Cradle reading order

A plan for the whole series

12 volumes, 4,951 pages, about 90 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 months.

• Readers scored volume 9, “Bloodline”, below its predecessor (8.5 after 8.8). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you. From volume 10 the form returns.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2023. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

6 stages, with 5 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around March 31, 2027, about 4 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 119 habout 4 weeksby November 29, 2026

   • 1. Unsouled2016 · 384 pages · 7 h
   • 2. Soulsmith2016 · 284 pages · 5 h
   • 3. Blackflame2017 · 368 pages · 7 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 9, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 215 h20 daysby December 29, 2026

   • 4. Skysworn2017 · ≈ 413 pages · 8 h
   • 5. Ghostwater2018 · ≈ 413 pages · 8 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by January 2, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 313 h17 daysby January 19, 2027

   • 6. Underlord2019 · 348 pages · 6 h
   • 7. Uncrowned2019 · 355 pages · 7 h
6. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 23, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 417 habout 3 weeksby February 14, 2027

   • 8. Wintersteel2020 · 522 pages · 10 h
   • 9. Bloodline2021 · 378 pages · 7 h
8. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by February 18, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 59 h12 daysby March 2, 2027

   • 10. Reaper2021 · 486 pages · 9 h
10. Short breakTo Be Taught, If Fortunate · Becky Chambers · 153 pp. · score 8.33 h, by March 7, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 618 habout 3 weeksby March 31, 2027

    • 11. Dreadgod2022 · 484 pages · 9 h
    • 12. Waybound2023 · 516 pages · 9 h
12. The end of the series

    March 31, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: it gets better. Readers scored the opening (8.2) below the ending (8.7). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.

Best volume: Wintersteel (8.8, 414 ratings). Weakest: Unsouled (8.0). The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2023. The last volume (8.7) scores close to the series average or above it.