Amazing finale to the first half of Stormlight

The whole book feels like one continuous climax compared to previous books that built up to theirs then went into the "Sanderlanche". This one spends about a chapter on letting the character breathe before events continue to constantly unfold. Well performed as well!

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too short

too short need more this was the best book in the series gonna lislisten again

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An Epic Conclusion (to the first half)

Sanderson flawlessly concludes the first half of the Stormlight Archive, wrapping up a number of crucial character arcs while masterfully setting up others to take the main stage in the back 5. I laughed, I cried, I was shocked into silence by the many amazing revelations. Truly a classic.

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Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen? Why multiverse?

The first books had incredible, detailed battle scenes on various scales, intrigue and mystery, interesting characters that it was hard to predict the actions of.

I never once felt like some modern talking point or trope was being thrown at me.

Two big issues. Multiverse is one. I'll cover that more later.


The most stand out moment in this slog of a book so far has been when "The Sibling" (a literal spiritual entity and therefore having neither sex nor gender) announce that they are neither male nor female and some character who I can't remember and didn't care about at all being like "OH MY GOD TELL ME MORE YOU'RE JUST LIKE ME"

It was so unnecessary and apparently just there to throw a non binary person into the story. Weird and out of place. In a society where people who don't follow tradition are either considered lesser or entirely cast out depending where you're from. You expect me to believe they just totally accept someone who would have to completely disregard the gendered roles assigned in each society? In a society where eye color used to determine social status and it only recently because not taboo for men to read?

I read fantasy to lose myself in a fantasy world. Not to have modern talking points tossed out in poorly written, non organic ways.

You could make The Storm Father gay for Odium and it would feel less out of place, and could probably be explained in a way that makes sense. They fell for each other after Millenia of fighting and ended up seeing each other differently or something like that. Hell. Make Odium and Cultivation a non binary couple and THAT could've worked more organically.


Oh how I wish that wasn't the stand out scene for me. I wish it was the defense of Azir. Or the scenes from Szeth's "pilgrimage"

The ironic part is the reason they aren't so stand out to me - is because they were well written scenes for the most part.

Things are almost impossible to keep track of at this point. There are... I don't actually know. 4 dimensions? No... 6? The physical, cognitive and spiritual. However there appears to be a fourth, which I will refer to as the light realm. Oh and a fifth, the gods realm.

It appears the gods do not actually exist purely in any of the primary three realms. In other books such as the Mistborn series, we have well established there is a sort of upper layer realm where gods reside.

As for the "light realm" it appears to be a cross of cognitive and spiritual realms, Where memories are played out in visions, yet somehow the people seeing the vision can be harmed. Even though the vision is only a "whisper of a memory" type thing. Maybe I'm not understanding that correctly.

Oh and there's also ANOTHER-other realm where it's basically multiple timelines? / a multiverse going on.

I feel like this should've been split into two or three books, following the different characters. Trying to keep track of everyone all at once is kind of difficult.

Beyond that, due to the introduction of multiple timelines and such. Nothing matters. None of these stories or characters or actions matter. They succeed? Cool. Doesn't matter, they failed on the other timelines. Is this the only significant timeline? Why?
What's the actual difference between timelines? Do the gods only rule over one? Why is it more important? Does that mean the other timelines also have gods? or that the gods are omniscient? So many questions and implications, zero answers.

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A Strong Conclusion

The book surprised and satisfied in many ways, highly emotional at times, very dire battles, lots to enjoy. I've noticed the average reviews dropping from 4.9 to 4.3 since the "anti-woke" crowd arrived, but either they misunderstood the first 2,000,000 words of the Stormlight Archive and its messages of racial inclusion, diversity, and progress, or it's yet another fake review brigade by the unwashed, uneducated hivemind of the "uncensored" internet.

Anyway, I liked it better than Rhythm of War. Probably better than Oathbringer as well, or at least as good. Message to the people in desperate need of a clean diaper: if a gay character or two bothers you enough to write a review on Audible, consider how much of an indescribably sensitive baby you are and consider reading books for children instead. The ones with pictures instead of words.

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Standout Entry

I was pretty sure that this was going to be my jumping off point for the Stormlight Archive. While I've enjoyed the series on balance, some of the more grating parts of Sanderson's writing have been keeping me from fully committing to the series. I didn't think I had another 5 books in me. After this entry, though, I'm excited to keep going! In my opinion, this is the strongest outing since The Way of Kings.

Things started off a bit rocky. Coming off of Rhythm of War (which I enjoyed, but was very slow and felt like a lull in the series) I wasn't sure if I was ready for a 60 hour listen. Right at the start there were some moments of classic Sanderson cringe (I've just always found the humour to be too corny too often) that had me worried for the rest of the ride.

Once things get moving, however, I found this to be one of the better paced and more exciting entries in the series. With stakes high across the board, each of the main stories felt exciting and impactful in their own way. Sanderson leans into his strengths with some great fight scenes and thoughtful examination of his characters' inner lives.

Is the word-by-word writing anything spectacular or flashy? No, it still leans toward simple utilitarian descriptions. Is it occasionally corny or on-the-nose? Yeah for sure, if you're this far into the series you know that's part of the package. But is it a good time? Absolutely. Much more fun than I expected it to be.

Even if your interest in the series has been flagging, I'd recommend giving this one a chance. I think you'll remember all the reasons that you've spent so much time in this word and keep coming back for more.

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lots of action

So many interesting character arcs happening at the same time. Some of the characters were a bit frustrating at times. I didn't feel like there was very much bloat or filler as some reviews stated. It is a long book but I definitely wouldn't say that it was harder to get through than any other book in the series. it also sets us uo for future stormlight books. the ending is definitely not what I was expecting and I was satisfied with it but left me with lots of questions and I am excited for future stormlight books!

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Dry and boring

Way too much exposition and dialog to be entertaining. A good author doesn't tell me about their story, they show it to me, and this book is pure telling me about it. Plus all the grade school relationship drama with LGBTQ issues feels so out of place and unwelcomed. Keep your real world politics out of leisure literature.

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A satisfying ending to the first arc

As much as I got right, I got wrong. As always Sanderson found ways to surprise me. He 100% stuck the landing of the first arc. If Rhythm of War was an ode to science, this is an ode to philosophy and the nature of divinity. Like CS Lewis and Tolkien before him Sanderson has managed to craft something that illuminates truths. There are no hard answers to the questions posed, but this book spoke to me on so many levels. As a fantasy nerd who wanted a fantastical and well realized world, as an action nerd who wanted well crafted magical fights, and as a person who has struggled with questions about the meaning of life, humanity and god in the face of suffering.
While the name Wind and Truth is apt and closes in on completing the Ketek, it felt like this book called equally have been called The Song of the Listeners, something I won't explain but will make sense when you read the book and not for the surface reasons you're probably thinking.
To think it will be almost a decade before this story continues is heartbreaking. Onward. Ever onward. The next step... always the next.

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journey before destination

I laughed, i cried, I screamed, and I cheered

I hiked outside in the snow after a blizzard to listen to this book. worth every step. it also helped me lose some weight, I lost 5 pounds

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