Wind and Truth

Wow. I'm not going to go into detail, but what a ride.

The main spoiler bit is that I was expecting more arcs to conclude, but he pivoted the whole thing into feeling like a true beginning of the war for the Cosmos. I do hope the choice of timescale for the next half doesn't cut too hard on the threads he left open.It's pretty clear there will be some passage of time, but most of the characters don't feel like their stories are finished.

If I could, this would be more like a 4.8 stars but I didn’t feel it quite deserved a perfect 5. I loved all the stories, although one was definitely the standout throughout the whole thing. The character development from each major character is exactly what I wanted. Overall, there were so many great stories and moments (both funny and serious) that made me love this book. I just had a few minor issues with scope, pacing, etc. that made me feel that it wasn’t quite perfect.

I have never been and likely never will be more excited for a book than I was for wind and truth. There is very little Brando could have written that would have made this book less than a five star read for me. That being said, wind and truth earned that rating. The character work is as impeccable as ever. From adolin defining his own role in a changing society and, in doing so, catapulting himself, briefly, to the top spot on my favorite characters list. To kaladins incredible, emotional journey that began on the edge of a chasm way back in the way of kings culminating with some of the deepest, most inspiring moments I’ve ever read. And everyone else in between who faced and were able to overcome their personal challenges in this book. Tears were flowing many times in this one. The entire series was always about these characters more than any overarching plot and wind and truth dove into that even more(although the plot is very much there, and also great).

It’s not a perfect book. I wish he had stuck with classic parts rather than each day being its own. Whereas the earlier books build to a mini climax at the end of each part, some days felt a little flat and I think could have been combined while sticking to the ten day timeline for greater impact in the middle of the book. My only other criticism is that I wished we had more sections like day one where it was just kaladin and shallan. As more and more povs get added, the impact reduces slightly and ultimately there are about five characters I consistently want to hear from and know the inner workings of their minds, leaving more mystery around less important characters and their motivations.

Overall, I leave the storm light archive feeling fulfilled. This series was solely responsible for reintroducing me to the beauty of reading two years ago. I love each and every one of the characters for different reasons and it will be a long seven to ten years without hearing from them or knowing if I’ll ever see some again, but I know it will be worth the wait.

The 5th book in the Stormlight Archive, Wind and Truth is the final conclusion to the 1st arc in the Storm Light Archive was almost perfect, but dont get me wrong still a great read all around and one of the best books I have read in a long time!

This book picks up right after the events in Rhytym of War after Dalinar has set the terms of the final conflict between himself and Odium, 10 days and each side picking a champion.

This one is unique in that the interludes are much shorter and the book is divided into 10 days following each one of our characters on their journeys to the final desolation or end of the world as we know it

I loved the twist that were unexpected that helped bring alot of tension to the story in unexpected ways and each of our characters story lines were just so much fun to follow. The power of the gods, the battle between good and evil, I find it difficult to write a review without spoilers as there is so much I want to say but spoilers would be the result lol

Througout the book for cosmere fans you will notice many references to other cosmere books and worlds, from taldain, to scadrial, to warbreaker and elantris. Every easter egg so to speak makes me say hey i know that, or i recognize that and honestly I love seeing these connections between worlds.

the ending did a great job of both wrapping up this 1st arc but also setting this up well for the 2nd arc leaving me begging for more. So much has changed for Roshar, so much left unanswered, and can't help but feel there is so much more to come and cannot wait for the start of stormlight 6 which as i understand will have a 10 yr time jump from the end of this book.

This book did not get a full 5 stars as there were some parts that maybe did not work the best within the story

the biggest things being LGBTQ issues between 2 characters while I applaud sanderson for trying, and including this aspect within the story, I did not feel it fit well in the greater context of the story or was even a natural fit, but rather kind of a side cameo so to speak in a effort to include this within the story. In a way you could feel the nervousness and insecurity of the characters involved come across in the writing of feeling a bit forced to included this

The 2nd aspect that maybe did not work as well was the therapy side of things, this was not terrible to be honest, and overall I think sanderson has done a overall decent job in representing mental health issues within this series and represented that well tbh, but when approaching this from a therapy side did not work so well imho, while not terribly bad not great eithier. but at the same time the character who is trying to provide said therapy is also trying to figure it out as well, so maybe in that sense it does work.

Kaladin and szeths side quest I think could have been removed almost entirely and been a seperate novel on its own, which would have shorten this one to maybe a more reasonable size, at 1300+ pages this is a big and long read, but overall well worth it.

Wind and Truth feels like a triumph. It falters in it's editing, and probably it's length, but I found it deeply satisfying and thrilling as a fan of the series. I do think some real work needs to happen in the editing department to tighten up these novels and give them the finish they deserve, but this series was a delightful read so far. Very much looking forward to whats next.

An (un)satisfying conclusion to the first arc of The Stormlight Archive.

The Stormlight Archive has had it's ups and downs for me. The highs have been high, but the lows have been low. Wind and Truth felt very solid to me throughout and, despite some pacing issues, I think it was the perfect conclusion to the first arc.

Immediately after finishing the book I found myself really torn about the ending. I spent the next few days thinking about it over and over, and came to the conclusion that the reason I didn't feel satisfied was because I was going to be waiting 6+ years for the next chapter. In retrospect, the ending really is solid, and it has opened up arc 2 of the series to become very interesting indeed.

Immediate gut feeling on rating this was 4 stars, but having spent so much time thinking about the ending and the journey to get there I've given it a 4.5⭐.

I just hope I get as much pleasure from the rest of the Cosmere as I've had with Roshar...

The book overall was pretty disappointing though the end and set up for the next arc in the series is quite well done. Many of the characters are set up to deal with new and unique struggles which should make for a great launch in book 6. The main problem with this book for me was the pacing and just a feeling of bloat like the book could have been under 1000 pages and not lost any of the emotional impact. The constant jumping between POV characters in each chapter got pretty annoying so I didn’t feel like some important character moments hit as hard.

Another thing I was not a big fan, as I am a Christian, is the inclusion/glorification of a gay relationship with one of the main characters. I'm fine with those things being present in books as a mention to describe a character but when it becomes a prominent part of the narrative where that scene is a climatic part of the book, then I start to wonder if this is a book I should continue reading. I am willing to give Brandon some leeway here as the vast majority of this books are not like this, but it will make me start to consider not reading his works if this trend continues.

I’m still looking forward to book 6 but there need to be some changes from book 5 for sure.

This is probably my favorite series in all of fantasy, although I am still processing the conclusion to the pentalogy. The book manages to explain most of the mysteries and tie up the majority of the threads, creating a satisfying conclusion, while still managing to set up the next series by ending on a cliffhanger—or perhaps not quite a cliff, but certainly a steep incline. Granted, while reading, you may find yourself constantly asking, "Does it really need to be this long?"—but the payoff in the end is always worth it.

2.5 STARS - Disappointed to say the least...going to need the 10 years to see if I even continue with the cosmere at this point

Pros:
Conclusion was satisfying
Hype moments are hype as always
Still love the world

Cons:
WAY TOO LONG
seriously way too long, at least 400 pages too long for the story it tried to tell
MCU-ahh lines just takes you out of the immersion

MID.

I started The Way of Kings last summer (July ‘24) and I'm sad to have this journey end for now.

The Stormlight Archive has some of the best written characters I have come across. All of these characters are so deeply fleshed out that I find myself relating, to some extent, with all of them. Back in Oathbringer, Dalinar writes “The most important words a man can say are, ‘I will do better'.” Months after reading that line, I still find myself thinking back to it and reflecting. Reflecting on how every character is striving to do just that, reflecting on how I want to be a better person and not let my own past define who I will be. Sanderson covers a many heavy themes through this story but I found those of redemption and morality to be the most poignant, especially in Wind and Truth.

The story being broken up into 10 sections/days was a smart decision. There is a sense of urgency in every chapter that isn't present in the previous books, and while some of the early days feel slow, the final days are a full on sprint to meet the deadline of the contest.

All in all, Wind and Truth was a fantastic conclusion to the first arc of The Stormlight Archive, with a destination that was just as satisfying as the journey.

Very uneven. The first half of this book was painfully slow and I went days and weeks without being interested in picking it back up. The second half was far more engaging, but still slow at times until probably the last quarter or so.

I'm not sure what to rate this book, the first half was 2.5 or 3, while the second half was 3.5 or 4. This book is so long it could easily be 3 books. I'm inclined to just go with it ending strong and give it a 3.5

I'm not sure if the series has just simply grown too bloated (like many epic fantasy series before it), or if it's simply that my tastes and reading habits have severely changed since I first started reading this series.

Some character arcs were far more interesting to me than others. I'll be curious to see how interested I am with his planned break between this book at the next. Likely I'll be excited to pick it back up again, but probably far less excited than I was after the first three books.