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.

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.