Reading Order
Cradle Series Reading Order: All 12 Books by Will Wight
The Cradle series reading order is the 12 volumes in number order, from Unsouled to Waybound, then the story collection Threshold. Will Wight's site calls Cradle "12 volumes, complete", so you can start knowing it ends. Below: every book with its paperback date and page count from Amazon, the Audible length (Travis Baldree narrates all 12) and the Goodreads rating as of October 10, 2026. No plot spoilers.
TL;DR: Read volumes 1 to 12 in order, then Threshold: Stories from Cradle (listed as Cradle 13 on Amazon). The series is finished. On Audible the 12 volumes add up to about 134 hours. Ebooks are Amazon-only, per the author.
Key Takeaways
- 12 volumes, complete, by Will Wight, published by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Amazon product details).
- Then Threshold, a short-story collection Amazon lists as "Cradle, 13" (paperback January 6, 2026).
- Audiobooks: Travis Baldree narrates every volume; about 134 h 25 m in total (our sum of Audible's lengths).
- Short books: paperbacks run 384 to 526 pages, 5,380 pages for all 12.
- Goodreads (checked Oct 10, 2026): book 1 has 63,846 ratings at 4.13; volumes 5 to 12 all average 4.49 or higher.
Overview
Cradle is a 12-book progression fantasy series by Will Wight, first published between 2016 and 2023 according to the publication years on his Goodreads author page. It is one of the most recommended series in reader threads: in five r/DungeonCrawlerCarl and r/litrpg threads asking what to read next that we tallied on October 10, 2026, Cradle was named in 83 top-level comments, more than any other LitRPG or progression fantasy series (see our books like Dungeon Crawler Carl list for the full count).
Two practical points before you start. The books are short by genre standards, so the first few go quickly. And Will Wight's site states that "Will's ebook editions are exclusive to Amazon", so the Kindle edition is the only ebook route.
Cover: Hidden Gnome Publishing / Will Wight (via willwight.com)
Every Cradle Book in Order
"First published" is the year Goodreads gives for each volume. The paperback columns are the current Hidden Gnome paperbacks on Amazon (several were reissued together, so their dates are not the original release dates). Audible lengths are from Audible's Cradle series page.
| # | Title | First published (Goodreads) | Paperback (Amazon) | Pages | Audible length | Goodreads (Oct 10, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unsouled | 2016 | Mar 14, 2023 | 384 | 8 h 52 m | 4.13 from 63,846 |
| 2 | Soulsmith | 2016 | Mar 14, 2023 | 384 | 8 h 31 m | 4.31 from 46,227 |
| 3 | Blackflame | 2017 | Mar 14, 2023 | 512 | 11 h 10 m | 4.50 from 42,474 |
| 4 | Skysworn | 2017 | Aug 27, 2024 | 384 | 8 h 43 m | 4.37 from 39,889 |
| 5 | Ghostwater | 2018 | Aug 27, 2024 | 400 | 9 h 16 m | 4.55 from 38,874 |
| 6 | Underlord | 2019 | Aug 27, 2024 | 456 | 10 h 42 m | 4.61 from 37,966 |
| 7 | Uncrowned | 2019 | Feb 4, 2025 | 430 | 9 h 32 m | 4.57 from 36,637 |
| 8 | Wintersteel | 2020 | Feb 4, 2025 | 526 | 14 h 39 m | 4.68 from 35,933 |
| 9 | Bloodline | 2021 | Feb 4, 2025 | 418 | 11 h 12 m | 4.49 from 33,441 |
| 10 | Reaper | 2021 | Jun 10, 2025 | 486 | 13 h 7 m | 4.65 from 32,794 |
| 11 | Dreadgod | 2022 | Jun 10, 2025 | 484 | 12 h 28 m | 4.61 from 29,558 |
| 12 | Waybound | 2023 | Jul 8, 2025 | 516 | 16 h 13 m | 4.61 from 26,111 |
| 13 | Threshold: Stories from Cradle | 2025 | Jan 6, 2026 | 396 | 8 h 35 m | 4.43 from 5,274 |
The 12 main paperbacks add up to 5,380 pages. Audible's series page says "13 books in series" because it counts Threshold too.
Cover: Hidden Gnome Publishing / Will Wight (via willwight.com)
Step-by-Step: How to Read Cradle
1. Start with Unsouled (volume 1): 384 pages in paperback, 8 hours 52 minutes on Audible.
2. Give it at least three books: volumes 1 and 2 are among the shortest (384 pages each in paperback, under 9 hours each on audio). One reader we quote below says it takes a few short books to get hooked, and the Goodreads average rises from 4.13 for book 1 to 4.50 for book 3.
3. Read volumes 4 to 12 straight through: the series is complete, so there is no wait between books. The longest single volume, Waybound, is still only 16 hours 13 minutes on audio.
4. Finish with Threshold: Amazon lists Threshold: Stories from Cradle as Cradle 13. It is a story collection, so read it after Waybound, not in the middle of the series.
5. Then try Will Wight's other series: see "What to read after Cradle" below.
The Audiobooks
Every volume on Audible is narrated by Travis Baldree, and the audio publisher credit on book 1 reads "©2016 Hidden Gnome Publishing (P)2018 Hidden Gnome Publishing". The 12 lengths add up to 134 hours 25 minutes, about 11 hours per book. For comparison, the eight Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobooks run about 159 hours (see our Dungeon Crawler Carl reading order).
Audible's release dates on the series page (September 25 and 26, 2019 for volumes 1 to 7, then 2020 to 2023 for 8 to 12) are the dates of the current audio editions, not the books' first publication, which is why we use the Goodreads years in the table.
Cover: Hidden Gnome Publishing / Will Wight (via willwight.com)
What Readers Say
In an r/DungeonCrawlerCarl thread from September 21, 2026 about finding a book after DCC, u/ShibumiRumi wrote: "Cradle is worth sticking it out. It does take a few short books to get hooked, but the best characters come in book three and book four." (comment).
In an r/litrpg thread from February 25, 2026 asking for an audiobook to listen to next, u/One_Balance_5645 recommended the "Cradle series, although it's kind of a cultivation series. Very good though." (comment).
What to Read After Cradle
Will Wight's site lists three other series, each with its status:
- The Elder Empire: "Complete, 6 books over 2 trilogies". The site notes the two trilogies "take place concurrently", so check the author's page for how to interleave them.
- The Traveler's Gate: a trilogy, marked "Completed".
- The Last Horizon: "a planned seven-book fantasy series", "currently ongoing". On Goodreads, book 1 (The Captain, 2023) has 10,242 ratings and book 4 (The Pilot, 2025) has 3,188, both checked October 10, 2026.
Cover: Hidden Gnome Publishing / Will Wight (via willwight.com)
Tips Before You Start
- Kindle only for ebooks. The author's site says his ebook editions are exclusive to Amazon.
- Paperback dates are reissue dates. the 12 main paperbacks on Amazon came out in batches from 2023 to 2025; the series itself ran from 2016 to 2023.
- Audible counts 13 books because it includes Threshold; the main story is 12.
- Spoilers: later volume titles and covers are safe, but fan wikis and Reddit threads use volume numbers freely, so stay below your current book.
Our take
Based on the facts above, Cradle is the easiest big progression fantasy series to start right now: it is finished, the books are short (about 11 hours each on audio, 384 to 526 pages in paperback) and one narrator reads all of it. The main risk is the opening; readers in the threads we quoted say it takes a few books, and the Goodreads average for book 1 is the lowest of the 12. If you give it three volumes and it has not clicked, the rest of the series is unlikely to change your mind.
How we checked this
On October 10, 2026 we opened Will Wight's site (series status, other series, the Amazon-exclusive note), the Amazon paperback page for each volume (publication date, print length, publisher), Audible's Cradle series page and the book 1 product page (narrator, lengths), and Will Wight's Goodreads author list (ratings, first-published years). The Reddit quotes were copied from the thread data. Totals are our own sums. A second pass compared every number with our source table.
Related Reading
- Books like Cradle: the 10 series Cradle fans name most often, with narrators and Goodreads data.
- The Primal Hunter reading order: a long ongoing series, also narrated by Travis Baldree.
- New LitRPG books, October 2026: this month's releases from Aethon and others.
- All reading-order guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Cradle series reading order? Volumes 1 to 12 by number, from Unsouled to Waybound, then Threshold: Stories from Cradle.
Is the Cradle series finished? Yes. Will Wight's site says "12 volumes, complete".
How long is the Cradle audiobook series? About 134 hours 25 minutes for the 12 volumes, all narrated by Travis Baldree.
Who publishes Cradle? Hidden Gnome Publishing, per Amazon's product details.
What should I read after Cradle? Will Wight's The Elder Empire, The Traveler's Gate or The Last Horizon, or a series from our books-like list.
References
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About the author
Editorial desk
The LevelUpShelf desk. Every article is built from a source file: publisher and Amazon pages, Audible, Royal Road and dated Goodreads counts, each linked in the article.
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