistent determination to progress. Because of that, I'm starting to root for him and see how far he'll go. 

This is just the first book of a 12-book series, I think? This might not be the most mind-blowing and one of a kind book just yet, but I definitely have a fun experience reading this. The magic system is also very interesting and I could clearly picture the fighting scenes in my mind. I would loved to read more of this series!

I've heard such great things about this series, but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I've also heard it doesn't 

 get going until the third book, so I'll probably try the next two.

Jason Long

I've heard such great things about this series, but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I've also heard it doesn't really get going until the third book, so I'll probably try the next two.

Monae Reads

2.5/5 ⭐️

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that the beginning of this book (first 50%) was poorly executed, tangled, and extremely info dumpy. And even though I knew to expect that prior to going into the book, 50% is just too large of a chunk to ignore. 

Shockingly, I began to make sense of the mangled web of the magic system, the hierarchy, the clans, the sacred valley, the world, etc. Even the Abidan court. 

This felt very much like reading an animé, but there were multiple points where I felt like the content would be better palatable if I were to watch it instead of read it. 

Our main character reminded me of Bero from Jade City multiple times, but his level of tenacity must be admired. 
He often threw himself headfirst into danger, and suffered consequences for it. But the author did a pretty good job of acknowledging that the only thing someone has to lose in the Sacred Valley is their honor, which Lindon has none of. Fear and self imposed limitations have no place on Lindon’s path. 

One of the lines the resonated the most with me was “Lindon had discovered that he could only stay tense and afraid for so long before his body just grew numb.” Lindon had a good amount of character growth in 280 pages, he easily shed the cultural restrictions placed upon him and accepted willingly the reality that he could dare to dream for more. Though some of his tactics were more schematic and conniving than I cared for at times. 

The second half of this book showcased a significant shift in writing talent and I am positive that the claims of each book being better as the series go on is warranted. Thus I will be continuing with the series despite the very rocky start.