The Light of All That Falls

9/10
The cover of my edition of the book states: “Fans of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson will find much to admire”. I can now confirm this statement.

The middle part of the book was way too slow in my opinion. The politics just aren't interesting enough to spend that .uvh time with them. However, the epilogue was absolutely perfect and wraps up the story in an amazing way. I can never get enough of this kind of time-fuckery.

Did not finish. I almost gave up the 2nd book, but decided to keep giving it a shot, due to the hype. 3rd book is more of the same. Too convoluted, characters I found boring, a “plot” that ran around all over the place, continual instances of hidden motives switching around the whole story, etc. And Caden – everything about him was just a series of short stories thrown together in a mish-mash. I just have to put it in the Did Not Finish pile.

This trilogy has firmly secured its place among my favorite fantasy series. It's a true tour de force, with a plot that seamlessly carries the reader from one book to the next. The integration of every plot point into the overarching story is impressive, with seemingly minor events paying off across the entire arc. The pacing of the reveals is particularly well-executed, with details and explanations woven throughout all three books, rather than relying on the typical climactic reveal at the end.

If there's any critique to be made, it would be the extensive cast of characters, which can occasionally make it challenging to keep track of everyone (though it does contribute to the richly detailed world). Additionally, as the characters' fortunes ebb and flow across different times and places, it can sometimes be difficult to remember who possesses which powers at any given moment.

Nevertheless, a testament to the story's strength is the author's confident decision to drop an entire plotline, as explained in an end-note, without leaving the reader feeling that something was missing. The intersection of the omitted plotline could have felt like a deus ex machina, but its absence only highlights the robustness of the remaining narrative.

I'm eagerly looking forward to exploring more of this author's works.