Why I Gave Wind & Truth 3 Stars | Spoiler-Free
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- I love Brandon Sanderson, but here's why I rated Wind & Truth 3 Stars.
#brandonsanderson #windandtruth #fantasy #booktube #bookrecommendations
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Brandon Sanderson should pare down his internet content creator / get out of his own internet fandom bubble for a while and try to find the story he was trying to tell 10 years ago. I'm sure its in there somewhere.
I agree. It'd be hard not to buy into your own celebrity, as it were.
Yeah. This was my takeaway as well. He's too online and his writing is suffering because of it, in my opinion.
I was joking that Kaladin looks at the camera and says "But first a word from our sponsor, Better Help"
Ha, you aren't wrong IMO.
“When you try to be all things to all people you wind up sort of leaving back the nuanced reader.” This quote sums up the majority of my problems with this book. He seems to be trying to hang on to his long term readers while trying to appeal to all the newer “booktok type” readers that has come along in the last couple of years. I’m not sure that it is working.
Thanks, Matt! I think the more widely-read in the genre, the more that kind of feeling will resonate. Happy Early New Year to you and your family!
@ great review Brian! Happy New Year to you as well! Keep up the fantastic content!
describes corporate media
I felt like I could hear Brandon’s voice every time there was a mental health info dump, instead of the voice of the character’s POV we were in.
Yeah, very strong authorial stamp on those sections. I think you feel as I do. Happy New Year!
Exactly! You can just see him winking at the reader
//shudder//
11:40 " YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES!"
Is all I was told when it came to my fairly light criticisms of characters in Rhythm of War. I thought that, as fiction, there were a few characters who were undermining previous resolutions/arcs. Are things like depression a bit cyclical? Yes. It doesn't mean it translates into a huge series of 1,000 page fantasy books.
It's become so overt now, its very hard to even talk about these characters without sounding like you're criticizing the health issue at hand.
I agree. I like books that put highlights on mental health because they become relatable. But when the epic fantasy gets worn thin in favor of it, then not so much. Happy New Year!
I have depression and I hate the mental health stuff in these books
In a way, it’s good there is such a huge focus on mental health in these books. The new audience he’s catering to with WaT and future books have a lot of mental health issues.
@@emosongsandreadalongssame. I can’t stand the way it’s handled or depicted.
Am I correctly gleaning that you, too, thought it ridiculous that Kaladin, who managed to push on from within the depths of despair in WoK, while almost alone, and who essentially got past his survivor's guilt in Oathbringer ("the spear that would not break"), spent the vast majority of RoW crippled by depression (despite having many friends and a clear sense of purpose) and sudden PTSD?
While there was some good, it was very scarce. The prose, which was already a weakness, somehow got even worse. Beloved characters, previously written in a consistent way, were suddenly changed-seemingly to add 500 extra pages. There are long books, and then there are LONG books. If you chopped out a third, or maybe even half of the book, I don’t think you would lose any meaningful plot development.
The representation was also handled in a way that felt disrespectful. It was very surface-level, with no depth, as if it were an attempt to attract fans from one side without going deep enough to alienate intolerant fans either.
I’m not a professional reviewer, so I have no clue how to talk about certain things or whether they count as spoilers, but, man, the humor was really bad as well. I’ll just leave it at that.
I know it’s not the ending of the whole series, but for an ending to characters we’ve spent thousands of pages and millions of words with to boil down to basically a rip-off ending-executed much, much worse than one of Sando’s prior books-littered with about five complete cop-outs that felt like last-second additions is so heartbreaking. Truly.
I very much agree with your points. Happy New Year!
Dead on the money. This book was almost a total disappointment
Is it possible that Sanderson suffers from Stephen King Syndrome, ie., he has become so big and so great an automatic moneymaker that editors are reluctant to tell him no?
Maybe! I don't have the insider knowledge of how the process works. But I do believe this book, in the hands of a really competent developmental editor, could've knocked out a couple hundred pages without losing anything important.
I told my friend when I finished that Sanderson came down with a case of Lucas Syndrome, which I think is the same thing I think.
Stephen King has been writing mostly amazing stuff in recent years so I don't know what are you trying to prove with this analogy.
I said much the same to my wife about halfway through the book (she reads other things).
An average of 17 plot twists per chapter
You need to do more reviews. You are so good at it.
Thanks, Anitha! This is literally the first one I've ever done. Seems like something I ought to consider adding more to the 2025 lineup :)
I agree, Anitha. As evident, Brian definitely has a talent for it. 🙌🤘
@@slay.187 thanks, Slay!
+1 for more reviews! I just love the way you talk about books
@@Shelf-Esteem Thank you so much! I appreciate the compliment a ton!
'Heavy-handed mental health issues' is still stating it lightly. I couldn't take it anymore, and I realized, I don't need to read this book.
It seems to be a pretty common feeling among readers. Wish it was done a little bit craftier but still get the point across.
I agree with you on pretty much all account here, specially the mental health stuff. I love the representation, and it's also clear that he did his research and wanted to be respectful of the real world realities of what he is depicting, which of course is a great thing. I think the issue though is that it didn't feel natural at all, and you could 100% see the author's hand in the way it was writen into the text. I just don't think being subtle is a strength of Sanderson.
Yeah, we all have strengths and weaknesses. I just wish he'd lean more into his strengths for such a huge book.
This mental heath stuff is HARDLY DEEP. This is some armchair therapy brene brown self help therapy. The simplicity that is shared is mind boggling…. I found all the “therapy “ cringy. Not because I don’t love therapy, but the shallow nature of it….so wild
@@Papabear435 I agree 100%
Not really seeing anyone say that Sando nailed this one, which is rare.
Yeah, I'm not sure because I've really tried to stay away from other videos before this was recorded so I didn't just repeat anyone else. I'll be checking them out now for sure.
I’m only halfway done so it’s subject to change but for now I’ll say it. He nailed this one. At least so far, it’s the longest I’ve been kept continually interested in a Stormlight book since Way of Kings. Have no idea how it’s gonna end but I’ve never disliked a Sanderlanche so far.
I think there’s a sort of- and I don’t really wanna use this word but it feels a little like that nowadays- cult following around people who don’t like Brandon Sanderson for one reason or another and they always come out of the woodwork whenever he releases a book to crap on it for reasons that aren’t really that prevalent (like the way this book supposedly handles modern language or the sped up but otherwise very accurate portrayal of mental health and therapy. And no, that second one doesn’t actually slow the story down because it’s so woven in with Szeth’s backstory and Shinovar as a whole).
Anyway, tangent aside, I guess it just matters where you look. Among Brandon’s fans and readers, (which is who this book was mainly intended for), it’s mostly getting praise)
No No No lies lightweaver.As a long Brandon fan this is shit...and I didn't say dung bz thats better,it's a total mess.U want us to believe the guy whom said U CANNOT HAVE MY PAIN as a mortal now gives up as a god.. anyway if you wish I don't mind your cult following of Brandon bz the cosmere is dead to me.
@@doge8825 lol dude, to even read WaT you have to first read 5,000 pages of stormlight. Do you actually think there’s an army of haters that are forcing themselves to read extremely long high fantasy books so that they can have an educated hate rant about it? Nonsense, these are fans. I loved books 1-3 to the point I wouldn’t fucking shut up about it. All my online username ls had to be stormlight related. RoW was a noticeable shift imo, and then WaT is the new bottom. It really sucks to not enjoy it, I wish to god I did. All this is to say, please don’t dismiss criticism, I’m glad you enjoy it. But there’s a reason many book tubers are pretty harsh on this one.
@@jarodandrews7425yeah I enjoyed it but there were a few times the dialogue really pulled me out of the story. It's definitely my least favorite of the books so far I'd give it a 3.5/5. I always find it funny when people try to say if you don't love something then you're not a true fan when I think the opposite is true. You love it so much you want it to be the best it can be so you provide some constructive criticism that will hopefully reach the author. The same applies to movies and shows lol
I've been hearing a lot of mixed feelings on the one, but I'm still going to find the motivation to read Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth in 2025. I've been thinking that I'll also read The Emperor's Soul as well, but I don't see myself ever becoming a serious Cosmere reader (for reference, I have read the Mistborn Trilogy as well). You should do more reviews, Brian -- this was excellent!
You know this means a ton to me, Philip! I've held off on dedicated reviews because I've mostly felt you, Johanna, Jimmy, Allen, etc really do a much better job. I'm glad that my version of a book review seems to be working for viewers. Cheers and Happy New Year - LONG LIVE THE QUILLUMINATI!
I think you'll enjoy The Emperor's Soul, Philip
Bell you gotta do a spoiler version review. You pretty much nailed every point. "Lets kick some fused ass!"
Yeah, I misspoke when I said "spren" instead of "fused" but I'm glad you got the gist. We'll see about a spoiler review. I'm really focused on bringing new kinds of shows to BellTube so we'll see if I can fit it in. Maybe I'll do a community poll and see if that's something people would enjoy.
I was looking for reviews to see if I could find someone who could help me put a finger on my reaction to the book, which was escaping me somewhat. This video nailed it!
Glad to hear I could help put a finger on it - thanks for watching!
This video was spot on. I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling to understand the full magic system.
Thank you! Yeah, I felt like "is it just me, or does this seem less straightforward than allomancy...."
you have to read the entire cosmere to understand the magic system.
No I’ve been feeling this way for a while esp when it comes to the Ideals - it feels like Sanderson is just making them up as he goes along…
3 stars is generous. It's a weak 2 stars.
Seems to be a lot of people who are with you on the 2 star! Thank you for watching the video! Happy New Year!
This was a great review Brian. It’s a shame that the final book in this arc has been such a disappointing read for so many Stormlight fans. It seems Brandon Sanderson is becoming a victim of sycophancy, and those around him are enabling his worst writing habits, instead of being honest with him.
Thanks, Dark-O! Yeah, I think you and I are of a like-mind on it.
The book started picking up for me at like page 800 where I really got hooked-- that usually happens around 2/3rds of the way through, and I want to finish it all in one go. That was HARD in wind and truth. Honestly- I'm a little worried Sanderson is my favorite author, but it seems like with this one there wasn't a guy saying "No Brandon you can't do that"-- I mean he's Sanderson, and he's huge, but if he doesn't have anyone pushing against him to make his writing better he's going to get worse. I didn't really start improving writing until I had people telling me what I was doing wrong. I'll keep reading Sanderson for the moment, but I hope this story isn't a sign of what is to come going forward.
It's so hard to know. At face value, I agree with your thinking. We just don't know the inner workings over there. But I'm hopeful that if he hears this from enough people that truly want the best he can offer us, he'll listen and really tighten things up. Just so hard to tell when the author is sitting atop the sales hill at the moment.
Your points on mental health were great. There's no nuance. Everyone is going from "i want to kill myself" to "this is the greatest day of my life" all from a "c'mon pal your friends need you", comment.
Yep. I think you feel like I did. Thanks so much for watching it and Happy New Year!
Very interesting to hear your thoughts on this one. I am a bit away from getting to this one (just finished Oathbringer last year). I am still looking forward to it despite the mixed reviews.
Wind and Truth sounds like the Dragon Age Veilguard of the book world.
at least it wasn't the Hinterlands :) Happy New Year!
At least it wasn't the Dragon Age 2 of the book world 😂
No tables flipped. It worked better for me. But I can definitely see
your points brother.
dang it. I wanted to stage an on-screen brother v. brother wrestling match over this! Coming in with the elbow off the top rope Macho Man style!
@ oh we can do that anytime. I’ll start making jello for softer landings.
Great video Brian! The thematic sledgehammer was one of my problems with the book too. Several other things bothered me, but that was a big one.
Thanks, Chas! Happy New Year to you my friend!
@ thanks! Happy new year to you as well. 😃
Agreed. Great review. A 3 from me as well for much of the same reasons. Too modern, not immersive enough. Too much internet culture coming thru
Thanks for watching it! Happy New year!
This book has to be ghost written by that young girl they pushed in front of us for her first book a few months ago. I can't believe this book made it through all of the "intense" rounds of editing he says his books go through.
IMO, and I really have no knowledge, but I suspect people may have told him about several areas, which he took under advisement and ultimately did what he wanted. Who knows. Happy New Year!!
I agree 100%. This was respectful and appreciative good feedback. The rest of the creators that I watched are not pointing at the obvious for fear of not being considered sando fans. I found the constant mental health assertions took away from a lot of the characters and I was annoyed by the end. I loved how he introduced it in the first few books
Thank you! Happy New Year!!
I'm putting the Cosmere next to the Wandering Inn on my TBR. Way at the back in the "after I've already read everything else and if I'm still alive" section.
see you over in the If I'm Still Alive section. Happy New Year, Thatcher!
@@BrianBell7 Happy New Year, Brian. I think we just started the "Stay alive until Stormlight Archive and Wandering Inn are finished" challenge.
@@TF-lk6co DEAL!
Thanks for a great and honest review. I felt the same way. Gave it 2 stars. Just thought it was ham fisted and really needed a lot more polishing. Disappointing because this was my most anticipated book of the year and it fell way short for me
It seems to be a common thought. Happy New Year, Jeremy!
@ happy new year!
It's finally good to see honest review on sando books, 😅
Gotta call 'em like I see 'em. Happy New Year!
9:14 … so, so, so, so true, and I don’t see it talked about enough. While I definitely liked this book more than you, one thing that has annoyed me about Stormlight since book 2 is that the magic just… isn’t nearly as interesting as Mistborn or Warbreaker or any of the Secret Projects. I liked Navani’s magic engineering in RoW, but the surges just seem overpowered and one note. The spren have no rules and it’s hard to understand what they can or cannot do. The healing factor is so stupid and overpowered, it destroys all the tension that TWoK built up and thrived on, and turns the fight scenes into video games where you can just go into the menu at any time and drink potions till you’re full health. Don’t even get me started on the Fused, and that pursuer guy who acted like a Legend of Zelda miniboss with a weak point and three phases you had to fight to kill him. I’m excited to see if, or how, this changes in book 6-10
and now I want some health potions... (I might be playing Baldur's Gate 3 today...) Thanks for your thoughts!! Happy New Year!
I have started the series and really struggled with the early books. I dont mind a slow burn, but these books have pushed that to a new level for me personally. Hearing these similar thoughts from you and others about this final book has me questioning if the series os right for me. Thank you for the review Brian, you're excellent in this format of video.
Thank you. I think I'm going to listen to the community and do more dedicated reviews when they make sense.
They're just competently written generic slop. The marvel movies of fantasy lit.
I could forgive everything... but i can't forgive the forced dei/ identity politics
And don't.. don't even try to say it wasnt. He could have been the Tolkien of our generation, but it's clear pandering to woke ideology.
I appreciate you watching the video! Happy New Year!
Great video Brian. I’m 100% in agreement
Whew. I can't have wizard-level disagreement going into 2025!
What you said about the lengthy buildup before you get to the sanderlanch, the 900 pages you have to work through, I already felt that very badly in the first books of the series.
it's like a cycle he's created for himself.
This is why I DNFed Oathbringer. I saw the ramp-up starting and was like "ugh god, not another 600 pages of this" and put it down.
i feel like he had so much positive feedback from the "secret projects" that he wrote more like those books (especially tress, frugal wizard, yumi) moving forward, and slipped away from the previous stormlight mood
I doubt we will ever know. And a lot of readers are really enjoying it, so who knows. All we can do is offer our thoughts and get on to our next reads. Happy New Year!!
Great review Brian! Did u have notes written out? You speak so succinctly 😊
Thanks, Wera! I didn't have any notes. I just wanted to talk off the top of my mind without much order to anything and see how it came out!
@ that’s so impressive
@valliyarnl Thanks! You impress me with all your videos so it's a mutual admiration society!
You should try too. Your live streams prove you are not bad at one take. You stress too much probably creating for yourself editing time. (I can be wrong.)
Thank you so much for an honest review lol 😂 I’ve put this book off for all the exact reasons you weren’t too hot on it. I just knew it would be like that. Ugh… anyway, so good to hear a review for someone who doesn’t worship him like everything he writes is excellent lol 😅
I’ve also made the “Stormlight is turning into post-endgame MCU” comparison… it’s getting a little to interconnected and OP for me 😬😬 from awesome fantasy, to cringey superhero
I've never done a video dedicated to just one book before. Felt like 1300+ pages compelled me to say my thoughts for the channel. Thank you :)
I feel like a lot of readers will feel likewise on that.
@@madisongoodyear5040 I began to fear the anime/marvelization after the big fight at the end of WoR. I still enjoyed that book but I had a sinking feeling as I continued, that the world I fell in love with reading tWoK would suffer for the cosmere.
He doesn't know how to write good prose. But he can write great stories. Unfortunately, he didn't this time.
I'm not sure what his prose skill-level is versus what he chooses to utilize for mass accessibility. Yes, for sure, if it's equal to what's on the paper, then I agree :) Happy New Year!
Yeah, this was definitely the weakest of all SA books. Hammering the reader with a number of things really made reading this book a challenge. It was bloated. Too many POV characters, most of whom we don't care about. Kaladin became a very, very weak and uninteresting character. And ultimately, most of the novel was unnecessary to the end, which was a disappointing sendoff.
Good review, though. I think you talked through the issues very skillfully.
Thank you for saying so! I hope you are off to a great 2025! Looking forward to making more videos!
I'm glad I came across your review. It's been a slog discussing why I think this is the worst Stormlight book without all the fan boys screaming.
For reference, I have read all Bransans books including the side Cosmere stories as well as the completion of Wheel of Time. WoK and WoR were amazing, OB was just below and Row was another level below. WaT is rock bottom of the 5.
There was a lot of good, fun stuff in the book. There were a ton of great Syladin, Szeth and the MVP Adolin scenes. There was a very much needed history infodump and all that.
However, like you, the bad totally outweighed the good. I read the last 1/4 of the book pretty much with a meh look on my face. The book felt more like a total Cosmere setup with our favorite Roshar folks just kinda in the background. Most of the prose issues I agree with and it really felt like he had to keep saying the same thing over and over again like a YA novel. The dumbed down repetition of telling constantly instead of showing was heavy handed.
Story Plot points I had issues with (I am not a "needs good ending" type but I felt these points were totally just a checkbox of finishing the Roshar arc so he could get back to his favorite Scadrial people)
Adolin/Shallan not with each other - Poor choice with a timeskip coming (IMHO)
Jasnah basically left alone and broken after a really terrible "Debate" - The bad guy is literally "hate"
Dalinar sort of killed off screen protecting the stupid macguffin Gav who i never liked anyway
Venli - I don't like Venli. I don't care about her. She got the "good" ending
Sig - Uhm, I read the sunlit man, there was no drama there.
Roshar left pretty much in shambles with Todium not only winning everyone but ALSO kept his people alive?? Like total contradiction
Renarin/Rlain - good stuff / Navani Asleep - ok w/e
Kal/Syl - uhm...really needed an extra scene with them, just them, felt my favs were forgotten about. We followed them the WHOLE WAY and then a quick afterthought epilogue. Swears the 5th then gets a corpse left behind? Srsrly?
I saw somewhere that he'd written out multiple endings for each character. I'm a little surprised these were the ones that made the final cut. I'm interested in Mistborn Era 3 moving forward. Kind of over Roshar TBH at this point. Glad you found the channel. Happy New Year & Welcome!
@@BrianBell7 I hope he starts releasing those endings. I'll look into that. Kaladin becoming a Herald is great, sure but I feel we deserved some sort of extra chapter with Kal/Syl.
Happy New Year!
found you because of mike's livestream today!
great review and i pretty much agree with most of what you said
looks like we are at a low point currently but still far away from being terrible, there is still the Sanderson i love in Wind & Truth
Also i'm too invested (hah) in the cosmere story now, so i will 100% continue reading his books
ha, too invested ;) Welcome to the channel! I'm really glad you are here!
I agree with the length. I love this book but I’m not gonna lie, every stormlight book could’ve been 1000-1100 pages and it probably would’ve improved from that
Book 2 for example, is much better paced. It does have a “sanderlanche” but it has epic moments throughout the book. I like the sanderlanche, wish there was more of a balance though
Is there any magic system left in this series? Who cares if it's a basic lashing or whatever lashing. Esentially, Kaladin can fly and Shallan can shapeshift. Everything that made the magic system good got watered down in Oathbringer
I agree. It really feels kind of secondary at this point. Happy New Year!
@@BrianBell7 You too man
I really enjoyed the video I hope you review malazan too I mean i know Malazan books great but just want to talk more about them without worry about spoilers! I found the mental situations of the characters in the Stormlight Archives to be a big issue for me, which is why I dropped the series after book four. The large number of flashbacks was also a problem. The characters reach a point where their powers improve, but this growth is tied to their mental states and flashback, and the many flashbacks made it hard to follow.
In book four, it felt like the characters' voices changed, and I didn’t recognize them anymore. I started to wonder what the first three books were really about. It seemed like all those characters were being set up to sacrificed for the next generation of main characters, as if Brandon Sanderson didn’t have a clear plan and just wanted to introduce a new generation so with this he wanted to connect first 5 book to last 5 books
Thank you! Yes, I felt similar. Voices changed and the direction seemed a little aimless for a lot of a very long book. Glad to have you here!!
I know he’s a great author but I’ve never read any of his books. What would you suggest I read from him?
I usually recommend people start with Mistborn (The Final Empire) to see if they get a feel for the flavor of his writing.
I said this over on Matt's recent video, I'm kinda glad I stopped after Words of Radiance. Especially when you talk about heavy-handedness and repeatedly making sure the reader gets it...are you sure you got that? Here, let me say it again from another POV. You got it yet? That was my main issue with Mistborn, and to hear he's still doing it 20 years later is not encouraging.
Yeah, I don't really get it either. Especially with the length... ok we get it.. lets keep going!
Imagine these novels instead of one massive volume are instead a series of 20 paperback pulps, because they are. Pulps always reiterate core character traits and values, in every story
Sanderson has surrounded himself with yes-men after the departure of his previous editor and it shows.
that seems to be what many commenters have noted. It definitely feels different to me, that's for sure. Happy New Year!
Ur far more generous than me mate lol.. Good on ya - its a 2 at best for me. I found it the most bizarre reading experience of my life, and theres a few footy seasons on the shelf by now. Feels like he assassinated his own characters, just so hard to believe. I pretty much wasted a decade of life becoming cosmere obsessed ha! Silly, i know. But therapist Kal is a betrayal of book 1 promises, Shallan was wasted (and i love shallan) relegated to a pointless side plot and cheerleading dei insert relationship. Amazing. And Dalinar did his best to hold up the ship but he's also barely the same character, and the new one is soft and weak. It sucks. And my god did Dalinar get done dirty at the end. These 3 were the backbone of my favourite series.. no longer!
I think many people share your sentiments, pretty exactly. I appreciate your thoughts! Happy New Year!
So my problem with WaT is how disconnected it feels. Almost all of the plot lines while great in their own right really don’t impact the ending of this book at all. Which is really odd for Brandon Sanderson. If you can cut an entire plot line and put it in a .5 book after this one and change nothing about the book and it works perfectly something isn’t right there.
Yep, I felt similar while reading it. More so even a week removed.
Haven't read this book yet, still catching up. But I completely agree about the Marvel-ification point. Every time The Way of Kings leaned that way I groaned. And it's sad to hear that Sanderson is leaning more into that with this one
I do think it's a worthwhile series to read. Especially since it's a completed arc and you can say you've done it. But yeah, those elements detracted from the fantasy nature of the story to more of a blockbuster style.
@@BrianBell7 I still plan on reading it eventually, but it's dropped down my TBR. 2025 is all about indie SFF for me!
If you were already groaning in WoK, you'll be uttering death rattles by book 5
@@emosongsandreadalongs Noooooo don't scare me like this! 😬
Agreed I found way of kings the most grounded ( trust me kaladin and co go through literal hell. To the point where shallan’s internship and cashflow struggles are really jarring to read through.)
That's very fair. I know this book is very divisive for a lot of people. I'll be getting to it in February, so we'll see which side of the fence I land on. Heavy handedness is a pet peeve of mine though...
Keep me posted what you think. Happy New Year, Chris!
After reading Rhythm of War, I thought we resolved Shallan's multiple personality disorder, but no, it becomes another arch in Wind and Truth. That was a disappointment for me although a small one compared to others.
Same. It's not like it had to be 100% solved, as that might be unrealistic, but to make it such a plot point AGAIN, was enough.
I am sure I won't be the only one telling you that you should review more often! Don't sell yourself short, you articulate yourself SO well.
I was very high on this book just after finishing, but when the dopamine rush of the sanderlanche wore off... it kinda dropped immediately. There wasn't a lot of emotional 'oomph' that makes it stick for me. That said, I freaking looooooved Adolin, Rlain and Renarin's storylines. Therapist Kaladin though? Worst thing to ever have happened lmao.
Hope Sanderson can still bring you some fun time with his upcoming stories in the future!
Thanks, Esmay! I appreciate that coming from someone who writes fantastic reviews! I'm absolutely going to be reading Mistborn Era 3. I like how he set it up with skyscrapers in the background in WaT.
@@BrianBell7 thanks for the kind words about my reviews! and fingers crossed we both enjoy era 3 when the time comes!!
I haven't read any of Brandon's own works yet, just wanted to say thank you for the clarification between a good storyteller and novelist at 1:56 because that's how i have felt with Ed Greenwood while thinking over the stories I've read from him over the years. 🙌
I think Ed is a good storyteller, not necessarily a good novelist. Also his Forgotten Realms world/cosmology, i think, is a good comparison to the Cosmere. Only difference is there has been other authors writing books in the FR.
New subscriber here! Excellent review! Among the many BookTubers who’ve discussed this book, you’re the only one (if my memory serves me correctly) who pointed out how the Sanderson Laws of Magic-particularly the First Law-don’t quite hold up here. That was exactly my impression. This also calls into question the nuances of story mechanics.
I also appreciate your attention to the mental health aspects of the story. As both a neuroscientist and someone with personal experience with mental health challenges, I found the book’s portrayal of these issues to be not only superficial but also largely inaccurate. Regardless of the fictional context, one fundamental factor in healing is time-something entirely absent in the 10-day timeframe presented in this book. When addressing such complex issues, especially those that involve the brain, it’s crucial to approach them with the respect and time they deserve. This narrative asks readers to suspend disbelief when engaging with serious physiological matters. For example, the book features a soldier providing therapy to an assassin while they’re both on a mission, which feels as unrealistic as Katniss providing therapy to Peeta while they’re in the middle of the Hunger Games. It's a problematic and implausible scenario.
The characters’ “journey before destination” could have been a compelling opportunity to explore mental health with the depth and nuance it requires. Instead, I’m left with a profound sense of disappointment-something I haven’t experienced with any other adult fantasy novel in my reading history.
Those are some excellent insights. It's such a pleasure to hear from someone who has expertise in the field and real-life experience in both personal experience and in professional understanding. Welcome to our channel! Take a look around, I hope you like it here! Happy New Year!
@@BrianBell7 Happy New Year to you as well! Really enjoying your content!
Belltube nails it! Awesome review Brian!
You echo so many of my own thoughts. I had a lot of craft-level problems, and several plot issues, but the lack of subtext as a whole was the most brutal aspect of this book.
Happy New Year, my friend! It'll be great for both of us!
Brian I saw your hot take on Tori's stream and i was hoping you would do a dedicated video.
Also, Mike's Fantasy Book Reviews agrees with you and i saw many readers call this the Marvel-ization of stormlight.. there were also comparisons to Avengers movies.
here you go :)
It’s amazing that you made your criticisms and praises so concise and clear from just one take! I agree with your thoughts on Sanderson heavy handedness of the mental health themes in WaT. It feels like I’m getting slapped in the face with what is going through each characters minds. I’m not fully finished with the book yet (700 pages in so far) but I feel like the main beats of the story haven’t been hit yet and in my opinion that’s way too far in the book for me to feel like not much has happened regarding the plot. One specific complaint I have is Shallans split personality disorder. I suffered through that when it was at its peak in RoW and was happy to see that she got it mostly resolved with the banishment of Formless but then from what I’ve read it hasn’t gotten better in WaT which is frustrating for me. I enjoyed her chapters before her character became all about the other personalities. I’m not too sure if I’ll be continuing if Sanderson plans to keep up these heavy handed mental health themes
Thanks for all your thoughts! It’ll be interesting to see where he takes this all. Happy New Year!
He needed to cut 250 pages from the Spiritual Realm stuff, and just release the History of Roshar to the super fans on his blog. None of the characters accomplished anything in there. The Kaladin/Szeth story was too repetitive also - it was not a strong enough premise to dedicate half of the book to.
I agree. It's challenging when authors put different realms into books to make them cohesive and interesting. I've been reading a LitRPG series called He Who Fights With Monsters and about every 3 books, we get half the story in "transformation" zones, which is similar. Not my fave.
@@BrianBell7 imagine if they did a quick jaunt into the spiritual realm, saw one or two of the important visions, then Mraize and Iyatil managed to steal and/or release Ba Ado Mishram and our heroes had to deal with the consequences of that back on Roshar.
Now you can't say that you don't do reviews and aren't good at them! I am perfectly fine not knowing how some aspects of the magic work-for once!! Thank you for all your thoughts! Maybe I won't read this one. 😬
Thank you, Johanna! I still prefer the more cerebral aspects of these reviews that you, Philip, Allen, etc bring. BUT, I love knowing you like how I do them!
What I learned from this is that Rick Thunder > Hoid
That's a Fact!
Ive come across Sanderson beta readers. Three of them spoiled plot points to win a cosmere FB group argunent with me. Entitled snobby people. I can imagine they give terrible to feedback.
I dislike spoilers more than almost anyone I know on booktube. Then again, I ran a nightclub for 15+ years. Bad feedback and mean comments don't get to me very much :) Sorry that people spoiled things. I hope that doesn't happen for you in 2025!
Brain, you nailed it. Glad i found your channel. You are much more gracious than I. I gave it a 2. My fear is that this continues...
Thank you! I'm really glad you found the channel too! Welcome, it's awesome to have you here!
This is a fantastic review! Thank you for your thoughts, I agreed on a lot. I'm so pleased to just have some validation on things I've been saying about the book. Listening to you, I feel reassured that if someone as measured and thoughtful as you has the same thoughts, I must be doing alright! Have a great new year.
Happy New Year to you as well! Thank you so much for your kind words! Makes me happy that I'm making sense to people!
Great review, I just finished Way of Kings tonight, and it was easily a 5 star read to me. I’ve seen such diverse ratings and rankings of the books, I’m excited to keep going
Thanks, Mike! Happy New Year!!
Actually it's Maya who shouted 'Let's kick some Fused ass. ' I gagged😂😂 15:39 I gave this book 3.75 stars though.
Hi, yeah I remembered that after filming. But, yeah you get it :) Happy New Year!
I believe Sanderson would have benefited from an editor of equal or greater caliber...someone who is either a renowned author or an experienced editor-dedicated to enhancing the story itself. This editor should have been someone Sanderson couldn’t challenge, with the authority to say no to him when necessary.
Yep, my thoughts exactly. In service to the story.
I did too. It could’ve been much better which is a shame.
Edit: haha I agree on the magic breaking Sanderson’s first rule. If you pun a gun to my head and asked me to tell you the difference between a Skybreaker and an Edgedancer, that would be the end of me.
Yeah, especially after a 4 year wait and now another 6 years plus...
@@BrianBell7true. I’ve just made an edit as well to address another point you made.
I've been slowly reading Oathbringer and it contains a lot of the same flaws that you've highlighted here (but perhaps less so?), which is concerning to me, because the decline is already in place and the plotting, character bits, structure, and prose are already inconsistent. Tough for such a long book. I read Words of Radiance in three weeks and basically loved it... but Oathbringer keeps losing my momentum and interest.. and now poor reviews of Wind and Truth are making me question if I even care to read much more from the series.
It's really up to you if you are enjoying it enough to continue. Rhythm of War, for me, was the worst of the series, followed by WaT. But your experience might vary, so gotta go with what you feel like! Happy New Year!
3 stars is a generous rating for that bloated disappointment...
Its high time booktubers develop the cohones to call out Sanderson for this below par novel....
Kudos to you for an honest review ....
PS ...Sanderson may as well start marketing himself as a YA Author, looking at the quality of his writing which was decidedly worse in Wind and Truth
I agree. The quality was quite a falloff from the earlier entries. Thank you for watching and Happy New Year!
I haven't even started Way of Kings yet but after hearing your thoughts in streams I had to give this watch. You really ought to do more review videos Brian! Excellent job and articulated so well!
I'm in the middle of watching your video from yesterday, Marianne! Have had it on pause for a day but it's good!! Thank you :)
@@BrianBell7 Much appreciated Brian! Thank you so much; I'm glad you're enjoying it!
I haven't gotten to Wind and Truth yet but out of the 7 books of his I have read Warbreaker too was my favorite. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, SaraBeth! The channel wouldn't be the same without you here!
I agree, gave it 3,5 stars myself. I wanted to love it :(
Yeah, dang. Well, Happy New Year!
Prose, i for the most part agree, however the last couple books and this one included do have some of my favorite passages in terms of prose in stormlight. However, this his worst overall in that sense.
When it comes to subtly...yeah not much there. However, wit has a line where he says that storytellers present ideas for the audience to think upon which is true and even when it comes to a storyline like Jasnahs with her debate, even though there was a conclusion it still got me thinking about the 'greater good' mentality presented in media and just everyday life.
Yeah, I agree. There are some lines that are just great, but overall, a much less sophisticated approach to both prose and theme than I normally like. I'm really glad the book got you thinking! I'm sure that's always a favorable outcome for an author! Happy New Year!
Great review man! You really have a gift of communicating your thoughts on books so eloquently - I too hope you’ll do more reviews in 2025! ❤ I was initially higher on Wind & Truth, as I was just happy to finally get this book in hand, but as time has gone by, the glaring issues have bugged me a bit more than the highs of the book moved me. Hoping the 6th entry will be a return to form!
Thank you so much! I've been hesitant to do dedicated reviews but it seems like people like the format (at least so far) of this video being entirely unscripted and without editing. Just thoughts.
I think he could’ve benefited from cutting shallan, rlain, and renarin from the book.
I think every time their spirit realm chapters came up, especially before or after navani and dalanar’s spirit realm chapters it just stopped the story.
So either do one group per day but it wasn’t necessary for them to have every day.
Agreed. Did we really need 3 realms? For me, no.
I’m with you on most of this. I feel a bit differently when it comes to his writing. I honestly don’t believe Sanderson has the skill to write great prose. A good line here and there doesn’t mean he is capable of writing everything consistently good. The dude just doesn’t have that level of talent when it comes to prose imo. I’m a fan of his books, but his skill with the written word is only just good enough to be a pro. Overall, this book was a 6.5 out of 10 for me. I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure if I’ll check out future stormlight books or not. He 1000% did not stick the landing, and that’s a lot of words to read to get to an unsatisfactory conclusion. I’ll still read his shorter novels and I hope to enjoy them. He needs to chill on the mental heath garbage writing imo. He’s not good enough to make those themes and ideas work imo. Maybe he should seek some help from other authors who are better at those things to learn how to do it well if that’s what he wants to do. You should never stop learning!
I liked the book but I don’t think it’s a good book. I enjoyed specific aspects of the character arcs, but overall it felt more like a draft than a totally finished product. This is the first Brando Sando book I’ve felt like this about, so I think he’s allowed to slip up, lol.
I agree. For the most part, I really like his books. I liked both Mistborn eras and the first 3 books of Stormlight. Even liked his Reckoners series. Just missed the mark for me on this one. Happy New Year!
Probably my favorite review on WoT
Thank you so much! I appreciate you watching. Happy New Year!
I didn't read the book, so I don't have any thoughts of my own about it, I just wanted to say that I think you do excellent book reviews, and I would love to see more dedicated book reviews on the channel !
Thank you! I've been really hesitant about doing book reviews, mainly because I don't personally watch them until after I've read the book. But maybe it's something I can add to our lineup in 2025!
2 stars for me! how did we get from The Way of Kings to this? the prose were terrible. use of modern terms was terrible. this book is too simple when everything is told to you. how the characters feel what they do and whats going to happen. explicit. felt like YA.
and then Kaladin line "im his therapist"
or Dalanar "i understand you!"... wtf was that. couldn't you come up with something better?
or Szeth out of no where "I AM THE LAW" even Syl was shocked he skipped an ideal. it was so cringe. so many cringe moments. the Shallan Adiolin sex scene was even more cringe.
and dont get me started on big plot points dropped with no resolution. Ba Edo Meshram or whatever her name is ... ? hello? we just released one of the most evil (or not) unmade and we are going to completely ignore the consequences of that happening. but its more important to play towers? or Kaladin cringe dialogue with Szeth/Nail about their "problems". its not like the end of the world is happening tomorrow. better resolve their 7 thousand years mental illness in 10 days :) before the end of the world. its not like Teft died yesterday!!!
another dropped one. Moash!???
Agree. It really felt like a huge step backwards in almost every category from the first two books of Stormlight. And with 1300+ pages to work within, you'd think many of the items you mentioned could've been handled far more expertly at this point.
It's great to see you Brian when you post reviews and I think you're doing a great job.👍
Thanks, Stjepan! Happy Early New Year!!
@@BrianBell7 Happy Early New Year to you Brian 🍾
Awesome review thank you for sharing your thoughts!!
Thank you so much! Happy New Year!
Brian was unbelievable based with this one.
thank you for watching. not sure what you mean but Happy New Year!
@@BrianBell7 I really liked your perspective and the way in which you expressed it! Happy 2025!
Great :) I agree on most every point. one thing I wish is that his fanbase wasn’t so sensitive. There should be no reason to spend 6-8 mins qualifying that you’re a fan and what you like about him etc. Almost everyone does this though - they walk on egg shells about criticism toward him. Your point on the Alpha/Beta readers is well done. He doesn’t really have readers that are focus groups - he has a bunch of fans that get to read his stuff early and because of the aforementioned sycophancy I don’t doubt at all that the feedback is weak if non existent. This video was great though. I hated about 70-80% of this book. i was too long by about 500 pages for me. Adolin was great , there was some awesome Cosmere stuff, and his ideas and a few standout characters are great toward the end. However, this is some of his worst dialogue I’ve experienced in anything he’s written so far. The mental health stuff was so poorly handled. Also, and this will likely upset people, but almost every female in this book has a weird arc. It’s just women screaming at and berating men during most of the thing. The stuff with gender was also very heavy handed for some reason. I don’t mind any of these themes, but, they were less themes and more a giant bludgeon. I’m personally disappointed as I was really hoping this arc would finish strong. We shall see how it goes I suppose :) thanks for the video!
my pleasure! Thank you for your detailed comments! It's what I like best about having a channel.. the community interaction. Happy New Year!
I was at Dragonsteel and met some of the beta readers and they said that the beta reading process is quite critical, and that plenty of times someone's criticism is "I don't like this book". This is a massive assumption on your part that people would just not criticize because they are fans. As we have seen time and time again, fans criticize things probably more than most people 😂
Agree that Brian shouldn't have to spend 5 minutes qualifying that he does like Sando. But that's just the internet. I have to qualify every time I talk about Steven Erikson that I do actually think he's a good author
@@readbykyle3082There must have been some big change in the beta readers to let this one out the door then. Let me qualify myself lol, I’ve read everything he’s written multiple times except for his YA stuff. Wind and Truth was so bad I’ll never buy another Sanderson book again
@ ok so, what happened then lol
@@iamgates7679 I mean... probably a bunch of different factors? The beta readers don't decide the course of the novel. It's perfectly acceptable that Sanderson just wrote a book you didn't like for a variety of different reasons. Making an answer more straightforward doesn't make it the right answer.
I was seeing so many 5 stars, I thought I was the only one who thought this book is a 3 star one.
You are not alone, my friend! Happy New Year!
I agree with these points. I gave it a 4 though. I did not like the shoehorned in modern themes. I read fantasy and fiction to escape current times. If I wanted some of these themes, I’d read non fiction or biographies.
Thanks! And happy new year!!
Gotta say, I’m glad I only read the first book.
I really enjoyed the second and third books, but 4 and 5 - not quite so much... Happy New Year!
Great review! Especially making it spoiler-free for the 5th book in a series, that takes talent. Happy new year and I hope 2025 is full of 5 star reads!
Thank you! I really appreciate your compliment! Happy New Year to you too!!
Spot on review. Exactly my thoughts.
Thanks so much! Happy New Year!
As someone who only has way of kings behind him, it still feels like you’re giving Branden his flowers here ina a Lot of ways. Still lookin forward to diving into the comsmere when that time comes
saving most of my flowers for you, Chance. lmao. Happy New Year!
@ so we can call them magical flowers that transport the owners through time and space and trade them for 1000 gold pieces?!
@ happy new year!!
Stormlight 1 & 2 are the best work Sanderson has done, followed by the Wax and Wayne books. Wind and Truth was so bad I’ll never buy another Sanderson book again.
Show don't tell. Imply, dont explain. Focus on mortal dilemmas, not divine intervention.
Saw you on Miles channel. You seem like a likeable guy and I need more booktubers to watch. Subscribed.
Thank you! Welcome to the channel. Great meeting you and Happy New Year!
Why you pickin’ on poor Brando? He only got a few hundred million dollars to his name.
You shall too, my friend! Happy New Year, John! Awesome talking with you earlier today!
What an exaggeration 🤣
Yeah I’m done with stormlight - if the books moving forward are just shallow end of the pool self help I’ll just read brene brown. The public reaction to szeths redemption arc has been a great barometer read of how little explanation of trauma the new generations need to write off a mass murderers actions. “Yeah but he struggled with having to make difficult choices -- have you no pity???” Good lord I’m done with these books
I don't know Brene Brown but I'm interested in hearing about your music or music company!
@@BrianBell7for a man with a lot of books the fact that you avoided the 2010’s obsession with armchair therapy and brene brown is astoundingly lucky.
Great review! I think for me is that 90% of the book was a 10/10 but the other 10% was a 4/10 and that 10% really took me out of the book at times and overall over shadowed the good parts. I still really loved the book, but currently finishing up my re-read and this one will probably be my least favorite in the series
Thank you so much! I appreciate that you see both the good and the not-so-good. It's a fair assessment. Excited to learn where your reading journey takes you after Stormlight!
I am the Harald! Of….second chances. 🤮
haha, Happy New Year :)
Excellent review. I like hearing honest thoughts. I expect I'd have a lot of the same issues with the book
Thanks, Brent! Happy New Year!!
This year I've read several books from authors that I have really liked in other books that were major disappointments.
I think your review here does justice to that experience for this book.
FWIW, I haven't read any of the Stormlight Archives series, so you're not going to offend me anyway, but I think you presented your thesis in a fair way and stayed within the covers of the book. I would expect nothing more.
Thanks, Doug! Wishing you the happiest of New Years!
I’m not impressed with Sanderson at all. I’ve only read Way of Kings and had so many issues with it that I don’t know if I will ever try to finish the Stormlight. Especially now that I am half through Malazan and Sanderson simply cannot compare. He’s like YA as far as I am concerned and I don’t read YA. The only other thing I have read by him is Warbreaker and it took me three tries to get through it. I hated it. It is one of the worst books I’ve ever read in my life. 5 stars?!?!?!????
ha, I really did like Warbreaker. I'm four books into Malazan and couldn't agree more with you. Even when we agree 95% of the time, there's always that 5% that we find it differently. It's cool!
Malazan is amazing