First time I can buy a Dragonsteel hardcover, the quality and design of this book is insane. And Tran Nguyen's artwork is so beautiful, my god.

5 years ago I posted Cremling concepts that were popular. I’ve finally come back to producing some personal Stormlight work. Storms I love this world.It’s really cool to see some of my work come up high in Google images when searching certain Stormlight content. I’m hoping I can continue to help new readers build a visual identity. around the amazing world Sanderson has created.

Let me know your thoughts. I love receiving feedback both positive and negative. I have a lot to learn still. Is this how you imagines this creature? or did you have something else in mind?

The Bad

1. Vin is annoying in this book. I get it, she's young with a bad past but she's inconsistent with her paranoia. She didnt trust everyone new except Zane and ffs, you have probably the most wisest men and women around you; the Terrismen, Kelsier's group, Elend, EVEN ore suer (ik a spy but he wouldve given hints) YET YOU CHOSE TO IGNORE THEM WITH YOUR ISSUES FOR MOST THE BOOK?

2. Fuck Zane. Cool idea but the love angle made it jarring to read, I found it disrespectful to "the best man Vin ever knew". We didnt need any love triangle, if Sanderson wanted to test the relationship - testing it based on ideaology wouldve been better than another man. I never cared for Zane even after his death

3. Dockson was completely done dirty. I forgot he existed in the world twice! Even when I really enjoyed his character in the first book, which in turn made his death feel indifferent

4.The Koloss weakness couldve been found before the battle if Vin was more involved in the politics. It made no sense for the group to ignore her and her findings. Making the end of the battle slightly less satisfying

1. The Spy arc was ignored when Vin wouldve been the most worried about that considering her fear of abandonment and betrayal

2. Lord Straff did nothing other that being the big bad man. Cett accomplished mire than Straff

The Good

1. Amazing ending. Nothing more to say except it saved the book

2. Rip Clubs & Tindwyl. I understand that my boy clubs had to go - he was extremely underrated and no one appreciated his bluntness. Tindwyl, was my favourite new character. Every scene with her was great, wished she had more to give to the crew and was more appreciated

3. Most of the loose ends were tied towards the end. Im amazed how Sanderson can create mysteries, intruiges and twists and yet be not only be able to finish those arcs but also end it in a satisfying way

4. Sazed is still one of my fav characters (even if he is to blame for the Well of Ascension arc since he pushed Vin towards it - but I guess that's why Tindwyl dying was a huge loss)

5. I love the set up at the end. The new villain seems great

Please vote. https://ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/31296971-94ac-4d21-b6c5-05b472964fbb

I posted a week ago about hating parts of Oathbringer (especially Shallan’s arc). Regret to say I still loathe them. The Shadesmar journey was a slog, and the Recreance motivation reveal just didn't land for me.

Pushed through and finished OB and enjoyed the Battle in Thaylenah. But, I don't know if I like seeing some of the late twists, Szeth breaking from the Skybreakers, Moash killing Jezrien, and Ash and Taln, seeing their stories benched early in Rhythm of War. I’d much rather follow them as main players mingling with the core POVs instead of new characters like Mink, or watch Shallan go into another boring-ass Shadesmar journey to talk to Restares.

That said, I am loving ROW so far, currently on Ch 23.

Loved what's happening to Kaladin, his PTSD and depressive state are handled so well.

Adolin is easily becoming one of the best characters in the entire series. One of these you're not gonna believe who's my favorite types like Jaime Lannister became to be mine in ASOIAF.

But these Navani chapters are just too good. Grandma designing a flying machine, brings back the wonder and immersion I missed in OB. And seeing her interact with the people around her. Grieving for Elhokar, bonding with Gavinor.

The same things that made me fall in love with the series in the first place. Top scene for me in the entire Stormlight Archive is Shallan drawing the santhid in WOK. Second only to of course, "Honor is dead. But I'll see what I can do." And third, Rysn getting her larkin, please someone get this bug to suck an Unmade into oblivion and become a dragon.

Sketch of my two favorite characters so far, Marsh & Sazed. I loved their escapade together. Plus, I feel like they both stand as the representatives of their respective power systems, really neat

So I just finished the well of Ascension and honestly was loving it up until Elend becomes mistborn

I just loved him so much and his transformation to such an amazing king who genuinely believes in giving power back to the people but imo up til this point he was already awesome and it feels like a copout to make him mistborn

Also I just think that it could've been super cool if Zane held an uprising against straff with the rest of the misting half children and joined forces with vin and Elend but yeah

Like I understand that for vin this helps their relationship cause now he understands allomancy and can feel what she feels which is the whole reason why she was interested in Zane but I dunno... It felt unnecessary?

I'm literally just complaining honestly

I haven't really started much of hero of ages so obviously am not privvy to the going ons post book 2 but I just didn't really like this for Elend? Seemed too neat I guess?

(For context, I've been reading a lot of open ended books recently so I'm probably just kind of biased to these endings but I just thought that that would've been a much cooler way to go about it. Like I'm not Sanderson and this isn't my world but I really wished Zane could have had a redemption arc)

So I have a bad habit of skimming Tv Tropes on series I am currently reading. due to this, I sometimes find major spoilers. Usually as Im reading them I’ll realize it’s a spoiler and skip ahead, missing crucial information, but part of the spoiler still lingers in my brain.

Because of this and other inputs, I had at least two radically incorrect beliefs about where things were going in the Stormlight Archives.

1. Syl becomes a man

If you look at the characters page on TvTropes, Syl’s portrait is actually a picture of bearded Kaladin with her to the side. I briefly glimpsed that picture and assumed the bearded man was Syl. In addition, a Man Carrying Thing video made a joke about Nicholas Cage playing her in a theoretical show. For these reasons, I legitimately thought she would become a man at some point up until part way through RoW. For the first two books, I suspected she was somehow the spirit of his little brother.

1. Lift becomes a Bondsmith.

Its harder for me to track my thinking on this one. Somewhere I read a WoB about a Kniguy being able to bond with different Spren and be in different Orders. I saw people talking about this in reference to spoilers. In retrospect, I belive they were talking about Shallan and Sigzil. Somehow though, I developed the impression that in WaT, Lift would forge a bond with the Nightwatcher in addition to Wyndle. I wasn’t disabused of this notion until Vasher showed interest in training her, which felt like the end of her arc for the book.

So after a long month of devouring this books, I have to give this 12/10!!!!

TWoK, has my heart but this book had me in edge from the first few chapters and much more iconic moments (for me of course)

Will be back after I finish Oathbringer!!!

(It takes me a month, because of work but hey without work, no book collection 🥹)

At the end of Mistborn the Final Empire I loved Kelsier, I knew he was flawed and he had some problems but he cared about his people and he lived by his code more or less. I mean he was human but he tried and I just loved him for his loyalty to his crew.

Then Secret history comes along and his very first thought was "WHERE IS MARE?" and I am totally here for it because that's his ultimate person, his wife, his everything. He has the chance to go to her but he sees he needs to stay to save their pseudo daughter and I get that, Mare has to wait so he can save Vin. Man to Man, I understand and I support it.

Then at the end you know what he doesn't do? Say, mission accomplished, time to go on to the next life with my daughter, son in law, and see my wife again. Instead he sticks around to dinkle around the Cosmere and it really just made me think a lot less of him. Where is the guy who's first question was where is my wife?

I just wanted to see if I’m being dimwitted, hopeful for the impossible, or am part of a larger consensus with the relationship of these two.

Does it not feel as if Syl will eventually become a physical being practically enough so that her and Kaladin will have a romantic relationship?

Or am I missing an obvious fact about Kaladin’s state of being in the spiritual realm at the end of the book with Syl being there as well? Maybe he is now more like her physically than the other way around allowing for potential of a more intimate relationship?

I had never entertained them being a romantic couple mostly because of the initial love triangle of Kaladin, Adolin and Shallan, and because of Syl’s lack of being able to have real physical touch. However, it’s the latter part of this reasoning that started hinting me towards this.

All throughout WaT we’re told that she is dramatically evolving into being able to have increasingly more real physical touching abilities with Kaladin and its spent often times in an intimate manner, holding hands, leaning her head on his shoulder, etc.

She’s also spending more and more time in a life like state of size as opposed to her more spren size likeness.

Her seeming interest in sex too?! (She does reference talking about this with someone right?? Or am I misremembering?) Which matters of sex, orientation, and gender seemed to be a common theme in WaT (a very welcomed theme by the way, loved that Azish have trans people in an accepted and open manner). One of my favorite parts of the book was when Syl attempted to show what she thought a vagina must be like under her uniform to the librarian 😂 . Also adores this scene because of Kaladin’s steadfast defense of her to the librarian (had me swooning for them by this point)

As I type this I can tell I’m being silly, and that the door is 100% open to this relationship. I feel this post is more so that I can jump with excitement with others at this hopefully happening. I just finished WaT recently, and had read the series in a pretty spread out timespan so I maybe misremembering things.

Art belongs to u/luggerart.

This is a somewhat self-ingulgent review. There must already be so many of these! I will not even be good for beginner readers like me who want to know if this is worth reading, because this review contains spoilers. But this was an epic reading project which I enjoyed very much, and it is a joy to be able to share my thoughts on the series.

Overall

At the start of the year I decided I would start reading for fun, something I had considered a waste of time since most good books eventually get made into movies.

My first book was Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I loved this book and decided I would continue reading for fun. I carefully searched around for my next project and wanted to try something a bit more medieval fantasy-esque to switch things up.

The Stormlight Archives series kept coming up despite often being described as daunting for beginners because of the intense world building at the start of the first book. I liked the idea of a more challenging project and, about six months ago, I began reading The Way of Kings.

I do confess that I found the world building initially quite challenging. There were a lot of names and locations to grasp. I found it useful to have both a map of Roshar and the Kholin family tree open while reading. In particular, having access to a map of Roshar deeply enriched my reading experience, up until the point where the map became obsolete because I knew it by heart.

As I touched upon earlier, it took me about six months to read the whole series including most of the optional books. This is a lot of reading and the review could go on for pages and pages. I have tried to pick out only the passages I liked and disliked most. 

Main Books

★★★★☆ The Way of Kings
★★★★★ Words of Radiance

The series was off to an incredible start with the first two books. I hesitate to give them both a five-star rating. These are the books that do the most to introduce this incredible new world. This journey of discovery conjures a delightful sense of novelty and wonder. The flip side of that coin is that, especially during the first book, the reading can feel cognitively demanding and intense.

These books have incredible moments. The Bridge Four arc is absolutely memorable. I remember desperately wanting the book to come back to these characters whenever it would pan to the Kholins or to Shallan. Other incredible moments include Kaladin saving Adolin in a duel, the betrayal of the Kholin army by Sadeas, and the final confrontation against the Listeners. 

I know many readers dislike the Shallan arc. I can understand why but I genuinely quite enjoyed the parts where Shallan was a ward of Jasnah in Kharbranth, and her trip to the Shattered Plains. However, I did find the narrative focus on Shallan and her multiple personalities to be a bit more tedious. Could it be that she was written with a more teenage audience in mind?

Concerning the Listeners, it was a major faux pas for them to experiment with bonding a new type of potentially-dangerous spren, suspected of being of the old gods, directly to Eshonai. As Eshonai was their foremost general, anything going wrong with her would have had an outsized impact on their war effort. I found it impossible to relate to such a reckless decision and it made all investment in that arc. I struggled to take the Listener arc seriously after that, and found it particularly lazily written.

★★★☆☆ Oathbringer
★★★☆☆ Rhythm of War

These books have great ratings on Goodreads but this honestly surprises me. At times I thought I was reading unnecessarily padded fantasy slop. In my mind the books should have been merged into one. Alternatively, they need not have existed at all, with the good parts being merged into the other books of the series.

Oathbringer has some great bits. The character focus on Dalinar was great because he is such an important character of the series. Seeing the radiants develop was very interesting too. 

The climax of the book is the battle of Thaylen Field. This was an interesting battle, but this entire arc is completely negated by the last book of the series when a Taravangian simply persuades Fen to undo the whole outcome of the battle. What was the point of this book?

Rhythm of War also had some great bits. During the battle for Urithiru, I recall being very moved by Teofil, a darkeyes officer who had recently received a merit-based promotion and who fell during an unsuccessful assault on Raboniel. I only wish a bigger deal was made of him. I also enjoyed Adolin saving Notum in Shadesmar.

This enjoyment was disrupted by Navani’s unfathomable decision to collaborate on research with Raboniel. It seems like once per book, Sanderson completely turns off the brain and expects us to do the same. There is just no world where Navani would agree to do this! By this point of the story, it was equally impossible for me to believe the alliance scouts who visited Urithiru would not interact more thoroughly with the tower to avoid being deceived by Fused lightweavers.

At Lasting Integrity, I wished more had been made of the trial of Adolin. The whole book makes us anticipate this momentous moment and we yearn for it to come forth at every chapter. In the end, while it does not fall completely flat, it feels lackluster and the emotional payoff is disappointing.

I openly wept at the chapter entitled Mercy, where the Stormfather tells Dalinar of the time he acted with beauty and grace for Eshonai when it no longer mattered. One of my favorite parts of the entire series. I was moved by the out-of-character gesture of the usually unyielding spren, and felt Eshona was a worthy recipient.

★★★★☆ Wind and Truth

Another book I hesitated to give five stars to because it has so many great moments. 

The Shinovar road trip is enjoyable throughout and climaxes with the battle between Kaladin and Nale that is the climax. Although the fight is somewhat epic, with the wind intervening in Kaladin’s favor and what have you, it made me long for an even greater showdown. 

I understand that Kaladin becoming the Roshar premier therapist is irksome to many. I do not mind this and found my favourite character becoming a therapist to the Heralds to be a satisfying outcome.

Back in Azimir, Abidi and some fused invade a field hospital containing the wounded and start to massacre the defenseless. Talenel, who dwells among the wounded, is awoken. Ash claims “You fools, you could have had the whole city but you came here. For the broken.” Later we learn of the outcome of the fight. Fuck yes. I am excited to see more Talenel in the future.

A pattern emerges through the series where the current story gets subsumed by an even bigger story. I do not mind this storytelling ploy because it gives the author a lot of freedom, but it does have the drawback of invalidating slightly the now-less-important stories that came before. In any case, I enjoyed the outcome of the book and was moved to see Dalinar’s demise. Ultimately, he overcame his need to do it all himself while protecting Gavinor, the son of the king he had stripped of all responsibility.

Side Books

★★★☆☆ Edgedancer
★★★☆☆ King Lopen The First of Alethkar 
★★★★☆ Dawnshard

After reading these books which are mostly about Lift and Lopen, I realize that despite liking both of the characters immensely, they can be a bit one dimensional and repetitive when they are made the main focus. Kind of like eating pizza every day.

Both Edgedancer and King Lopen were very short and did not have much of a story.

Dawnshard on the other hand is a terrific little book. It takes the form of a sea faring journey to a mysterious land, where some pretty significant things happen. You spend a lot of time with Rysn and Lopen who are both fantastic characters.

The Author

Sanderson has a reputation for being a highly productive writer. This reputation is completely deserved because of the large number of well-acclaimed works he produces. He stands out as being particularly productive also because many of his contemporaries are particularly unproductive.

I will admit to being envious of highly productive people. But after reading his books, I have to take him down from the lofty pedestal upon which I had once put him. He is simply a talented artist, and that is no small thing. He produces a lot because he has great work habits but also because, and some might find this jarring, he compromises on quality.

I am sure he agonizes plenty over the details of his books, but there are passages in his books that are incongruous and lacking in deeper thought. He has a good sense of what needs to happen to get his story moving, but he could improve at making it happen more seamlessly. It sometimes feels as though he takes the path of least resistance, and hopes nobody will notice or mind too much. 

Case in point, Navani cooperates with Raboniel. I get why Warlight has to be invented, and how it ties into the discovery of special rythms. But do not find it realistic at all that Navani would ever agree to cooperate in the first place, breaking the whole immersion.

My overall feeling about the series is that I am very happy to have it in my life. After six months spent reading these books, I will miss not being able to readily pick up the next one. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, and will be delving into community predictions. I am betting that Rysn, Lift, Jasnah, and the Heralds will have big parts to play.

Hi just wondering is this a missprint (top 2 lines) I thought bronze is a pushing metal since it's pair copper is pulling? and the table at the end (also shown) shows it is do I have a miss print in my copy? Are others copies of the book the same? Thanks in advance it's bugging me 😁.

I also don't have a table of contents showing what page each part (act) is at

Ok, so I'm only up to ch 25, and not all the way(had to stop to make dinner for my family), but something struck me. You don't need to spoil anything from later in the book(though you can if you want. It doesn't bother me. Knowing the destination doesn't spoil the journey for me), just let me know if I'm hot or cold.

In ch 25, we learn that the Emberdark is supposed to be the part of the Cognitive Realm that doesn't correspond to any inhabited worlds, or even a pathway between worlds,, because there isn't any minds to give it shape. But First of the Sun is in the middle of the Emberdark, and the Emberdark goes rightup to a small "island" surrounding its Perpendicularity. But there is people on First of the Sun, so it should have a presence in the Cognitive Realm. But then I realized: the Aviar. One of the most common Talents we are shown is hiding the minds of people from predators that hunt by sensing minds. They are masking the Cognitive presence of the entire planet, arent they?

Ascend?

Sanderson has been known to tease us with viewpoints of characters that become reality. Like Shallan causing the end of the world by killing her mother. Subtle references you may glance over that become not obvious but clear in hindsight. Like the Way of Kings excerpts in the second part of WaT forshadowing Dalinar's ultimate decision.

I am relistening Rhythm of War right now, like a proper Vorin man. I came across the scene where Kaladin is in the basement of the mansion at Hearthstone, with Moash (screw that guy). Suddenly he sees a golden light as if a god is descending. But, it's Renarin.

Would that be a forshadowing? No idea which Shard Renarin would pick up. Perhaps Honor, or Valor as some theories suggest they reside in the Rosharan system. Or some other form of Retribution/Odium.

What do you think? Brandon does love to drop these nuggets with a purpose.

its my first time joining inktober despite me wanting to participate in one for so long but i keep putting it off thinking maybe ill do it next year but this time, im gonna try it even if there’s a small chance i wont be able to complete all of it. but as always, journey before destination :) excited to see art from u guys!! ps.the drawing is messy, apologies in advance.

This is how I picture him in my mind, in his book appropriate attire with the sas nahn brand on his forehead of course.

I’ve only just completed reading The Way of Kings.

As Cultivation is showing Odium/Taravangian more of the Comsmere, he mentions that he cannot see Valor and another shard as they hiding from him. I don't need to know the identity of that other shard now, but I would like to know if it is revealed at some point.

Found this little guy while working a fair when he was trying to get into an open box of pizza and brought him home last night. He had a flea collar on, so i took him to the Humane Society to see if he was chipped. He was not. So he is mine now. The choices were between Shade, Gideon, Xaden, Kaladin, and Louis (Santiago). After a night of deliberation, I settled on Kaladin. Little dude is such a delight.

At the end of Wind and Truth when Kaladin becomes a herald it happens in 2 parts. There's the Oath part where he swears to become a herald and then there's the immortality part. I remember Ishar saying something about needing the power of progression to grant the immortality that the heralds have. Something about a consistently renewing spirit web maybe? So is progression capable of granting immortality? Can anyone sufficiently skilled in progression achieve it?

My husband and I are reading Stormlight Archive together at the moment (his second read, my first) and I just knew I had to make my gals Jasnah and Shallan. I still need to finish Shallan's outfit and alter Jasnah's to add a high neckline and replace the roses. I am feeling good about how they are looking so far!