This is what’s going to happen guaranteed. This is the problem with these huge epic stories. You have to learn to accept the tedium and almost frivolous details and side arcs to get a better and more fulfilling ending. After reading oathbringer, I trust Sanderson can pull it off. I felt so crestfallen about 60% through it, but that last part woo boy. We don’t want a season 8 GoT on our hands do we?
@@august4471 Harry Potter 6 is J.K.’s best book to date. While it was a setup, it was masterfully written such that there was a balance in the plot points. From Harry’s relationship with Ginny, then the horcruxes, finding out who the half blood prince is, what Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape were up to e.t.c. Plus, the ending of that book. I love how the way it ended broke the norms of he previous books, where it ended on a more somber note rather than Harry going back to the Durdleys. With this as a penultimate book, I hope it does the same.
I'm kinda happy that there is no "sanderlanche" at the end I think we needed a mellower ending to the book as you can have only so much action in a series, and I think that Brandon is saving up all the high intensity epic battles for the 5th book. This might be a setup for this last book of the first arc which kinda explains the low rating tbh.
Snaps to that, and I’m so glad Daniel pointed it out. I love Sanderlanches, but they can be a lot sometimes and the last one felt so big that I got worried about how he’ll keep up. I’m excited for a very complex ending to this book.
Not gonna lie, I'm encouraged by what Daniel didn't like that much, I don't think it will bother me. The negative parts of reviews are at least as useful as the positives, thanks Daniel for not being afraid to speak your mind honestly.
So did you like it? I'm hesitant to read it seeing as Oathbringer took me about as long to read as the first two books combined. The bloat just seems like an increasing problem to me tbh
@@MILOPETIT i did like it, but less than oathbringer, which itself was less than either of the first 2. I do read all of sanderson's books though, so if you're on the fence about it maybe go for something you know you're more likely to enjoy
@@enescustef6154 Ok yeah I did feel pretty much the same about Oathbringer, it just seems like the first one (which was already pretty stretched out) was the only one who didn't go into more sidequests than the main plot.
You lucky son-of-a-gun! You got to read it first! Not that you don't deserve things like that. You've earned it. I'm just over here rereading my Oathbringer being jealous. Thanks for all the good content!
I hope we get to see Axies the collector again! More of the Aimien people overall. We got a strong introduction to them in Edgedancer, and since then I want to know more !
@@MitchellD249 I'm about to finish it. I was just hoping for more in my comment, not knowing what Dawnshard or ROW were going to be about, but Brandon answered my prayers and he didn't disappoint 😅
Yeah, the constatnt pov skipping in the later Stormlight books is one of my least favourite parts, especially when new characters are introduced. I just find caring about an ever-growing cast of characters much harder, as I just tend to get attached to the main characters and move on. On a different note, hearing that Kaladin gets so much page time makes me happy as he is definitely my favourite Stormlight charcters.
I totally agree and I’m worried about the growing cast of characters. We will have to see how this works cause I had issues with later ASOIAF books because of so much perspective skipping. I really like the way of kings method of just sticking to one to two characters, but the cast has grown to the point where you can’t do that. I definitely think Sanderson will deliver. However, I will definitely be more nit picky about that in This book than in oath bringer. Also Kaladin is fantastic.
Agreed, although Daniel mentioning that he takes a path some of the fans won't like or expect makes me a bit wary. My personal theory is that Kaladin doesn't swear the fourth oath in this book (which I believe most readers think he will), and his squires and fellow Bridge Four Windrunners will surpass him in that regard. Personally, I trust Daniel, and if he likes that character arc, I probably will too.
@@kvothethearcane146 SPOILERS BELOW That could actually be true. I don't know how I feel about that. I've been reading up to what's been out so far and I don't think the "non warrior path" fits him, like I just don't see him as a surgeon. I also didn't like the love triangle at the end of oathbringer (and I don't know how Daniel felt about that) but I hope the story doesn't disappoint because he's the main reason I read Stormlight.
@@sam.s.g I agree! SPOILERS: Kaladin ultimately is not a surgeon, I feel like that was really hammered home when he ultimately decided that even if a surgeon would "cut off an infected limb" but Kaladin, a Windrunner, would not let Elhokar die, even if he was a terrible king whose death would improve the lot of Alethkar. A surgeon acknowledges that they cannot save everyone, but Kaladin needs to save everyone - imo his fatal flaw.
So far based off reviews this seems to be exactly what I want it to be. I always like when previously major characters are pushed back to make room for previously smaller characters or even new characters. (For example my favourite ASOIAF book is A Feast for Crows and my favourite parts of Oathbringer were the bits with bridge 4 and the parshendi. I also really love the interludes in stormlight.) So yeah I'm very excited and this seems to be exactly what I was hoping for at this point in the story. I completely understand anyone who disagrees though this is entirely down to personal preference.
I totally agree! I was so excited when Dawnshard was announced as a Rysn POV novella because I love her as a side character, even though before OB we had only seen her twice. I love getting the perspective of smaller side characters.
I don't know, I fell in love with Venli in Oathbringer, and I liked the chapters on her Brandon released. So I think I'm going to enjoy this book more than you.
I wonder if the fact that this is, basically, the 4th part of a 5 part book might be causing some issues with the structure. Yes it's a standalone book, but in the overall structure of the Stormlight Archive, it's part 4 of 5 of the first half. So it's going to be a lot of rising action, a lot of set up, all setting up for what will happen in book 5 as the payoffs. Just my thoughts having only read throught the preview chapters and Dawnshard
Actually Brandon said in an update when he was writing/editing this book (they're like 8 or 9 updates so idk which one) that he was worried about this book bc the outline was a bit messy after finishing OB and we all know that Brando really likes having his books planned out. But as far as I know, he already has book 5 outlined and knows where he's wanting to go
@@mrsirperson9656 and also depends on how the writer structured the keypoints of the series (and the audience taste). SPOILER FREE: - Anime/manga Fairy Tail (I recomend watching low expec), the penultimate arc was by far the best one and had a great set up for the final arc, desfortunately the last one was horrible. -Percy Jackson, first book was great and second slow (opposite as SA lol), third great again and darker, 4th was a step down but still great and 5th was awesome. - Lightbringer first was good, second even better, third even more, 4th meh and 5th meh. - Harry Potter 4th book, that is the middle point, is the peak of HP's quality (still my fav is 6th idkw) So it kinda depends a lot on how the autor structured the story. It seems Brandon really planned the ending (he even has the epilogue of book 5 done), but struggled a bit with the middle point (OB) and the point before the last (RoW). I trust him and I know this book is more of a set up like HP&TDH part 1 like you said and the last one will be great. Cmon, Brandon is great with endings. Even in RoW that seems to be the weakest entry, both merphy and daniel said the ending was great
@@august4471 No Problem, I really like seeing people explain their points in detail and we have to keep in mind that even a "bad" Stormlight book is still an amazing book I have to keep reminding myself that a 7/10 on Daniel's scale means it's a really good book
I do think there's like a big sanderlanche in the middle that kinda dies down after a bit and another smaller wave towards the end... the momentum does slow down quite a bit.
My biggest issue with Oathbringer was definitely the pacing. I'm not exactly thrilled to find out that it's going to be an issue this time around too. But I know that I'll still really enjoy the book. Only 10 days to go!
Reading the early release chapters, and without getting into spoilers for Oathbringer or RoW, I think I really like where Kaladin is going. Daniel is right when he says a lot of people won't tho.
The problem with Stormlight is that the amount of characters that deserve more pagetime is so high, it's almost impossible to be satisfied with the end product and that is something i am prepared since having the same kind of disappointment when reading Oathbringer. I am also very jealous of you right now for getting to read it early.
Yeah I agree with the take on Shallan's arc. Ever since book 2 I keep getting this feeling we will eventually get some Kaladin-esque level character arc for her and I was actually hoping we would get that in this book but her arc felt surprisingly subdued to me.
I just want to say that the first time that I read oathbringer I fell it very confusing and don't like it as much, BUT when I read it for second time I fell kind of stupid for thinking it was confusing and The second time I notice a lot more details that is what I like the most
I'm only about 200 pages in, but I've been enjoying the parts focusing on the newer characters the most. I love our big 3 of Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin but we've spent plenty of time with them already and it feels like whatever is left to tell of their stories is probably best saved for book 5.
I was one of the betas and I really struggled with this book. I'm really hoping the final product has changed from the draft I read. I agree with a lot of what Dan says, and we'd probably have a lot more to agree on if we could get into spoiler territory.
Whoa, you were one of the betas? Lucky. Anyway, the pacing issues were GLARING when I was reading Part 3 of Oathbringer. For the first time ever, the book truly FELT like a 1200 page book when with the others, I was hooked all the way through. I really hoped the pacing issues would be resolved in ROW with the way Part 1 was incredibly fast paced(I’ve only read the first six chapters btw) but from most of the reviews I’ve watched, pacing seems to be a huge problem where attention is given to less important issues and other bigger issues just don’t have enough page time. Still hyped up for it though.
@@henrywayne5724 I can't say a whole lot until release day, but pacing was a major issue we talked about during the beta. I felt the same way, that there were definite periods of mental fatigue because the pacing was so slow. I hope he's fixed some of it in the final product, but it sounds like maybe not.
okay, im just gonna say: sequels can never get better and better forever, there will come a time that its worse than the last, or cannot live up to the last one, or whatever., we just have to believe/support whatever books come out long enough for the next book to come out., ;) ;)
I think this is a good point, and also brings up that in a series, each book while needing to be a good read on its own, is really just a chapter in an ongoing narrative. If you couldn't just pick the book up absent reading the preceding books, than it shouldn't be judged as good or bad, so much as stronger or weaker parts of the narrative. (I mean unless the qualitative aspects are actually hugely divergent, as in the writing suddenly becomes worse, or something like that) Because book four or five in a series, is never going to stand as tall as book one or two, it's not really that books job to do so, it's just bearing the load of the story to progress it through the series. By that point the over arching story is going through high and low notes, and each book is just going to fall somewhere on the spectrum. We don't generally judge each chapter by the preceding and succeeding ones in a story (you can of course, but it's kind of pointless unless you're doing a close examination of the structure of the book) because we know that each chapter is just a building block in the narrative, and that there are stronger and weaker chapters, which are more or less important. We kind of forget that when we look at a series of books (especially a long one). We won't really be able to judge if this book did it's job (or how well) until we finish the song (to stretch a metaphor) and see how it fits into the arcs and rhythms of the complete work.
One of my favorite things of this series so far SPOILERS Dalinar: has THE LITTERAL STORM FATHER Ardents: no no no no no you'r a heretic and everything you do including your marriage is illegitimate XD
@@DoublexCoke Yup was not sure. Just did not want anyone to get spoiled by that. I know there are a lot of people who are reading through SA right now because of Daniel and in the comments.
I LOVE how you have spoiler-free and spoiler-filled segments. In general, it's great to finish a book and come to a video where you talk about some highlights and what you liked.
Definitely sounds like there is a bit of up and down in this one but I'm very excited to get further into it. I've enjoyed the first 18 chapters so far but it hasn't blown me away. I was nervous that this may be a big setup book for the conclusion in book 5, but hopefully it doesn't feel like that.
@@ProvidenceNL dude its coming next year ,grrm has already written 3000 manuscript pages its gonna be epic and will surely overtake whichever series u find better.
@@nityamjain1561 not necessarily. The hype for ASoIaF has died down currently, and comparatively, it’s nowhere near the hype the SA has received these past years, especially since the show ended and killed a lot of hype, I feel. Sure, maybe the hype will pick up when the new book comes out, but that’s assuming it’s good. I’d actually compare it to the Kingkiller Chronicles, where fans have just stopped hyping and have kinda gotten fed up. Not to the same extent. But undoubtedly, ASoIaF hasn’t been on the scene, like at all, and there hasn’t been hype for it.
Navani has been one of my favs since WOR. More brilliant than Jasnah with none of her arrogance and condescension, with a quiet authority about her. Awesome to her full potential realized here.
Kaladin is my favorite character. And if your favorite character is Kaladin, you *will* love this book. SPOILER ZONE I hate to admit it but I think his decision in the end is the most realistic and beneficial one. And in the end I’d rather see a happy surgeon rather than a broken soldier. I doubt he will never fight again. That’s part of who he is. He will protect those who cannot protect themselves, and if he has to fight he will do so. It’s the oath he took. But at the same time I am excited even if he never picks up a spear again. He wants to reform the mental health care system, and I feel like that is such a significant thing. He will be saving thousands of people, doing so much, even without a spear. And in the end he tells his dad he will save people his own way. Kaladin says never fighting back seems right in his head but not in his heart. This is why I think he’s not going to give up fighting entirely. But he will at /least/ take a good break from it. And this I fully support. Even if I might miss his epic fighting. It’s hard to accept this but once you do it’s so *satisfying*.And it’s what made me cry when he swore the 4th ideal. Made me cry from happiness. As of right now, having just finished the book, it is my favorite solely based on the fact that it has done so much for Kaladin. I cried 4 times reading it, threw it at the wall at some point and cursed at Moash like a sailor, and it was all incredibly fun. And also Navani’s pov was perfection and the music theory and science of it all absolutely blew. My. Mind. The world-building is *insanely* well done. And Moash remains the storming personification of a cancerous anal discharge.
Great review Daniel! Something Im really missing though is when back in the day you rated each part of the novel, that is giving character work, plot etc a grade each
I always have kind of an issue with the comparison between a book's function in a continuous series and it's enjoyability/strength/etc as a standalone experience, i.e. "as it's own book," because it isn't it's own book. It's printed with its own cover and its own back blurb and its own quotes but especially in the case of Brandon's books, it's the next chapter in a saga. Does each chapter in a book have to be engaging on its own? Yes, but even many engaging chapters don't "stand on their own," because it's nonsensical to read only chapter 120 of Oathbringer without any context. it's an incredible chapter, but "on its own" it's the ramblings of a lunatic... because it's so heavily couched in the rest of the story. So, though I have obviously not read RoW, I have heard that same criticism leveled by many people at many books, and it strikes me as sort of nonsense, even though I know it's trying to articulate some actual aspect of the reading experience.
This is a terrible argument. You'd be a pretty terrible author if you just completely decided to ignore the inherent consequences of how your work is consumed. I mean we all know pretty well that Brandon himself structures individual books specifically to be enjoyed in his signature arc. Maybe what you're saying would be valid if Sanderson had decided to only publish all five books in this first arc as one volume, internally divided into 5 'books' the same way Dune is. But the fact of the matter is that he chose to release it one book at a time, knowing that for a large portion of readers, it would be a while until they would be able to read the next one. How are you even meant to evaluate a book solely based on its function in a continuous series if the rest of the series has yet to be released? Does that mean it shouldn't be evaluated at all until the entire series is done? Should Daniel not have made a video at all? Books in a series are for the most part consumed piecemeal. Anything that has a beginning and an end can and unavoidably will be evaluated on its own merit. Even in the example of Chapter 120 that you mentioned, sure it's the ramblings of a madman, but it's still designed to have a beginning, middle, and an end, that separates it into an individual unit distinct from the rest of the whole. Otherwise how would questions like 'what was your favorite chapter?' come to be? It's not nonsense, it's just conveying information that's actually valuable as far as it applies to the real life reading habits of people who are going to be reading this book.
Yes and no. TL;DR: a middle book can’t be just filler. Of course a fourth book in a series cannot be read as a stand-alone, and thus ‘is not a book in its own right’. But I have to stress a point that a book (usually a middle one) in a series cannot serve solely to further the overall plot. If it did just that, then the series is structured poorly. When I read a book I’d expect it to have a story in it, and not just filler. There’s a reason there’s a syndrome called “the middle book syndrome”. In fact, the best examples I can find to do a sequel right is Brandon’s books like the mistborn trilogy and words of radiance. After the first mistborn book I was like “what? They won in the first book?? What happens now?” And the second book seemed to address that issue and expand the lore wire having a complete narrative on its own. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m still very excited for this book.
mmm going by both Daniel's and Merphy's reviews this is gonna be a bit of a medium enjoyment read for me. I loved the 1st two books of the series while OB kinda dragged for me and I did have a problem with how a bunch of characters went missing from the narrative only to show up 3/4 of the book later (or so it felt this way), and I'm also 50/50 on new characters being introduced into the narrative while I'm already very invested in the ones I've known so far. I'm very curious how this book turns out for me.
As Sanderson says in his classes, there will always be different tastes, and when he receives comments from his beta readers he mentions "I will not write what you want but what I want to convey in my story, I will take into account your comments but I must separate both things "(it doesn't say that exactly but in short it does), so everything is subjective. So there is no problem in giving an opinion. I liked your video, only that reading forum comments, it saddens me that there are people who mention "thanks to those reviews (Merphy and you) I saved money on not spending on a bad book (I know they don't say that in their reviews but some people interpret it that way, perhaps because of the note that even surprised me) "without even giving the book a chance, I repeat, it's sad to not have a personal opinion. Just to add Sanderson had already mentioned that the structure would be different in the fourth book, perhaps it would be more similar to the first and that it was intentional since there will be 10 books and what he is building is immense, in addition to not being so focused on certain characters It is understandable since they already had a book to develop (if they are one of the main 3 and I think you mean them) and going to the background is not bad if you develop other characters that would be fundamental and relevant later, which remembering will be 10 books they have to "ration" in some way also of course that the fifth book, I hope, is the goal of so much preparation in previous books. Peace
I think it's quite possible that the people who say they're not going to buy the book because of these reviews will change their minds if the book gets a lot of acclaim from fans after it comes out. I find it kind of weird that Daniel's and Merphy's reviews were taken as negative when they both had plenty of positive things to say.
If someone saw this review and thought this was a "bad" book that should not be read, they did not actually watch the video. Criticisms can be levelled om every bood and should be. WoT, Lotr and Harry Potter all have valid criticisms throughout their sagas. Does not stop them from being solid bools and masterpiece level fantasy epics.
For all the criticism this book gets, I loved it. I don't know where I place it among the other SA books, but I am certain that its not a step down for me. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, one thing that Sanderson did NOT get enough credit on was the opening. That was some serious en medias res, that reminded me of the way Star Wars ep III opened. While that movie is heavily flawed, go back and rewatch the first 20 minutes, its near perfection, much like the opening here. We get an immediate highlight reel of all of the most entertaining qualities of Kaladin, Dalinar and Shallan, and it sets them all up so well for their arcs in the remainder of the book. Edit to Add: Also, while the flashbacks in this one weren't quite as strong overall as previous books, the payoff in the final one was as good as they've ever been.
So on Kaladin- I'm not far in yet, but a thing I'm appreciating is... Kaladin is Broken. That he's not just shrugging off what amounts to PTSD and a rather accurate account of chronic Depression (which I am intimately familiar with). I'm going to give his struggle early in the book the "Yeah, that's realistic" stamp of approval. Shalan as well. These sorts of deep damage, are not something one should get over in a book or two. It doesn't work that way. I dunno, I was just struck by it. Maybe because I know it from the inside. It's well done.
Shallan is one of my favorite characters, and I’ve really been wanting more page time for her while reading the early chapters. The book got off to a really great start, but the pacing got clunkier as I kept reading, I can see how a lot of this review applies to what’s already been released. I’m still very excited, and I expect I’ll be pleased with it.
I have to admit I'm glad that other characters will get more spotlight. I like Shallan, but I want to know more about Seth, Renarin, Teft, Lopen, Azure etc I loved their viewpoints the most in Oathbringer
i Have not read it yet obviously..but the impact of this entry will be felt later on the series way more than it does now i guess...It might become a favorite among a lot of people..For me thats the most fun part about reading a long on going series..Cant wait to read it..
Thanks for an honest review. I appreciate that you are a true Sanderson fan, but not just giving it blind praise. Looking forward to finishing the book. Have really enjoyed the early chapters released.
hot damn....getting really close to a quarter million subs man....big grats, love your channel, started watching a number of years ago while i was reading wheel of time books when i was looking for vids discussing the lore and whatnot. very happy to have found your channel.
Man, this is probably my second favourite SA book after Words of Radiance! It was almost perfect. Maybe some of the flashbacks weren't that interesting, but everything else was just a blast to read. I couldn't stop reading. Everyone had pretty strong arcs in this book. I began to like Venli a lot, Kaladin's battle with depression and PTSD was so relatable; I really enjoyed all the science behind the fabrials and lights and Navani suddenly became one of my favourite characters; the villains were superb; Adolin and Shallan' s journey was super interesting; Teft's story gave me the feels, all the Cosmere references made me want to buy every other book that is connected to it, and I hate Taravangian even more. The SA books are my first Sanderson books, to be fair. I heard good stuff about the Mistborn series and I'm planning on buying them next, because I just need more Sanderson stuff now and I'm dying to learn more of the Cosmere. That's Fantasy at its highest!
I liked words of radiance. Oathbringer ejected me. And i think you're saying the structure and the pacing are the same as that... Yeah imma head out. Back to waiting on doors of stone.
I really, really loved Kaladin's story in this. It was a bit unexpected at first, and I was worried on Kal's behalf, but it turned out so, so well. Shallan, hm. I liked her development. But then this big thing happened, and then we only get half a chapter with her after that. It's just, what happened after that? I would've appreciated more page time for her there. So much seemed to have happened between the big thing and her next chapter, but we barely see any of it.
Sounds like my fears for this book were somewhat justified (too much focus on the Parshendi characters - who I'm less interested in - and less on the fan faves). Hopefully it doesn't stray too far into A Feast for Crows or mid-Wheel of Time syndrome.
Uhh, it can't be as meandering as A Feast for Crows. All I remember was Brienne wandering in the mud for a hundred pages (or so it felt). Roshar, fortunately, doesn't have mud. Since I'm not too attached to Shallan, it doesn't sound like its going to bother me too much, but it might annoy others.
I've been listening to the released audio chapters on RU-vid! Brilliant advertising technique to get you to buy the next book. I wish I had the book to read. Very jealous.
I've only read the released chapters so far, but I definitely feel you on the Parshendi POV sections. It's like, yeah, cool, we get to see what they're up to, but I care so much more about the humans that any Parshendi POV is going to drag for me.
Newer viewer here: I've had doubts that Mr. Greene might be biased when reviewing authors he has had on his channel. I just thought it might be a conflict of interest. So it was a reassuring seeing him not afraid to lay some criticisms on Sanderson's newest book. Well done, one new viewer has more faith in your unbiasedness.
Haven't read it yet but it should be no surprise that Sanderson can make you love a character that was only meh. Remember Steris in Mistborn Era 2? Book 1: Meh, whatever. Book 3: IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO HER, I WOULD KILL EVERYONE IN THE ELENDEL BASIN AND THEN MYSELF.
To enjoy shallan’s arc in the first 18 chapters, I had to let the chapters breathe, being extra thoughtful and patient. I thought she had her own unique, personal shine. I get a sense for what you’re saying, and the trajectory this book could take, leaving you to desire more... indeed, I wonder how he’s gonna tie it up in book 5, or if he’ll feel the need to spend a 6th volume with these characters. However, you get what you get.. he pours his heart into these characters, so there is enough beauty in the story to warm your heart and comfort you, not enough to dwell upon and devour. That’s something I first sensed in the show community, then even more-so in avatar the last airbender- the story is not necessarily an ocean, but it’s enough for you to dive into and have a relationship with; all good things come to an end, but they live on in our hearts and our lives.
Reading this book I totally get where you're coming from but I honestly didn't feel that way about most of the things you said :D. Maybe the pacing though I might notice it more on reread. I liked Adolin's arc in this, I liked how he was setting out to do one thing and ultimately things didn't go his way (I consider his a small victory that I imagine may have a larger implication for the world rather than the book). Shallan is not one of my favorite people though I recognize many love her and I do find her story interesting,I think I am ok with the page count she got and I appreciate her now much more with the way Brandon has handled her condition (I saw her thing coming though I regret I didn't inform the internet of my theories :D).And I have always loved the Listener/Singer viewpoints in the previous books so I adored them in this one even more. I found it confusing initially when you said we were asked to suddenly care about new characters I was confused cuz I already cared a lot about most of the Listener/Singer characters we were following here. Well in any case everything is subjective so I appreciate your view on the book greatly :) Also Navani *Chef's kiss*
This is probably my most anticipated books of all time. Right now, the Stormlight Archive is on a good way to become my favourite series, so I'm super excited about RoW. I hope this will live up to the hype and I can't wait to read it.
While I agree with you on a few points, especially pacing, I completely disagree in regards to the Parshendi parts and Adolin. While it took time to warm up to the Listener characters it was essential to really be submerged in their world. Like Kaladin in Oathbringer we needed to see (not be told) that the Listeners are not some faceless enemy with mal intent. They each have their own priorities and subterfuge that play into their own society. Seeing this was essential to the audience no longer treating them as the "other." And as far as the Adolin story goes, I guess we can just choose to disagree. I liked it, thought it was predictable, but it was serious wish fulfillment fantasy in my opinion. (Kinda interesting take on the bond though, since Adolin came to her and not vice versa like with other human spren relationships) Totally agree with you about Kaladin though. Loved the more realistic look at his struggle. Sometimes I get mad at how often he falls back into ruts. Then I think about my personal struggle with depression and realize that it must be frustrating for my loved ones to see me continually go to a dark place when they know that I am better than I think.
I appreciate your thoughtfulness! Would you consider this entry to be almost an introduction or prequel to book 5? It’s as if he is building into the avalanche of the final entry? Or setting it up?
Ehi Daniel, first of all kudos for your channel. You are a great entertainer and always keep a very intelligent position without shying away from taking position. Nice work. I am a Sanderson fan and I love your reviews and perspective on his books, on Rhythm of War though I do not agree on the pacing remarks you have made. It is true that some characters should have needed more page time and their arc feels a bit "rushed" - although coming - but the pace of the book itself I thought it was very enjoyable and slightly better then Oathbringer (which I loved btw, im one of those) mainly in part 3 and 4. I agree with all the props you highlighted though, new povs, new characters, MINDBLOWING world-building. I also want to really suggest to listen to the Audiobook if you can. Kate and Michael are true artists and we all know it but I felt this one was THE best audiobook so far for Stormlight. Highly recommended.
I hear you on pacing and structure. In Oathbringer there were a few things that I thought should have been a much bigger deal when they were *finally* revealed, but even if the structure isn't as great as I would like, the meat of the story is so good that it makes up for all of that. Sanderson is providing the material for what will be the best TV show ever.
Great review! Sanderson is masterful at certain things, but I have to admit that I think making him an example for his depictions/thematic work on mental illness and the realities of war is emblematic of fantasy as a whole being held to a fairly low standard in some ways. It's not that those themes aren't there, or that he does them BADLY, but I feel it's generous to say his treatment of material on this level rises to anything special. That's my feeling on Stormlight Archive in general at least, not that I've read Rhythm of War obviously.
