#I think personally it's maya. because I just love maya not as much as adolin but I do love her

[cosmerelists]

My Top 10 Favorite Cosmere Characters

Today is my birthday, so it's time for a purely self-indulgent birthday list! I thought I'd just share my own personal Top 10 Cosmere characters, which will just prove once and for all that I am SUCH a Stormlight girlie.

[Spoilers for Stormlight, Mistborn Era 1 & Era 2 and Shadows for Silence]

#10: TenSoon

I think I almost like TenSoon better in Era 2, when he's, like, an immortal quasi-divine figure who also happens to be a big, fluffy puppy. I like it when characters from different eras interact, so I was quite taken by having Wax meet TenSoon. I was also a fan of TenSoon back in the original series though, especially as his loyalty to Vin developed. And I'm one for a tragic sacrifice, so the kandra trying to kill themselves to avoid getting taken over by Ruin--that was a powerful moment (and I'm big fan of the fact that they did not, in fact, die. It was still a heroic sacrifice!).

#9: Silence

It's hard to say how much my love for Silence is part & parcel with my love for Threnody which, for whatever reason, is my favorite Cosmere planet. I like how Silence interacts with Threnody--the sheer horror and fatalism of living right on the edge of that forest, being a mother and a bounty hunter, keeping your dead grandmother in a back room...

#8: Adolin

I think Adolin is one of those characters I like because of his relationships with other characters. Especially Maya--I really love the relationship Adolin has with his sword, and when he and Maya fight back to back using the kata...that's one of my favorite scenes. I think he and Shallan are cute, and that he and Kaladin are cute, and that the three of them are a triad in their hearts. Also, and this will be a theme throughout this list, I love competent fighters and good fight sequences, so Adolin's duels really put him near the top for me.

#7: Navani

Rhythm of War really made me love Navani, I think. And not only because of that unhealthy yet somehow alluring relationship she had with Raboniel. We'll see throughout this list that I just like really competent characters, and Navani is such a smart and cool inventor of stuff, from watches to pain management devices to flying ships. And knowing what she went through with Gavilar and how she was made to think she wasn't smart or worthwhile only to have Dalinar and Raboniel recognize that yes she was smart and good at things and now she's cracked the code to make god-killing weapons and has bonded the Sibling and she's just so cool.

#6: Sazed

Honestly, I really love Sazed both before and after his ascension. I heard that people aren't always fans of Harmony, but I find him just as fascinating, if not more so--the idea of trying to balance such discordant shards in one being. But Sazed is, I think, my favorite character from the Mistborn Era 1 books. He is so sincere and smart and competent and deals with so much shit all the time. And I think he's doing his best.

#5: Jasnah

Like, Jasnah is just cool. She's so polished. So competent. So deadly. So smart. I think seeing Jasnah through Shallan's eyes for so long really made me respect and fear her as much as a reader can respect/fear a book character. That moment that she and Dalinar bonded over the book after Gavilar's death--very sweet. Kinda disappoited that we didn't get much with Jasnah & Elhokar--hard to remember they're siblings sometimes. In conclusion, I am both excited and scared to get more of her tragic backstory soon.

#4: Leshwi

Listen, I like cool fight sequences and enemies who bear a deep respect for each and duel a lot but never from a place of hatred. So, I was basically made to like Leshwi and how she interacts with Kaladin. But I also just like Leshwi's interactions with everyone. Leshwi and Moash? Awesome. "Hey you killed me once. Respect." Leshwi and Venli? Heck yeah. "I am slowly feeling you out and trying to see where your loyalties lie because they might intersect with mine." Once I am thrilled that Lewshi is joining the Listeners now. I want her to form a Radiant bond SO BAD.

#3: Steris

I seem to recall Brandon Sanderson talking about Steris as a character you don't like at first, but later you grow to love her. But if I remember correctly, I feel like I always liked Steris? Like yes, the marriage contract was a lot, but it was also so thorough and honest (and, honestly, funny). And then she just grew on me from there. As someone who makes a lot of lists, I also feel a kinship with Steris.

#2: Shallan

The first two times I read through the Stormlight Archives, I was all about Kaladin. But the third time, I really started to realize just how much I like the Shallan chapters. I think Shallan is a great character with a great arc--and I love the way she sort of grows into herself and her powers. Plus, I enjoy the slow reveal of how much she's already done--she already has a shardblade. And two spren bonds. And many murders under her belt. Quite the resume. And I really love Veil and Radiant, but especially Veil. The scene during the Oathbringer climax where she holds hand with her alters while constantly creating other alters to let them be killed legitimately makes me cry. She holds back a whole army by herself! She's amazing!

#1: Kaladin

Kaladin was my favorite character pretty much from the very moment I started reading Cosmere books (I started with Way of Kings), and he has never been dethroned in my heart. First, there's the simple fact that I love good fight scenes and fantasy heroics and people who gain the power they need at the very last second...and Kaladin does those things like every other chapter. But also, Kaladin is just such a good character. I love how he's not just a shallow fantasy hero--he has depression, and invents therapy, and struggles with guilt, and doesn't always make good choices. Sometimes the Kaladin chapters are tough--Rhythm of War was downright painful sometimes with just how much Kaladin was suffering--but even so. I will always look forward to the Kaladin parts the most, and like many, I deem Kaladin my #1 Cosmere Blorbo.

[cosmereplay]

The way Dalinar loves and the way Evi fights

This feels like it's too long for a reblog so I'm making a new post. I'm thinking about that awesome post about the way Dalinar fights and the way Evi loves and rotating it around in my head like it's in the microwave...

I wanna see this from the other side too because I think the Kholin bros also fight like their mother and love like their father.

Dalinar loves from beneath a person, putting them on a pedestal. He loves by saying, “I don’t deserve you.” He loves by saying, “I’ll try harder." He witnesses himself fail to live up to what he feels they should get, but he never stops trying. He holds onto the pain of falling short as a way of dedicating himself to that person.

Adolin does this when he idolizes his father, and when Dalinar notices, "When the boy gets chastised, he just tries harder." He does this with Shallan when he says he doesn't understand her but he'll keep trying. He does it with Maya!

Renarin does this as he tries so hard to serve his father, to live up to his expectations, knowing he'll fail and trying again anyway. He does this when he serves Bridge Four, even though he feels like he isn't worthy of them. The way he loves through humility and service will make him an excellent leader, but without the influence of his mother, he could become gullible like Dalinar.

Now the way Evi fights. She fights from a place of knowing herself deeply and respecting her values. She doesn't fight just because she knows she can win, she fights because it's right. She fights by seeing the truth of the situation and then courageously going forward anyway. She fights even when she knows she can't win. She is afraid, and she still separates herself from her homeland for an uncertain future. She is afraid, and she still speaks her mind. She will tell the truth as she sees it, despite her very real fear for the consequences. 

Adolin does this, too. He chooses his fights based on his values. He fights by getting to know the enemy first, and he stays aware of what's going on around him. He knows himself and his capabilities. He can stay calm during the fight. He doesn't just go where he's pointed, he needs to know why and he needs to agree with it.

Renarin is still learning this way of fighting, I think. He is still learning to respect himself. He is seeing the truth, and learning to speak it. For me, this is when he is the most exciting - when he is finding his voice. As much as he wants to be like his father, he will be most powerful when he learns to fight like his mother.

[lillytalons]

This is my non comprehensive and unfinished list of Drift Compatible pairs

Drift compatible

Leverage

Eliot and parker:

They just are, they both love hardison but he’s better at being tech support outside the drift. Plus, they really only trust him to be monitoring them. They both know how to take emotion out of the problem when necessary.

Person of Interest

John and Shaw:

Chaos twins, need I say more? Actually I’m gonna, people were a bit afraid trying to find a pairing for them because of their pasts (epecially john and Cara who were a brutal team that wrecked John when Cara died) and were afraid they might make things worse for each other, but they actually leveled each other out to a shocking degree because the machine (a doctor in this case) saw what most people don’t, that they deeply care about justice, they’re compassionate, and have a strong sense of right and wrong-it’s just that for them the end justifies the means to a degree others might not feel.

Doctor Who

Ten and Donna:

I think Donna could also be compatible with nine, and it takes her a minute with ten, but they do get there, they make each other better.

Stormlight Archive

Kal and Moash former:

ok this one is odd because I think they were pushed to pilot together and it worked for a bit, especially whenever kaladin’s mental health is declining, but they stopped him piloting because of that and when he got better he couldn’t drift with Moash anymore. Moash found someone who’s destructive like him and Kaladin ended up with Syl. Shallan and him are oddly compatible but there was a bit too much tension with Adolin and Kaladin could tell she was hiding something, which after Moash freaked him out.

Adolin and Maya

Adolin used to drift with Dalinar but Dalinar retired and he stayed a loner until Maya, he was compatible with Renarin but Renarin was too sick to actually pilot. Maya is so quiet people didn’t think it would work but Adolin is used to Renarin and isn’t as much of a dumb jock as people think. People don’t understand that Dalinar and Adolin worked well because they fight the same AND they’re both very smart.

Stranger things

Steve and Robin:

Robin didn’t trust him at first but their first drift test percentage was so shockingly high that afterword they spent like days together getting to know each other. Most likely people in the base to be throwing potential partners at each other

Psych

Shawn and Gus:

https://www.tumblr.com/hmslusitania/745431572726038528/shawn-and-gus-are-drift-compatible-but-under-no

Owl House

Amity and Hunter:

I think this one would take some work, but say they got paired together in their overachiever/my worth is tied to performance phase. They would fall out of synch for a bit, but would come back together later courtesy of Luz (who I don’t think is great at the drift -following the rabbit is an issue- but can spot good pairings/pilots a mile away, and helps people get to where they need to be mentally) (side note, I could see her as an adult actually being great at temporary pairings, once she’s self assured enough that’s she’s stable in herself she can adjust to be what a person needs for emergency situations)

Star Wars

Anakin and Obi-wan (pre darkside):

I don’t think I need to justify this one, but Obi-wan suffers extremely when the bond is broken in drift

Han and Chewbacca:

Similar to the Shawn/gus scenario on the surface, but they will actually refrain from major property damage (probably)

Jyn and Cassian:

This one also is a growing to be compatible situation, but they fit better than they expected, he thought she was too selfish, she thought he wouldn’t trust her or compromise, turns out they work wonderfully together

Baze and Chirrut:

It took them a few years but they’re like the most stable and dependable pairing, despite Chirruts tendency to charge towards danger

I’m definitely right about all of these but I will accept additions!

[luckspren]

I’m starting Rhythm of War today, which I’m very excited about. But first some thoughts about Oathbringer under the cut

I looove Queen Jasnah. She was already pretty much a queen who was just missing a crown and I really hope she gets chapters in RoW to get her perspective on how she views this new responsibility, especially considering her little brother had to die for it.

Elhokars death made me sadder than I thought it would. If he had died earlier I think I would have cared only in regards to his families reaction and less about the death itself. But there is something about a character that realises his shortcomings and works to better himself only to fucking die right when he starts to change, that’s just a punch to the gut.

Dalinars backstory is brutal and I’m wondering if he will tell Adolin and Renarin about the actual circumstances of Evis death. There is so much potential there to explore the family dynamic more in how the brothers might react differently to the news and the tension that it could put on the different relationships, but I think there is probably not enough time for extended Kholin family drama

I’d love to see more of Renarin in general, though. Loved his scenes with Jasnah and I also hope we get more interactions with Adolin. Also have no idea how that whole corrupted-spren business will develop. What exactly is even the difference to regular Truthwatchers? If they didn’t see the future because that’s bad, then what could they see?? I really should have paid more attention, when the little blurbs at the start of chapters talked about the Knights Radiant...

Sooo ...is Maya coming back to life? I mean she basically saved Adolin in shadesmar and she was able to tell him her name  and that has to count for something, right? So Adolin could possibly become an Edgedancer and I like the thought that the ‘dead’ spren could be saved (Also the thought of Adolin and Lift training together is pretty hilarious).

That said Adolins insecurities about leadership and his role in the war effort, now that practically everyone around him is Radiant, have to come back in some way. He dodged the crown, but maybe those themes could also be explored in his new position as Highprince? Thrusting him into a leadership position he didn’t want or prepare for, would probably more effective for this, though.

I was right and Shallan and Adolin got married and then I didn’t even get a wedding scene. Still happy about the outcome though. And I know Sanderson didn’t intend this, but with the way Kaladin and Adolin think about each other and the feelings they both have for Shallan and vice versa, there’s like a perfect set up for the Kaladin/Shallan/Adolin OT3 in the canon text. Obviously that won’t actually happen and I am happy with canon as it is, als long as I get plenty more interactions between these three.

I don’t think Moash will be redeemed and I think it has to be Kaladin who takes him down. I’m not sure what the next words will be, but I could see something along the lines of accepting that not every person can be or even wants to be saved, maybe??

So Azure is Vivenna and Zahel is Vasher, right? Where there like hints I was too dumb to notice in the Zahel-scenes? 

I hope RoW dives more into Ghostbloods-plot (which by the way is a pretty sick name for a secret organisation)

So far there hasn’t been a really major character death and that still makes me nervous. Like disaster did strike, but all in all the pov-characters got through it more or less unscathed. I’m still kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[pancakepartyinthevoid]

The AU? The Adolin AU? I’m... fascinated.

Oh my god, Anon. I love you. I’m sure I’m missing pieces of it because I’ve been thinking about it for months now, but here are the main points.

The Adolin Kholin Shardblade Nursery and Group Therapy AU is basically this.

1. Adolin realizes shard blades can be brought back, at least a little, through his connection with Maya.

2. Adolin wins a lot of shards in duels.

3. Adolin wants these shards to also come back, at least a little, but he’s already bonding with Maya, so he invites other people to his Shard Nursery where he cares for the swords and makes sure they don’t need to fight anymore, at least for a little, and tucks them in because I think that is a HILARIOUS visual.

4. NOW! “Who would he invite to talk to the shards?” I hear you say and to that I say every single person on Roshar with PTSD. Which is a lot to be fair, but he STARTS with Dabbid. Dabbid comes in, sits with the swords, and Adolin chats with him and the swords, lets him know how much the swords like it.

5. And maybe a child lost their parents to the Listeners or a prostitute in another camp had a bad interaction with a client or really just any of the many MANY people Adolin knows needs to have a quiet place to sit and talk with something that isn’t going to judge them.

6. Adolin now has all of these dead blades that are slowly becoming more than dead and bonding with people who are experiencing therapy for the first time ever and all of the people who already have blades are like, “HEY, we also want our blades to be happy!” and so he starts couples therapy for people who have already bonded to a blade.

7. If shard bearers don’t go to Adolin for couples therapy with their blade, then Adolin duels them and takes their blade for his Nursery.

8. All the spren love Adolin and mental health in Roshar improves dramatically the end.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Rhythm of War Review

PART 1

It feels a little separate from the rest of the book to me at the moment because I read it pre-release, but I think it did a good job setting up the rest of the plot. I greatly enjoyed Navani’s perspective and ideas throughout the book, and the first section established her much more firmly as a character than any of the previous books; her couple of chapters in Oathbringer were more focused on politics and her relationship with Dalinar, so it was great yo see much more of her scientific side.

When I first read Part 1 it felt very Kaladin-heavy, but after completing the book I see how it was necessary to establish his burnout in order to set up the rest of the plot. And Chapter 12 (A Way to Help), in addition to being our only chance in the book to see our trio together, did a great job setting up Kaladin’s later work with mentally ill people, both by establishing the need and showing what kind of help was needed. I was nonetheless quite frustrated by Kaladin reacting to Shallan’s DID with “that would be nice...”. She’s having serious problems, Kal! She’s your friend and could use support, not you regarding her issues as a neat way to take a holiday from one’s own brain! Kaladin’s very kind and caring with those he chooses to protect, as we see with Bridge 4 in TWOK and the mentally ill people in Chapter 25, but sometimes I think he’s not a very good friend. I know he was not in a good place, but in Oathbringer when they were in Shadesmar Shallan had just had a complete breakdown and she still went out of her way to emotionally support Kal, so it would be nice to see his friendships become a bit more two-way. (For similar reasons, I liked seeing the moments of Shallan-to-Adolin emotional support in Shadesmar in ROW, because a lot of their relationship in OB was her relying on him; it felt balanced in ROW as both supported each other.)

PART 2

I loved the Shadesmar arc! The emotional arcs for both main characters were very strong - I had been looking forward to seeing Adolin’s reaction to (in-universe) Oathbringer, and it did not disappoint; the conflict between genuinely loving Dalinar and being unable to forgive what he’d done was well-drawn. I was so pissed off at Dalinar in that last conversation! You burned his mom to death, you do not get to take the moral high ground and lecture him. And I do see a difference between killing innocents, as Taravangian does, and killing someone who’s effectively declared war on you and has a history of treason.

I also liked Adolin’s sense of being generally at sea with his purpose in the world. He’s been trained primarily as a warrior and general, and his combat skills have been made virtually obsolete by the Radiants. And at the same time, the reader can see what makes Adolin special, and it’s not combat skills - though those do give him a big heroic moment in a pinch - it’s his care and compassion for others. The way he interacts with Maya and slowly brings her life is absolutely beautiful. Chapter 35 was such a wonderful Shadolin moment (and starspren are amazing!); he really gets her and understands what she needs. Chapter 24 was sweet too, though super cheesy.

I spent the entire Shadesmar arc side-eying Veil and Radiant, especially with Veil’s takeover stunt at the start, but in the end they genuinely were supporting and helping Shallan. So in retrospect I do like scenes like the one with Veil trying to draw Shallan out by drawing Adolin badly.

Spoeking of drawing, I love the spren art, it’s some of the best art so far, and fascianting to see how they all look!

Kaladin finding non-violent ways to protect, culminating in pioneering Rosharan therapy - and Teft insisting on staying to support him - was everything I wanted for him. His arc could have just been that, and I’d have been perfectly happy. Chapter 25 (Devotary of Mercy) is still my favourite in the entire book.

Unfortunately, then Odium’s forces had to show up and SPOIL EVERYTHING. I’m rather appalled by how quickly Urithiru fell - the enemy forces were literally in the pillar room by the time anyone noticed them.

PART 3

Part 3 was a real slog for me, partly because it is a slog and partly because I hit it at the height of my sleep deptivation. (It’s really...not a good thing to be reading on zero sleep at the literal darkest-hour-before-dawn.) Kaladin’s arc in Urithiru is just so exhausting; he’s so clearly worn to the boneand everything feels so hopeless. Kaladin’s had bad times before - Bridge 4 in TWOK, for example - but then the reader could see progress even if Kaladin couldn’t. (Kaladin: I’m getting nowhere and failing at everything! Everyone else: Kaladin, you were literally just miraculously resurrected.) Here, though - well, I genuinely spent the whole book from Part 3 through to the climax thinking that they would lose Urithiru.

Navani’s arc, and Venli’s, I did enjoy.

The other section of Part 3, in Emul, just felt rather disjointed. It had some interesting moments, but it didn’t have a sense of cohesion or of where it was going. I was entertained by Dalinar’s musings on the merits of despositism and the need to free Queen Fen from having - horrors! - a parliament. (I wonder if the Fourth Ideal will be something like “I will recognize that it can sometimes be beneficial to have people oppose my decisions.”)

PART 4

Again, adored the Shadesmar arc. Really strong character arcs for both Adolin and Shallan, combined with excellent plots and a strong sense of momentum. I was pretty sure Maya would be crucial in the trial, but that didn’t make the moment any less powerful (though Sanders probably shouldn’t have tried quite as hard to replicate his “You. Cannot. Have. My. Pain.” moment from Oathbringer). I need to put together a proper post on the theme of choice in Oathbringer, because that moment - combined with Kaladin’s fourth ideal and the conflict with Lirin over the way he’s inspiring the resistance - really crystallized it for me. To treat a person’s choice and sacrifices as something done to them is to devalue their volition, their agency. Maya is put in the horrifying situation of being used as a prop and treated as evidence of a point that she is diametrically opposed to and turned into a weapon against someone she loves, and it’s enough to drive her to regain her voice and speak for herself. I am very curious to know what specifically led the spren to agree to the Recreance!

I did not remotely guess what Shallan’s secret was, even though in retrospect the Cryptic deadeye should have made it incredibly obvious. I think her fear that she’d lose Adolin if it came out was overblown - he already knows she killed both her parents, he’s not going to be fazed by “I was so distraught over having to kill my own mother in self-defence at age ten that I broke my Radiant oaths”. But obviously it’s not something Shalkan would be able to consider duspassionately. Her arc was rather terrifying once I realized that Formless was, well, basically her, but more specifically, Shallan’s idea of the monster that she was, and her breakdown was driving her to “accept who she was” as being that monster. I like Shallan and was never that into Veil - though she was fairly good in this book and went out well - so I’m not sad to see the back of her.

I haven’t managed to work through all the espionage/mole elements. Yes, Pattern used the box to talk to Wit, and Radiant killed Ialai so Shallan wouldn’t, but who’s Mraize’s spy close to Dalinar?

This arc ended too abruptly. I think Sanderson could easily have traded a Kaladin chapter in Part 3 for an extra chapter wrapping up events in Shadesmar; maybe one where Shallan first goes to see Testament.

I enjoyed the Urithiru arc in Part 4 as well. Switching to Bridge 4 points of view other than Kaladin was a good move - we already know he’s worn to ribbons, so we don’t need to be inside his head to see it. “The Dog and the Dragon” was amazing, and the most appropriate story ever for Kaladin. (I get how Wit’s schtick of telling incredibly topical stories and then saying “no, I don’t have a point, what point?” would be really aggravating in person.) It was nice to see him be gentle with Kaladin for a change, the way he is with Shallan - his two previous encounters with Kaladin read as rather baiting, which annoyed me.

Dabbid was - I don’t know quite how to say this, but his inclusion struck an amazing balance in this book. Navani’s arc is all about two amazingly smart people doing science and making incredible breakthroughs, and that is sincerely valued and given importance by the narrative, and then you get chapters like Dabbid’s and one of Taravangian’s emphasizing that a person’s value and ability to contribute is not determined by their intelligence.

Navani’s arc continued to be excellent. All of her research, and the way the story took you through the process, and her complex relationship with Raboniel, was great.

I loved Venli’s character development, and growing willingness to take risks for the sake of others. To me, her arc parallels Dalinar’s in the last book in some ways. If we can love the story of a bloodthirsty conqueror growing to become a good person, why can’t we equally love the story of a coward coming to become a good person? There seems to be a tendency to be more drawn to strength, even in its most terrible forms, than to weakness. To me, Venli’s confession to Rlain and acceptance of his disgust at her was one of the book’s great moments. (And I can’t understand people saying her arc took up two much space. She had 5 chapters in Part 3, and 4 in Part 4. That’s not very many! I’ll grant that the flasbacks packed less punch than some earlier flashback sequences because we already knew the main events - Brandon acknowledged that even before the book came out - but I still liked them well enough, and Venli’s present-day arc was excellent.)

Anyway, the amount of space I’ve spent on this section relative to Part 3 is another strong inducation of the differences in how I feel about them!

PART 5

I should probably start this section with a discussion of Moash. I’ll try to keep it summarized. here - I could, and may, write a short essay on his development through The Stormlight Archive. The first thing that jumps out about Moash’s arc in this book is his reaction to Renarin’s vision in Part 1. I think that vision is showing Moash who he could still be, in a similar way to Shallan’s inspirational drawings of people - both use the Surge of Illumination. So it’s not that Moash is irredeemable; Renarin is specifucally holding out to him the possibility of redemption.

And Moash’s reaction is to run away in terror. Because he desperately wants his decision to be irrevocable. He desperately wants there to only be one possible path forward for him. Because if there are alternative paths, it means he can choose them, and that would mean facing guilt, facing the fact that his past choices were wrong, and his current choices are wrong. And that is exactly what Moash sought to avoid by giving up his pain and sense of guilt to Odium.

Moash is, nonetheless, very much Moash and not Vyre, as evidenced by his continuing obsession with Kaladin. As with his above need to not be wrong, here he needs to feel that he’s right, and the only way he can feel that he’s right is if Kaladin - whom he still deeply admires - makes the same decision as him, and if Moash can convince himself that he’s doing Kaladin a favour in driving him to that point. It’s ironic that he’s given up almost all feeling abd become almost enturely detached, but his worst actions are driven by his attitude towards the one person in the world who he still does have very strong feelings about. By the end of the book, he’s comprehensively broken, to the point that even when his ability to feel is restored he’s unable to even feel genuine remose over the cold-blooded murder of a friend. I don’t know where he’ll go from here - it would be ironic if he was only ever really appealing to Rayse-Odium, and Taravangian-Odium found Moash too much of a flat villain for his purposes and cast him off.

As the plot climaxes go, I thought the ones for Navani and Venli were excellent and very satisfying. I enjoyed Kaladin’s as well and found it cathartic, but it a was moment we all knew had to come, so it didn’t have quite the kick of some of Kaladin’s other big moments. I did love his reconciliation with Lirin. One of the themes of the book was finding common ground despite deeply felt disagreements - with Navani and Raboniel, with Navani and the Sibling, and with humans and singers/Fused more generally - and Kaladin and Lirin’s reconciliation fit well with that. I am far more favourable to Lirin than most people - if you’ve lived as a pacifist in storming Alethkar, which values the lives of its people slightly more than it does crem, you’re going to have been right a solid 95% of the time, where everyone else was wrong. I can make allowances for the other five percent, especially when Lirin’s life lesson from the last five or so years has been “resisting oppression and standing up for what you believe in will destroy everyone you love”.

And on the topic of finding common ground, Leshwi’s reaction to the revelation that Venli was a Radiant was one of the single most beautiful moments of the book, and one of my absolute favourites. It’s gorgeous and moving, and at the same time rather tragic, because - what might have bern different if Venli had revealed herself to Leshwi at the start of the book? How much of the conflict could have been avoided. Singers don’t appear to attract spren as strongly as humans do, which makes Leshwi drawing joyspren particularly powerful. And then the bittersweet note from “My soul is too long owned by someone else”. (Come to think of it, this is another inverted paralell to Moash. This is someone realizing “I was wrong about everything and I’m so glad about that because it means I have a chance to be someone better than I was.”) Oh my goodness, I would love a Leshwi chapter in a later book, just to check in on her and see how she’s doing in her new life with the Singers.

I also loved the climax of Navani’s arc, and was so relieved, because up until that very moment I wasn’t sure if the Sibling would survuve uncorrupted. I know that some people weren’t pleased because the Sibling didn’t even like her, but to me that became a core part of the story, like I said above - people who deeply disagree finding common ground and common cause. That is a key element of being a Bondsmith - the process of bringing people together in spite of their differences - and something that fits Navani so well given the rapport she found with Raboniel. (Though I was conflicted about the latter. On the one hand, she made amazing discoveries that enabled her to save Urithiru. One the other hand, she...kind of collaborated with the enemy and gave them terrible weapons out of intellectual curiosity and a desire to prove herself?) I will grant that it makes the series, and the characters with the most crucial importance to Roshar, rather Kholin-heavy.

For Taravodium, all I can say is - YIPES. I have no idea how to process the implications of that, but I feel like it will be bad. Really really bad. (Taravangian is probably my least favourite character in the entire Stormlight Archive. The attitude of “I am so brave and selfless for doing evil things and look at how wonderful I am for sacrificing my own morality for the benefit of all, you petty selfish people wanting to be good could never make such a grand sacrifice” drives me absolutely nuts. It’s a complete inversion and twisting of morality, and intensely arrogant.)

Dalinar’s encounter with Ishar was fascinating, and I’m very curious to see where this goes. The spren experiments were deeply creepy! And the way Radiant Oaths can temporarily restore a Herald’s sanity was fascinating - I’m very eager to see where this goes in the next book. I suspect that Dalinar may have made a very serious mistake with regards to this trial my combat, and I have no idea how/if they’re going to fit Szeth’s whole arc into the ten days before the duel. I’ve been eagerly anticipating Szeth’s arc ever since The Way of Kings!

[vergi1ius]

Notes on Rhythm of War

Well that had more twists and turns than the chasms of the Shattered Plains.

1. Minor note that bugged me: Gavinor talked *way* too mature for his age. Mostly in that his sentence structures were way too complex.

2. I can’t believe Sanderson managed to somehow redeem Roshone. Dude really stepped up in a crisis -- not in a way that made him suddenly perfect, but in a way that demonstrated he was clearly growing toward something better.

3. New Shard names yay

4. Fascinated by all these new Lights. I’m not quite sure where Lifelight is supposed to come from, nor Voidlight. A comment from Venli seems to say Voidlight comes from a ritual prayer, which seems to imply it’s directly bestowed by Odium, which has... implications.

5. That Raboniel thought Storm and Void Light were opposites for so long seems odd to me. Where did Lifelight fit into that? On the one hand, it seems so rare that she might have passed over it; on the other hand, given she obtains some for Navani (from where, though?) and she’s aware of its Tone, clearly it must feature somewhere in her theories.

6. I wonder precisely when Odium integrated so much into Roshar. My first guess would be around the time of the Recreance, given that’s when the Sibling is first weakened. My other guess would be when Odium first arrived, or when the Singers accepted him, though that seems rather too early. But most likely it was something building up for a long, long time.

7. While Raboniel and Navani see the implications in anti-Lights for ending the war, I think Wit foresees something terrible from this creation (as per his discussion with Jasnah on the battlefield). In particular, the explosive force of combining a Light and its anti-Light is very likely to change the scope of warfare.

8. Wit is hilarious and I will quote everything he says.

9. Ace Jasnah confirmed. (I might have prefered aroace Jasnah, but whatevs)

10. FUCK YOU MOASH YOU BASTARD.

11. RIP Teft. I’m seriously gonna miss him.

12. I love that Kaladin’s Plate has Bridge Four on it.

13. “Journey before destination, you bastard.” This book has so many good one-liners.

14. Interesting that Urithiru’s defenses don’t work on the Honorblades. Also, Moash survives again >:( At least 1) He didn’t get out in one piece and 2) The new management deals with him differently.

15. After hearing Ash’s account of Ishar, it probably shouldn’t surprise me all the shit he’s gotten up to. Perhaps one could hope that between leading the exodus to Roshar, creating the Oathpact, and leading the defense in the Desolations, he might have become a better person: but it rather seems he’s retained some of his greatest moral weaknesses or else reverted to some earlier state of mind. Given hints from Dalinar, though, there may very well be something else at play.

16. Holy shit a Herald can fight.

17. Being able to manipulate Connections is rather terrifying. But I still feel like we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg as to what Ishar (and other surges) can do.

18. It seems clear to me that Ishar is bringing radiant spren into the Physical Realm by essentially rewiring their Connection to the Physical Realm, so that they essentially *become* Physical. Thus why those whose bodies are already more realistic survive better, and why spren like Cryptics come out looking so different: in particular, translating a Cryptic’s head into something physically possible is just too difficult.

19. That being said, while I’m fairly confident on *how*, I’m still not sure on *why*. I suspect he might be trying to either 1) force bonds with spren (though why not just adjust the Connection on a spren I don’t know) 2) find a way to kill sprens or spren-like beings (such as the Fused) 3) somehow extract surge powers. But Ishar does seem to be interested in how long he can keep them alive.

20. Wow. A line I’d thought was just a throwaway lie in WoR coming back in a terrifying way. It does make me wonder whether that was a (unintentially true) falsehood from Taravangian, or if he was actually being honest.

21. Also holy shit Cultivation. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the sheer amount of planning this must have taken her.

22. Like, seriously, the amount of planning to ensure that everything’s in place at a specific day and a specific moment, is just kinda staggering. I may have to do another post just to figure out all the pieces that Cultivation had to have in use at once.

23. That being said, that Taravangian 1) took up the same name (and therefore Intent) as Rayse and 2) hasn’t apparently changed Odium’s game plan at all leaves me very, very worried. On the one hand, Taravangian seems to be much craftier than Rayse (possibly in part because he’s new to the role, though that may be a double-edged sword); on the other hand, Taravangian’s goals seem to be different than Rayse’s (I don’t think “galactic conquest” is what most people have in mind when they say “save them all”, but props for at least having the good of those he conquers in mind rather than his own ambitions). I also suspect that Taravangian would be willing to absorb the other Shards, or even leave them alive if they will cooperate with him (or if he can’t absorb them and can find a cooperative Vessel).

24. Given that Taravangian is going through all the same motions as Rayse, I’m a little curious as to what Cultivation is doing and what she thinks of this. Though perhaps now that Rayse is dead she doesn’t feel the need to intervene in the war (given how little the other Shards seem to involve themselves in the international politics on their worlds).

25. YES Adolin x Maya!!!

26. That the Radiants of the Recreance discussed things with their spren, and that the spren agreed to their plan, seems like something we really should have seen coming. I’m a little less surprised about in universe, given that 1) most humans didn’t understand the nature of the Nahel bond and 2) none of the spren bonded were able to explain their reasoning. Or that none of those involved actually knew what they were getting into by breaking their oaths (or, perhaps as they thought they were doing, *ending* their oaths).

27. Over 2000 honorspren. That’s a full level of magnitude more than what we’d been led to believe had been killed from previous books. It makes me wonder 1) what happened to the spren of those who hadn’t reached the level for a blade yet and 2) *where are all those blades*?

28. I’ve been kinda wondering this about honorium, but where does one find raysium, and what about tanavast-ium and cultivation-ium? And how exactly do all three work / interact with the world?

[whatishoid]

Rhythm of War - Brandon Sanderson

“That’s the problem with your worldview. You gave up before the battle started.” 

4th book in my favorite series The Stormlight Archive. I loved this book so much and I will do this review a little differently because I have some thoughts. First part is spoiler free and under that will be thoughts that I had while reading and after finishing the book. 

Characters: I was really happy with the characters who got more page time in this book. And especially Kaladin’s journey in this book was so good. Navani is amazing. She is one of my new favorite characters for sure. There were also many interesting characters that I just wanted to follow more. It didn’t bother me that we didn’t see that much of Dalinar in this book. I do like him as a character but in this book I was interested more in the situation that was going on elsewhere. Characters are my favorite part of The Stormlight Archive and I loved the way they were written in this book also. And my favorite character list just continues to grow. 

Pacing of the book: I think that people have mixed opinions about pacing in this book but for me it worked. And well if you enjoy this series you know what you get with the pacing. The beginning was my least favorite part. I don’t even know why. There were scenes that I really liked but at that point I wasn't yet that invested in. But at the end of part 2, I was so excited because after that the stakes were high and all the scenes and characters were so interesting to me. I also liked the ending and the epilogue scares me a little. That was something I didn’t think would be possible. 

World: I love this world and I enjoyed knowing more about it. I don’t have anything more to say about it. I just love this world so much. 

I feel like this might be my favorite book in the series but I’m not sure. I love all the books in this series so much so it’s hard to decide which one is my favorite.   5/5

Some thoughts while reading. There will be spoilers. 

These might be all over the place and I apologise for that.

It was so hard to listen to all the things that Moash was saying to Kaladin and trying to break him and later how he and Odium were trying to break him more. F*ck Moash. But I loved that Renarin was the one who took Kaladin away from there.

I really loved how Kaladin is trying to improve mental health care because that is not handled very well in Roshar. And I have to say that Brandon writes depression really well and I’m really thankful for that. Sometimes it’s hard to read what’s going on with Kaladin but it’s still really important to me. Noril said it so well,  what Kaladin means to so many people. “He’s got the emptiness, bad as I do. But he still gets up. He still fights. So I figure I can too.” And I hated Lirin in this book. He is not the worst but I just don’t like him and the things he said to Kaladin. 

I loved to see Navani and Kaladin working together in Urithiru.

And about Navani, when someone was contacting her I just instantly thought they were a spren and Navani would bond with them. So yay I was right about that. And I loved how it happened. We get to see that Gavilar was telling her that she is not worthy and Sibling telling her the same thing but she just refused that. The character growth in that moment. 

And someone as amazing as Navani thinking that she is not enough or that she is a fraud. So that moment where she bonded with Sibling and faced Moash was so good.

Wit and Jasnah are something I didn’t know that I needed. I love how they work together. And the scene with Highprince Ruthar, damn. 

I love that Adolin is bringing Maya back to life through their friendship. Adoling is such a sweet and caring person. He tries so hard to help everyone and deserves so much more. Also I was a little disappointed with his arc in this book. I just want to see him show what he is capable of and I didn’t feel like we get that yet in this book. But other than that I really liked him in this book. I just want to see more of him. The scene where Maya joined in the fight with him was so cool. And winning the trial because Maya could speak for herself with the help of their friendship. I loved that scene. 

Raboniel is a really interesting character. I like the fact that no one seems to know what she’s planning. Also the fact that she is somehow so calm in certain situations and seems even amused even though her plan is interrupted. And after reading the whole book I loved Raboniel. She is one of my favorite characters now. It's a shame that we won't get to see her in the future. Also I really liked Navani’s and Raboniel's friendship in this book. Yeah I'm calling it a friendship. 

After reading the chapter with Jasnah in the battle I realised that we have usually seen her through other character’s point of view and I want to know more about her, the way she feels and thinks. I just need more Jasnah and to get to know her better. Not only others' opinions of her.

I’m so excited to see that Renarin will have a big role in solving everything. At least I hope so. And also after the ending  I'm afraid for him because Taravangian knows. 

I want to know what Taravangian's plan is if it's something Dalinar would not do, I just want to know. It’s so funny because I was such a fool. I trusted in Taravangian and really thought he would help them against Odium. Well that did not go the way I thought. 

Venli helping Rlain makes me so excited and I'm waiting to see her learning her powers and everything with that. Also the scene where Leshwi finally knows about Venli having those powers and her reaction to that was so touching. 

I hate how Shallan is acting towards Pattern. Yeah he lied about something but still it’s Pattern. Could you just listen to what he is trying to say. I like Shallan but so often she just annoys me too much and this situation with Pattern is one of them. 

Just ask and don't run away. I’m so glad that I was right about Pattern. I just hate that Shallan so quickly thought the worst of him. And he was just trying to help Shallan. I feel so bad for him. 

Rlain deserves better. I hate how everyone treats him. And even though I somehow know that Navani is the one bonding with Sibling, I really hoped that it would be with Rlain when they were talking about it. But I’m glad that Rlain is finally bonding with spren. Also when Renarin was talking about someone suitable for that I just knew he was talking about Rlain. And I’m so excited to see them possibly getting closer in the next book. 

So if Shallan will do what Mraize is telling her to do I will be so disappointed because I want to see what Adolin can do to win that trial and not this. So glad this didn’t happen. And about Shallan in this book. I didn’t love it. I think the end with this new persona Formless was too fast. And at the same time I really liked how Veil helped Shallan to get better. So I don't know how I feel about that. It was okay but it just felt too fast. 

So the chapter with Dabbid made me cry and I hope that Dabbid will bond with the same kind of spren that Renarin has.  

Teft finally thinks that he was worth saving and after that Moash kills him. That hurts so much.  

I knew that Kaladin would say the words in this book to reach the 4th ideal and I really liked how that scene went.

Taravangian killed Odium and took his place????? I did not see that coming. Also he fooled Hoid and took some of his memories, I’m scared because who can do that. What is going to happen. Part of me is so excited for this because Taravangian is such an interesting character and part of me is scared. I have no idea what is going to happen and can’t wait to read the 5th book. 

I could talk about this book so much more but I think this is already too long. Sorry about that. But yeah I enjoyed this book so much and can’t wait to reread The Stormlight Archive. 

[diabolicalworldwriter]

Rhythm of war reactions

So. I’m not even halfway through rhythm of war yet, but for once I’m having a big brain that’s probably not as functional as I’ve tricked myself into thinking and I’ve got some crack theories and thoughts to contribute.

crack theory #1. I wonder if sja-anat could help Maya come back to awareness. She’s helped other spren become more sentient, maybe that would help somehow?

crack theory #2. *realizes this really is crack and refuses to put it on the internet where it can be traced to me cuz it is smol brain*

alright so apparently i’ve only got one crack theory i could remember that I’ll ever put anywhere :/

so reactions. 

chapter 25 (devotary of mercy) hit pretty hard. while I don’t have ptsd or battle shock or anything, kaladin’s descriptions of things like suicidal thoughts hit home very hard as they’ve been a thing of my life for a while, particularly these last few years. I’m so glad that Kaladin is working with people he can relate to who need someone to help them in a way only a person who really understands can; this is something I feel is good for him so long as they’re healthy.

chapter 35 (the strength of a soldier): this is one I just finished so idk anything beyond that. Adolin’s fight against the tukari in shadesmar: i just.... asdhawejio oh my gosh i’ma die that was beautiful.... aaaaaaa. and maya??? OH MY GOSH MAYAAAAA!!! AAA that was just... I cannot express. I loved her before and now... *cries in why do i love these characters so much*

Pattern’s hilarious and I love seeing the three working together how they have been. I will probably have to draw a messy sketch of adolin with crossed eyes, a unibrow, a bad jacket and cut off shorts. though I will admit I’m afraid to unleash Veil’s terrors on this world.

those are my main thoughts for now. I’d probly have more but I couldn’t record them in the moment because I was reading to my mom and sister... so. yeah. I’m going to lose my voice this week. My brother says I’m going to cry... we’ll see how numb I am I guess won’t we. idk if i’ll survive tomorrow cuz strict family rules about what we can do on sunday... -_- I wish you all the best and goodbye for now.

[butwhybother]

Rhythm of War part 3 reactions/thoughts. Rhythm of War spoilers!

Quick notes from now on, because library due dates are real and I did only a skim-through instead of a real re-read.

Chapter 44 Tinder Waiting for the Spark

Even with a Shardblade, any harm or cut to a spren is only temporary. That means Syl didn't kill those voidspren who were torturing Gavinor back in Kholinar.

Kaladin's mind is set to running bridges again. Familiarity and terror.

Chapter 45  A Bold Heart, A Keen And Crafty Mind

A flashback chapter, finally!

That's the first time two people shared a chapter heading circle picture thing. Also the first time two pre-existing pictures combined into one.

Ninety one stanzas... One stanza for each form? Are there really ninety one different forms out there?

Chapter 46 The Weight of the Tower

Soulcasting devices are spren that manifested in the Physical Realm. Wow. So they're kind of like Shardblades or Plates. The healing device is probably a similar thing. So that's how these ancient fabrials were made without trapping spren in gem. And... and that might mean there might be ten different types of these spren devices, one for each Radiant order, or, one for each Surge.

People might have different opinions about Moash and what he's done, regarding The Diagram and Elhokar. You could debate how he was or was not justified in his actions and motivations. But what he's doing here is so wrong. Getting into someone's head, feeding him nightmares, not letting him sleep. Encouraging a person to commit suicide is WRONG.

In a way, the fact that Teft wet himself is a very good sign. Because if he's not, he'll need a catheter, and that's a whole different problem including increased rush of infection.

Chapter 47 A Cage Forged of Spirits

Somebody please, please invent parachutes for Windrunners and anybody who goes flying with them. Get two for Mink.

Shadesmar escape boat. Neat.

Nale is supposed to teach Division to Szeth and approve his new Oaths as he attains them, right? How is that going to work when they're on opposite sides of a war?

I feel so sad for the person that Nale used to be.

I don't really want Dalinar to reforge the Oathpact. It'll involve taking ten of the characters we know and love and locking them up to be tortured.

Chapter 48

You know what I think when I see someone wearing a lot of rings? Feruchemist.

I don't like how the cultural...exchange? between humans and Listeners are so one-sided. Why should Eshonai answer human questions just because they ask her? And when she answers, why do they not offer their view on things? If they want to learn from Listeners so much, why can't they be bothered to learn the language? Why don't they open themselves up to bring questioned by Eshonai? Why do they have their minds made up before they even get answers? Frustrating.

Chapter 49 Soul of Discovery

Tower of Urithiru has a name, Ur. Maybe just a nickname, like Ur is short for Urithiru?

I don't understand how the Singers and the Sibling were hurt by the same thing. How does the enslavement of Parshmen and then getting locked into Dullform relate to the binding of an Unmade? I can only guess it has something to do with Connection. Sibling says it even affected the spren. I wonder how and to what extent.

Kaladin is practicing Reverse Lashing. It requires visualization and command -- sounds a lot like Adolin practicing sword-throwing with Maya.

It's a stroke of brilliance, Kaladin getting his supplies from the monastery. Stuff that he takes won't even be noticed.

Charity 50 Queen

"If you lose a battle, your mother has to bake the other fellow something tasty." What a friendly and delicious tradition! " They were cannibals." Well that became an entirely different and truly horrifying story. 'Make sure you win your battle today my dear son, I don't want to have to bake you into a casserole and serve you up to your opponent.'

Wit is just following Jasnah around everywhere like... like a shadow. Or a puppy. Or something else following-y. I ran out of similies.

Oh, that verbal beat-down by Wit was BRUTAL. And Jasnah called on Wit to use him on purpose. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Then the duel, it's aftermath, and Renarin, and the new law... Everything was planned and executed perfectly and efficiently.

My BFF, wonderful husband, man of my dreams, love of my life, says: Jasnah is the scariest character in this book. In this story that has the Blackthorn, Taravangian, and Odium, Jasnah is the scariest.

Chapter 51 To Sing To Hopeless Songs

Dream bigger, Venli.

Timbre's people had been treated similarly to Parshendi? Is Timbre talking about the Recreance, or something different?

Chapter 52 A Path Toward Saving

Axindweth. Could be a Terrisman name... And Feruchemy would explain the sudden fluency in the Listener language. But why would she encourage Listeners to gain forms of power? I guess she's a part of Sons of Honor, but... Why.

Chapter 53 Compassion

Who wrote the Rhythm of War? Who wrote the undertext?

Venli and Leshwi saved Kaladin's parents and brother from torture. Whew.

Timbre wants Venli to tell Leshwi about her Radiant nature, and Venli keeps refusing and hiding. Sounds so much like Syl, Kaladin, and Dalinar in Words of Radiance.

Chapter 54 The Future Become Dust

Oh, little Gavinor. Your world has broken around you.

Renarin can summon his vision at will. So cool. I wonder if Dalinar can Bondsmith his way into seeing it too.

Renarin point of view! Awesome!

Oh, more new Radiants! This will be immensely cool. I wonder who it is that Renarin has in mind.

Chapter 55 Kinship With The Open Sky

I'm sad that Syl is thinking about death so much and even sadder that she's trying to cover up her worries.

Syl can do colors other than blue. That's new. Adolin will very much like this development.

Dabbid is the stealthiest person alive! Behold (or not) the amazing Dabbid!

Chapter 56 Nodes

Mmm maybe the model is a "seed" to let the Tower know what it's supposed to look like. Doesn't explain why it's split in half though. Maybe it's like a Marauders' Map? It can't be just a plain architectural model.

Most of the comatose Radiants can't eat or drink anything. I hope they have I.V. or a tube down to their stomach, or they're gonna die soon.

I think they're talking about white sand from Tal Dain... No idea how they got it or what they're trying to do with it.

Venli gave away location of a node, without meaning to, without even knowing where it is. Oops.

Chapter 57 Child of Odium

Dalinar warned Eshonai against the Alethi in general, and his brother in particular. I didn't expect this from him.

Venli had not done mateform at this point. She has a once-mate by the time we get to Words of Radiance though. I wonder how that happens. (I also wonder how Eshonai's time in mateform went. I think she said in Words of Radiance that it was disastrous.)

Stormfather called Venli child of the plains, then child of Odium. Wow.

And here comes Ulim the liar.

Eshonai wanted to be herself and be in control of her own mind. That makes what happens to her later with the stormform even more horrible.

Why these sisters relationship be so complicated?

Chapter 58 Spanreeds

Who is the "scholar from the ancient days?" A Herald? Zahel?

Kaladin just straight-up blanked out for a moment, right there in the laundry room. Like how Shallan did sometimes.

Syl is cosplaying a voidspren. But she's not good at it because she's so peppy.

Oh, poor Kaladin. He's so, so tired and he can't rest.

Chapter 59 The Lattice Of A Growing Crystal

Kaladin thinks of the spear and the fight as an addiction. It's scary how true that sounds.

"a human with a Thaylen naval mustache and curled eyebrows" So, men curl their eyebrows, too! Ringlets aren't just for the women.

Lezian the Pursuer sure likes his villainous monologue. He had quite the opposite for the dramatic.

Chapter 69 Essai

Do you hear the condescension in that word, "essai?"

Rlain and Venli finally meet! I fear the day Rlain finds out all that Venli has done.

They're cataloging Dalinar's sock drawer...weird...

What did Mraize offer in that pouch? The gem with the Thrill trapped inside? A block of crushed aluminum cans? A chicken?

What is Lifelight?

Sounds like Nightwatcher or Cultivation is out there, judging- and in this case vetoing- oaths. Surprising to hear, because all we ever get from Stormfather is "these words are accepted."

Chapter 61 Oil And Water

I honestly didn't expect Tomor's flying gauntlet would be plot relevant when it was first introduced.

I have no idea what Rabobiel is really up to, but anyway I don't trust her. She's not the innocent scientist she pretends to be.

Chapter 62 Keeper Of Forms

Oh, if a new form could heal mental diseases.

Chapter 63 Practice

"There's something happy about the way Teft is angry." Yeah he's endearing like that.

Spren can and do change. What a novel idea.

Tower can lead you where you need to go. I wonder if it used to do that for anyone and everyone in the Tower, so nobody would get lost.

It sounds like Tomor, in trying to make a personal elevator, accidentally invented an Immovable Rod!

Chapter 64 Personal Reminder

Jasnah has Plate! This truth is!

Jasnah tried and almost succeed in being Dalinar Jr. there. The Blackthorn really was special, wasn't he?

Wow, Ivory has ATTITUDE. Would have never expected that from what little we saw of him before. Here's someone who can give some lip to Queen Jasnah and live.

When the battle was over, Jasnah went looking for Wit. Wit called Jasnah "my dear." Take a deep breath. Try not to freak out.

One of the Sleepless is working for the Ghostbloods. Take deep breath. Try not to freak out.

Chapter 65 Hypothesis

Rainbows rainbows everywhere!

Raboniel's daughter doesn't recognize her mother. That's sad, even for a villain.

Chapter 66 Bearer Of Agonies

Were the Bondsmiths responsible for the destruction of Ashyn?

Dalinar should get more Bondsmith practice and go around poking everyone on their forehead.

Ugh. I can't stand Taravangian. 'I'm happy because I saved those I reasonably could! But if I'm wrong and you end up doing saving everyone against great odds, I'll still be happy because people got saved!'

Chapter 67 Song Of Stones

What the stones and Venli did together was amazing! The stones sang to her. Beautiful. The stones missed her, not just as a Willshaper, but as a native of Roshar.

I think this scene also implies a possibility that stone-shaping is the oldest surge of Roshar. Its native people used to do it. This surge maybe predates the arrival of humans.

Was Urithiru, and all of the other cities like Kholinar and Kharbranth, made by Willshapers? Shaped by songs?

Also, I don't understand how what Venli is doing is different from what Stonewards do.

Some orders have more squires than they can find spren for, and some orders have more spren than they can find squires for. Go figure.

Chapter 68 One Family

Wow being in a new form changed how Eshonai thinks. A lot.

Chapter 69 Pure Tones Of Roshar

Try all the tuning forks! Get the Vorin children's choir! Call the drumline! Bring in the orchestra!

I second Rlain as Bondsmith!

Chapter 70 Well

It's a trap! The whole thing is a trap!

How far will Leshwi go to keep fighting Kaladin? How much will she extend herself to keep... protecting him from other Fused? I'm not even sure if it really is protecting, but it sure looks like it to me.

Oh no they trapped Kaladin in a well like spren in a gem. They drew him in with what he'd respond to (protection, be the hero), then trapped him there.

This is bad. Kaladin can't go back to the tower and live. And if he gets away from the tower, hell likely die because his bond to Syl is weakened and he'll lose the self-healing.

Chapter 72 Rider Of Storms

Stormfather can sound so much like a child and a grumpy old man at the same time.

Dalinar learned to talk like the Stormfather. IN ALL CAPITALS LIKE THIS. My mind reads that as his voice dropping an octave.

Now Dalinar will go seek tutelage from Ishar. And probably bully him into giving up the secret of the Oathpact, too.

I think I see why Ishar thinks he's a god. He has near eternal life and had come back from the dead (many times). Bondsmiths are the de facto leader of the Knights Radiant, and Ishar was a Herald Bondsmith, leading all Knights and even other Heralds. He made the Oathpact, organized surgebinders into orders of Knights Radiant, and set the rules for the Knights and their spren. He was given a piece of Honor himself, in the form of a Blade. Stormfather calls the Heralds "divinities." And then, Honor died. It didn't take much of a leap for Ishar to conclude that, in the absence of his boss, he was the boss now, a new god. Besides, there's precedent in Nalthis of people like him being worshipped as gods.

Chapter 72 Outmatched

Raboniel played Navani and the Sibling. Had been this whole time. They never stood a chance, did they?

How did Raboniel listen in on the conversation so sneakily? She wasn't just hearing Navani's whispers, she heard the Sibling directly. That's how they found the node at the well as soon as the Sibling mentioned it.

[peachdoxie]

Chapter 12 time!

I need to be careful not to let this break her, he thought. Keep up a strong front for her, for all of them. They shouldn’t have to be in pain because of how I feel.

First, glad he’s thinking of Syl. Second, Kaladin, you keeping your feelings close to your chest is already causing people pain.

Kaladin turned. The word “stew” pierced the cloud.

It’s funny because Kaladin was stewing over his change in assignment.

No. A clean break would be better.

Kaladin you idiot.

Those who had served with him in the early days still wore their Bridge Four patches with pride, but Bridge Four was something they used to belong to. A legendary team already passed into myth.

:’(

Kaladin should go talk to his mother. She of all people might be able to help and at least maybe stall his downward spiral for a bit.

Storms, this chapter is so fucking depressing.

Syl went to fetch Adolin to help Kaladin??? He was definitely not the one I had expected to be knocking on the door, but it does make sense.

Brightlord Master Highmarshal Stormface

I love Adolin.

“Adolin?” Kaladin said as he changed. “Your first thought was to get Adolin?”

“I needed someone you couldn’t intimidate,” she replied. “That list at best includes three people. And the queen was likely to transform you into a crystal goblet or something.”

Who’s the third person on Syl’s list? Dalinar? Shallan/Veil/Radiant? His mother?

“Thank you,” Kaladin said softly, turning his eyes forward.

Good. Acknowledge that Syl is trying to help.

Together they made their way to the Ten Rings, a section of the tower’s central market where the merchants had agreed to lay their shops out according to Navani’s plan. 

Lmao is Adolin going to take Kaladin shopping?

Dalinar disapproved. In most cases Kaladin would have as well. But… this was Adolin. He’d have gone mad if he’d been forced to remain aloof. It went against every traditional Alethi protocol of leadership, but Adolin made it work. So who was Kaladin to judge?

Ya I gotta wonder if it’s because Adolin doesn’t feel like he fits in with being highprince or whatever. Maybe I’m reading too much into this.

Syl took off to begin poking through the room, looking at each table. Though he’d once seen her fascination as childlike, he’d evolved on that idea. She was just curious, desirous to learn. If that was childlike, then everyone needed more of it.

Interesting. In Syl’s interlude, she says she has a “child’s brain” but here Kaladin seems to think the opposite. They should talk about that.

When Kaladin was in one of his moods, alcohol—for all that it seemed it would help him forget his pain—always made the darkness worse. He could use Stormlight to burn off the effects, but once he had a drink or two in him, he often… didn’t want to. Or felt he didn’t deserve to. Same difference.

Accept the pain, but don’t accept that you deserve it.

Veil rolled her eyes, but then she shook her head, and her hair blended to blonde and she sat up straighter.

I know it’s not the same, but this reminds me of Vivenna and Siri. Though actually it’s some Realmatic Bullshit™ so it kind of is the same.

“Such as who we’re going to fix Kaladin up with next.”

Ah, so were Adolin and the Three how he ended up with Lyn?

“Mmm,” their table said, vibrating with a soft buzzing sound. “How do they come out? I’ve always wondered.”

ajskdfjas;dhfjasdflajsdfljalsdfj I love Pattern “No Mating!” Liespren

And things like nahn and rank had been… strangely less divisive this last year, under Jasnah’s rule.

Good. Granted, the world is facing impending doom, which is definitely going to mess with rank and stuff.

Dalinar killed Adolin’s mother, Kaladin thought. That news was out, spread wide. The city had all either read, listened to, or been told about Dalinar’s strange autobiography. Handwritten by the Blackthorn himself, it wasn’t quite finished, but drafts had been shared. In it Dalinar confessed to many things, including the accidental killing of his wife.

So that answers that question about if people know, including Adolin and Renarin. I figured this had been the case, since Dalinar’s Third Ideal involved him admitting his mistakes, basically. However, his sons knowing definitely isn’t going to be smooth. I can’t wait to get a Kholin perspective on this (yes I know we have Navani and Shallan but that’s different).

“You’re my only bridgeboy,” Adolin said with a grin.

My heart.

Adolin smirked. This hadn’t just been about Shallan. Damnation. Had he let Adolin outsmart him? Maybe he should get something stronger to drink.

Adolin’s a lot smarter than people give him credit for, especially when it comes to social interactions. I hope this comes to bite an enemy in the ass someday. Also, I’m gonna guess that Renarin is really the only person who truly understands this about Adolin.

Adolin shrugged. “I’m not a good fit, I guess.”

Interesting that Adolin thinks he’s “not a good fit” for a Radiant order. I feel like there’s a lot more to this statement than just his reluctance to “get rid” of Maya. Speaking of Maya....

“I’m not getting rid of Maya,” Adolin said. “Leave it, bridgeboy.” The finality in his voice surprised Kaladin...

Good lad. But what does it mean? What’s his current relationship with Maya? Has he made any progress with...idk exactly what but with something?

As the evening progressed, Syl returned to proclaim she wanted to take up gambling.

I cannot possibly see how this is a good idea.

“You saved my life.”

“I made that choice because you are worth that sacrifice.”

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Rock shook his head. “This thing I have done here with all of you, he is the end. When we meet again, I suspect it shall not be in this world. This life.” 

This chapter started super depressing, got better in the middle, and then ends with this? Fuck you Brandon.

***

Ultimately, while this chapter was depressing at the beginning and end, I did enjoy it. It’s 100% because of Adolin for sure. He’s just....so good. I love him so much. I hope we get to see his POV in the later parts of the book. Probably will, since he’ll be on the journey with Shallan to Lasting Integrity.

[lev-iathan]

RoW Thoughts

I was planning on doing one of these for every part, but then I kind of... got carried away and finished the book. So, here are my thoughts on the whole thing.

(spoilers for the entire Cosmere, just in case)

- Kaladin was wonderful all the way through. I was so worried all the time that he would die. Like, genuinely worried. Especially during the fight with Lezian (that was staged a bit too similarly to the Kelsier vs. Inquisitors fight in Mistborn and we all know how that ended) and when he jumped off the tower (I knew Brando wouldn’t let him die by suicide, but let’s just say I still hummed to the Terrors). And then he does it. He swears the Fourth Ideal and it goes better than anything I could’ve imagined. Now he’s committed to healing and has reconciled with his father and everything. I just love him so much. Though, I am concerned. At the end there, he did glow with some weird yellow light and Syl forgot the words. That doesn’t bode well.

- Teft’s death. Brando destroyed me with that one sentence, and while I don’t really want to talk about it, I have to acknowledge it. Also, Fuck Moash. I didn’t really care that he killed Elhokar, but after what he did to Kaladin and this, it’s gotten personal. I’m not opposed to a redemption arc for him, but right now, I’m not very sympathetic towards him.

- Dabbid was so good! I really like when minor characters get their chance to stand out and he was wonderful! I hope he bonds a spren, he deserves it.

- Rlain becomes a Truthwatcher! I did not see that coming. I thought Bondsmith or Willshaper but not Truthwatcher. He can see the future now, potentially creating another blind spot for Odium. And Sja-anat is creating more corrupted Truthwatchers that will have that ability, which I think will be a massive advantage in the coming battle.

- I was disappointed we got so little of Renarin and Jasnah. Renarin barely had a chapter and Jasnah had two but it wasn’t enough. To be honest, Jasnah and Hoid’s relationship annoyed me but oh well. Not worth complaining about.

- Dalinar has little pagetime too, but it was enough. I’d been waiting for them to confront Ishar since he was first mentioned in OB and boy oh boy did they confront him. Ishar is fucking terrifying. He stole Dalinar’s bond with the Stormfather, he can leech Stormlight out of Radiants, he’s experimenting on spren (that was truly and utterly fucked up). What was that all about??? I also loved that it was Dalinar that accepted Kaladin’s oath, not the Stormfather. Him speaking with that godly lowercase caps seems like a bit of foreshadowing...

- I’m so happy for Shallan. Finally coming to terms with everything and realizing that she’s strong enough to work though the pain. I loved Veil’s “death” scene. I was soooo relieved when it turned out that Pattern wasn’t a traitor and the moment we saw the Cryptic in the marketplace I suspected that Shallan could’ve had a different spren that she killed. Also, worldhoppper Shallan confirmed? Hell yeah! She already has a Seon and I can’t wait for her to get her hands on some Breaths because I think she would enjoy those immensely. But first to find a way to get off-world with Pattern.

- Adolin and Maya were phenomenal. I’m really glad he didn’t become a Radiant because we really have a bit of an oversaturation of those among the main characters, but I love that she awakened for him. When she finally reveals the secret of the Recreance... Chills.

- I liked Navani well enough though I have to admit that I was a bit bummed when she bonded the Sibling because of the aforementioned oversaturation of Radiants, but I guess it was foreshadowed. She’s still got a lot of work to do though, with the fabrials and all. I loved her interactions with Raboniel, them discovering the Rhythm of War and all the different lights. Them just sciencing together and coming to understand each other was just great.

- I appreciate that we got at least a glimpse of Szeth and Nightblood. Next book it going to be great, I can feel it.

- Could have used a bit more Lift. I’m happy that she’s doing well after Moash happened, but I’m still confused about the red chicken...

- And finally, the star of the show, Venli. She was actually much better than I expected. I was afraid she would be pushed to the side since she didn’t have many chapters in part 1 and 2, but she played a really great role. Her flashbacks didn’t hit me as hard as the ones in the other books, maybe because they were split and I was never really interested in Eshonai (though that last flashback hurt a lot), but her present-day plotline was great. I like how it wasn’t easy for her to swear the Ideals and she wasn’t forgiven. She didn’t even forgive herself, but she’s on the path and that’s all that matters. It felt fitting that she only managed to swear the First Ideal at the very end. I like Venli quite a lot. I hope she doesn’t get pushed to the side now that she’s rejoined the listeners. One question though? Does Cultivation accept her oaths? Because she hears a female voice instead of the Stormfather.

- Taravangian. Oh Taravangian. You can’t convince me that anyone predicted he would kill Rayse and Ascend to Odium. That was so out of the blue but it worked so goddamn well I actually screamed. That’s a gamechanger. Taravangian is waaaaaay scarier than Rayse could ever be because he’s smart and he’s a planner and those are always dangerous. And what was it he did at the end, mind wiping Hoid??? Seems like this was all part of Cultivations plan and now they’re in cahoots and I am Afraid.

- This was probably my favorite Sanderlanche??? Maybe, I’ll need to do a reread to say for sure, but just the way everything came together to a massive crescendo was phenomenal. Kaladin fighting Lezian. Navani and Raboniel. The boundaries breaking between singers and humans and the fight now becoming a battle between ideals not a battle between races. The Fused defying Odium. The Tower lighting up at the end. I teared up when Venli finally told Leshwi she is a Radiant and Leshwi asked after her old honorspren. I have to wonder if all Fused used to be Radiants back when the spren bonded singers, and Odium just transformed them into brands analogous to their Orders. Anyway, it was great.

- Thaidakar is actually Kelsier. Confirmed, on page. I yelled ‘I KNEW IT’ so loud my cat ran away from me. That bastard. He did it. He became the ultimate cult leader.

- Who the fuck is El? That’s all I’m going to say because I really have no clue.

- I don’t think it’s possible for the entirety of book 5 be set within 10 days. There’s too much stuff to be done. I think the duel will happen about halfway through the book and then we’ll be dealing with some of the fallout, but it’s waaaaay to early to speculate about that.

[radiantmists]

rhythm of war part two thoughts

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa  (spoilers through the second interludes under the cut, and at the very bottom some comments based on what i have to assume is a major spoiler for the entire book, or close to it, though i'm warning again beforehand.)

well, last things first: taravangian's working against odium! i'm super excited about this, and very happy about the support for the concept that Taravangian's compassion isn't his curse, it's just the division of his intelligence and compassion that's sthe problem.

so we've been able to talk to the sibling, who is mostly trying to help despite genuinely feeling that what navani is doing is wrong. except now they're locked away, and navani is under the direct scrutiny of rabaniel and messing around with her is going to be risky. that being said, we're on our way to some very interesting revelations about how investiture works on roshar:

the stormfather is purely of honor. the sibling is a mix of honor and cultivation. the nightwatcher is purely cultivation

the sibling should not be able to function on pure stormlight, because it's purely of honor.

lift may not run on stormlight at all-- we already knew she can't pull it from spheres.

adhesion, which is somehow a fake surge and purely of honor, is not totally cancelled by whatever rabaniel did to the sibling. from lift's interlude, neither is regrowth when she uses it, which if i had to pick is the surge i would choose to be purely of cultivation.

as far as we can tell, people can still draw in stormlight with no issue, they just cant use it to power surges.

windrunners, who bond honorspren, are less affected by the fabrial: this applies especially to kaladin and syl, and we know syl is different from other honorspren, older. my money is that she's in some way more fully of honor than the others. lift, who's been hugely modified by cultivation directly, is also immune. the edgedancers as a whole are not immune and apparently are reacting as badly as anyone else.

...syl notes in the last set of interludes that she's different from other honorspren, mentally. is this a byproduct of whatever she did to sneak out of shadesmar, or of her being older? interesting.

To me, this all implies that whatever rabaniel did interferes with how cultivation and honor interact. lift, who seemingly only uses cultivation's investiture, can power the surge that seems most directly associated with cultivation; kaladin, probably closest to honor, can do the surge that seems to be entirely honor. the regular edgedancers aren't immune at all because they run on stormlight; the windrunners are somewhat but not fully immune because they're almost fully of honor, but cultivation likely had some hand in the way honorspren were made after the shattering.

Regrowth really is a very odd surge, compared to the others, which seem to deal with much more fundamental physical forces.

the fused do have access to regrowth while powered by voidlight, though. interesting.

speaking of: did navani's weird sphere contain some kind of... cultivationlight? or maybe it's some kind of combination, and that's why the sphere exploded right around the time of rabiniel's experiments (or the sibling was drawing on it somehow?)

on a more immediate level, the current tower resistance is as follows: navani, under constant monitoring but she has the best chance to figure out how to fix this shit. kaladin, who's a mess, being hunted by the pursuer, and who's about to start getting suicide-baiting nightmares from odium, but he does know how to fight! lift, who's amazing and knows how to sneak around the tower but is being hunted by someone who i assume has to be mraize. and rlain, masquerading as a singer (im so worried about him i hope he's okay).

if this somehow ends with kaladin killing mraize to protect lift before he can give shallan answers, i'm going to fucking SCREAM.

speaking of frustrating things: lirin turn on ur location i just wanna talk. Kaladin was actually rebuilding himself until this whole invasion thing, and i don't understand how lirin can look at a man who's that committed to doing good, sees exactly what it is that drives him to kill, and then calls him a monster.

I loved Kaladin's efforts to deal with mental health care! He's in the unique position ofhaving way more political power than any medical professional, darkeyes, or mentally ill person could ever have hoped to have, and I really want to see him come back to this once the world is burning down a bit less again, especially because it genuinely seemed to be helping him.

navani's plots have sorta been subsumed into this whole plotline, but i enjoyed what we got-- the little episode with the other scholars taking bets on whether she'd use tomor's fabrial was adorable, and i also liked how clear it is that they look to her to make things work.

moving on, uh... shadesmar stuff.

adolin's making some progress at waking maya! she doesn't talk but she shows a clearly unusual ability to learn and make independent decisions. i love it.

...also the thing with notum's horse implies that ryshadium are sentient enough to imagine spren. that's fun, and also terrifying.

adolin offering to stand trial for the crimes of humanity is fascinating, but all i'm thinking about is the episode of avatar where he agrees to stand trial for kyoshi, except in this case we already know that humanity did actually do the thing he's in trouble for. it would be unjust to punish adolin for it, but... i worry.

especially because there are, apparently, new deadeyes. this isn't extraordinarily surprising as syl was two skips away from death (though, im curious, does it work differently if the spren's never been a blade prior to dying? or are there just deadeyes wandering around who aren't tied to blades?) but it is very alarming.

and then there's the other thing: pattern is lying to shallan. i frankly don't think it's as simple as him being a spy for the ghostbloods; we saw even here that he's a terrible liar, and to have concealed this he'd have to have been pretty impressive.

on the other hand there was clearly some shit going on between shallan, her family, and the ghostbloods when she first got pattern. he's admitted that he has more exposure to humans than most spren. it doesn't look great, honestly.

i also appreciate that brandon is acknowledging how fucking weird shallan's timeline is. hopefully we get some answers about this.

adolin and shallan's relationship continues to be adorable; the sequence with the starspren is lovely and i totally get why it's brandon's favorite chapter in this part. between this and part one, he clearly enjoyed how the shadolin came out in this book and i agree. the fact that his romances continue after the marriage, with issues beyond just jealousy, is one of my favorite things about sanderson books.

venli's whole set of pov's this part was about walking up to urithiru. i really do want to like her, but she spends a ton of time just following more dynamic characters around and observing in these first two parts, and if not for the juicy secrets rabaniel's been dropping, it would make me just want to get back to other characters. hopefully that'll change in the next few parts.

i was going to make a comment about how we havent even had flashbacks yet, but i just glanced at the POVs for the next part, so I guess those are coming. I do wonder if these eshonai flashbacks will be info venli knows, or what.

she did kill someone for the first time, and attuned the rhythm of the lost for the dead man. the whole incident disturbs her, and i appreciated that as the rest of our viewpoint characters are extremely accustomed to death. i'm interested in seeing how this affects her going forward.

the epigraphs are so exciting! sazed is writing to hoid again, but this time he's gotten his bearings and spoken to some new shards... ones we haven't heard from before! also he asks hoid to say hi when he's on scadrial, which, fair enough tbh. i dont remember whether hoid shows up much in mistborn era 2 but for some reason i have the feeling he is not going to oblige this request.

the epigraph where sazed mentions he wants someone who can both preserve and kill immediately made me think of kaladin. (i think this is what he ends up trying to do with wax, but shhhh) he and sazed would agree on a lot of things philosophically, i think. (omg au where kaladin ends up working for sazed?? i have no idea how this would work the idea just fascinates me.

...where are the heralds? did dalinar take them with him, or are they in the tower? if the latter, are they also passed out? probably not, since they're not radiants, right? although whatever they are is very investiture-dependent so who knows. vasher's probably alright.

why is odium afraid of nightblood? is he worried it could eat him?

lots of POVs for the next part, but no shadesmar crew, so i guess we'll find out whether adolin gets executed by honorspren later. i do wonder why so many pov's from the battlefront; i guess something more is going to happen along those lines than i'd really expected. crossed fingers for some actual insight into renarin, finally.

in light of said spoiler: holy god i hope that division (between taravangian's intelligence and compassion) doesn't continue, though I have the horrible feeling that it will. This puts sazed's discussion of the intent of a shard combined with the cleverness of its vessel into a terrifying light: a godlike being who is at his smartest when he's a complete sociopath is like, the worst case scenario,  not even taking into account that the odium shard is uniquely suited to make people act on impulses. this is so bad.

but i can't know the full extent of that until i read the context, so let's move on!

[rughydrangea]

Okay I gave today up and canceled my meeting (which I was not ready for, so I think it was for the best) and spent the entire day reading Oathbringer. Which I finished! I have a gazillion thoughts, and I will put a few of them under the cut, to spare anyone who might be a fan of The Stormlight Archive from spoilers, and to spare all non-fans from long, rambling thoughts about books they don’t read.

I was very emotional through a huge chunk of the book, but I cried actual tears exactly once: when Dalinar refused to let Odium claim the responsibility for his sins. And just in general, I absolutely adored the Dalinar flashbacks, getting to know Evi (and now that we do know her a bit, how much of her can be seen in her sons, especially in Adolin, is just so heartbreaking) and also coming to understand why nobody likes or trusts Dalinar. Because like... honestly, I wouldn’t either! And I think this specific encounter with Odium made me so emotional because so much of the struggles of the three main heroes of these books (Dalinar, Kaladin, and Shallan, at least for now) is about how you live, let alone try to be a good person, when the weight of existence is so crushing. And Kaladin and Shallan have their own demons from the past (and present) for sure which make that struggle tough, but Dalinar just has the weight of years, decades, of being a glorified murderer weighing him down, and seeing him own that past, and seeing how his knowledge of who he was is a key part of what gives him the strength to try to be better, just really got to me. Also, seeing him actively remember Evi, who he loved without ever being in love with her, who he had abandoned because it was too hard to remember, who he finally was strong enough to show the respect of memory to, was so freaking beautiful.

Also because I never shut up about how much I ship Kaladin and Shallan, I guess I should be sad that she married Adolin, but like, Adolin is such a nice young man (...when he isn’t stabbing people through the eye), and he loves Shallan so much, and he’s so good to her, and he makes her so happy, that I’m not sad. Like... it’s still not my ship. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good ship, you know? (Also, this is book 3 out of 10, so we have much plot left ahead of us!)

ALTHOUGH, as happy as I am that all three personae are in favor of Adolin, the fact that Shallan still needs Veil and Radiant really worries me--not to mention the fact that ‘Shallan’ herself is also somewhat of a persona. What I’m the most excited to see play out in future books is this identity struggle. I really hope my girl can find a way to be at peace with herself, whole.

Speaking of Adolin, his budding relationship with Maya is freaking destroying me. When she saved him in Shadesmar, I freaked out. Like... she’s dead, but they are still bonding somehow, and I love it so much.

Though I must say the Shadesmar scenes, which brought with them the full corporeality of the spren, reminded me that the true OTP, the ultimate OTP, is and must always be Kaladin and Syl. Not in a romantic way (though her attempts to be his wingman are so beautifully awkward? And his fear that she will not leave him alone even for sexytimes seems to me to be very valid!), but just in the way that they are pure soulmates who share this very pure intimacy. What stood out to me the most about their interactions in Shadesmar was how much she touched him, trying to ground him and show him that he’s not alone and that he’s loved, and that was A LOT.

Okay, Dalinar did a ton of epically shitty things in his flashbacks, but the thing that made me the most personally sad was absolutely the fact that he constantly called Renarin ‘the other one’ and couldn’t remember his name half the time. And like when he meets baby Renarin for the first time, the way he’s just like, ‘well, this is not as exciting as meeting Adolin was’ made me so indignant, like, God, the fact that Renarin turned out basically stable is just a miracle from the Lord. (Also as a younger sibling myself that first meeting scene really stung!)

Shallan’s unkillable crush on Jasnah is beautiful, and also hashtag relatable.

I read part one as it was posted on tor.com, so this is from that section, but WOW Kaladin finding his parents and his new little brother was just a punch in the feelings.

Minor character I found the most captivating: Venli!!!! I can’t wait to see what I assume is her inevitable conflict with the Fused/Odium now that she is a Knight Radiant (or does she have to swear the second oaths to get that title? I confess I’m fuzzy on the specifics).

My only complaint is, and here you can clearly see my bias, but I wanted more Kaladin. I have a problem, and that problem is that I love Kaladin Stormblessed a little too much. But overall, it’s a solid 4.5/5, what a delightful reading experience, definitely worth throwing all my responsibilities aside for!