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I will say that the book seems a little vanilla at first.
I'll tell you what I enjoyed about it.
The big bad of the book was well thought out and fun.
I like the idea that this series is bringing together people that are already considered the best around, and so it's more about personal growth rather than power creep, although, there is still room for it.
I would say, if you don't have anything else to read at the moment, go ahead and power through it and see what happens. I've done that with a few books and it worked out great, and sometimes I continued to dislike them. At least I wasn't left wondering
I didn’t find it boring. I didn’t find it slow. I didn’t find the writing weaker at all than his earlier stuff. In fact, it’s stronger than Unsouled and perhaps Traveler’s Gate.
However, it’s the first in a six part series and is completely different than anything he’s written before and we’re coming in on the ground floor.
I think it will seem “better” once we have more books in the series to fully flesh out the characters.
I loved everything about it. Very fast paced for a first book when compared to unsouled. The MC is powerful and I'm looking forward to the following books.
I really liked it too but it was a bit too action packed for me. There was always an imidiate threat/fight going on. I like my books to have at least one training montage in them. Still a very fun read of course...
Personally, I feel the book has a lot of flaws and a lot of strong points. Could you elaborate on what you did and didn't enjoy about the parts you've listened to?
Personally, I found that the setups and pay-offs were poorly executed in The Captain. Sometimes a problem would come up and I'd be like "oh, that's no problem for MC" only for it to totally screw them. Other times, a problem would seem insurmountable only to be solved too easily.
However, the world building is awesome, and the premise is pretty cool. Characters are fun and (usually) pretty interesting. Will does a good job characterizing the way Varic's unique situation affect his personality
>Personally, I feel the book has a lot of flaws and a lot of strong points.
How did you feel about Will's Elder Empire series?
I've been debating getting *The Captain*, but one of the things that holds me back is that I couldn't get into the Elder Empire series at all. I got about a quarter into *Of Shadows and Seas* before I gave up on it for lack of caring about the characters or plot.
Part of what holds me back is a fear that it's going to be a little too derivative of something like Star Trek and/or *Galaxy Quest* with little to differentiate itself. I have to acknowledge that part of this fear irrationally stems from mentally associating the title with the game *The Captain is Dead*. *The Captain is Dead* felt rather weak and watered down from a lore perspective, so that mental association has me afraid *The Captain* will be the same.
I haven't read Elder Empire. Have you read the preview chapters for The Captain? If you have, you have a pretty good idea of what your getting. Space wizards, guns, and craziness
I haven't. I'm less big on actually reading these days and pretty much only do audiobooks. Audiobook previews are kinda on the worthless side, as they rarely give you an actual feel for the book.
I really enjoyed *Galaxy Outlaws* by J.S. Morin, so space wizards, guns, and craziness is definitely a story I can get behind.
Based on your experience of the book, how much did it feel derivative of Star Trek or Star Wars versus being its own thing?
Some people call Star wars space wizards but Jedi hardly do any actual wizarding.
The captain is the book where a high magic setting is combined with a massive interplanetary civilization.
If you're looking for comparison, the Abidan sections of the Cradle books are the most similar to The Captain of any book I've read. It's a crazy combination of magic (high fantasy magic) and space opera technology.
The world building is very unique and fresh. The premise is awesome and a little crazy.
In my opinion, the ending wasn't the strongest but it was fun.
Edit: Here's chapter one on Will's YouTube channel - basically the same as listening to the first 20 minutes. Doesn't give you a perfect picture but it should give you an idea of what I mean
https://youtu.be/FHdsjpZgxfQ
I found it got really good after they introduced Raion. And the bloopers are pure gold, I would legitimately read the entire thing again just to go through the bloopers
It wasn't for me but I'm glad Will decided to do something different. Give it a try! It's on KU and Waybound is right around the corner so you don't lose much subbing for a month to check it out.
I've been pushing myself to read it too. Maybe I'm just not in the reading mindspace right now with totk out but I've started and stopped the captain like 10 times now. If i manage to get going I'm really enjoying it but it's also easy to stop reading. Not really a page-turner for me.
It’s a whole new universe! A bit confusing when it introduces like a dozen characters but makes more sense as it goes along. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
Define good and then I can answer. I enjoyed it I'm probably gonna reread it when the next one comes out but it isn't my favorite of Will's works (travelers gate trilogy is) but not the biggest fan of some of the pacing but love the action sequences.
I loved it. The only downside for me is that I have no clue what to expect from the next book in the series or when to expect it for that matter. I started reading cradle a couple of months before Uncrowned came out. Had I started when the only book out was Unsouled it probably would have sat in the “Meh, this story has potential” category right up until at least blackflame, at which point I would have gotten hopeful, but still wouldn’t be hooked until ghostwater. The cliffhanger at the end of Uncrowned made me a bit peevish but Wintersteel did plenty to alleviate that.
Hey, I never said anything about Will tho, and I don't think Will is a failure or anybody is. I was just asking you guys for an opinion and was sharing what I have felt.
your phrasing can be interpreted very poorly, especially your last sentence.
maybe it was just thoughtlessly constructed tho and is not intended to be extremely rude
There were a lot of sci-fi references and a lot of random ridiculousness. These are things that bring me joy, so I enjoyed it a lot. No... I loved this book so much.
If you read The Captain with expectations of Cradle 2.0, you will probably be let down.
I couldn't get into it either. I'm really not a fan of any of Will's other books either. Cradle hit all the right notes for me, but I haven't enjoyed any of his other books. I know the writing in them is solid, but they seem very shallow to me, but that's just my opinion. I don't think they are bad, just not for me.
Yeah me too, I have felt the same. But I loved Cradle, and after finishing it, I felt a void inside me and tried to fill it with Captain, maybe that is the issue.
No, I haven't tried. I finished cradle, and then one of a kind stranger suggested DCC, so completed it, and now searching for something similar to either one or a different plot with a great story.
Captain is a great fun book, it just establishes a whole new universe with the main character's multiple magic systems and then the whole team, several universe-class threats. And a spaceship.
I have no idea how you find that boring. Maybe you expected non-stop fighting? But there's still a lot of action, both hand to hand and in spaceships.
I thought it was great. Cool story, protagonist, villain, magic system. Best blend of fantasy of sci fi I’ve ever read. Maybe it’s just not your thing. It’s definitely not badly written that’s for sure. I’m readily Nova Terra while waiting on Waybound. Now that is a series hat is hard to read most of the time but I like the concept and story so I’m slogging through the eye rolling writing a lot
I enjoyed it. Definitely more than will's other non-cradle works so far.
That said, it's okay if it's not for you. It doesn't have to be. Your experience is valid and not every book is going is going to work for every reader, even if you like some of the author's other stories. I'm sure Will himself would agree.
My advice is to not force it. If the story isn't working for you then it isn't working for you. Don't try to force it, that's no fun at all. Just move on and look for something you *do* enjoy.
Loved the captain! The thing that keeps you hooked the first quarter of the book is trying to figure out the magic system and it’s limits. There are limits and there is growth. You just have to look for them. But it definitely gets better as you go along and start meeting more permanent characters. The book really builds at the end. I’d say try and finish it, my wife loved it and she hates sci-fi with a passion.
The Captain was outstanding, so far as I am concerned, but the first couple parts were a little rough with the pacing and time skips. Once the MC finds the ship, that’s when things really got going for me. I’m really looking forward to the 2nd book. It’s definitely not Cradle 2.0, though. It’s very good, but it absolutely has its own identity. I personally think that’s one of its selling points, though.
It is good, really. I'm not sure that I'd call it *really* good.
But it's only the first book in a series with new worldbuilding to introduce, so I expect the next book to be better.
I... didn't love it. Part of that was probably the relative lack of power progression, which is something I've really grown to love in the stories I read. But I also thought that the main character's use of magic was pretty uninspired, and that it didn't spend enough time letting us get to know the crew members and see their interactions and personalities.
But I also acknowledge that this is the very beginning of the story, and that there's a lot of time left in the series to show me all the things that I thought were a little lacking in the first book.
Wasn't a fan, too hectic, scatter brained and slow for my taste. Its seemed like a bunch random ifeas thrown into chapters without focus. I am glad there are people who enjoy it and hope he keeps writing fun new stuff, maybe the next series will be more my style!
It was different. Do you want Will to copy paste same writing style over and over again? Not every book by the same writer will suit your taste the same.
That said, will's writing has developed to be very action packed. The character interaction, dialogue, world building etc happen in brief glimpses between actions.
In my opinion, the captain just added too much too fast. I still enjoyed it, but had a slight fatigue - like, oh, this new character, is s/he gonna be a permanent fixture or a one-off? Should I remember their name for next scene?
Unsouled was a slow paced book that gave us many chances to learn the terminology like madra, aura, remnant etc, as opposed to the Captain.
On the other hand, how many times have you encouraged someone else to stick with cradle until book two/three, when it really gets good? Or heard people complain unsouled was too slow?
Let's wait 3 books to compare the two series please.
If you started Cradle when there were several books out, it's really hard to compare the two at this point because Will released the books as fast as the pace in his books. Comparing the speed of release and closure to other series such as the way of kings is refreshing...
I'm neurodivergent so sometimes I can really struggle when it comes to certain things. For example, I find reading or listening in first person very difficult, which is one big difference between Cradle and The Last Horizon. Another issue I have is that I lisented to Cradle first so it can be a struggle to listen to Travis narrate other characters from a different story, whilst simultaneously struggling to listen to something that isn't narrated by Travis. Fun times.
It took me a few goes to read The Captain due to the above, but as for writing and story, I think it is pretty good for a first book. That's another thing you have to remember. You're comparing 11 books to one book. One is almost completed and the other is just getting started.
If you have only made it in roughly an hour so far, yes I do think you will find it gets better. Kind of like how Cradle gets better once we have Eithan and Yerin.
Damn, same thought, though you put it more bluntly. Some people can't just take criticism, people are complaining my prompt is too harsh, but respect to you for not giving a fuck and being honest.
It’s not great. Will’s characters aren’t usually deep but they are identifiable and have key characteristics. Put Lindon, Yerin or Zael in a situation and you can probably make a good guess about what they’ll do and the type of things they’ll say.
With the Captain the main character seemed underdeveloped. He’s competent and powerful sure, but beyond wanting to save the galaxy I couldn’t tell you much about what motivates him or any key mannerisms or ways of dealing with situations. For the side characters it skews the other way, with them being more 80s Sunday morning cartoon style characterisations.
I’d say the sudden leap to one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy while it not being clear what he can do harms the action. You see Lindon develop from the beginning so you know what he can do.
As I see it... If you like Cradle... but all the Abidan issue on the series is something about what you dont care nor like... You won't like The Captain. The powers, personalities, etc. It is more similar to the Abidan parts of Cradle than the Lindon's story.
It's possible you are just not a fan of the genre or had just come into it with expectations. I personally found the story very engaging and enjoyed it a lot. It isn't going to be for everyone, though.
I think the Captain was very entertaining to read but honestly I can see how listening it would be a slog sometimes with all of the magical technojargon that goes on. You can kind of skim past it while reading but if you have to listen to the precise description of the whorls of dodecadiamonds set upon the doihickey then it could take you out of it.
I enjoyed it but it didn't have the "everything is new" appeal of the cradle series for me. The series was familiar enough with a lot of fantasy trips I know that I didn't get that part of the excitement but I still enjoyed reading it.
Not my favorite of his work, but I’m hopeful it’ll improve in subsequent books, since Will tends to even out towards the end of second books in all his series
I liked it, I also agreed the beginning was slow but it was still necessary because it his the origin of the character. After that I really enjoyed it, only thing that bugs me about the book is why didn’t the dumb bimbo ship just beam up scoti in order to have more power/ be able to not just breakdown? The engineer character seemed more than willing to be in the ship. Other than that I really liked all the characters and how even though each one has unique styles and powers it doesn’t feel to out of place.
I found it ok-ish. I'm really not feeling the main character, the biggest problem in my opinion is that he is already mega powerful and it felt really unearned. With cradle i was hooked because Lindon started off so far behind and the journey to become powerful was the goal. The captain feels like it's supposed to be this twist that the mc is a powerhouse from the get go but it completely backfired for me. I'll see how the story develops but so far I just don't like the main guy, the others are fine in my opinion.
It was a bit slow and mundane to me for the first half of the book at least. But once it found it’s stride I think it really took off and I enjoyed it a lot. Was disappointed when it ended and wanted to hear more. I’ve been trying to finish Cradle for the millionth reread in anticipation of Waybound but I’m looking forward to a relisten of The Captain sooner than later for sure.
To be fair how does unsouled through blackflame stack up against the later cradle books?
They're are comparatively slow. Give him a chance to get things going.
I still have yet to start that series, I'm waiting to get the drop after finishing cradle to start that series.
I think it was a little slow for me too at first but it really picked up for me and I ended up heavily enjoying the characters, plot, and world building. Definitely gonna read book 2. I’d suggest tryna read halfway and if u still don’t like it it’s safe to stop
When compared to unsouled and soulsmith, the other starting books, I thought it was awesome! It isn't dreadgod quality, but the world building abs character development had to Jalen
Huh interesting. I think Captain is probably the very best of Will. The way he’s grown as an author and story are really exemplified. Especially in comparison to his earliest works. But you know, we’re all different. I think it’s just fun and hilarious.
When I heard the opening chapter of the Captain I thought the most interesting part of it was exploring all the different lives Varic could have lived, of living knowing how his decisions might have turned out. So I was pretty worried when the chapter instead kept listing all of Varic's powers and the expensive magic items and so on.
The Captain has a sort of pro-wrestling quality, where everything is made up of fight scenes and the fight scenes are more about showing off what's cool about each character than portraying a technically rigorous MMA-style fight, or deep interiority. That's fine if it's your thing but I don't like pro-wrestling.
I was skeptical at first too because I love the cradle series so much that I relisten to the series every time a new book drops but I hated all three travelers gate books and I could finish either of the of shadow and sea/of sea and shadow books. The captain has the witty humor that kept me engaged with cradle. Its a little slow start but as soon as recruiting starts the book gets awesome. It’s definitely worth putting another couple hours into to see if it hooks you. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first hour but they have to set up the world and it gets off the ground way faster than unsouled.
It's really good, slow to start, but not quite as good as cradle. However, I am not a huge sci-fi fanatic. I would continue the series. It's unique to what else I've read, and it's a refreshing change.
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I will say that the book seems a little vanilla at first. I'll tell you what I enjoyed about it. The big bad of the book was well thought out and fun. I like the idea that this series is bringing together people that are already considered the best around, and so it's more about personal growth rather than power creep, although, there is still room for it. I would say, if you don't have anything else to read at the moment, go ahead and power through it and see what happens. I've done that with a few books and it worked out great, and sometimes I continued to dislike them. At least I wasn't left wondering
I didn’t find it boring. I didn’t find it slow. I didn’t find the writing weaker at all than his earlier stuff. In fact, it’s stronger than Unsouled and perhaps Traveler’s Gate. However, it’s the first in a six part series and is completely different than anything he’s written before and we’re coming in on the ground floor. I think it will seem “better” once we have more books in the series to fully flesh out the characters.
I loved everything about it. Very fast paced for a first book when compared to unsouled. The MC is powerful and I'm looking forward to the following books.
I really liked it too but it was a bit too action packed for me. There was always an imidiate threat/fight going on. I like my books to have at least one training montage in them. Still a very fun read of course...
I liked that. He's the first character who isn't raw at the start.
Not much training to be done in a sci-fi book normally, so I doubt we get much of that.
For me it was a 7/10 I didn’t love it in the way I love cradle or traveler’s gate as sci fi isn’t really my jam
The sci-fi aspects of cradle are largely a dumpster fire so it makes sense that sci-fi series might not be the ticket.
I loved cradle and enjoyed everything else Will has written. Captain wasn’t for me and that’s ok. Looking forward to his next project.
Personally, I feel the book has a lot of flaws and a lot of strong points. Could you elaborate on what you did and didn't enjoy about the parts you've listened to? Personally, I found that the setups and pay-offs were poorly executed in The Captain. Sometimes a problem would come up and I'd be like "oh, that's no problem for MC" only for it to totally screw them. Other times, a problem would seem insurmountable only to be solved too easily. However, the world building is awesome, and the premise is pretty cool. Characters are fun and (usually) pretty interesting. Will does a good job characterizing the way Varic's unique situation affect his personality
>Personally, I feel the book has a lot of flaws and a lot of strong points. How did you feel about Will's Elder Empire series? I've been debating getting *The Captain*, but one of the things that holds me back is that I couldn't get into the Elder Empire series at all. I got about a quarter into *Of Shadows and Seas* before I gave up on it for lack of caring about the characters or plot. Part of what holds me back is a fear that it's going to be a little too derivative of something like Star Trek and/or *Galaxy Quest* with little to differentiate itself. I have to acknowledge that part of this fear irrationally stems from mentally associating the title with the game *The Captain is Dead*. *The Captain is Dead* felt rather weak and watered down from a lore perspective, so that mental association has me afraid *The Captain* will be the same.
I haven't read Elder Empire. Have you read the preview chapters for The Captain? If you have, you have a pretty good idea of what your getting. Space wizards, guns, and craziness
I haven't. I'm less big on actually reading these days and pretty much only do audiobooks. Audiobook previews are kinda on the worthless side, as they rarely give you an actual feel for the book. I really enjoyed *Galaxy Outlaws* by J.S. Morin, so space wizards, guns, and craziness is definitely a story I can get behind. Based on your experience of the book, how much did it feel derivative of Star Trek or Star Wars versus being its own thing?
Some people call Star wars space wizards but Jedi hardly do any actual wizarding. The captain is the book where a high magic setting is combined with a massive interplanetary civilization. If you're looking for comparison, the Abidan sections of the Cradle books are the most similar to The Captain of any book I've read. It's a crazy combination of magic (high fantasy magic) and space opera technology. The world building is very unique and fresh. The premise is awesome and a little crazy. In my opinion, the ending wasn't the strongest but it was fun. Edit: Here's chapter one on Will's YouTube channel - basically the same as listening to the first 20 minutes. Doesn't give you a perfect picture but it should give you an idea of what I mean https://youtu.be/FHdsjpZgxfQ
I found it got really good after they introduced Raion. And the bloopers are pure gold, I would legitimately read the entire thing again just to go through the bloopers
It wasn't for me but I'm glad Will decided to do something different. Give it a try! It's on KU and Waybound is right around the corner so you don't lose much subbing for a month to check it out.
I've been pushing myself to read it too. Maybe I'm just not in the reading mindspace right now with totk out but I've started and stopped the captain like 10 times now. If i manage to get going I'm really enjoying it but it's also easy to stop reading. Not really a page-turner for me.
What is totk?
Tears of the Kingdom, the new Zelda game
It’s a whole new universe! A bit confusing when it introduces like a dozen characters but makes more sense as it goes along. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
Define good and then I can answer. I enjoyed it I'm probably gonna reread it when the next one comes out but it isn't my favorite of Will's works (travelers gate trilogy is) but not the biggest fan of some of the pacing but love the action sequences.
I loved it. The only downside for me is that I have no clue what to expect from the next book in the series or when to expect it for that matter. I started reading cradle a couple of months before Uncrowned came out. Had I started when the only book out was Unsouled it probably would have sat in the “Meh, this story has potential” category right up until at least blackflame, at which point I would have gotten hopeful, but still wouldn’t be hooked until ghostwater. The cliffhanger at the end of Uncrowned made me a bit peevish but Wintersteel did plenty to alleviate that.
There’s another possibility…it’s just not for you…it isn’t either you like it or it’s poorly written and Will is a failure lol
Hey, I never said anything about Will tho, and I don't think Will is a failure or anybody is. I was just asking you guys for an opinion and was sharing what I have felt.
your phrasing can be interpreted very poorly, especially your last sentence. maybe it was just thoughtlessly constructed tho and is not intended to be extremely rude
I am sorry, yah even I felt the same, after re-reading the question. I should have worded it better.
Also honestly the start isn’t as good as the rest
There were a lot of sci-fi references and a lot of random ridiculousness. These are things that bring me joy, so I enjoyed it a lot. No... I loved this book so much. If you read The Captain with expectations of Cradle 2.0, you will probably be let down.
Maybe this is the reason, you put it perfectly, I expected it to be cradle 2.0.
I think that's why some have put off starting the new series until after Waybound.
I couldn't get into it either. I'm really not a fan of any of Will's other books either. Cradle hit all the right notes for me, but I haven't enjoyed any of his other books. I know the writing in them is solid, but they seem very shallow to me, but that's just my opinion. I don't think they are bad, just not for me.
Yeah me too, I have felt the same. But I loved Cradle, and after finishing it, I felt a void inside me and tried to fill it with Captain, maybe that is the issue.
Have you tried any of his other series?
No, I haven't tried. I finished cradle, and then one of a kind stranger suggested DCC, so completed it, and now searching for something similar to either one or a different plot with a great story.
What is DCC on this case?
Dungeon crawler carl maybe. Great series so far. Author is kind of slow releasing them though
I'm a big fan of his other series. Travelers Gate is really good and Elder Empire was awesome
I liked it better than Cradle
Captain is a great fun book, it just establishes a whole new universe with the main character's multiple magic systems and then the whole team, several universe-class threats. And a spaceship. I have no idea how you find that boring. Maybe you expected non-stop fighting? But there's still a lot of action, both hand to hand and in spaceships.
I thought it was great. Cool story, protagonist, villain, magic system. Best blend of fantasy of sci fi I’ve ever read. Maybe it’s just not your thing. It’s definitely not badly written that’s for sure. I’m readily Nova Terra while waiting on Waybound. Now that is a series hat is hard to read most of the time but I like the concept and story so I’m slogging through the eye rolling writing a lot
I enjoyed it. Definitely more than will's other non-cradle works so far. That said, it's okay if it's not for you. It doesn't have to be. Your experience is valid and not every book is going is going to work for every reader, even if you like some of the author's other stories. I'm sure Will himself would agree. My advice is to not force it. If the story isn't working for you then it isn't working for you. Don't try to force it, that's no fun at all. Just move on and look for something you *do* enjoy.
Loved the captain! The thing that keeps you hooked the first quarter of the book is trying to figure out the magic system and it’s limits. There are limits and there is growth. You just have to look for them. But it definitely gets better as you go along and start meeting more permanent characters. The book really builds at the end. I’d say try and finish it, my wife loved it and she hates sci-fi with a passion.
Also we listened to the audiobook version.
The Captain was outstanding, so far as I am concerned, but the first couple parts were a little rough with the pacing and time skips. Once the MC finds the ship, that’s when things really got going for me. I’m really looking forward to the 2nd book. It’s definitely not Cradle 2.0, though. It’s very good, but it absolutely has its own identity. I personally think that’s one of its selling points, though.
It is good, really. I'm not sure that I'd call it *really* good. But it's only the first book in a series with new worldbuilding to introduce, so I expect the next book to be better.
I... didn't love it. Part of that was probably the relative lack of power progression, which is something I've really grown to love in the stories I read. But I also thought that the main character's use of magic was pretty uninspired, and that it didn't spend enough time letting us get to know the crew members and see their interactions and personalities. But I also acknowledge that this is the very beginning of the story, and that there's a lot of time left in the series to show me all the things that I thought were a little lacking in the first book.
Wasn't a fan, too hectic, scatter brained and slow for my taste. Its seemed like a bunch random ifeas thrown into chapters without focus. I am glad there are people who enjoy it and hope he keeps writing fun new stuff, maybe the next series will be more my style!
It was different. Do you want Will to copy paste same writing style over and over again? Not every book by the same writer will suit your taste the same. That said, will's writing has developed to be very action packed. The character interaction, dialogue, world building etc happen in brief glimpses between actions. In my opinion, the captain just added too much too fast. I still enjoyed it, but had a slight fatigue - like, oh, this new character, is s/he gonna be a permanent fixture or a one-off? Should I remember their name for next scene? Unsouled was a slow paced book that gave us many chances to learn the terminology like madra, aura, remnant etc, as opposed to the Captain. On the other hand, how many times have you encouraged someone else to stick with cradle until book two/three, when it really gets good? Or heard people complain unsouled was too slow? Let's wait 3 books to compare the two series please.
If you started Cradle when there were several books out, it's really hard to compare the two at this point because Will released the books as fast as the pace in his books. Comparing the speed of release and closure to other series such as the way of kings is refreshing...
I'm neurodivergent so sometimes I can really struggle when it comes to certain things. For example, I find reading or listening in first person very difficult, which is one big difference between Cradle and The Last Horizon. Another issue I have is that I lisented to Cradle first so it can be a struggle to listen to Travis narrate other characters from a different story, whilst simultaneously struggling to listen to something that isn't narrated by Travis. Fun times. It took me a few goes to read The Captain due to the above, but as for writing and story, I think it is pretty good for a first book. That's another thing you have to remember. You're comparing 11 books to one book. One is almost completed and the other is just getting started. If you have only made it in roughly an hour so far, yes I do think you will find it gets better. Kind of like how Cradle gets better once we have Eithan and Yerin.
It's in my top 5 sci fi books.
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Nope I've read quite a bit of scifi
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Damn, same thought, though you put it more bluntly. Some people can't just take criticism, people are complaining my prompt is too harsh, but respect to you for not giving a fuck and being honest.
I mean, what do you think the answer the sub about Will's works is going to give you? Of course we like the book, but we're biased.
I liked it well enough, it was no cradle, but I enjoyed it, and I'll gladly buy the sequel.
It’s not great. Will’s characters aren’t usually deep but they are identifiable and have key characteristics. Put Lindon, Yerin or Zael in a situation and you can probably make a good guess about what they’ll do and the type of things they’ll say. With the Captain the main character seemed underdeveloped. He’s competent and powerful sure, but beyond wanting to save the galaxy I couldn’t tell you much about what motivates him or any key mannerisms or ways of dealing with situations. For the side characters it skews the other way, with them being more 80s Sunday morning cartoon style characterisations. I’d say the sudden leap to one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy while it not being clear what he can do harms the action. You see Lindon develop from the beginning so you know what he can do.
As I see it... If you like Cradle... but all the Abidan issue on the series is something about what you dont care nor like... You won't like The Captain. The powers, personalities, etc. It is more similar to the Abidan parts of Cradle than the Lindon's story.
It's possible you are just not a fan of the genre or had just come into it with expectations. I personally found the story very engaging and enjoyed it a lot. It isn't going to be for everyone, though.
I think the Captain was very entertaining to read but honestly I can see how listening it would be a slog sometimes with all of the magical technojargon that goes on. You can kind of skim past it while reading but if you have to listen to the precise description of the whorls of dodecadiamonds set upon the doihickey then it could take you out of it.
I enjoyed it but it didn't have the "everything is new" appeal of the cradle series for me. The series was familiar enough with a lot of fantasy trips I know that I didn't get that part of the excitement but I still enjoyed reading it.
Not my favorite of his work, but I’m hopeful it’ll improve in subsequent books, since Will tends to even out towards the end of second books in all his series
I liked it, I also agreed the beginning was slow but it was still necessary because it his the origin of the character. After that I really enjoyed it, only thing that bugs me about the book is why didn’t the dumb bimbo ship just beam up scoti in order to have more power/ be able to not just breakdown? The engineer character seemed more than willing to be in the ship. Other than that I really liked all the characters and how even though each one has unique styles and powers it doesn’t feel to out of place.
I found it ok-ish. I'm really not feeling the main character, the biggest problem in my opinion is that he is already mega powerful and it felt really unearned. With cradle i was hooked because Lindon started off so far behind and the journey to become powerful was the goal. The captain feels like it's supposed to be this twist that the mc is a powerhouse from the get go but it completely backfired for me. I'll see how the story develops but so far I just don't like the main guy, the others are fine in my opinion.
I think the book is fantastic, don’t know what you’re smoking.
It was a bit slow and mundane to me for the first half of the book at least. But once it found it’s stride I think it really took off and I enjoyed it a lot. Was disappointed when it ended and wanted to hear more. I’ve been trying to finish Cradle for the millionth reread in anticipation of Waybound but I’m looking forward to a relisten of The Captain sooner than later for sure.
Having not read Captain, I can’t say for sure. But Unsouled was the most boring of the whole cradle series for me so maybe it will get better!
To be fair how does unsouled through blackflame stack up against the later cradle books? They're are comparatively slow. Give him a chance to get things going. I still have yet to start that series, I'm waiting to get the drop after finishing cradle to start that series.
I think it was a little slow for me too at first but it really picked up for me and I ended up heavily enjoying the characters, plot, and world building. Definitely gonna read book 2. I’d suggest tryna read halfway and if u still don’t like it it’s safe to stop
When compared to unsouled and soulsmith, the other starting books, I thought it was awesome! It isn't dreadgod quality, but the world building abs character development had to Jalen
Huh interesting. I think Captain is probably the very best of Will. The way he’s grown as an author and story are really exemplified. Especially in comparison to his earliest works. But you know, we’re all different. I think it’s just fun and hilarious.
When I heard the opening chapter of the Captain I thought the most interesting part of it was exploring all the different lives Varic could have lived, of living knowing how his decisions might have turned out. So I was pretty worried when the chapter instead kept listing all of Varic's powers and the expensive magic items and so on. The Captain has a sort of pro-wrestling quality, where everything is made up of fight scenes and the fight scenes are more about showing off what's cool about each character than portraying a technically rigorous MMA-style fight, or deep interiority. That's fine if it's your thing but I don't like pro-wrestling.
Its only 1 book. So cant compare to his other works.. but it was a good start.
I was skeptical at first too because I love the cradle series so much that I relisten to the series every time a new book drops but I hated all three travelers gate books and I could finish either of the of shadow and sea/of sea and shadow books. The captain has the witty humor that kept me engaged with cradle. Its a little slow start but as soon as recruiting starts the book gets awesome. It’s definitely worth putting another couple hours into to see if it hooks you. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first hour but they have to set up the world and it gets off the ground way faster than unsouled.
It's really good, slow to start, but not quite as good as cradle. However, I am not a huge sci-fi fanatic. I would continue the series. It's unique to what else I've read, and it's a refreshing change.