The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson

[languid mountain]

listen to audiobook and keep notes

[shrewd crow]

Oh it’s not done yet?

[languid mountain]

the 5th book just came out, yes

but it's the first arc of the 2 arcs!

[dusky swallow]

nope, book 5 came out a few days ago but it's a 10 book series

[languid mountain]

there are 5 more incoming

[shrewd crow]

Skill issue. Listen and remember nothing /jk

[reef yarrow]

nope, book 5 came out
a few days ago but it's
a 10 book series

- physalialex

[dusky swallow]

[shrewd crow]

[warped crypt]

tbf, it's supposed to be two arcs of five books each

[languid mountain]

but 2 different arcs, so it's ok!

[warped crypt]

so one arc is finished rn

[languid mountain]

survive the first arc!

[dusky swallow]

I live for it so I'm happy

[languid mountain]

But I meant you might die anyway, because the series is just long anyway even if finished

[warped crypt]

and if you can manage to live for another 10 years, then you can live to see arc 2 too

[wintry rapids]

i know Sanderson is a machine when it comes to writing but hooooow

[reef yarrow]

i know Sanderson
is a machine when it comes
to writing but hooooow

- katto

[shrewd crow]

When’s something interesting happen?

[warped crypt]

he said he takes 2 years for each stormlight now i think

[trim cedar]

I loved this interview where he said "I really needed a break from writing [this book]. So, I wrote [another book]"

[languid mountain]

the whole first book is a special experience, imo. Too many little things but with a lot of everyday struggle

[viscid kelp]

Yeah, this is what made me start the series tbh. I can't do super long unfinished businessses like George R.R. Martin and was worried about it

oops, sorry about the ping

[languid mountain]

Sanderson at least keeps writing

[warped crypt]

at this rate, sanderson will finish GoT and Kingkiller chronicles

[wintry rapids]

remember when he surprised everyone with 4(?) books no one expected?

[dusky swallow]

this is pretty subjective but if you're not vibing with the first few pages you may not vibe with the rest, I found it all pretty interesting

[shrewd crow]

I’m 27% in. It’s fine, I just don’t think it’s the best thing I’ve ever read. It’s def not living up to the hype

[wintry rapids]

i also rated it only 2 ⭐ when i read it the first time lol

[reef yarrow]

i also rated
it only 2 ⭐ when i read
it the first time lol

- katto

[warped crypt]

idk, it took me a long while for it to click too and then mind was blown somewhere but i dont remember when

[shrewd crow]

And for a book this long, I was really expecting something to hook me by now

The only one I like is the ||pixie or whatever and she’s in like 1% of this book so far||

[languid mountain]

damn, I really liked it from the start and it only got better in the first book

I love the substitutes you use for the names you don't remember

[shrewd crow]

That’s everyone. I really just learned Kal’s name cause I thought it was short for something else

[languid mountain]

hi5 Alex

[shrewd crow]

Don’t offer me $1 million to name a single character, I couldn’t do it

[languid mountain]

I'm fine with it, it makes me laugh to see how you try to describe them

[reef yarrow]

I'm fine with it, it
makes me laugh to see how you
try to describe them

- ✨BellsOfMaffy✨

[languid mountain]

thank you, Haikubot!

too many haikus in this convo

[shrewd crow]

Never enough haikus

Do we at least get to find out who sent ||the assassin? I do like the uncle Blackfish thorn||

See I remembered a name sort of

[balmy jay]

same! it took me a while to get into it because of the large world, many characters and the massive worldbuilding but aside from some lulls in the middle i enjoyed it right away

[shrewd crow]

Do we find out soon?

[dusky swallow]

nay

[balmy jay]

i think it‘s || closer to the end of the book || but don‘t rely on my memory too much

most of the time i can‘t answer questions because i‘m unsure if my answer really applies to only book 1

[shrewd crow]

That’s fair

At this point it wouldn’t matter anyway cause it’d either be ||some random dude or something that doesn’t make any sense||

[warped crypt]

but (full book spoilers) ||didn't that king say that he only sent the assassin on the other missions, not the initial target?|| or am i remembering incorrectly?

[languid mountain]

||Blackfish ||

[shrewd crow]

I’m just sayin

[dusky swallow]

I'm ngl I totally thought ||this was handled in book 2||

[languid mountain]

I mean, it's a book with like 1000-1200 pages and it has 4 other books of similar length, what did you expect

[warped crypt]

||maybe the truth is, but i dont have the full picture||

[shrewd crow]

I’m not saying I didn’t research this before I started reading, but I def didn’t

[balmy jay]

full book spoilers || we‘re talking about taravangian, right? ||

[shrewd crow]

Who’s that?

[languid mountain]

you'll see

you'll forget the name anyway

[shrewd crow]

Ok

True

[warped crypt]

DONT CLICKY THE SPOILERS

[shrewd crow]

No this one I’ll remember

[shrewd crow]

I don’t care and they can only help

[warped crypt]

tbf, i dont know how to describe this book either

[languid mountain]

Tink is just chaos

[balmy jay]

full book spoilers || okay so taravangian only got the stone from his associate so he didn‘t send the assassin for the original attacks only the ones targeting all the kings and princes iirc? ||

[warped crypt]

yeah that's what i thought too

[wintry rapids]

i read the book before and those are certainly words but they don’t make any sense to me atp

[shrewd crow]

So it wasn’t ||Tarragon?||

[languid mountain]

don't feed Tink

[wintry rapids]

now i really wanna continue reading

[languid mountain]

I think I might love you

[shrewd crow]

It’s ok, net zero information gained

[balmy jay]

i‘m cackling, this thread is delightful to me

[shrewd crow]

Ch 19 ||Whats going on with Delano Roosevelt? He’s being attacked by a monster. Monster’s are cool||

Omg I’m the grandson from The Princess Bride

“Attacked by pirates is cool”

[languid mountain]

I think we need to contact Sanderson and tell him to allow Tink rewrite this book with new names

[balmy jay]

tink, your nicknames for them are so funny to me, especially when i‘ve already forgotten half of WoK

[shrewd crow]

Yesssss

[balmy jay]

i‘m like „who“?

it‘s like each one is a riddle

[shrewd crow]

It’s what it sounds like on the audiobook!

[wintry rapids]

the joy of audiobooks

[languid mountain]

man, I only started listening to audiobooks last year and it was basically Harry Potter that I already knew, so when I started listening to books I had no idea about, the names were a wonder sometimes So I am really wondering how this is going, since the names are not even everyday ones haha

[shrewd crow]

If you listen to enough audiobooks for fantasy, you kind of get used to it

[balmy jay]

i tried listening to fantasy audiobooks and gave up because of the names

[languid mountain]

I guess I'd be surprised seeing them written down since they might be more weird written than what I hear

[shrewd crow]

Ch 19 ||Ok Delano is travelling back in time somehow via visions, he found lady warriors ( ) and there’s an evil coming. This is progress||

[balmy jay]

Oooh Dalinar. Now I got it

[languid mountain]

hahaha

[shrewd crow]

That’s what I said

[languid mountain]

I agree, that's what Tink said, Midnight!

[shrewd crow]

Ch 21 ||Crossover mention! I would die for tinkerbell||

[reef yarrow]

Ch 21
||Crossover mention! I would
die for tinkerbell||

- The tink before christmas

[shrewd crow]

Thank you haikubot

Ch 22 ||I hope Wit gets the throne someday||

||Oooo delno has a crush on the dowager queen. Hit it, your brother won’t mind||

[languid mountain]

honestly, same idea

[shrewd crow]

Idk what the ||dead hand thing is with the women|| and at this point I’m ashamed to ask

[viscid kelp]

Tink, why are you so entertaining

[languid mountain]

||there's no dead hand thing It's just in the Vorin culture the left hand is very sacred in general for women and they call it safehand. It's like when in the past, if women showed ankles people went "omg, you show your ankles!". They get all shy about their left hand showing.||

[shrewd crow]

Ohhh sorry I misremembered the term I guess

[viscid kelp]

It’s so funny to me ngl, ||like it’s a literal copy of the other hand but noo, it becomes highly intimate if you ever expose your left hand

Maybe it’s Sanderson’s own way of dealing with the ridiculousness of Victorian ankles and the like ||

[shrewd crow]

Do ||left-handed women not exist?||

[viscid kelp]

Seems like it

At least I haven’t met any in this one

[shrewd crow]

And why do ||women have different food?||

[warped crypt]

not in ||vorin culture i think||

[languid mountain]

I actually really liked that idea, exactly because it's so ridiculous. It goes to show that if you just believe in something, it becomes reality to you!

[balmy jay]

Because it would be || too much for women‘s senses I guess ||

it‘s soooooo

[warped crypt]

||I think it's a culture thing, rather than something limited. Women's food is sweeter and Men's food is spicier. Idk, it doesn't really get explained if it's needed or not, but my guess is just that you build up tolerance as you grow up with either massive sweetness or spicyness ||

but dont quote me on that

[languid mountain]

You know, I'm not sure they specified it, ||BUT that's why women can also use the inelegant way of wearing gloves. They can still use the left hand, but it MUST be covered. Like your ankles! You could walk, but covered!||

[viscid kelp]

||Another instance of the ridiculous-ness of the real world I suppose. Like manouk mentioned, not all cultures and we see that happening irl too and I found it all to be representative of that||

[shrewd crow]

Idk this just feels like world-building for its own sake. It doesn’t seem to be contributing anything to the story at all

[languid mountain]

au contrair, I think it builds the world in a great way and it shows we aren't reading this just for the story, but it's rich in everything

(pardon my french, I don't know any )

[viscid kelp]

I don’t mind it if the world-building doesn’t contribute directly to the plot. I like that it’s sort of a commentary in its own and makes me think a little too

[shrewd crow]

Maybe if we got some kind of perspective on this ||like isn’t it annoying to have to wear a glove all the time or literally hamper yourself with not being able to use both hands? Where’s a woman’s perspective on this?||

[warped crypt]

||You're totally valid for thinking this. For me it kinda clicked because to me it shows a pattern of cultural choices in Vorin culture. But worldbuilding also doesn't have to be a plot device always. ||

[shrewd crow]

No but the fact that if I hadn’t asked I never would have known and it wouldn’t have changed the experience of the book for me at all is just kind of frustrating. Like why bother paying attention if nothing matters. I keep looking for these little things that will actually build up the story and I just keep getting fluffy nothings

[dusky swallow]

World-building is a huge thing in the Cosmere, it doesn't always serve a purpose but it's nice to have

[viscid kelp]

We do get a bit of women’s POV on this I think… I don’t remember anything directly stated but there were hints to how they felt about it iirc. I’m assuming we get more in later books

[dusky swallow]

it's also rewarding for fans that read several of the books and series to find these little details that interconnect them all (much like ||recurring characters that may or may not show up under the guise of others, with other names...||)

[shrewd crow]

Not that it’s anyone’s fault here, at all. I hope no one thinks I’m directing this at you. But it just feels like Brandon (may I call you Brandon) keeps offering these details and I’m like “wait what’s that, when will that be important” and the answer’s always either a) it won’t b) in a later book or c) don’t worry about it

[languid mountain]

I definitely think it's directed at me and I believe we need to ban Tink. There's simply no other way

[shrewd crow]

That’s fair. It’s been a long time coming

Ch 23 ||I like Brock (rock?) these lowlanders do have too much air||

[warped crypt]

im too sick to ban tink guess they'll have to stay to finish this book

[dusky swallow]

No, for real, because ||Brock is his canon name in my mind at least||

[shrewd crow]

A fair and just punishment

[shrewd crow]

I literally can’t tell, it sounds both ways sometimes

[dusky swallow]

we could ask them to read the whole series as punishment

[shrewd crow]

I prefer the death penalty please

Hey I’ll read them when he finishes it

He finishes them in a week

[warped crypt]

but the points tho

[shrewd crow]

I can’t take them with me

[warped crypt]

i can make you a plaque. Tink - Book Dragon - XXXXX Points

[plain patio]

I got it extanded like 2 days and can now actually read this

[warped crypt]

sorry im gettin off topic

[shrewd crow]

Well I’m a third in and I haven’t gnawed my own leg off yet /lh. going to charge my headphones for a bit. Thanks for answering my questions and putting up with my sass

[languid mountain]

I think this is the most fun I had since I myself read the book

so thank YOU, Tink

[viscid kelp]

Kudos to you Tink (and anyone else) doing audiobook only. I did try but it just didn’t work because I found it to be a book that needed every bit of attention I could muster and while I do audiobooks a lot , I just couldn’t with this one

[pure basin]

I just dropped in here for a minute to see new comments and was floored by the walls and walls and walls of conversation! I had to scroll sooooooo far! I'm totally reliving reading this book because of tink 😂

[languid mountain]

Exactly! It's a refresher session in the best way possible haha. Delano Roosevelt for president

[pure basin]

I did this on audio but not exclusively, I had to check the ebook periodically to confirm the names and what was going on. One of my biggest confusion was coming across the name ||Kabsal and wondering who he was. I thought his name was Capsule|| 🤣

[languid mountain]

You know what? That's a completely valid issue to have with that name

[reef yarrow]

You know what? That's a
completely valid issue
to have with that name

- ✨BellsOfMaffy✨

[languid mountain]

Thank you, Haikubot

[pure basin]

All the names are hard! 😫 That was just the one name that I recognized as an actual word. At first 🤣

Oh I also thought ||Adolin was Adeline at first|| 🤣 I need to scroll back up and read all the comments since yesterday

[shrewd crow]

And we’re back!

Ch 24 ||Ah yes, a sympathetic father character who won’t do what’s necessary because it isn’t honorable. This will go well ||

[shrewd crow]

I think I know what’s bugging me about this book. (Prob not spoilers but just in case) ||No one feels flawed. No one has ulterior motives. Like our main characters and it only feels like there’s 3 or 4, where’s my asshole who I hate but I can’t wait to see what they’re going to do next (Wit qualifies but he’s a secondary character). Where’s the conflicted character who has good intentions but keeps doing the wrong thing and is wracked with guilt (could be Delanir but I don’t feel like he ever stops to consider another pov or ever feels guilty, but there’s potential here). But most of all where are the villains?!? I’m just supposed to read 1100 pages with no morally grey characters? I’m not being challenged. I guess there’s Charlene, but I don’t really feel like she wants to rob the dowager mother, that’s her family. She just wants to read books. I don’t have a great sense of her character yet tho. How many chapters has she even had so far? I remember the woman narrator did like 3 chapters maybe|| TL;DR world-building is great but it’s no substitute for good character work

[shrewd crow]

Ch 28 ||Ok Navani or whatever does seem interesting, but idk what her angle is. She seems to like to bother Delani, and I like that. It’s good for him||

End of ch28 and part 2 ||I do not get why he wants to abdicate. Didn’t he have an important spirit journey to unite them, whoever them is? I know he tried to unite the councilors or whatever and it didn’t work, but maybe that’s not what the voices even mean. Oh and he thinks he’s not manly enough cause he doesn’t get excited about battle anymore? We all get more depressed as we get older, get over it /jk of course||

[pure basin]

||I think they do have flaws, some may be more apparent later, but I agree, the character work isn't the best. My biggest issue with them is that I feel like they're a bunch of Mary Sues and Gary Stus, the chosen ones, Supermen with the barest weakness to almost non-existent kryptonites, etc. But I'm still enjoying the story very much despite that, so maybe I'm not as character driven as I want to believe 😂 ||

[shrewd crow]

Interlude 6 ||Hey it’s Zeph again!||

[shrewd crow]

No that’s fair. A perfect book would have both plot and strong characters. And maybe Brandon prefers a slower burn kind of character development, maybe you just have to let him cook. But I finally pinpointed what it is for me. That and I’m just kind of waiting for an “ohhh” moment, you know?

[pure basin]

I really hope you find that "ohhh" moment! There are several moments in the book (and the next) that gave me that and I want that for you! Totally valid if you end up not liking it, but I hope that you will, and if nothing else, I know that I'm enjoying experiencing the book again vicariously through you! 😂

[shrewd crow]

I hope when I’m done you’ll tell me what they were

Ch 29 ||Oh it’s tarragon!||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 17
|| i have such a hard time imagining the bridges also what’s up with the last words when someone is dying?? why are they so ominous?
and i bet the spheres going dim has something to do with Kaladin being so lucky ||

[shrewd crow]

Oh same ||I wonder if anyone has a visual aid for the bridges||

[dusky swallow]

I think I posted something! lemme check

Sadeas' bridges

[wintry rapids]

damn, thanks Alex!

[dusky swallow]

[shrewd crow]

End of ch 32, almost exactly halfway. Feel like I got a lot done and that gives me a nice feeling of accomplishment. This is quite a chonker, but the discussion has really helped get through it. I was tempted to DNF but knowing it’s a book you all really enjoyed has made me want to see it through

[viscid kelp]

CHARLENE
TINK ILY

[shrewd crow]

CLOSE ENOUGH

[lean swallow]

LMFAOOOOO

i love these names you’ve made up for the characters

[plain patio]

Chapter 62: How can I relate so much to ||Kalaein. Like his reality is SO far away from me yet him just sheugging of the praise and going on is just like: YEP I agree||

Chapter 63: ||Being scared of being stormblessed, I kinda feel for him.
At this point I have been wanting to thirw this book away so many times. Yet I want Kaladin so we keep going.|| Not much left so rest we do after sleep.

I NEVER noticed this!!! I havnt paid proper attention to the details of drawings it seems

[languid mountain]

it honestly took me until the 2nd book to realize it But now I check it right away to know which is who

[plain patio]

When tou said it I saw it

[plain patio]

Finnished: ||An introduction to The Stormlight Archive, a series placed to be a cornerstone of modern epic fantasy. The book is a huge effort in world-building, character development, and storytelling, but the scale can be both its greatest strength and its biggest flaw.
From the very first pages, it’s clear Sanderson has crafted a world unlike any other. Roshar is a harsh and windswept land shaped by massive storms called highstorms, and every detail of its ecology, cultures, and societies reflects this unique setting. Sanderson’s approach makes it so that the world feels alive with every element having some form of purpose.
The story follows multiple perspectives, but three main characters take the main stage: Kaladin, an earlier soldier turned slave battling despair and hopelessness. Shallan, a young scholar with secrets and ambitions that threaten to unravel her. Lastly, Dalinar, a high prince wrestling with visions that call into question his sanity and his place in a fracturing kingdom. Each of these characters has their importance in the storylines. (even tho I will admit that one of them I kinda had NO interest in). Kaladin’s arc was kinda the only thing that kept me going through this. So I dont mind the fact that we mostly get his POV, I do see however how for those who like someone else better or isnt that interested in the constant world building that may get annoying. Cause there is alot of world building in this book (be expected tho).
Sanderson is known for his intricate magic systems, and this delivers on this front. Shardblades and Shardplate are fascinating, and the hints of Surgebinding promise a deeper and more complex system that will likely unfold in future books. Yet, the magic never feels gratuitous; it is deeply tied to the story’s themes of honor, leadership, and responsibility.
Despite its many strengths this is not without flaws, and these flaws may weigh heavily on readers who are not accustomed to Sanderson’s style or the demands of epic fantasy. At over 1,000 pages, the novel is a slow burn. The first half, in particular, is burdened with extensive world-building, lore, and character setup that can make the pacing feel glacial. There are parts where the story stalls, especially in Kaladin’s chapters, as his internal struggles are revisited repeatedly. Like I get it. While this repetition serves to deepen his character, it can be frustrating when you want more momentum.
The sheer volume of information in the book can also be overwhelming. Sanderson introduces a infinite amount of terms, concepts, and histories that can feel like an info-dump at times. For some, this level of detail is exhilarating, but for others, it may feel like walking through a textbook before the story gets intresting.
By the time the climax arrives, Sanderson’s skill as a storyteller shines through, and the payoff is satisfying. The pieces of the story come together in a way that sets up the series for greater things to come. However, reaching this point requires a level of patience that not all may be willing to give. For some, the journey may feel overly complicated and like a drag, with the brilliant moments scattered too sparsely to fully redeem the slow pace.|| 3.25

Now I need to deside if I wanna keep reading this series

[meager furnace]

Up to ch3. || how BS is able to construct a whole character within a single chapter just to kill him off, chefs kiss. Its insane how i sometimes read books with barely 5 memorable characters and here ive already presented with multiple. Within 5 pages i met Cenn, loved him and got my heart broken ||

[shrewd crow]

Going to make a little progress today

[trim cedar]

THIS

Chapters 1-2 || I really liked how Cenn got added into the squad which was apparently something that Kaladin would do more often, guessing people like that “reminded him of someone”. And then that with the contrast of chapter 2 where he is so heartbroken because they all ended up dead. Then in the end still deciding to help the coughing/sick man in chapter 2 and it resulting in his death anyways ||

Also, I keep mentally saying “bullshit” rather than “Brandon Sanderson” when I see “BS”

[shrewd crow]

Ch 33 ||Omg yap yap yap||

BS is back on his BS

[meager furnace]

Im soo sorry but i cant be bothered to write Brandon Sanderson everytime

[keen narwhal]

I see someone does Branderson if u wanna do that lel

[wintry rapids]

Branderson Sanderson, Brando Sando, Brandy Sandy

[trim cedar]

No I get it

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 21
|| > We remember the good times and the bad ones, forgetting that most times are neither good nor bad. They just are.

i love that quote ||

[meager furnace]

BraSa

[shrewd crow]

I just call him Brando

[dusky swallow]

Brando Sando is my fav so far

[keen narwhal]

Bra

[viscid kelp]

I think I like Brandy Sandy most but Brando Sando’s good too!

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 22
|| Navani seems badass and i smell romantic tension between her and Dalinar. and Elokhar is a dumbass.

also it‘s sooo hard to even try to imagine the size of the war camps and armies ||

[plain patio]

Brando is GREAT name

[meager furnace]

Chapter 7 || brandy sando has a unique way to come up with torture. The bridge crew, that's horrible. Do we think our MC has some sort of curse where everyone dies but him? ||

[wintry rapids]

Ch 23
|| i love Syl and i imagine her to look like Fi from Skyward Sword ||
|| do we know what exactly happened with Kaladin yet? no right? my current theory is he actually killed the Shardbearer at the beginning and tried to take is Plate (& Blade? i can’t remember if he had both) but the Brightlord stepped in and took it from him and he probably tried to refuse ||

[wintry rapids]

done with the first third of the book

[dusky swallow]

[shrewd crow]

Ch 42 ||Omg, we get it, your Vulcans. Give it a rest, Kale and Jas’na||

||This is the worst flirting I’ve ever read ||

Ch 43 ||When are we going to get Tinkerbell’s tragic backstory? Why are the secondary characters the only interesting parts of this book?||

||I am so sick of Kal’s whining. How dare you infect Rock with your pessimism? Like you knew the score when you started this training montage shit||

What was that list of like historical events at the beginning of ch 44?

[shrewd crow]

Ch 44 ||Ok Brando went off with that chapter

Cal: I swear I’ll bring him back.
Me: making the Michael Scott cringe face||

[shrewd crow]

Wait ||when they say light-eyes, they literally mean that they don’t have brown eyes? 🙄🙄🙄 I thought it was referring to the magic giving them that bright eyes effect. This is dumb af||

[wintry rapids]

yeah 😭
|| light-eyes = light eye colour (light blue, light purple, yellow, light green etc)
dark-eyes = dark eye colour (brown, black etc)

i also think this system is stupid tbh ||

[shrewd crow]

Ok I’m glad it’s not just me

Ch 51 ||Ok they do say why he became a slave. Eh I don’t really feel moved by this story tho. Idk why I have such a hard time connecting with these characters||

End of part 3, 14 hours to go

[plain patio]

Look at you go

[languid mountain]

The whole idea is to actually show how stupid it is ||to judge by color. If anything, I think Sanderson did a great job at showing how everyday beliefs are stupid (religion with showing specific parts of your skin and racism with judging people on their skin color, etc.) ||

[shrewd crow]

I can't tell which way it's supposed to go ||Cause on the one hand blue eyes good/brown eyes bad is just objectively gross and way overdone, it's just not interesting or new in anyway. Like I get what you're saying ,that it's supposed to be parodying real world racism, again done better in other books but that's a common theme to explore in fantasy. But then you have the concept that anyone can become a light-eyes if they obtain a shard thing, iirc? Which isn't normally a part of prejudice/racism. People irl can't just change the color of their eyes/skin no matter what they do (other than like extremely sketchy surgery or something I guess). So is Brando trying to say "it's weird to elevate and gentrify this one group of people based on a phenotype that has nothing to do with who they are as people" or is it "this is a meritocracy where upward mobility is possible if you meet the right circumstances"||

[languid mountain]

I don't believe the parallel has to be 100%, ||but you can also say that for religious racism or plain even racism or sexism, there are always some stereotypes that people try to follow to be part of a wider clique and avoid being judged, but the stigma is always there. Same here as well. Dark-eyes have the "chance" of getting a shard, but it is thoroughly frowned upon. Though, I don't think that was his goal there exactly anyway. I think it's more of a question if this stupid racist thing is even real (real as in the basis of the racism has an actual truth and it's not just plain racism, that's what I mean. The racism for sure is real). Later on there's some inner introspection from Kal, who is very obviously against light-eyes for obvious reasons. I won't say the whole thing is explored thoroughly and it is not the point even for me, but the way it is done satisfied me personally because often you see characters discussing various hypocritical views and challenging mostly themselves, which is the first step of change.||

[shrewd crow]

That's fair. Personally, I would have preferred he pick something more original

And actually explored it

[languid mountain]

I understand that I really liked it personally, I felt a connection to our world in an equal stupid way, haha.

[shrewd crow]

Ch 54 ||Wit, what are you up to? ||

[shrewd crow]

85%, so tempted to just power through til the end

[plain patio]

DO KT. You can do it Tink

[shrewd crow]

I didn’t, I took a nap

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 25
|| Kaladin‘s family is just too advanced for everyone else. i wouldn’t be surprised if they were driven out or even murdered ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 26
|| why do they at times act like Gavilar died because he went insane after following the code and implying the same thing is going to happen to Dalinar when it was actually an assault?? ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 27
|| oh no, they’re searching their assholes ||

[shrewd crow]

Alright gonna finish this thing!

[meager furnace]

i have been dreaming about reading this all day

[shrewd crow]

Ch 61 ||Omg bout damn time||

[shrewd crow]

Ch 66 ||I feel like people are about to do dumb shit ™️ ||

[shrewd crow]

Ch 67 ||If anything happens to tinkerbell, we riot||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 28
|| Kaladin‘s story maybe?? ||

[wintry rapids]

|| also why did Dalinar forget all details about his wife? that’s so sad actually ||

[shrewd crow]

My impression was that it ||wasn’t due to anything magical or anything, it had just been a long time since he died and he forgot a lot of details.|| Is that accurate, anyone?

[balmy jay]

|| Part of it is revealed closer to the end of the book but I don‘t remember the exact chapter so I don‘t want to say too much ||

But I‘ll do a full book spoilers regarding it || Dalinar sought out the Old Magic and the Nightwatcher and the negative side of the spell was him losing all memories of his deceased wife ||

[wintry rapids]

can’t wait to find out 👀

just finished part 2!

[shrewd crow]

Damn, rip

[languid mountain]

I understand you think the writing isn't the best, but damn that would have been really lousy to ||just forget even her name ||

[shrewd crow]

I never said I didn’t like the writing, and I guess I just missed that it was ||her name too||

[balmy jay]

I can‘t remember when it is said but || there is a line/bit in the book when Dalinar tries to remember his wife but when he tries to concentrate it all slips from his mind, even when his sons mention her he only knows she was his wife and their mother but otherwise everything is gone. Even how he felt about her he can‘t grasp anymore ||

[lean swallow]

I’ve read the whole book and I think I must have forgotten that this was the case…|| I guess the Nightwatcher cursed me too ||

[shrewd crow]

So if he’s ||talking to his kids about her but he doesn’t even remember her name? I guess they just call her mom, but that’s crazy||

[balmy jay]

Here‘s a quote from Chapter 64 that describes it pretty well I think
|| As always, when the name of his wife was spoken, it came to him as the sound of softly rushing air, then slipped from his mind immediately.
He could not hear, or remember, the name.“ ||

And there‘s other quotes that ||
describe what happens when he tries to remember her or someone wants to talk to him about her. His sons don‘t even know that he doesn‘t remember her. || I checked and it‘s mentioned in Chapter 51.

[shrewd crow]

Ch 69 ||Dalinor is too pure for this world, so I can’t wait for his ultimate demise ||

Oh damn ||Elobrat getting what he finally deserves||

[wintry rapids]

|| Elobrat ||
tink you are so funny

[shrewd crow]

Ch 71 ||Hey it is Tarragon!||

[shrewd crow]

I have rechristened him, henceforth he shall be ||Elobrat||

[shrewd crow]

Ch 74 ||If I had a nickel for every time a character in a book I read this year met God, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it’s happened twice||

Epilogue ||This monologue about novelty is funny to me. Wit, this book should have been about you||

I finished woooo!

Final thoughts ||Overall for the length; I just found this to be a surprisingly simple concept. There were only four main pov characters, one of whom only had a pov once every part, it seemed to me. We only really focused on one country in this world, and a lot of the world-building didn’t feel that advanced to me. The magic system seemed mostly to be “if you can physically stand to carry these magic items, then you’re a magic user” (I’m probably over simplifying, I know there were distinctions between the types of shards and stuff). Idk I expected more.

The characters to me were very simplistic. They read like YA characters to me, everyone was noble and for the most part had an honorable quest, which is fine it just didn’t hold my interest. And it kind of just came down to a final battle that was probably supposed to be climactic but which just felt like it summed up to “lowly kid is able to wield incredible magic power that he shouldn’t be able to and saves the day”. Which if you’re going to use that very overdone trope, it should be more interesting.

I am guilty of having read almost an exact carbon copy of this book’s premise just recently and giving it a 5 star, so I confess that now. The Ruin of Kings came out in 2019, and features a young man who is “not like other guys” and is rescued from slavery cause he can use magic and stuff, but it was better world-building, it had a really interesting narrative hook, it was funny, and it had the best morally grey characters, hence the 5 stars. You may call me inconsistent if you wish||

Anyway, I did put a hold on Words of Radiance, so if it comes in time I’ll join the next one. 3

[trim cedar]

Chapters 3-4 || funny how Shallan is being called the clever one with her sharp tongue while I think Kaladin is being super cheeky in chapter 4 ||

[languid mountain]

congrats

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 30
|| unexpected Gaz POV?? wait is Gaz a lighteyes or darkeyes||

Chapter 31
|| Lirin is badass af ||

i only manage to read like 3 chapters a day barely feels like progress with this book

[languid mountain]

RIGHT?

I was reading a silly Christmas book and I always thought "damn, I read 20-30% so fast?! WHAT HAPPENED?"

cause Sanderson has made me wonder

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 32
|| Kaladin is probably absorbing the Stormlight from his spheres and just doesn’t know ||

[wintry rapids]

yeah, 50 pages in a 1000 pages book and 50 pages in a 300 pages book might be the same amount of pages but they feel wildly different in terms of accomplishment

[wintry rapids]

halfway done

[trim cedar]

I feel the same way lol

I am almost at the 100 pages mark which usually would feel satisfying but I feel like it’s such a baby step

[plain patio]

Babysteps is better than no steps

[meager furnace]

Finished part 1!

|| we met our mc's, the girl looking to safe her family and the guy looking to safe everyone around him. They're both tenacious and stubborn. I wonder what part they going to play in the totality of the story. Its fascinating what's going on with the fighting at the plains where they need the bridges for. As the book is so extensive and there's more books to come I'm sure I'll be guessing about that for some time. The premonitions at the start of the chapter suggest some occult that watches the dying. But what is being premonitioned is very unclear still. Starting chapter one there are no premonitions any more. ||

[meager furnace]

Ch14 || back to kaladin! Somehow I picture him is Aragorn ||

[meager furnace]

Ch 15 || I think I love Adolin, he's such a himbo ||

[wintry rapids]

i‘ve been procrastinating all day but i will continue now

[surreal flare]

JUST DO IT 🗣️

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 34
|| the highstorms sound truly terrifying but i‘m confident Kaladin will make it. let’s see what’s with my theory of him absorbing some of the energy ||

Chapter 35
|| what did i say? 😎 ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 36
|| i don’t think i said this before but i really hate the idea of a „slave race“ that apparently is not able to live a life on their own without taking orders etc?? why and how would they even exist.

lol i love that the women just add footnotes to the text that the men will never get to know because they CAN‘T FUCKING READ and the women won’t read them aloud 😂

i don’t get how going through dark alleyways corresponds to philosophy but i‘m sure i‘m about to find out.

set a man on fire and he‘ll be warm for the rest of his life … or something like that

ohh that conversation in the palanquin afterwards, that’s the whole point of it.

something makes me feel like Jasnah already knows about Shallan‘s ulterior motive. or at least suspects something?
but damn that moment was just what it took for Shallan to actually go through with it||

this is so frustrating, what do you mean i‘ve read for almost an hour and only made a progress of 3%??

SANDERSON WHEN I CATCH YOU I SWEAR

[balmy jay]

i‘ve changed my font size to a smaller one when reading the second book so i feel like i‘m making more progress

[wintry rapids]

smart

i‘m using a bigger font than usual because i want to read without having to wear glasses

[balmy jay]

i usually do too, because reading a smaller font makes me really tired but with stormlight i gave into reading a smaller font. reading any other book compared to the series feels so fast now though

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 37
|| they really should’ve just taken the spheres and left.
something has to go wrong for Kaladin to end up as a soldier when he now decided to become a surgeon again ||

[meager furnace]

up to ch 17 or so

|| Im enjoying sandersons action scenes as always, he never rushes them. However in the totally of the story im not sure where we're heading. I'm over 1/3 of the story and have no idea to what type of finale we're heading. I guess thats integral to a story this long but its making it a bit difficult for me to 'need' to continue reading. There's some mystery but at the same time its soo much unknown that im not in a state of 'i need to find out what XXX' ||

im going slower through this than I'd had hoped

[wintry rapids]

yeah it’s a lot

i can’t believe i read this in 10 days the first time…

[meager furnace]

The name of the wind I binged in 5 days I believe, im missing some suspense here to make me stay up until 3 am

[balmy jay]

That‘s so interesting because I couldn‘t even finish Name of the Wind and put it down after like 150 pages. Even though WoK has some parts where it‘s slower I still found it compelling to read and wanted to find out more

[meager furnace]

honestly I wrote this down and I also was thinking 'but what did actually happen in the name of the wind" bahahaha

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 42
|| i love Shallan‘s and Kabsal‘s playful conversation ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 44
|| i really don’t understand why Kaladin‘s parents didn’t leave at the first chance they had, literally nothing was keeping them in that town ||

[trim cedar]

I have the same. Mainly because I want to make sure that I read it when I’m able to properly pay attention whereas sometimes I read before bed just to get tired

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 46
|| i have no memory of this but i love finding quotes i marked on my previous readthrough ||

still 46
|| omg the first POV interaction ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 47
|| he didn’t want it???
Kaladin wtf did you do to get a slave mark and a shash?? how did you end up like this?? ||

Chapter 48
another gem of a quote waiting for me to be rediscovered

still 48
|| omg who would want to poison her? like i assumed it would be Kabsal but he‘s also affected??||

idk why but i feel like once i pass the 60% mark my reading becomes so much faster?? it doesn’t make any sense but it feels like i‘m making more progress than before

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 50
|| oh, so it WAS Kabsal and he accidentally killed himself because the jam went bad??

well Shallan, you fucked up big time||

potential full book spoilers?? idk it’s just something i remember but i‘m not sure of if it’s real
|| i remember a really epic scene where Shallan and Jasnah end up working together and there was something about Soulcasting?? but i‘m not sure if it’s just something i made up in my head lol ||

Chapter 51
|| man, i feel so so bad for Kaladin ||

Done with part 3

[wintry rapids]

Interlude 7
|| again talk about Old Magic and the Nightwatcher i feel like this will be relevant at a later point.

also a lady going around and destroying art? weird||

[wintry rapids]

Interlude 9
|| i really wanna know more about Szeth‘s backstory ||

Part Four
|| ohh Navani POV ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 52
|| damn, that vision ||

i made really good progress today 150 pages

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 54
|| that didn’t turn out the way i expected it to, i‘m positively surprised.
also i knew Wit was Hoid but probably i still remembered it from my first time reading?? ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 56
|| actually insane that the Alethi have been at war with the Parshendi for 6 years and didn’t bother learning anything about them 😭😭 ||

[trim cedar]

Chapter 7 || Shallan’s father reminds me of “why don’t we print more money to prevent inflation”? ||

Also, same chapter ^ || Last Shallan’s chapter it became clear she wants to steal the Soulcaster. I am really curious how she is going to try to become Jasnah’s ward, as Jasnah sounded pretty determined not to take her ||

[warped crypt]

@lean swallow @warm otter @young locust @plain patio @ashen marlin @velvet ivy @tight wraith @runic narwhal @viscid kelp

This is your weekly reminder

(if you wanna unsub, unreact here #1255063736725540920 message)

This BR is ongoing Till January 14th

How much have you read last week? 👀
How far into the book are you? 👀

[trim cedar]

Are the questions also for people who weren’t tagged?

[warm otter]

Christmas is gonna be my reading time, I'm at my grandma's 24th to 26th nd have no xbox to distract me from getting on with this

[warped crypt]

Only if you want to. but i only pinged those who signed up for weekly accountability here --> #1255063736725540920 message

there's also discussion questions in the pins

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 57
|| i absolutely LOVED this chapter!! so much information, Hoid‘s and Kaladins interaction?? some things slowly being pieced together? more of this please!! ||

20% left

[trim cedar]

Ohhh I see, thank you for explaining!

[trim cedar]

I haven't read as much as I wanted to , I'm at Chapter 8 right now. I think I've read most of that the past week. I hope I can spend some more time reading in the Winter Holidays as I'll take some more time to relax

I have been enjoying the book and writing style, but I suppose I am missing something "exciting" that makes me want to pick up the book asap after putting it down

Usually I have already found that at this point (140ish pages in) but I also understand that this is a big book and it requires more build up. Especially since (up to chapter 8) || not all main characters have been introduced yet, basing that off the back of the book ||

[wintry rapids]

made some good progress today, i‘m confident i can finish this in the next two days

[meager furnace]

I haven't read the past days due to travels but I expect to pick back up after Christmas

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 61
|| i‘m rooting for Dalinar and Navani, ngl. and now i really want to know what Navani was going to say about Gavilar

and here is the confirmation that the Old Magic and the Nightwatcher made Dalinar forget his wife but what was his blessing?? ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 62
|| i really hope everything works out, i don’t want Kaladin or any of the others to die/get hurt ||

Chapter 63
|| who the fuck is Tarah 😭 ||

[slow iron]

That’s not much of a spoiler to answer, do you want an answer 🫣 sorry I’m new here but I love the Cosmere so so so much!! I just don’t know everyone’s preferences yet about asking questions and expecting answers lol

[warped crypt]

you can answer or reply to discussion yes, but anything about the book is considered a spoiler, so please answer using spoilers as well. Here's a little explanation and how to: #rules message

[slow iron]

Thank you!! But I meant like, if someone asks a question about a character or about lore or something, sometimes the question is rhetorical and they don’t want an answer, and sometimes they do want an explanation. The Cosmere has a lot of hidden lore and details, so I was asking Katto if they wanted an answer to their specific question or if it was rhetorical

[warped crypt]

ah sorry, i misunderstood. But if you're even unsure about where in the book, series or cosmere a spoilers is discussed, just be mindful to be rather be safe than sorry . But I personally cannot answer for katto if they want an answer no

[slow iron]

Yep! I’ll be careful!

[warped crypt]

i think i've also mentioned cosmere generic spoilers as "cosmere spoiler ||spoiler||"

[slow iron]

It’s why I always ask before writing information and essays lol

[wintry rapids]

thanks for asking, it was more of a rhetorical question and since you offered an answer i‘m sure i‘ll find out eventually 🤍

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 64
|| > Of course, then Shshshsh came along.
poor guy, will we ever learn more about his wife? (maybe through Adolin‘s POV?)

fellas, is it weird to date your brother‘s widow? (but like i said i‘m rooting for them lol)

reading about war is so weird. what do you mean „only 30,000“ troops?? that‘s a number i can’t imagine at all.
also the fact that they‘re only out there fighting when it’s about the gem hearts?? ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 65
|| fucking Sadeas!! ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 66
|| the betrayal!! i am SHOOK ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 67
|| KALADIN to the rescue
omg this is so epic, is that why it’s called epic fantasy? ||

my eBook started lagging

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 68
|| pls let Kaladin and the others from Bridge Four actually be safe with Dalinar ||

i‘m so invested rn and wanna continue but i should sleep

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 69
|| holy shit, he gave up his Blade for the bridgemen???
and he‘s beating up Elhokar (Elobrat), man i have SO much respect vor Dalinar LOL. he‘s so badass ||

finished part 4!
i‘m confident i‘ll finish the book tomorrow!

[warm otter]

chap 22: ||wit is still my favourite character holy shit, going to the fancy dinner nd just insulting everyone he lays eyes on like that is ICONIC I wanna be like wit when I grow up ||

[slow iron]

||I hate Sadeas for that moment so so so so much 😭||

[slow iron]

||ITS SO GOOD!! I quote it regularly 😭 “what is a man’s life worth?” Dalinar definitely got the better end of the deal. Trading a single priceless Shardblade for thousands of priceless souls I love him so much!!!||

[slow iron]

At Dragonsteel convention there were paid actors for the worldhopper ball, and one of the actors was ||Wit. And he was perfection, insulting everyone!! He was also walking around the convention in general and came to a few panels to insult the panelists and he was brilliant 😂😂||

[warm otter]

omg i need to see if there's some clips of that online in the morning I'd love to see it

up to chap 26 now nd this line just made me laugh || "battle was a masculine art. a woman wanting to come to the battlefield was like... Well, like a man wanting to read. unnatural." like thanks Delinar, I'll go fuck myself then in that case ||

[slow iron]

^ ||Good Vorin men only listen to audiobooks 🤣🤣 it’s ok, I’m a heretic and I read too ||

[wintry rapids]

Chapter 70
|| omg i was so invested in Kaladin and Dalinar, i totally forgot about Shallan

but omg this is getting so intense as well ahhhh||

Chapter 71
|| Taravangian secret evil mastermind???? i did not see this coming - and i have read the book before, why did i forget this ||

Chapter 72
|| the Parshmen and Voidbringers are one and the same? but how do the Parshendi play into this?? how did they even enslave the Parshmen?? so many questions.
also i‘m glad Jasnah calls the Parshmen what they are - slaves; and not some inferior race who‘s only life essence is to serve.
i really really hate the idea of slave races and them being like that because they enjoy it so this is an explanation i can get behind, depending how it develops further ||

[wintry rapids]

I FINISHED

re-reading this was such a good idea, thanks so much for influencing me MidnightDancer and Haze

i enjoyed it so much this time around probably because i wasn’t as lost in the worldbuilding anymore and things just made more sense.

bumping this up from a 2 ⭐ to a 4 ⭐ and i‘m really excited to continue the series

[languid mountain]

sometimes it is all about the timing

[wintry rapids]

yes

the first time i read it was 3 years ago and i guess it was just a bit too ambitious for past-katto but since then i‘ve read so many other books and my taste and preferences as well my appreciation for literature have evolved and like i said before i‘m really glad i gave it another chance

[trim cedar]

https://youtu.be/Lg9PbVGunPU?si=p3Xkb5HlZ65CEXHN

I just saw this

I am not sure where in the book this takes place, if anyone knows do share. Otherwise general spoiler for the whole book. Regards the pronunciation of someone’s name

[warm otter]

ohh i think this is chapter 20 something, the character is ||rock|| right?

[keen narwhal]

ye

[meager furnace]

Finished part 2!

I don't really have thought on it though

|| it's been a chapter with a lot of pondering and thinking. Both the high-price and the bridge leader are trying to find their paths and 'what's the right thing to do'. I was missing our lady ward so it was nice to see her back, even though it was only a hint of her in the last chapter ||

[meager furnace]

Ch31 || I hate the chapters about kals past, I know it's building up to a disaster event ||

[meager furnace]

Ch32|| kaladin is such a Mary Sue, but this new bridge technique firing back I could see from a mile away. I wonder when they are going to start disclosing more about him being able to use the shard energy. Is it also what prevents him from getting hit?||

[trim cedar]

(Up to) chapter 9 (sorry I am so slow compared to all of you ) || God, these bridge number deaths are so shocking to me. The previous chapter of Kaladin where he goes on his first bridge deployment was so crazy to read. I just can’t wrap my head around how someone would feel in that position ||

[trim cedar]

Chapter 11 || Our Kaladin as we know him is back ||

Finished part one!

Thoughts on part one
|| I enjoyed how Kaladin and Shallan’s story were both quite different with also different settings. Kaladin is the more interesting character for me, I enjoy his personality and while Shallan is described to have a sharp/clever tongue, I believe Kaladin much more fits that description. Nonetheless I found Shallan quite interesting the moment it got revealed she was trying to become Jasnah’s ward to steal the Soulcaster. On the contrary I thought some parts of Kaladin were a bit long/boring while reading. Looking back at it, though, I think the chapters were enjoyable enough 🤷🏼‍♀️ Syl definitely gave me some comic relief lol.

Definitely feels like a properly closed first part with Shallan becoming Jasnah’s apprentice and Kaladin coming back to his senses. ||

[meager furnace]

Ch36 || wouldnt shallan;s swap be noticed right away because her soulcaster has intact stones and Jasnah’s soulcaster has a couple empty and broken? ||

[trim cedar]

First interludes || ohh the ending of the interludes was very interesting. The return of Szeth.. I have a bad feeling about his new masters.

Balat disgusts me with him pulling off the crab’s legs ||

Time for part two with || two new characters 👀 ||

[slow iron]

There’s a small line there iirc that says ||during the philosophy lesson that Jasnah had taken out the broken stone and left the socket empty, so that night during the switch there’s a small line of Shallan popping out one of the stones from hers so it matched Jasnah’s again||

[meager furnace]

Makes sense!

Ch45 || I'm making some progress slowly but surely 😌 the book is not boring, but it's also not exciting. It was just reveiled that Tien had to go into the army and that's the reason why Kaladin ended up there. Very Hunger Games. The reveal just didn't really work for me because it took almost 600 pages!! And all this time the reader already knows tien is dead and kaladin is in the army, so it's not much of a shocker. It was the same a couple of chapters back where kaladin finds out about the reason why the bridgemen are not allowed to have armour (they are bait) but this was something the reader has already known for almost 300 pages now. Idk this doesn't really work for me in the sense as a plot device ||

[meager furnace]

CH45. || those headless creatures gave me the shivers, reminded me of those statue angels in Doktor Who somehow. Getting closer everytime you blink ||

[trim cedar]

Chapter 17 || Kaladin is being so awesome as bridgeleader ||

[long drift]

@plain patio,@warm otter,@tight vault,@runic narwhal,@crystal thunder,@keen narwhal,@dusky copper,@rigid raven,@steep mirage,@lean swallow,@balmy jay,@dusky swallow,@languid mountain,@tawny flame,@keen wave,@young locust,@velvet ivy,@fluid pecan,@ashen marlin,@vagrant smelt,@viscid kelp,@late nimbus,@warped crypt,@tight wraith,@pure basin,@trim cedar,@meager furnace,@wintry rapids

[warped crypt]

Good day epic readers ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

This BR is still ongoing for a little over two weeks (it ends January 14th), but instead of the normal weekly announcement, here's a little broadcast with a status update and some more questions!

Book 2 BR is well on it's way btw, you can head on over to https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/1282968522091139082 for the next BR if you'd like to continue the BIG BR (with special roles as rewards)!

Finished and discussed: katto, Tink, Avialia, haze, evet, Celine, MidnightDancer, ctrl-altmer-del, manouk, iggy, Maffy, Vaydium, Hanzy, Alex
Finished but not discussed enough PilotG
Started: Raya, Andy, Zander, susan, TemporalSong, christene_littlelibrary, mimosa
⁽ˡᵉᵗ ᵐᵉ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᶦᶠ ᶦ ᵐᶦˢˢᵉᵈ ʸᵒᵘ⁾

Discussion Questions: (answer only the unspoilered ones if your'e still reading ofc)
🎖️ full book spoilers ||How did the reveal of Syl as an honorspren affect your understanding of her role and Kaladin’s abilities/growth?||
💭 full book spoilers ||How did you interpret Dalinar's visions throughout the book? Did this change after the reveal or not? Feel free to elaborate||
📷 How does Sanderson’s use of multiple POVs influence your understanding of the world and characters? Do you enjoy this storytelling style and why?
📖 How do you feel about the book's pacing?

[trim cedar]

I personally really enjoy gradually getting to know a lore-filled world. The use of multiple POVs from people with different professions in different areas (with different backgrounds) is for me a preferred way to learn about that. Reading multiple POVs keeps me interested in reading as it gives some variety in what you are reading, as everyone thinks and acts differently. I also like learning about the characters’ thoughts on certain choices and how others view those or are affected by them. Example up to part two: || Kaladin is part of the bridge crew and in part two you learn that Dalinar is actually also not pleased with the way the bridge crew is running practically unarmed ||

Pacing wise.. I’m not sure.. I am enjoying learning about everything, however, since there is so much that has to be introduced, it’s kind of dragging on. It makes sense as it’s a big unit, but there isn’t really anything pushing me to prevent me from putting the book down after 1-3 chapters. And since it’s such a big book, I’m not sure if I can finish before the 14th But I am trying

[languid mountain]

1. Hmm, I suppose ||we ALL expected Syl to be something special, so we were just waiting to see what that special was, so it didn't really change much of my understanding of their growth. I SUPPOSE though that honor has a lot to do with Kaladin and keeping his promises, so it made sense he'd get her instead of something else.||
2. I think I pretty much ||went along with Dalinar's thoughts about them I thought they were truly interactive dreams and he was getting real answers from them and not just captured moments that could be replayed in more advanced ways. The twist was very welcome to me and I liked how the Stormfather did it even though he is so against humanity (with good reason, really).||
3. When a story is this big, it's always welcome being able to see more POV. It might be confusing at first, but it gets better once you get used to it and you're a good writer I like all kinds of storytelling, but ofc now that I have seen this story with different main characters, I can't imagine it with just a single one. THOUGH, I will say that sometimes Sanderson MIGHT be getting a bit out there with the amount of POV.
4. I understand it's slow, but damn, did I love this book and felt 0 boredom. I have 0 problems with the pacing in this book

[trim cedar]

Chapter 19 || What a confusing chapter, we experience Dalinar’s visions for the first time as a reader. I don’t blame him for being confused, I am too ||

[warm otter]

im planning on finishing this in the next week or so
📷 ok its helping me understand the world a lot, but i struggle lowkey with the characters in staying invested like im still enjoying the characters a lot but also ill really get into a characters pov nd then suddenly its onto a diff character nd i get lowkey sad nd miss the old characters pov for a bit lmao its sad
📖 i like its pacing even if its a bit slow. but i like books with slow pacing ~~im a Stephen King fan so like obvious ~~ it gets me invested in these characters lives, not just the plot yk?

[trim cedar]

Chapter 21 || omg Rock might be my new favorite character ||

[meager furnace]

📷 I enjoy the POV’s, I like Dalinar’s the most. The story is DrAGginG though. Something Dalinar explains in part 1 is only discovered by Kaladin in part 3. || We loose Shallan for multiple parts. || Im 650 pages in and I am not sure if I know that much more than I did around page 250.
📖 As I mentioned above, the story is dragging and its barely dragging me along. I could put this book away unfinished and I don’t think I will ever think about it. Too little is revealed and its also not very clear where the story is working towards. I talked to Katto about this before but if I would use a metaphor to describe how im feeling about this book its this: Very intricately put together birthday cake in the shape of a life sized Batman (or something like that). Its beautiful, its expertly crafted, but in the end its still ‘just’ plain cake. Im more of a pecan pie kinda girly I WILL FINISH THOUGH AND PROBABLY READ PART 2 ALSO CAUSE I HAVE FOMO

[wintry rapids]

i told your metaphor to a friend recently and she hasn’t read any Sanderson (yet) but she said it‘s a beautiful analogy and she gets it

[dusky copper]

Great metaphor!

[languid mountain]

the funny thing for me is that I loved the pacing of Book 1 and 2, but 3rd was what started bringing the quality down, so I wonder what you'd think if you decide to go through with the 3rd book

[trim cedar]

I’m scared to continue now

[balmy jay]

oh no, this does not sound promising for me and book three either

[languid mountain]

It could work either way Either you like it more than this or...

[meager furnace]

It was not my intention to start a revolt

[meager furnace]

ohnoo Can it be ANy slower? (chandlers voice)

[languid mountain]

it depends on how you see it It's... uneven. let's say

[slow iron]

Sanderson’s books are never just about the plot lol, because in almost every one of his books, not much plot happens in the first 75% of the book, and then everything comes crashing down together and that’s when all the reveals happen. Until then is character focused. Sanderson does some of the best work with characters in all of fantasy. If you’re a more plot focused person, yeah it’s gonna be difficult. I’ve always personally been character focused and I never felt like it was slow lol

[meager furnace]

Yeah I get that, I'm just also not very impressed with the character development

[slow iron]

That’s fair too, everyone has different tastes and perspectives

[tight wraith]

Chap 27 ||Indeed the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Kaladin now got half of bridge four. ||

[meager furnace]

End of part 3 || it wasn't really a surprise that amaran took the shardblade, kabsal being an assassin was interesting. I didn't buy his act but that was altogether on the other side of the expectations ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 23 || I absolutely and entirely adore Syl and Rock

Also, very curious about the changes Syl is going through. Why is it happening? What does it mean for her/Spren? Is Kaladin related to the change? ||

Ch 23 still || Teft calling Rock “walking mountain”

I just giggle everytime any reference to Rock’s nickname is being done ||

[slow iron]

||Numuhukumakiaki’aialunamor has a great nickname ||

[trim cedar]

It’s just so good

[slow iron]

And yes, I can type out the full thing without copy pasting or spellcheck 🤣

[meager furnace]

Interludes preceeding part 4 || gosh I love the interludes, as well as dalinars Dream. The Way brandy Sandy can fabricate a character in just a few pages is my favorite writing of him. Would love to see more, dreams or pov's from new characters. I think I'll get part of what I want as I see a new name on the part 4 page. Shallan will not return I see. The mystery of the symbol people will have to wait a little longer ||

[meager furnace]

I made some nice progress today 😄

just a little over 200 pages to go

[warped crypt]

LETS GOOOO

[languid mountain]

gives her more pages

[meager furnace]

Noo nooo I have Word of Radiance to get straight to after this

[trim cedar]

Ch 25 || Roshone is big bitch boy ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 26 ||The Parshendi not using their shardplate for this battle I wonder why not…

Also, I don’t know what I think of Sadeas. If I trust him or not Time will tell ||

Big || Kaladin || (pov ch 27) chapter coming up next

[warm otter]

FR ||ik the vision told Delinar to trust him but I still don't trust him as far as I can throw him so we shall see is Sadeas actually redeems himself or not||

[trim cedar]

Ch 26 || Honestly I thought he was going to somehow attempt to kill Dalinar or Adolin like the way Elhokar thinks he got attempted to be killed. Or that he would steal the gem or something. Kind of surprised that didn’t happen I just think it’s so weird he had to join the battle?? ||

[warm otter]

RIGHT ||he's so suspicious its not even funny but that almost makes me think he can't actually be doing anything suspicious? like it's too obvious. ive read enough mystery nd crime novels in my life to know anyone whos that suspect cant be the killer/bad guy yk ||

[trim cedar]

|| it’s gonna be one of the scribes ||

[trim cedar]

Going to attempt a last sprint to try and finish this before the 14th

[meager furnace]

CH58 || FInally Kaladin realises he can use the stormlight, the man is kinda thickheaded isnt he? Also I love the wit and hope he will be playing a way bigger role ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 27 || new nickname for Kaladin by Rock: spinner of spear LMAO ||

Same chapter || Kaladin doesn’t need stew to win me over tbh Rock himself is already enough to make me a fan of his pov ||

Up to and including part two || I’m starting to think the opening sentences each chapter are a letter, and for some reason I think they are either related to Szeth (because of Ch 14 which talks about an element being safe and iirc Szeth in the first interludes mentioned he had something hidden in Jah Keved? But maybe I confuse characters now.) Or that it’s related to Gavilar and it being some sort of one of his last letters to Dalinar. (The reason I think this is because of Ch 28’s opening) ||

[trim cedar]

Part two finished

[trim cedar]

Interlude 4 || why these interlude chapters are on the other side of the continent is beyond me BUT my new favorite hobby is looking up all the names on the map so it’s okay ||

[trim cedar]

What the fuck I just looked up fanart of Kaladin and he does not look the way I thought he did (not sure what I did expect though )

[wintry rapids]

such a mood
for me he‘s basically Link from the Legend of Zelda

[meager furnace]

Ooh I'm so curious what he looks like to you!

For me a very crusty Jezus 🤪

[trim cedar]

Ch 29 || “In ancient days a man who brought peace to his kingdom was considered to be of great worth. Now that same man would be derided as a coward” ||

Very interesting chapter, I liked it a lot

Good start of part three

Ch 29 continued || I like Shallan “becoming” a scholar. You can read that she enjoys it, I’m curious what her decisions will be. I’m rooting for her to keep studying. Perhaps partially because I don’t care much for her family. Her father sounded like not a very honest man, her brother’s pov in the first interludes was terrifying. ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 31 || It’s CRAZY to me that Lirin helps the townfolk for FREE (I love him for it) and it’s even CRAZIER to me that the people hate him and stopped offerings. Don’t get me wrong, I get it in the perspective of the book, on a personal level it’s just absurd to me. Especially now that healthcare is so expensive here ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 34 || I didn’t expect Lamaril to get executed for Kaladin’s behaviour, but I don’t mind :3 ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 36 || There’s no way Jasnah doesn’t know what Shallan is up to. She is a clever woman ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 38 || so in this chapter we learn that Kaladin in some way “absorbs” stormlight from spheres. However, can someone help/remind me? Spheres get charged with stormlight when you put them out in a highstorm. But do they also gradually lose light themselves? Also, are spheres with light worth more than spheres without? ||

[keen narwhal]

||ya they gradually grow "dun" without light, and are worth less than spheres with light||

[trim cedar]

Ty!

[trim cedar]

Ch 44 || God. This was painful. I feel hurt ||

44 continued || I feel so stupid I didn’t realise he could just take Tien. It makes total sense from Roshone’s perspective. God I LOATHE this man ||

[trim cedar]

Finishing before the 14th seems doable

Up to 44 (mainly about part 3) || seems like the opening sentences are texts/notes from Jasnah’s journal..? ||

[warped crypt]

a few days late is also still fine btw ❤️ don't feel pressured to make it to the finish line

I'm not officially extending it, but I can hold off on giving points for a little bit 😉

[trim cedar]

I want to try to finish it this week!

[trim cedar]

The BR for book 2 of this series is still until 28 February rn?

[warped crypt]

correct! but i may need to move the end date a little cause this one has been ongoing for a lot longer

[trim cedar]

As in move it later?

[warped crypt]

are you planning on joining?

[warped crypt]

as in extend it a little bit more

[trim cedar]

I am thinking of it

28 February is doable

[warped crypt]

I still have to start book 2, we can read it together

/j but

[trim cedar]

Would love that!!

I will let you know my final decision after finishing this one

[stiff sorrel]

If I decided to join this with absolutely zero context for the series? (BR fomo is real)

[trim cedar]

I knew (know) nothing about Brandy Sandy / Cosmere and am enjoying this very much nonetheless

[warped crypt]

honestly, I don't know what I can tell you to even give you the right amount of context. If you're up for a big epic fantasy series in general, it might be the way to just go in

and special role ofc

[warped crypt]

also for my first series (not first book) of Brandon Sanderson, I've been enjoying this very much

https://tenor.com/view/simpsons-homer-bart-lisa-join-us-gif-13066208

[stiff sorrel]

The special role is doing it for me

[warped crypt]

gotta catch them all

[trim cedar]

Special role

When you finish the series?

[warped crypt]

yes! We're reading the entire series and the two smaller lore books. The lore books are optional but if you do read them you get an even more special role!

currently nobody has finished the series yet, but book 4 is also already ongoing. @languid mountain is in the lead

[trim cedar]

Do you need to finish it all before the BRs expire?

[warped crypt]

Yes, but I have them all staggered so they all finish on different dates, not all at February 28th

just so we can flow together in a general direction towards an end goal

[trim cedar]

Interesting

[warped crypt]

we'll likely be reading the last book up untill august/september at the earliest. that's without extensions

perhaps the rest of the year. Another year of sanderson

[trim cedar]

Perhaps I will change my 2025 challenge

Conquer Stormlight Archives

[warped crypt]

LMAO, that's my reading goal. But at least we're all in this together to motivate each other

ofc, you don't have to stick around, if you end up not liking one of the books, that's totally valid

you'll still get the points for each book you did finish

[trim cedar]

sounds good!

[warped crypt]

the role is just a motivator to finish the series as a whole

[trim cedar]

I will think about it. Thank you for the info

[warped crypt]

NP! ❤️

[trim cedar]

Well I ordered book two

[meager furnace]

wait how to get the special role?

[warped crypt]

read book 1 through 5 through the various BR's. There's a even more special role if you read Edgedancer and Dawnshard (the two smaller lore books)

then you have finished only the first arc of this epic series too

[wintry rapids]

keep in mind that The Way of Kings is the shortest of the main books

[reef yarrow]

then you have finished
only the first arc of this
epic series too

- manoukmade

[warped crypt]

i think in 10 years we'll do this one but for Arc 2

[meager furnace]

Okkkkkay so I have to slay all the way

[dusky swallow]

me when I see people joining book 1

[meager furnace]

get it !

[meager furnace]

and also not the slowest according to maffy

[wintry rapids]

Sanderson said he’s planned to be finished with the whole Cosmere by the time he’s 72 years old
he‘s currently 49

we still get 23 years of Brandy Sandy

[balmy jay]

same! even though i didn’t vibe as much with book 2 i love seeing people join the br

[dusky swallow]

he churns them out faster than I can read them

[balmy jay]

at least he writes faster than many of us just starting the books can read them

[warped crypt]

and i'd trust this man with my life that he will finish it

[wintry rapids]

truth

[dusky swallow]

I trust Brandy Sandy to finish his books as much as I trust Patrick Rothfuss not to (/lh)

[warped crypt]

I'm waiting for Brandon Sanderson to post his "I'll be finishing Winds of Winter" announcement video

[meager furnace]

Im waiting for brandon sanderson to finish the name of the wind lol

[dusky swallow]

LMAO

can you imagine

"my publisher won't let me write my own books since they're coming out too quickly, I'm now ghost-writing for 3 other Fantasy authors"

[warped crypt]

tbf, nobody can stop him now that he has Dragonsteel. "I went on vacay and wrote 16 new books"

[wintry rapids]

the man is insane

[dusky swallow]

The love for Brandy Sandy in these BRs never fails to make me feel fuzzy and warm and excited about reading Fantasy

[wintry rapids]

i don’t think his writing style is that special but i really respect his craft

[warped crypt]

#memes-and-stuff message

[meager furnace]

I respect is ability to think out of the box and never forget any detail he came up with

[dusky swallow]

this man's notes must go WILD

https://tenor.com/view/conspiracy-charlie-day-crazy-always-sunny-in-philadelphia-qanon-gif-23738584

[warped crypt]

i still need to finish watching his worldbuilding lectures. It's a gift of gods that these are for free on youtube

[wintry rapids]

i had it bookmarked for ages but it feels daunting to start

[warped crypt]

oh yeah it's a class alright 7 hours of lectures

[wintry rapids]

i didn’t even make it through all of my own uni lectures

[warm otter]

i can only dream to ever be even half the writer he is, i wish i could fly through projects that quickly

[meager furnace]

I do think its sometimes too on the nose idk can't explain it. perhaps because he does the same in all the books i have read? makes it feel like a one-trick pony but clearly the one-trick is fucking sick

[wintry rapids]

like you said it yourself: in the end it’s all just basic cake but it looks really impressive

[meager furnace]

oh wait i forgot i do know how to explain it

[trim cedar]

Has anyone mentioned whether the two lore books add a lot of insight if you read them in order?

Or are they like separate stories?

Not sure what the appropriate place to ask this is

[warped crypt]

I think you can better ask in https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/1295778279201968212 or https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/1310526492987625512

just add a disclaimer you are still working on book 1

or i can ping some peeps here? to shield you from the potential spoilers

[warped crypt]

@dusky swallow @languid mountain @keen narwhal and maybe @slow iron: Can you help Raya out with this question of hers?

without spoilers obviously

[meager furnace]

mister banana knows this probably

oh you tagged him!

great

[warped crypt]

probably, but he's offline and i know the others have also read (some of) the books

[meager furnace]

you are amazing

[dusky swallow]

I only read Edgedancer and (spoiler free) the main character is introduced in some of inserts/extra chapters of book 2, so it's recommended you read it as book 2.5 since you will be familiarised with said character. The extra books offer extra short stories and lore about these side characters that may (or may not) interact with the main cast later. It helps contextualise the main books, offers insight and they're generally short and sweet! If you plan on reading the whole series I recommend you read them in order as it can be hard without the info from the main novels

I hope that helps!

[warped crypt]

*edgedancer right?

[dusky swallow]

yes, thank you!! typo on my part

[warped crypt]

np, just didn't want to confuse the reading order ❤️

[languid mountain]

As a continuation to what Alex said since I also read Dawnshard, this one brings a LOT of lore to the table which will be important later on I assume, since it's mostly Cosmere lore rather than just Stormlight lore, so I would definitely give it a read in the proper order

but if you don't read it or read them later on, you don't really miss important plot points, as eventually the main plot will happen in the main series 😄

[languid mountain]

Darn

so I can't say everyone dies and the rest is Sanderson's autobiography?

[warped crypt]

BROOOOOOO /J

real appreciate you two chiming in. I also want to add that both lore books are not 1000 pagers

just average sized books

[languid mountain]

honestly, even shorter than average. Especially Edgedancer looks bigger because the font is big and they include an interlude from the main book which takes 20% of the book

[trim cedar]

Thank you Alex and Maffy!! I will definitely read them both in that case

[languid mountain]

AND you get a special role here

[trim cedar]

I saw a book 4.5 is also on the way

[languid mountain]

ya, Horneater! But it'll be out so late. I was working with manouk about it if we should add it

And maybe make an endless Stormlight challenge that will last forever

[reef yarrow]

And maybe make an
endless Stormlight challenge that
will last forever

- ✨BellsOfMaffy✨

[languid mountain]

thank you, Haikubot

[stiff sorrel]

1. It is a new read for me and my first Brando Sando
2. Nope and I was getting fomo seeing as I see him everywhere so I thought I'd sample this
3. Other than an epic fantasy that's very long I'm going into this completely blind. I'm excited though.
4. I think the closest would be The Roots of Chaos series by Samantha Shannon which I enjoyed but did feel quite slow to me so I'm hoping this doesn't have that issue. For once in my life I'm going to be reading this over the course of 5 days and see if that helps me digest it a little bit more.

Prologue: ||omg this drops you right into the action which is the best way to start a book I'm sure the pace will slow down to aid the worldbuilding of the book and provide information to the reader but I'm into it so far.||

I'm doing the GraphicAudio for this and I don't think it actually has chapters so I think I'm going to have to work out my percentage and then add that but I'm sorry if anyone accidentally gets spoilers from my posts because my % doesn't match with theirs

The sound effects are so good though

1% ||omg this part with Szeth and his powers with drawing from the stormlight is very cool||

||hearing the people scream as they die || I just realised how dark this sounds but I'm just appreciating the audio

Chapter 1: ||5 year time jump and a pov change? Interesting but I was having fun with Szeth's pov ||

I'm following along with a chapter summary to make sure I'm in the right place

[languid mountain]

Uh huh....

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 1: ||Damn, Kaladin is a bit of a badass but I hope Cenn is okay. He's just a baby (16) and doesn't deserve to be hurt.||

Chapter 2: ||omg another time jump? Is it going to be like that every chapter or will the pacing change?||

||Also I'm sure this will be answered but who's the different person (woman?) talking at the end of the chapter?||

||So Kaladin was captured and is now a slave? It's horrible that they're branded on their foreheads. Considering he took out six men at the same time in the previous chapter I'm gonna guess that he manages to get out of this situation somehow.||

[languid mountain]

It gets easier, yes

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 2: ||A guy needs water which is so simple but no, let's murder him instead ||

Chapter 3: ||Me when we get a different pov character every chapter and then I don't know what's going on ||

[meager furnace]

https://tenor.com/view/in-hurry-alessia-cara-im-yours-running-stop-following-me-gif-17998324

Abi this is by all means a joke but this is how I'm feeling right now

[stiff sorrel]

omg what did I do?

[meager furnace]

You're going so fast!!

[stiff sorrel]

I feel like I'm going so slow

Chapter 3: ||These chapters just get good and then they end I want to know what's going to happen next now Shallan is face-to-face with Jasnah.||

[meager furnace]

It's great you made me pick up the book again ❤️

[stiff sorrel]

omg yay! I hope I can keep you motivated

Chapter 4: ||Kaladin really needs to do whatever it takes to stay alive in his situation so if he has to lie about being a deserter then so be it for me. I really go hope that he manages to escape before he is sold off though. We know how skilled a fighter he is so I think he just needs that opportunity and then he should be able to find a way out.||

idk what that reaction means Maffy and now I'm scared

Chapter 5: ||The miscommunication/misunderstanding between Shallan and Jasnah and how this is basically an audition with a very intimidating woman. I would be stumbling over my words if I were Shallan.||

||Jasnah can do magic too? I'm intrigued||

||She rejected Shallan though 😦 that must be heartbreaking for her after all the time hunting her down. But nope, she's a schemer instead and still plans to pursue Jasnah to steal her Soulcaster that's diabolical but I understand her wanting to secure her family's fortunes by any means necessary even if I don't agree with it.||

Chapter 6: ||Those bridge crews sound absolutely brutal. Not surprised in the slightest that they're expected to work in horrible conditions without shoes or proper clothing but it's still horrible to read.||

[stiff sorrel]

||Of course they were expendable and going to bee sacrificed to the Parshendi. The stakes are so high in this that the fact that Kaladin was the only survivor in his row is lowkey making me think there was some sort of divine intervention.||

Chapter 7: ||Shallan is my fave pov so far so I'm glad we're back with her.||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 8: ||I love how determined Shallan is when it comes to becoming Jasnah's ward even if it is for sus purposes. I love that she's seen a problem and is trying to fix it as soon as possible and her drive has led to Jasnah giving her a chance. Their dynamic is really interesting to me because it's slightly antagonistic but there is some respect there and they're clearly both using each other for their own personal gain. It's just very juicy.||

Chapter 9: ||I wasn't expecting this many people to die on the bridge runs. a 4% survival rate from the first bridge run is rough.||

||Kaladin is only 19? Why did I think he was in his 30/40s?||

Chapter 10: ||Now how did Kaladin go from son of a surgeon/potential trainee surgeon to a fighter/soldier? Did his dad die or something and that was the catalyst for him doing the exact opposite of what his father wanted?||

Chapter 11: ||Don't do it Kaladin!||

[meager furnace]

Lol my page count is having an aneurysm. Almost at the end though!

Chapter 61

I'm waiting for this book to EXCITE me!

|| Anakin is getting a hold of the force oh i mean kaladin is learning stormlight, he is probably going to use the parshandis deadpeople skin armour to prevent them from shooting at them because they are so obsessed with their dead? I'm looking forward to some action ||

|| the king sees the symbol people too! Ghasp! A shame it means nothing to me so idk idc ||

[stiff sorrel]

Interlude I-3: ||Szeth is finally back his trajectory seems somewhat similar to Kaladin's so am I going to expect them to team up at some point?||

[tight vault]

I'm confident I might actually finish this in time, so I'll write my notes here about the chapters I've read so far! Just finished chapter 13

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 12: ||Part 2 opening up with completely different characters because why should I feel settled in this book and actually know what's going on /hj||

||So this hunt they're going on is 100% going to go wrong, right?||

[tight vault]

Prologue: ||Szeth is a fascinating character, and he clearly has his own moral code that drives his actions. He is sent to assassinate a king and follows his orders, but he also completes his orders in a way that helps him maintain some self-respect. It seems that honour is a very big thing for him, and I'm wondering what is the foundation of it? Is it maybe tied to something deeper and more specific? It's also evident that he has inner turmoil, and wants his life to end in order to finally be free of his torment. The fact that he can't end his own life is interesting, why is that? I also want to know how he became Truthless and what that truly means. It certainly seems that being an assassin is not something he wants to do.||
||Why did the Parshendi break the treaty so abruptly? There's something strange going on, as Szeth doesn't understand their motivations to do so and even Gavilar is all confused that Szeth was sent by them.||

Ch 1: ||Cenn is an absolute sweetheart and I feel things are going to end badly for him .||
||Kaladin is a force of nature on the battlefield and his skills are undeniable. He is being talked about like he is a legendary figure, so he is even more mystifying. In the battle he shows that he is also deeply responsible, and he is obviously admired as a leader.||

Ch 2: ||So much is happening already! Now Kaladin's situation has changed completely as he is now a slave. There's so much despair and regret. I'm wondering what happened to Kaladin, why did everything go so wrong? My fears came true about Cenn, and I was right about the sick slave's fate as well. This book is very intense and there's certainly emotional punches as well ❤️‍🩹.||
||The little spren is everything and more, I'm obsessed. She's such a delight! I'm so curious about why she can do more than spren are supposed to, and why only Kaladin can see or hear her. And obviously I want to know what spren even are . Are they magical beings, something nature produces or something else?||

Ch 3: ||Again a character I'm invested in! Shallan is intelligent but as a result of her upbringing is quite sheltered, she is witty and bold. I like her humour and determination. I can't wait for her to finally meet Jasnah! Considering her family's dire situation, it's clear she's willing to go to great lengths to ensure their safety.||

Ch 4: ||Kaladi is 19 years old??? Why did I think he was at least thirty||

[stiff sorrel]

I'm pausing for today 🙏 will be back tomorrow for more but I'm enjoying this so far

[tight vault]

Ch 5: ||So Shallan plans to steal Jasnah's Soulcaster . That sounds so risky, if she gets caught it would probably be the end of her. Jasnah at this point at least is a very imposing figure, rational but appears a little cold as well. My guess is that she will end up accepting Shallan as an apprentice, and they will then end up developing a closer bond. Then there would be moral conflict when Shallan has to betray Jasnah in order to help her family 🤔||

Ch 6: ||This whole bridge system is freaking awful, there's just sheer disregard for human life. I already hate Gaz, he's cruel and bitter and feels better about himself by abusing those in a weaker position.||
||More Syl . So glad to learn more about her. So she's not nameless, in fact she's already had a name all this time and is now remembering it? It makes me wonder about the nature of her existence and what her connection to Kaladin is. At this point she is more than just his companion; she feels like a guiding force who steps in to save Kaladin when he most needs it.||

Ch 7: ||The way it is described, it is almost like there's something magical about Shallan's ability to draw. Does she have some kind of supernatural ability? There's also something else, the M in both Memory and Memories is capitalized. Is this hinting something and I'm just too dumb to get it? . She also takes these "Memories" of people, like pictures in her mind. Fascinating stuff!||

Ch 8: ||There has to be some kind of meaning in the number 10 .||
||I'm not sure why Shallan is so horrified about Yalb cheating in a gambling game on the basis of it being dishonest and what else, but she is planning on being dishonest as well by stealing from Jasnah?? Obviously their situations are different, but her reaction surprised me.||
||I have my doubts about Shallan's brother actually being dead. Wouldn't it be a plot twist if he jumped from somewhere later on in the book||

Ch 9: ||Kaladin feels the most regret about the fates of young boys, because they remind him of Tien. Who is this Tien person??||
||I'm so confused about Syl. The whole thing about her losing something if she gets further away from Kaladin is intriguing, and I want to know more. They obviously have a special bond, but what is it based on, why is Syl this special spren who can do all these things she shouldn't be capable of doing?||

Ch 10: ||So Tien is Kaladin's little brother, that makes so much sense.||
||Lirin seems like a loving father, but I don't like how he wishes for Kaladin to be a surgeon and a kind of better version of himself, and pursue the dreams Lirin himself had but couldn't do.||

Ch 11: ||I wasn't expecting Kaladin wanting to end his life and accepting it so thoroughly. Again, Syl is this saving figure and his trusted companion who builds him back up from this moment of total despair. She was so innocent when giving Kaladin the poison though, thinking it would make him happy and give him hope . When Kaladin attacked Gaz I honestly thought he was going to shove the poison into his mouth and kill him.||

Interlude I-2: ||There were things mentioned about Shallan's father having a temper, so that and other circumstances considered maybe Balat is traumatized and his behaviour is a result of that, but what in the animal cruelty is going on? What is this horrific behaviour? What is wrong with him? Let's not trust this man, he needs some serious help. The fact that his pet is also torturing animals and Balat wants to take the animal from his pet and finish the job himself is just.... What went wrong? How dangerous is he going to become in this series? I just have too many questions. What caused his leg to break? Did his father hurt him? What is the big problem in the end?||

Interlude I-3: ||More Szeth!! It seems that the point of being Truthless is that one suffers. So is being Truthless a punishment for something? Szeth says that he can't end his own life despite wanting his existence to end, that indicates that being Truthless is a punishment. If Szeth could end his life, he would be doing himself a favour as he would in his mind find peace, thus by doing this he would be putting his needs first. By making this act impossible, he is doomed to exist in a way he finds unbearable and in a world he does not want to live in. So this has to be a punishment thing||

Ch 12: ||New characters and new names . Adolin is okay so far, he's not as immediately interesting as the previous characters. Now he feels a bit shallow, but he also feels very vulnerable to outside influences. It's sad that even though his father is important to him and he idolises him, he is not content with the father before him now in this moment but wants him to be a legend from the past.||
||I want to protect Renarin🩷||

Ch 13: ||Idk why I'm confusing Dalinar and Adolin together all the time, I just can't remember who's who . But there's so much action going on, and the chasmfiends sound terrifying. It's good that all ended well, but I don't know if Elhokar can take any credit for it||

[tight vault]

Ch 15: ||I'm so glad Dalinar shuts Sadeas up when he disrespected Renarin! I loved how calmly he did it too, while all the while meaning business.||
||Wit is so savage in his words, he just straight up bullies people . There has to be something more to him, he seems to be too aware of things and knows too much, I wonder when his identity will be revealed.||
||I know it's believed that Sadeas protects the king and can be trusted, but I just don't buy it. I think he puts his own goals and himself above everything else, and would be willing to let something happen to Elhokar if it means his own goals would come true. Plus it's evident that he can pursue his goals quite brutally, as human life clearly as a whole is not that meaningful to him. He doesn't care about the bridgement and their well-being at all.||
||What's going on with the saddle strap?🤔||
||And what's the deal with Adolin not being able to remember his mother at all? The way it's described it seems like all his memories of her have been removed or something||

[tight vault]

Ch 16: ||Laral is not my favourite, it seems like she wants Kaladin to be a soldier so that he could become a lighteyes. That way he would become her equal. She appeared to totally lose interest in him when it looked like the fight wasn't going well, and just left.||
||There's a strong what-if scenario when Wistiow passed away, and he left spheres for Kaladin. What would his life had been like if he just became a surgeon since now he had the means to get the best education? Now that we know how his future turned out, what happened to the spheres? It was kind of destined for Kaladin to become a surgeon, so how did he become a soldier instead? Did he run away?||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 14: ||Syl is such an interesting character. It's cute that she's so excited that she now understands what death and lying is ||

||Kaladin is in a tough place right now but it'll be interesting to see how his story will develop. He's been through so much already.||

Chapter 15: ||Ooh is Adolin is waiting for a bridge crew does that mean he'll cross paths with Kaladin or is that not going to happen? I think I just want the different POVs to be connected a bit more because whilst the individual stories are interesting (to varying degrees) at the minute I'm not seeing what links them||

||Straps absolutely can snap if they're not worn and that's when someone deliberately tampers with it it feels like it's taking them a while to come to that possible conclusion though||

||I feel like Elhokar isn't overreacting in this situation but I'm sure we're going to find out at some point whether he's right or Dalinar is right and he's just being paranoid.||

Chapter 16: ||Ooh hello flashback. It's curious that Kaladin has had multiple of them now but no other characters seem to have done. We kind of had Szeth's but that was where the story started and went in chronological order rather than going back in time.||

||Ooh so this is a pivotal moment in Kaladin realising that he wants to be a soldier with the quarterstaff feeling right in his hands. Losing to Jost is probably going to fuel him in the future to be better and make sure that he doesn't get beaten again.||

||He's very much at a crossroads now with having the means to train to become a surgeon but having the desire to become a soldier. We know what he ultimately picks but it would be interesting if he does start his training and then abandons it.||

Chapter 17: ||No apothecary, don't sell love potions that add dub con elements to relationships ||

||Sorry but it's absolutely wild that Kaladin keeps being on the front line during the bridge runs and somehow manages to escape a lot of damage whereas everyone else around him dies. idk if it's Syl protecting him or what but there might be something going on that means that he's overly protected. If he was anyone else he'd be dead already.||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 18: ||Hmm, I doubt the strap was cut by a buckle on the saddle but it's curious that they're trying to introduce some uncertainty in this. Could it be that it's being blown out of proportion or not? ||

||I think the Dalinar and Adolin povs are my least favourite out of the ones we've had so far. I miss Shallan ||

Chapter 19: ||Wait, where exactly is Dalinar now and who is the little girl that he's with?||

[trim cedar]

Do you want an answer?

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 19: ||I have so many questions but this is so intriguing. Where is Dalinar and what are these creatures that he's fighting? They seem unlike anything we've seen in the book so far from memory.||

||If he's back at the barracks then I can't tell if it's a very vivid dream, a vision, or an alternate reality somehow.||

Chapter 20: ||Sorry but it's absolutely wild that Kaladin was performing surgery at like 12 years old. How was anyone trusting him to do that? The fact he thought he did it right but she stopped bleeding because she died rather than because of his skill 💀 that must have been awful for him to experience. It must be really hard for someone to come to terms with holding someone else's life in their hands and that they might not be able to save them. I doubt a child would be able to compartmentalise a loss like that, especially one of another child.||

Chapter 21: ||I like that now Kaladin essentially have to combine some of his past as a caregiver and his present/recent past as a soldier and bridgerunner. Even if the other bridgemen aren't really accepting of him he is helping them.||

||Sadeas is a heartless guy for refusing to pay the injured. They were injured during work and should therefore be paid to me but nope, if they're not useful to him then they should go without food or money, basically to be left to die if they don't have the means to look after themselves. It just doesn't sit right with me.||

||Rock seems like a nice guy at least as he's choosing to share some of his food which is more than what I can say about the others. I'm glad we're getting to know more about Rock and I hope his character will be a little bit more significant going forward.||

Chapter 22: ||It feels like we're going round in circles with this possible assassination plot and it's just the same information being told to different people. I don't like Sadeas either. He's definitely just out for himself from what we've seen.||

Chapter 23: ||Wait, how can Rock see Syl? That's very interesting indeed.||

||There is still so much that we don't know about Kaladin that I'm really curious to find out more about his backstory.||

Chapter 25: ||Another Kaladin flashback 🤔 we're still getting him struggling with whether he wants to be a surgeon or soldier and I do think this is playing a role in the present day with how he's acting with the other bridgemen.||

Chapter 26: ||ooh The Way of Kings is actually something in this book? Oathbringer too? I know that's the same of a future book. I just want to carry on with this series now. I don't think the political elements of Dalinar and Adolin's storyline are working for me but the action scenes are decent enough. ||

Chapter 27: ||I like how loyal Kaladin is to the bridgemen even though they're still not very warm towards him. Looting corpses for belongings that they can use is pretty grim though but desperate times call for desperate measures and that's what it probably is like during war. It always makes me giggle that there's a character called Dunny because I'm sure that means toilet ||

||I do like the camraderie we're now starting to get in Kaladin's pov and they're all sharing a meal that Rock cooked. It's so different from what we're getting in the other main pov. I do hope that we get a bit more variety in the povs going forward though.||

Stopping there for today. Will be back tomorrow for more

[trim cedar]

Ch 48 || I really love Jasnah and Shallan’s synergy. What a lovely character Jasnah is to experience and read about. I’m glad Shallan exposed herself and showed the soulcaster while slowly blacking out. I’m a bit surprised Jasnah hadn’t noticed before? I suspect Jasnah will still try to save Shallan 👀 ||

[meager furnace]

How are you enjoying the book so far abi?

[languid mountain]

this was such a cute msg I'm glad you're enjoying this enough

[languid mountain]

||I agree that Jasnah is just a refreshing character. Immovable, strict and kinda dismissive, but so very likeable with a human side to her. It's not a character you see often in books that succeeds in being so great with flaws ||

[stiff sorrel]

I’m enjoying it ||but I do think the Dalinar and Adolin povs are the weakest for me and take me out of the story a little bit. I hope I come to like them more.||

[meager furnace]

interesting! || I like them more than kaladin! I feel like i get more about the worldbuilding from then ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 50 || I feel so terrible for Shallan. For some reason I really feel for her. She had so much to deal with. Now (almost) everything is finally exposed, the truth is out, and she lost it all. I completely understand Jasnah’s perspective and I’m glad she saved Shallan. It made me a bit emotional how much promise Jasnah had in Shallan as a scholar of the new generation. I hope Shallan will be able to feel better mentally, she deserves it I want her to be a scholar She seemed so happy during it.

Also, FUCK KABSAL I didn’t expect it lol I’m so blind ||

[stiff sorrel]

||I can totally see the worldbuilding being more expansive in these chapters but I am a bit iffy when it comes to books that involve political situations like that and can find it hard to enjoy them.||

[meager furnace]

|| totally feel you on that and ususally im the same way. I cant really explain why I completely lost interest in Kaladin halfway through the story lol, I think his moment to shine has yet to come ||

[trim cedar]

Up to ch 50 continued || I absolutely love the dynamics in this book so far. Especially Teft/Rock/Kaladin and Jasnah/Shallan. I’m noticing the characters are really growing on me. ||

In recent books I’ve read this is really something I’ve missed. It’s so fulfilling to finally be able to enjoy a book like this!

[wintry rapids]

|| i was also enamoured by Kabsal ||

[languid mountain]

||I was surprised that this fantasy book had so many spicy lines in general, but especially between a noble maiden and a religious person. I kept thinking "Daaaaaamn" Edit: Well, spicy for this kind of book, not so spicy in general ||

[trim cedar]

|| honestly it was quite spicy flirting for a book with not really any romance?! ||

[long drift]

@plain patio,@warm otter,@tight vault,@runic narwhal,@crystal thunder,@keen narwhal,@dusky copper,@rigid raven,@steep mirage,@lean swallow,@balmy jay,@dusky swallow,@languid mountain,@tawny flame,@keen wave,@young locust,@velvet ivy,@fluid pecan,@ashen marlin,@vagrant smelt,@viscid kelp,@late nimbus,@warped crypt,@tight wraith,@pure basin,@trim cedar,@meager furnace,@wintry rapids

[warped crypt]

Good day epic readers ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

I want to remind you that we're in the last week of the BR! It ends on January 14th. If you are a couple days late with finishing, that's also fine btw.
Book 2 BR is well on it's way btw, you can head on over to https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/1282968522091139082 for the next BR if you'd like to continue the BIG BR (with special roles as rewards)!

As a reminder: if you read along from Book 1 till 5, you will get a special role for finishing Stormlight Archive arc 1! There's also a special role if you finish the two extra books that are shorter lore books along with them!

Finished and discussed: katto, Tink, Avialia, haze, evet, Celine, MidnightDancer, ctrl-altmer-del, manouk, iggy, Maffy, Vaydium, Hanzy, Alex, Raya, Andy, abi
Finished but not discussed enough PilotG
Started: Zander, susan, TemporalSong, christene_littlelibrary, mimosa, Sofia
-# let me know if I missed you!

[trim cedar]

Ch 51 || What an ending of this part. Kaladin’s backstory on how he became a slave complete. I was wondering why he wasn’t executed, it all makes sense now I suppose ||

Part 3 finished

Part 3 thoughts

|| I suspect that the starting texts of this part were Jasnah’s journal, as one of the journal entries Shallan read in Jasnah’s room was similar to an opening entry. I very much enjoyed the interactions Jasnah had in this part with regards to religion. Especially with Shallan and the king.

In Kaladin’s parts Syl sometimes leaves, I am curious where she goes, why, why we don’t know, and what at all is going on with her.

I am also curious how these people will come together. Kaladin “absorbed”(?) stormlight, Shallan did sort of the same thing (she soulcasted and the spheres became dark). I feel like the thing Jasnah is researching, whatever it is, might connect them. Somehow I am also thinking Kaladin might represent a Knight Radiant from this generation? I thought they were also infused with stormlight. Dalinar seems to believe in this through his visions, “Unite them”, perhaps he is the glue to combine the different povs?

I am also curious how many of my questions will still be answered in this book, and which later.

I do hope Shallan will remain studying because she seems so happy doing that and I just want her to be happy tbh ||

Continued:

ALSO I NEED an interaction between || Kaladin and Jasnah PLEASE that seems so funny to me || (character name spoilers)

Part four || NOOOOOO MY BABY SHALLAN GOT CUT ||

[meager furnace]

Ch 62 || I held my heart when all the parshendi aimed at the bridgcrew, I would've been soooo angry with brandy sandy ||

[tight vault]

Ch 18: ||I just really feel for Renarin, he lives in a world where fighting is the highest honour and the best thing a man can do, and since he can't fight because of his illness he sees himself as not worthy. He thinks that he has failed somehow, even though that's absolutely not the case.||
||So the saddle strap was cut, but there's nothing beyond that revealed yet. I kind of want to suspect Sadeas because I just don't trust the dude but at the same time could this be some kind of test of loyalty from the king itself? Since he's so extremely paranoid and sure that there are always attempts on his life, maybe he just wants to test others? I really don't know||
||I'm curious if Dalinar will actually succeed with this Highprince of War thing, seems like he has the odds against him||

[tight vault]

Ch 19: ||I just can't make up my mind on what to believe, are Dalinar's visions just extremely vivid dreams or is he time traveling and finding himself in somebody else's body? But it's clear that Heb possibly couldn't know how to fight like that, so Dalinar is changing the situation and somehow really is there.||

Ch 20: ||Kal doing a demanding medical operation is way too much responsibility for a child, and an absolutely insane situation . Kal needs intense therapy, not some assurances that he will eventually learn when to care and when to let go .||

[meager furnace]

Ch64 || I have a feeling the finale is going to start at this Tower ||

[tight vault]

Ch 21: ||Sadeas is still absolutely horrible, no surprise there. I like how Kaladin now has his determination back and he truly is making progress, even if the other men aren't necessarily enthusiastic. Overall Kaladin seems to bring hope and humanity to those around him, thanks to him Rock and Teft learned each other's names. This brings them back their sense of individuality and brings them hope, as they have previously been treated as one mass of bridgemen and have accepted that themselves.||

[stiff sorrel]

Okay I got a little engrossed in this so let me drop my thoughts

[reef yarrow]

Okay I got a
little engrossed in this so
let me drop my thoughts

- abi 🥦

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 28: ||I genuinely wasn't expecting colonisation to be discussed in this book so that was a pleasant surprise. ||
||Did I miss that Dalinar and Jasnah know each other because I was not expecting a call/conversation between them. I know that Dalinar was contemplating abdicating but I didn't think he was actually going to do it either so that was surprising that he told Navani that he's going to.||

[tight vault]

Ch 22: ||The cultural things are so interesting, and I really enjoy learning more about these different customs and habits like the men and women eating different meals and how the women are dueling as well, but in different things.||
||Okay something will eventually happen between Dalinar and Navani, he clearly doesn't think of her as an elder sister like he should and finds her attractive. Navani is a powerful presence, and I wouldn't put it past her if she would pursue Dalinar romantically.||
||Damn Sadeas is clever, he really knows how to make the king do what he wants||

[stiff sorrel]

I don't really have much to say about the interludes because ||I'm wondering how they apply to the greater story/plot of the book.||

Chapter 29: ||Shallan is back she's very much in a dangerous situation though with her wanting to steel Jasnah's soulcaster and with everything that's going on with her family. I do like the dynamic between Shallan and Jasnah and how it's clearly deeper than what it appears to be on the surface. It's so layered because I do think there is mutual respect but also they both put themselves first and keep secrets from each other. I can imagine that if Shallan was older she would be very similar to Jasnah and that there probably will come a time where she has to choose what kind of person she wants to become. ||

[trim cedar]

|| they are niece and uncle. Jasnah is the sister of the current king, so the daughter of Dalinar’s brother (Gavilar) ||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 30: ||Kaladin definitely seems like he's drawing more attention to himself now which could be dangerous for him, especially if the wrong kind of person notices. It seems like everyone in this storyline tries to bribe each other and take advantage which I'm not a fan of but I kind of have blind hope that the 'bad guys' will get their comeuppance at some point.||

Chapter 32: ||Three Kaladin chapters in a row but him going against what he was meant to do and being beaten up for it wasn't nice. He definitely is still being set up to fail but he somehow always seems to manage getting out of being killed. I don't like most of the antagonists in his storyline if I'm being honest but I like Kaladin himself.||

Chapter 33: ||Shallan getting distracted from her goal by wanting to learn more and take advantage of the situation that she's in in that way is so me tbh. I love learning. I'm somewhat glad that there's barely any romance in this series as well because I don't think there would be adequate time to dedicate to developing something which is absolutely wild to think when this is over 1.1k pages. Jasnah then warning Shallan against getting close to Kabsal because Kabsal wants to do the exact same thing that Shallan herself wants to do is somewhat ironic. I wonder if Shallan and Kabsal are going to team up (unlikely when they both want the same thing) or if Jasnah is already aware of Shallan's ulterior motives. If she is then there must be a reason why she's keeping her close.||

[tight vault]

Ch 23: ||I still don't get why Rock can see Syl, they have a connection as Syl likes him too but I just don't understand why Rock has this ability as well. I wish Kaladin would discuss his past with Rock and Teft more, it seems like discussing it would do him good.||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 34: ||So much is going on in Kaladin's pov so many people are dying and now he's being left out in a storm to basically die as well. I know he's gonna survive it because he seems to survive everything but it is pretty rough. I'm glad that Kaladin had an impact on the rest of the bridgemen though and their buddy friendship has been a small highlight in Kaladin's pov.||

Chapter 35: ||Syl seeming like she's trying to protect Kaladin 🥺 what a shock though that against all the odds Kaladin has survived. I am wondering what's so special about him and how he manages to survive literally every situation in which he should die. There must be some sort of higher purpose for him because no normal character would be getting this treatment. He's clearly not immune to being hurt but he does seem immune to dying and I'm really curious to know what the reason is even if this is something that's currently irking me about the book.||

Chapter 36: ||Shallan helping Jasnah have a bath just feels a bit weird to me. I know in older times rich people did have maids like that but I really don't like the concept of it. It just feels selfish and exploitative to me but but then Jasnah taking her out for a dangerous lesson was a bit weird too. I don't know what to think about Jasnah because I don't really like her character but I do think she's kind of fascinating with some of the decisions she makes. Shallan getting her hands on the soulcaster seems too soon though in the context of this book so either something is going to go wrong or there must be another task that she needs to do in order to help her family.||

Chapter 37: ||I get Kaladin is a kid in these flashbacks but omg he flip-flops so much on what he wants to be in the future ||

Chapter 38: ||Kaladin being on the verge of death yet surviving once again. This is getting a little bit old even if I do like how Syl plays into him surviving. Teft's theory about who Kaladin is and how the spheres might help him was pretty clever though so even if I am annoyed at how Kal lowkey has plot armour, I can appreciate how the magic system in this series works.||

[tight vault]

Ch 24: ||Dalinar is being quite naive here. I appreciate his views and how he wants to change things but at the same time he is putting himself and his children in danger. Dalinar sees things differently from those around him, but he should be more realistic about the views of others. He wants others to act honourably, but he doesn't take into account how their values are just extremely different and thinking that if he led by example they will change their ways seem naive and dangerous. I'm just worried that something will happen to either him or his boys||

[tight vault]

Ch 25: ||Not getting good vibes from Roshone, I think he will bring nothing good. Tien is adorable and my heart hurts because I already know he will die ||

[meager furnace]

Up to ch68 || I can't believe anakin skywalker was able to use the force and safe the day! Was waiting for them to meet each other. Convenient the parshendi have honor and wouldn't chase them after they got off the platform. I do love a bit of overpowering awesomeness 👌 'trust sadeas' maybe all to make adolin and anakin meet, despite the slaughter of thousands? ||

[trim cedar]

Interlude 9 || This chapter reflects so well how difficult it is for Szeth to kill all these people. Although I get him saying that blaming the King is irrational, I can imagine that the train of thought keeps him sane. The worst part is that everyone probably blames “the Assassin in White” since they don’t know (I assume) that Szeth is a Truthless ||

[meager furnace]

I FREAKING FINISHID

https://tenor.com/view/finished-elijah-wood-lord-of-the-rings-lava-fire-gif-5894611

[languid mountain]

Time to start over

[wintry rapids]

yayyy, let‘s go Andy!!

you can now update the counter in your nickname

[tight vault]

Ch 26: ||The thought of a man wanting to read being absurd is just . And obviously the same goes for them being shook about a woman possibly wanting to to battle. The gender norms they have are strong.||

[meager furnace]

Done!

[stiff sorrel]

@warped crypt I've seen that The Sunlit Man is listed as book 5.5 on GR. Are we reading that one too?

[warped crypt]

no we are not, becauase it's technically a cosmere book, not a stormlight archive book perse

[stiff sorrel]

okay just checking because Amazon and GR both have it listed as The Stormlight Archive 🤔

[warped crypt]

i think it has strong ties to stormlight archive, but not specifically. It's a standalone book

i thikn it ties multiple universes in the cosmere together

[stiff sorrel]

okay that's interesting

[warped crypt]

im still very interested to BR sunlit man btw, but i think that's not a thing for this challenge in particular

[tight vault]

Ch 27: ||Kaladin has finally had a breakthrough and it seems like now most of the men of Bridge Four are now on his side! I love how hard he has worked and tried to be a better version of himself and improve the conditions of others. He truly is honourable and gives others hope. He showed the men by doing the kata that he absolutely possesses skills needed to keep them safe and by giving them food he is actively taking care of them. Kaladin has my heart .||

[trim cedar]

Ch 54 || Okay I didn’t expect Sadeas to say Dalinar is being framed. At first I felt disbelief but now I am sort of thinking Sadeas did it and he is going through this to take away suspicion from himself? By claiming Dalinar is innocent he gains Dalinar’s trust too. However.. it may be a bit too obvious for Sadeas to be a bad guy. It makes me think it’s actually not him ||

[tight wraith]

I'm 62% in hoping to finish it before due

[keen narwhal]

yk some stormlight would go crazy when ur fighting for ur life on the toilet

[lean swallow]

LMFAOOOOO IGGY

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 39: ||I'm wondering too if Shallan's sketching is going to have more relevance to the plot as well further down the line 🤔 ||

Chapter 40: ||I can't believe Kaladin is up and walking 10 days after being out in a storm all night and on the verge of death. I really want to know what is going on with him tbh. A bit weird that he's only just realising that the bridgemen are bait. I thought he knew that when he was literally on the frontlines of initial attacks but maybe this will lead him to do something to protect the Bridge Four more.||

Chapter 41: ||Kaladin is a lot more ruthless with his thinking than I would be I'm definitely more like Lirin and wanting to save/fix as many people as I can ||

Chapter 42: ||I get that Shallan is Jesnah's ward and that she's meant to be teaching her but it doesn't mean that her lessons have to be so extreme and also be real-life examples of ethics etc I mean she's definitely going to learn that way but surely she could teach her in other ways that are a bit less destructive. ||

||Also Shallan, please don't get with Kasbal 🙏 I don't think it would be good for you.||

[warm otter]

chap 27: || rock is my favourite character icl along with Wit. i love the dynamic between teft, rock and kaladin in general its very lovely||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 43: ||Imagine knowing that your friends/coworkers are going to die though. I really hope that they all manage to find a way to change their fates because I do really like their dynamic and it would be a shame to lose it. The Kaladin of old would've definitely chosen to fight there instead of showing deference to help protect the other bridgemen which was sweet of him in a way.||

||I'm glad that they're wanting to learn how to fight and escape to increase their chances of survival but it's going to be a tough time for them regardless of how well Kaladin can train them. I really do hope they make it.||

[warm otter]

chap 27 again but i just thought this was noteworthy ||kaladin picking up the spear after being taken the piss out of feels like such a "and they all clapped" moment LOL that didnt feel as cool nd "get owned" as i think it was meant to LMAO ||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 44: ||I knew there had to be some reason why Kaladin, who in flashbacks has wanted to become a surgeon, ended up being a soldier and we got it here; he was just trying to protect his younger brother I can't believe Tien is 12/13 and is being forced to join the army. No wonder Kaladin wanted to join too in order to protect him and it's nice to see that he still hasn't lost that protective streak. Him swearing an oath to bring Tien back is heartbreaking knowing that Tien is not going to come back, or if he does it won't be alive.||

Chapter 45: ||Shallan not being aware sometimes of what she draws and then it's usually something terrifying or an omen. I need answers!! It seems like she has so much potential but no control over what she can do because what are the creatures and how did she manage to soulcast when she doesn't know how to? Her studies really interest me and I really want to see them develop further because I think she can definitely be an important character going forward.||

Chapter 46: ||Wait.... is that Szeth? Considering we started the book with him he's been surprisingly absent so far. It's good to see him in Kaladin's pov because tbh a lot of the major players in this have been kept pretty separate so far. I want to know what these voices are that both all of the pov characters can hear as well because they're helpful but surely it's scary to hear something that isn't there/you don't know what it is.||

Chapter 47: ||Is this chapter a rehash of Kaladin's first chapter or am I misremembering? ||

Chapter 48: ||Jasnah visiting Shallan at hospital, apologising to her, and complimenting her I really do think in another life they could have been great allies but considering Shallan has stolen from her and is actively lying to her I doubt that is ever going to happen, unless they have to team up against a common enemy sometime.||

||Really wondering how she could smell that something was wrong with the bread and jam (aka poison) but that Kasbal couldn't and he unknowingly poisoned both himself and Shallan. In order to save her own life as well she reveals that she's stolen the soulcaster which is definitely not going to go down well with Jasnah.||

[tight vault]

Ch 28: ||Stepping down and having Adolin take his position must be so difficult for Dalinar. It seems that he is realising that his visions and actions are harming his family but at the same time he also trusts those visions. Adolin is great on the battlefield and possesses knowledge but I'm not sure if he's yet ready for this much responsibility. Navani is suspicious, she clearly has plans for Dalinar. Jasnah warning him to stay away from her was telling, maybe he should take her advice.||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 49: ||Kaladin thinking he's cursed. My dude, I don't think basically being invincible is a curse unless you want to die.||

||Teft having military experience that he hasn't previously disclosed 🤔 so many people still have secrets from each other which they really shouldn't when they need to rely on each other to survive.||

[trim cedar]

Ch 55 || PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN ||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 50: ||I wonder what made Jasnah save Shallan when she would've been rightfully pissed just finding out that Shallan had stolen from her. I'm glad she did but I'm wondering if it's either Shallan's potential or the fact that she wanted answers from her about the theft. I think Jasnah understand why she stole but that it was stupid to do so which I agree on. Shallan didn't know Jasnah when she made the decision to steal from her and she did it for her family but still, we saw her have doubts and I wish there had been another way for her to help her family out.||

||Kasbal also poisoning Shallan over time because of course he did. I knew he couldn't be trusted. We do only have Jasnah's word when it comes to that though and she could just be telling Shallan that to get her on her side and mislead her. Can you tell I don't trust what anyone says in this book because they're all out for themselves? ||

Chapter 51: ||Why are we getting fleshing out of earlier chapters via flashbacks now? 🤔 ||

Interlude I-9: ||More Szeth please!||

[warm otter]

chap 29: ||"you still have a great deal of work to do after you finish drawing" i feel like i was just called out considering im drawing rn while listening to this instead of working on my essay i think thats my sign to put this down for now nd get back on with my work LMAO||

[tight vault]

Ch 29: ||I don't know if Shallan will actually be stealing the Soulcaster as she respects Jasnah and loves the praise she gets from her. Overall, she glows in her current surroundings.||
||I really like Taravangian as a character, he seems gentle and kind. The creatures in Shallan's drawing make me nervous though, and I feel like something bad is going to happen to him.||

[tight vault]

Ch 30: ||Kaladin is really trying something new with side-carrying the bridge, and thanks to his efforts with the bridgemen they are giving it a try. They really are a proper team now! Hopefully this will work out for them, even though Gaz is wishing for the exact opposite.||
||In this chapter Gaz is humanized more because we know more about his situation. His superior is extorting him and hanging the threat of ending up on a bridge over him. There's really nobody there for him. He also has a disability, and has strong feelings about the loss of his eye. So I can feel for him in a sense, but at the same time he is also being cruel to others.||

Ch 31: ||Why is Roshone being so harsh towards Kal's family? There just doesn't seem to be any other reason besides pure malice. Things must have been very difficult for Kal and his family, they have lived in this city for so long and they are still being treated like they don't belong. The fact that Lirin has helped these people for free and now they come to rob him...||

[tight vault]

Ch 32: ||Things were going so well for Kaladin for a moment and I was actually relieved for a second . Well it was nice feeling while it lasted||

[tight vault]

Ch 33: ||I don't think Jasnah knows about Shallan's plans yet, but it seems like she could get it at any minute. She's so smart, and that makes this so risky for Shallan. But I love how Shallan isn't even too focused on her plan as she is just loving her new environment!||

[trim cedar]

Ch 57 || omg Hoid’s story on the flute. I just HAD to search on youtube for an audio version. INCREDIBLE. So blessed to be in a world with amazing people who can bring this to life If anyone has an adaption they like please do share I’d love to see ||

[tight vault]

Ch 34: ||Kaladin wanting to bring hope to his men even when he is in a situation like this has me crying . When the men were saying that they will remember him, that was a beautiful moment showing the impact Kaladin has had.||

[trim cedar]

Ch 57 continued || I still don’t really understand what the Heralds are. What are they compared to the Radiants? I believe the Heralds made the Radiants? Are they different from what is referred towards as “the Allmighty”? Since sometimes both are mentioned. For example this chapter Kaladin refers to both of them separately. Unless this is still explained and I am supposed not to know yet, I would like an answer if anyone knows ||

57 continued || it seems our little Kaladin Jesus is becoming Radiant Jesus (or something, I’m not really sure yet what is happening but it feels like Brandy Sandy intended it to be so) ||

[tight vault]

Ch 35: ||I'm curious about the face Kaladin saw in the sky, whose is it? This chapter was so intense, you can really visualise the storm and how horrible the situation is. I'm wondering about the sphere Teft left for Kaladin, did he have some suspicions about something seemingly impossible going on with Kaladin and wanted to check, or did he just leave it for good luck?||

[trim cedar]

Dang I looked up fanart of || Adolin || (part two char) he kinda cute

[tight vault]

Ch 36: ||I'm not sure I agree with Jasnah’s teaching methods, taking Shallan out and having her being terrified just to end up seeing Jasnah turning a man into fire and killing 4 men is intense to say the least. I'm surprised Shallan actually stole the Soulcaster, I was getting very certain that she wouldn't. Now I'm just afraid that she is going to get caught||

[tight vault]

Ch 37: ||So Lirin did actually steal the spheres. I wasn't expecting that. I can see why he did that, he desperately wants to protect his family. I don't know if his plan on trying to buy more time with Roshone will work out, but it seemed like the best thing to do at this point. But I don't really get what he is planning to ultimately accomplish with this; is he counting down the days to when Kaladin is old enough to leave and begin his studies and hopes that Roshone doesn't catch them before this happens? Even if this worked and Kaladin is now away having the best education to become a surgeon and they managed to pay for it with the spheres, what would happen to the rest of the family? Are they just hoping that Roshone never finds any proof and they will not be held responsible for the theft? Because if that's not the case, then Kaladin would be out there studying but the rest of the family would be pretty much destroyed||

Ch 38: ||So that's Syl Kaladin sees fighting off the deathspren? She really is showing new sides of her 🩷.||
||What did Teft do to the Envisagers? Obviously he has some kind of a dark past, and I want to know more about it and him.||

[trim cedar]

Ch 61 || Ahh, the pre-death quotes on top of the chapters seem to be the “gibberish” Navani refers to. ||

[meager furnace]

|| adolin || is my himbo baby

[trim cedar]

Ch 62 || first tears dropped I was so scared Kaladin would lose it all again when the Parshendi ignored the soldiers and the soldiers ignored the Parshendi because they don’t care about the bridge crews but Dalinar, MY MAN, proving Kaladin and his crew wrong about lighteyes, even though they won’t admit it. ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 64 || It feels refreshing to see Adolin so proud to be mistaken. I’m starting to become fond of him

I’m scared the joint assault on the tower will result in many casualties ||

[dusky swallow]

Thank you for putting it into words

[tight vault]

Ch 39: ||Shallan's drawings are getting darker and darker, could the dead man in her newest one be either Taravangian or her father? There hasn't been anything said about her father’s death, maybe Shallan somehow caused it herself and is now remembering it in fragments?||

[tight wraith]

Finished!
|| First 5 star of the year! This is crazy and amazing. I should read more of his work. I was intimidated by the thickness of the book but when I read it I wanted more. The world building is superb, the characters are well thought and the plot is well written. I'm confused to some words but this is high fantasy so basically it's normal so I just researched more of cosmere world, i think it's one of the good thing that I read it just now. Lol. I'm speechless! Just wow. ||

[tight vault]

Ch 40: ||Kaladin is clearly suffering from depression and is in a dark place mentally. He has to be feeling totally overwhelmed. First, there's the fact that he doesn't understand how he recovered so quickly from something he shouldn't have even survived to begin with. And on top of that he now understands that his efforts have in a way been in vain because his plan to get his men to become soldiers isn't going to happen, Sadeas wouldn't ever allow that. Now he sees his men being happy and hopeful about the future, and he has no plan.||

[tight vault]

Ch 42: ||I doubt Shallan will be leaving in a week, something will surely happen before that. I hope she doesn't consider getting into a relationship with Kabsal, it doesn't seem like a good idea for her.||

[ashen marlin]

manouk, i'm so sorry but i forgot to mention I've dnfed the book I've tried picking it up a few times but I couldn't get past part 1. Maybe I'll get to this series later this year 😭

[trim cedar]

Ch 65 || Wtf Sadeas just left…? I suppose this was perhaps what he was working towards? ||

[tight vault]

Ch 43: ||Kaladin’s new plan sounds so risky, it seems almost impossible to pull off. I truly hope things work out for him and the rest of the bridgemen, they deserve it so incredibly much. I love how Syl is the one who keeps encouraging him and gets him out of his despair time and time again. I definitely want some answers about her, she mentioned having helped others kill before. I wonder what's up with that||

[tight vault]

Ch 44: ||Tien is so adorable and good, and this hurts my heart. Lirin tried his best with trying to fool Roshone as long as he could, but it just wasn't enough. In the end Roshone held too much power and it seemed inevitable that he would get his revenge somehow. I understand why Kaladin chose to volunteer, he just wants to protect his brother. He probably feels like Tien would have no chance of survival if he was there alone without him, now at least he has some. But Kaladin again seems a bit naive here, he is underestimating how difficult the environment of military and war will be, and that it would be so so difficult to protect Tien there. What will happen to Lirin and Hesina after the boys leave? I hope we get some answers about that as well.||

[tight vault]

Ch 45: ||Those weird creatures make me want to hide under a blanket and never come out again||

[trim cedar]

Ch 66 || Adolin really grew on me. I love the synergy that Dalinar and Adolin have now. They listen to each other, hear each other, they are honest.. It always amazes me how people on the battlefield can think this way before death. Also, the ending of this chapter, Dalinar saying farewell to Renarin ||

[trim cedar]

Up to ch 68 || I am trying to finish the book but every few paragraphs I just keep tearing up and I feel so sentimental it makes it difficult to read ||

Continued || It’s so beautiful how all of the book build up to this moment. It feels perfect ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 69 || Oh god. Dalinar just exchanged his Blade for all the bridgemen. I never expected this. I AM SOBBING…….. What a man. I love him. I’m ashamed of old me who thought he was boring. I am now convinced we will have world peace if everyone acted like Dalinar ||

Continued || wtf is happening

Dalinar just summoned his Blade when beating op Elhokar?

Elhokar cut the saddle?? ||

[trim cedar]

Part 4 finished but question, || how did Dalinar summon his Blade when beating up Elhokar? I thought he gave it to Sadeas ||

Up to Part 5 || Wit POV?? Szeth POV?? And Shallan POV again ||

Ch 70 || SHALLAN MURDERED HER DAD????????? ||

Continued || Shallan is back in town as Jasnah’s ward tho I am so happy Honestly I should have seen the fake soulcaster thing coming but I didn’t. Still VERY COOL ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 71 || Holy shit. King Taravangian was Szet’s master?? And he is killing people to hear their last words? I suppose that is what we have been reading at the beginning of the chapters. AND HE WANTS TO KILL MY BELOVED DALINAR. I won’t stand for this ||

Ch 72 || THE PARSHMEN ARE VOIDBRINGERS Dude who enslaved them?? It seemed the Parshmen Shardbearer recognised Dalinar in an earlier chapter. I suppose that is the person who might have enslaved them.. I’m curious who it is ||

[trim cedar]

Ch 74 || YESSSSS JASNAH AND SHALLAN ARE GOING TO THE SHATTERED PLAINS. I need Kaladin/Jasnah and Shallan/Adolin interaction ||

Continued || well if Shallan’s father was a member of the Ghostbloods then good she killed him ||

[trim cedar]

Done

Final thoughts

|| I absolutely loved this book. Personally I have been disappointed by recent books I have read. They were predictable and I didn't care about the characters. The most recent book where I cried was a year ago on book 8, the last of a series. This is the first book that was able to give me a similar feeling. ||

|| At first, while loving the writing style, I had difficulty to feel the urge to pick up the book after putting it down. Although that is not necessarily a problem, it made it a bit hard to reach the deadline . Once someone in this chat said that this was definitely a "character-driven" series/book/writer rather than "plot-driven", my perspective changed. I completely agree with this statement, and it actually made it a lot easier for me to continue. I started looking more at the characters, their backgrounds, their goals, etc. I was curious what would come of them. And the book did not disappoint. ||

|| Although not all characters are together yet (which I would still love to see), the story has become interesting enough by combining knowledge of all perspectives we get to see. The synergies between the several main and side characters are lovely, and I feel like the side characters add so much: Jasnah, Syl, Rock, Teft....... and so many more. They are characters I personally came to love and I am intrigued to see where they will go. ||

|| My favorite scene of the book, asides from the incredible ending, was Hoid telling Kaladin the story of Derethil and the Wandersail. I was completely enchanted while reading this and HAD to look up the graphic audio afterwards, which I listened today. I am super excited to learn more about Wit/Hoid, especially after the Epilogue. Something tells me he plays a bigger role, he somehow also knew about the storm. ||

||One aspect I really enjoyed in Part 4 was something that has been building since the start: Dalinar's honor/personality. Repeatedly Sadeas (and perhaps Adolin too) have said it would get him killed. I find it beautiful how such a "good" personality trait (I suppose it being a good trait can be argued) is the reason Dalinar indeed almost gets killed, as he decides to trust Sadeas again - even sort of draggin Adolin along with him. However, the book also shows the strength in this "weakness" (as Sadeas calls it) as it is his honor that saves Bridge Four on the plateau that day, and it being Bridge Four that decided to come to Dalinar's aid when he needs it most. I am still so shocked that he traded his Blade for all the bridgemen. Someone who I thought was boring for all up until Part 4 has simply become one of my favorite characters in all time. I will be thinking about this for a while. ||

||What I loved the most about this book is that it kept surprising me. Yes, there were a few parts I suspected and that in the end (partially) happened as I thought they would. However, especially in Part 4 and 5, there were a lot of unexpected turns I never saw coming. And, in my opinion, the argumentations for them also made sense. I love being surprised in books with these types of turns, especially by a writer who can make it make sense, you know. ||

5 ⭐ from me

[warped crypt]

LETS GOOOOOOOO

[trim cedar]

Thank you Manouk for recommending this book to me <3

And thank you all for letting me join late, it was a great experience as a first BR!

[tight vault]

Ch 47: ||This chapter was so brutal, one can truly do so much damage with a Shardblade. Kaladin's team was actually faring really well in the battle and they were competent, but it took just a few moments to destroy them. So I get why Kaladin didn't take the blade himself, the thought of becoming a lighteyes who sees the lives of others as invaluable is horrific to him. Plus that weapon butchered his friends, and that itself makes it something horrible in Kaladin's eyes.||

[warped crypt]

I love how ||this is your favorite scene because I still think about Hoid meeting Kaladin all the time ||

[trim cedar]

||Have you heard the Graphic Audio clip? It is so magical. But honestly even while reading, I just created a whole flute play for Hoid ||

[warped crypt]

OMG ||I haven't but now I want to ||

sorry, technically i think i have to delete this, because it's copyrighted 😅

[trim cedar]

Oh my bad, I wasn't aware

[warped crypt]

nw ❤️

[tight vault]

Ch 48: ||I really liked how Jasnah complimented Shallan and apologised to her, they really bonded over her time as an apprentice. But now everything is going wrong as Jasnah has to notice that Shallan stole from her.||
||Kabsal was acting weirdly and was very pushy with Shallan about the jam, did he come to the hospital to poison her? And then his plan went wrong and he ended up poisoning himself as well?||

[tight vault]

Ch 49: ||Please Teft just say your suspicions about Kaladin's abilities out loud . Now Kaladin is just confused about how he got well so quickly, and doesn't have any answers.||
||What I love about Kaladin is how he is building up the confidence of his men, and is not trying to humiliate them and make them feel small.🩷||

Ch 50: ||Shallan's hit the rock bottom pretty much. She doesn't have the solution to help her family, her career which she enjoyed is gone, Jasnah understandably wants nothing to do with her, Kabsal just used her all along... Girl is really going through it right now||

Ch 51: ||Amaram really believes he is a hero and doing the right thing . Watching him trying to justify killing those four men is just sickening, and then he is trying to make being a slave sound like some kind of mercy?? I can't deal with characters like this||

[tight vault]

Interlude I-9: ||Szeth is scarily good at what he does, he seems unstoppable. The fact that he values life so much and is forced to do the opposite by killing breaks my heart, I don't know why knowing that he is crying in the midst of all that was just so haunting to read .||

[tight vault]

Ch 52: ||Thank you Renarin for being the voice of reason by suggesting that they actually try to verify if there's any truth to Dalinar's visions . I don't get how Dalinar and Adolin hadn't thought of doing that before, that is such an obvious plan. I don't think Dalinar is going insane, though. I'm still suspicious about Navani, she's constantly pushing Dalinar's boundaries and doesn't really listen to him.||

[tight vault]

Ch 53: ||Dunny 💔 Kaladin’s crew hasn’t suffered any losses for a while, and this loss is very hard for him. Dunny supported him from very early on, and made the atmosphere that much better with his singing. He definitely didn't deserve a fate like this.||
||Again, Teft just explain things to Kaladin instead of making all these hints... Kaladin is clearly somehow getting the light from the spheres to himself which helps him heal, but he doesn't know this yet and would greatly benefit from some answers.||
||It’s lovely to see that Kaladin now views his father as a honourable man and a hero, as a younger boy he couldn't see that and often thought Lirin wasn't standing up for himself and questioned his actions. It's great to witness this change in his thoughts!||

[tight vault]

Ch 54 ||Being allies with Sadeas sounds like a huge mistake to me, don't do it Dalinar||

[tight vault]

Ch 56: ||I so badly want to believe that Sadeas will not betray Dalinar but I just can't . Even though Dalinar saved his life I still think this will end badly. Dalinar truly is amazing in battle and this chapter showed him as the Blackthorn, he is capable of so much destruction in war. He still feels the thrill, but it's interesting how he fights against it and starts to feel more and more empathy for his enemies.||

[tight vault]

Ch 57: ||Finally Kaladin has got answers . Teft's way of doing this is not the most discreet as he tried to punch Kaladin, but at least we're getting somewhere. It has to be overwhelming to learn something like this about yourself, like imagine seeing yourself suddenly glowing . I also think that Kaladin's reflections about his motivations and how he's been helping people to ease his own guilt and feel better about himself is very valuable, I think that will help him in the future.||
||There's some valuable information about Syl as well. She and Kaladin have a connection where they each give something to the other. Syl clearly isn't a windspren at all. I didn't like how Kaladin essentially said to her that she's a curse, please don't make Syl upset like that .||

[stiff sorrel]

Okay I'm coming back with my thoughts

Chapter 52: ||Because there are so many POVs and flashbacks it feels like ages before some things are addressed because wdym Dalinar and Adolin are only just discussing the abdication now when he made the decision what felt like 20 chapters ago I still want answers about what's going on with Dalinar's visions though.||

Chapter 53: ||So many people die in Kaladin's story that he must be sick of it at this point. I don't like that Dunny died but out of the characters we've come to know he probably was one of the most expendable. I do like that it's pushing him to try and save other people who might have perished otherwise but I get why his bridgemen are apprehensive when it comes to that plan because it might reduce the likelihood that they themselves will survive. When is Kaladin gonna figure out that the spheres are helping him and his men though because the fact that they seem to survive and everyone else have major casualties isn't raising any suspicion?||

Chapter 54: ||I don't like Sadeas at all and everyone should stay away from him tbh.||

Chapter 55: ||I want more backstory on Rock because he clearly has talents but he's reluctant to use them in battle, which I definitely admire. I want to know what has happened in his life to make him not want to fight and why he's in this situation. Just more Rock please.||

Chapter 56: ||So Dalinar does all that to save Sadeas (why? seems like an awful lot of work) and Sadeas is upset because Dalinar's values come from reading The Way of Kings. Idk something isn't adding up for me but I'm definitely suspicious of Sadeas, what he's up to, and why he acts the way he does. If he's saying that Dalinar's ideal will get him killed is he trying to warn him to be more selfish or something? Dropping hints that he's a baddie? idk||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 57: ||I originally thought this chapter was called Wonderwall Kaladin takes all of these losses so personally that part of me thinks someone else should be the leader. Not saying that it's a bad trait in a leader but I'm worried that it's just going to keep wearing on him until he can't take it anymore. At least he's now finally aware of his powers and what he can do with the stormlight. I want more answers on who Syl is and the relationship between her and Kaladin because that's definitely one of my highlights of the book.||

Chapter 59: ||I mean sure Kaladin, you just drop 40 feet and be completely fine afterwards I do like how much he trusts Syl though||

Chapter 60: ||Dalinar, please stop flip-flopping on this abdication. I feel like it's been spoken about for way too long and I just want it to come to a conclusion now. Assuming that being in the highstorm helped Kaladin to access/understand his powers, I want to know what the highstorms do to Dalinar because he has visions during them so they must have some impact on him as well. It's interesting to get some lore for this world but what's more interesting is Dalinar somehow talking in a dead language and not being conscious of it during his vision. If Kaladin is now able to heal himself which is useful as a soldier, is Dalinar going to be a scribe or some sort or even an advisor like his visions?||

Chapter 61: ||Gonna be honest and say I don't really care about the relationship between Dalinar and Navani ||

Chapter 64: ||Ooh Kaladin sharing a pov chapter with Dalinar and Adolin it's all coming together. This seems like it's going to end in tragedy though.||

Chapter 65: ||Kaladin operating on Teft mid-battle is absolutely wild. The way that everyone's past seems to have led them to exactly this place and having the skills that they need for the roles that they're in 🤔 not saying it's destined but it's definitely something. Of course Sadeas fled though. He's clearly been setting everyone up and the soon they realise that, the better.||

Chapter 66: ||Sadeas saying Dalinar's honour would get him killed. Yeah, because you're the one who's leaving him to the wolves. I really hope he gets him comeuppance sometime soon because he's a coward and a horrible person if he's willing to betray others.||

[stiff sorrel]

Chapter 67: ||This is such a big battle and I love that it's being spread over multiple chapters to give it the time that it deserves. Kaladin choosing to stay behind with the wounded and let the others escape is very in line with his character but I fear he's going to lose his opportunity to get away. How is he seeing Syl like that though? ||

||They agreed to go back and save as many people as possible 🥺 is Kaladin going to end up saving Dalinar as well? I knew that they would likely end up teaming up/being allies to each other because of Sadeas.||

||How does Kaladin know the words? What do they mean? What type of person is he? ||

Chapter 68: ||Teft POV this is such an intense chapter though with the fight. I'm trying to picture how big this battlefield is and the terrain of it with the rocks and things but it must be huge which is why we haven't had Dalinar and Kaladin together yet. I want to know who this Parshendi is that Dalinar is fighting because he seems to know him.||

||Typically people wouldn't retreat in stories like this, especially the 'heroes' so I like that that's a bit different. This battle kind of forcing them into a corner and now they're teaming up with the Parshendi to take down Sadeas. I knew there would be unlikely allies joining against a common enemy in this but I wasn't expecting it to be the Parshendi who they've been fighting for the majority of the book.||

Chapter 69: ||Now why is Sadeas out here lying about Dalinar being dead? He's just assuming that because he left him to die but what's going to happen when he's found out? Unless Dalinar, Adolin and Kaladin essentially go into hiding to silently plot against Sadeas and surprise him.||

[stiff sorrel]

||It's still grim that they're trying to bargain over the bridgemen and buy them. Idk I really don't like the fact that they're slaves and being forced to fight for others. The fact that Dalinar doesn't give up and offers his shardblade instead. There must be some bigger plan here because that's a big thing to give up.||

||Elhokar cut his own saddle? Why do all these people in power have such silly ideas?||

Chapter 70: ||Finally Shallan but wait a second, the reason why she couldn't use Jasnah's soulcaster after stealing it was that it was a fake? But how did Shallan manage to soulcast? There must be another way and I'm imagining that it's darker.||

||Shallan admitting that she killed her dad was also a big reveal but then we get her and Jasnah finally being allies like I wanted. I think once Shallan gets a handle on being able to soulcast and figures out both how she and Jasnah are able to soulcast with no soulcaster that they'll be an unstoppable duo. I still don't know whether they'll be baddies or not because they're both kind of morally grey and have done things that aren't exactly on the up-and-up.||

Chapter 71: ||Woah, this chapter. There's so much being revealed now we're getting towards the end of the book. Szeth was hired all along by the king? The king has a secret hospital where they're basically conducting experiments/research on dying people? I can see his reasoning that he's basically doing it for the greater good but it's definitely creepy and I just really don't like the idea of him waiting for all these people to die. ||

||Also Dalinar being Szeth's next target? 👀 I might still get them working together but I do like the idea of them trying to take each other out first. I think Dalinar would end up winning but they're both so good at what they do.||

Chapter 72: ||The voidbringers are really and they're also enslaved soldiers ||

Chapter 73: ||Given that Syl is an honorspren and she hasn't steered Kaladin wrong yet then I'd trust her opinion on what kind of person Dalinar is. I do feel like another betrayal is going to be round the corner though. I know it sucks that people died too but three people lost to thousands of people saved doesn't seem like that bad of a trade-off in the grand scheme of things. It all depends on your personal ethics though.||

||I do like the nightly mealtimes between the bridgemen though. It's a nice break from all the fighting.||

Chapter 74: ||Shallan and Jasnah please reveal all these secrets and completely change the world 🙏 ||

||Also it sounds like Shallan's dad deserved to die ||

Chapter 75: ||Well that was an onimous chapter but I'm assuming that it's going to be revealed who the Parshmen are at some point and they will be united with the bridgemen? I really don't know but Dalinar has a huge task on his hands.||

Final thoughts ||so this being an almost 1.2k page epic fantasy is so far out of my comfort zone and what I usually like that I have no idea what compelled me to pick this up in the first place but I'm so glad that I did. Considering how long it was the pacing was pretty solid and so much happened to make me interested in reading the next installment. It's pretty obvious from my thoughts but Shallan's pov was my favourite and reminded me the most of something that would've fit in The Priory of the Orange Tree/A Day of Fallen Night which is pretty much the only other epic fantasy I've enjoyed. I like how we got some answers on worldbuilding and how magic is woven into it but there's still so much to learn. There were a lot of characters to keep track of but I mostly got it so I'm proud of myself. I do like how even though the povs were connected, especially Kaladin and Dalinar's towards the end, they all offered a different perspective of the world. Idk I just really enjoyed this so 4 ⭐||

[long drift]

@plain patio,@warm otter,@tight vault,@runic narwhal,@crystal thunder,@keen narwhal,@dusky copper,@rigid raven,@steep mirage,@lean swallow,@balmy jay,@dusky swallow,@languid mountain,@tawny flame,@keen wave,@young locust,@velvet ivy,@fluid pecan,@vagrant smelt,@viscid kelp,@late nimbus,@warped crypt,@tight wraith,@pure basin,@trim cedar,@meager furnace,@wintry rapids

[warped crypt]

Good day epic readers ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

**Today is the final day of the BR! Thanks all so much for joining in! **
I can't believe so many of you ended up finishing this book and are coming along for the journey!!

Finished and discussed: katto, Tink, Avialia, haze, evet, Celine, MidnightDancer, ctrl-altmer-del, manouk, iggy, Maffy, Vaydium, Hanzy, Alex, Raya, Andy, abi, christene_littlelibrary
Finished but not discussed enough PilotG
Started: Zander, susan, TemporalSong, mimosa, Sofia
-# let me know if I missed you!

For those still reading (i think for now @warm otter and @tight vault ), I'll be handing off the report today but if you finish within the week (up to the 21st is really the max), I'll hand out your points when you do end up finishing

--

Book 2 BR is well on it's way btw, you can head on over to #1282968522091139082 for the next BR if you'd like to continue the BIG BR (with special roles as rewards)! I'll do an extension for that book later this week
As a reminder: if you read along from Book 1 till 5, you will get a special role for finishing Stormlight Archive arc 1! There's also a special role if you finish the two extra books that are shorter lore books along with them!

[surreal flare]

imagine only having the mango froyo from yochi but no smoothie

[warped crypt]

ignore carl, he has an obsession with ev*et

[plain patio]

I guess I now will set up nr 2 in my plan

[warm otter]

i plan on tryna finish in the next day or two (ive got about 9hrs left in my audiobook) so ill let you know asap!!! ~~sorry im still not finished im actually useless at reading atm its a real problem ~~

[tight wraith]

I'm done. Here

[velvet ivy]

Thanks for hosting this first one Manouk! 🙏 I'm making good progress with Warbreaker so I'll start WoR soon too! 🥳

[warped crypt]

oh sorry, my bad ❤️ you're totally right

[tight vault]

I'll start reading again soon, thank you for still giving points even if we're a little late 🩷

[warped crypt]

you can doooo it!

[meager furnace]

Youre an amazing host manouk!

I will join you in the next one soon

[pure basin]

So happy I started this journey with you all! I'm excited to read the rest of the books as well. Thank you so much for hosting and being so generous with the extensions so that I could join in, manouk!

[dusky swallow]

Thank you for hosting manouk

[languid mountain]

omg, thank you for creating this and helping us along, manouk

it was a huge endeavor!

[warped crypt]

and we have a long journey ahead of us still but thank you for joining!

[tight vault]

Ch 59: ||I don't know, Hashal is even more awful than Gaz was. Why say to somebody that doubling your chances to be killed should be considered an honour?? But I'm proud of Kaladin for not going into depression - which would be so understandable - and going straight into action with a new plan. But about Gaz, since he hasn't been around, does that mean he's dead?||

[trim cedar]

Thank you for organising the BR Manouk!!

[viscid kelp]

Thanks for hosting this Manouk!! Sorry I never got around to sharing my annotations They’re just soooo many that I’ve been super daunted by them and couldn’t find it in me to share them (and occupy the whole BR space)

Here’s all of them (excl. any I’ve previously shared here)

I did take the step to export them all out to my email so it’s easier sharing but like couldn’t get on further from there

BIG note to myself, share thoughts while reading and don’t leave them off until the end

[pure basin]

Omg, this is crazy! You could turn this into a companion book or something

[wintry rapids]

thanks for hosting manouk, i‘m really glad i joined and am excited to read the rest of the series with all of you 🤍

[viscid kelp]

They’re all my annotations actually including simple highlights of stuff like me appreciating language, parts of world-building, characters, etc etc like I highlight everything and for some, I comment right on my ebook and sometimes in my reading journal so it’s a huge mess to get everything sorted but I’ve managed to do so with other books I’ve read with OBC. The sheer size of this book though is something I had not anticipated.

I did once face something similar while reading The Count of Monte Cristo on this server but like I didn’t have half as many annotations because I listened to parts of it as well

[tight vault]

Ch 61: ||I wonder why Dalinar wanted to use the Old Magic in the first place, maybe he wanted to cure Renarin so that he could be a warrior? Hopefully this magic will be explained a bit more in the future, and also the reason why Dalinar searched for it.||
||I'm not sure this thing between Dalinar and Navani is a good idea, but at least it brought some joy!||

[tight vault]

Ch 64: ||The feeling of having no recollection of your wife at all, not even being able to hear her name sounds like it would totally mess someone up emotionally. I don't know how one stays sane with that||
||I'm feeling so ominous about Sadeas and his plan about a joint assault with Dalinar. I'm just so sure something horrible is going to happen to either Dalinar or Adolin... almost scared to read forward at this point ||

[tight vault]

Ch 65: ||I knew this was coming but the way my stomach dropped nevertheless . Sadeas I hate you||

Ch 66: ||Dalinar and Adolin's discussion is leaving me in an emotionally fragile state, and when Dalinar said his farewells to Renarin I just about lost it. Why is Sanderson intent on making me sob||

[tight vault]

Ch 67: ||The way they had to choose between being free and saving others is so well done here, you can really feel the tension. Kaladin and his men have wanted this for so long and have planned everything to get it, but in the end they choose to help others even if they could have chosen not to. I'm in my feels rn||
||How is Syl now basically a woman, how did she change??||
||This flashback about Tien is too much, that child was smiling until the end when seeing his brother, that whole ordeal would leave anyone traumatized. Tien deserved a thousand times better and he deserved to be safe, and Kaladin deserves all the healing for having to live with that image in his mind||

[tight vault]

Ch 68: ||I'm so relieved that all is now temporarily well, and Kaladin saved them . Kaladin wanted to save the most amount of men possible, and in the end that meant saving Dalinar too. I wonder if Dalinar will be able to truly protect Kaladin and his crew and keep them safe.||

[tight vault]

Ch 69: ||I so badly wanted Dalinar to kick Sadeas's ass, but it just wasn't meant to be. And maybe handling things this way is a smarter choice. When Dalinar gave his Shardblade as an exchange for all the bridgemen, I kind of gasped because that seems like an enormous loss for Dalinar but I'm so glad someone actually kept his promises to Kaladin.||
||So Elhokar actually made this assassination attempt up . I suspected it earlier, but am still surprised. At least he knows now that Dalinar doesn't want him dead... I don't know if Dalinar's plan for the future is a good one or not, I suspect there's going to be a lot of trouble ahead anyway||

Ch 70: ||Okay so Shallan did kill her father, but why? How did she do it? I have so many questions. Her father truly must have been awful, she doesn't seem to have much if any regret for causing his death.||
||Shallan figured all of this out about Jasnah, and is now pretty much back as her ward? That intelligence and determination is going to take her far in this series, I feel like||

[tight vault]

Ch 71: ||I feel like the biggest idiot ever, all this time I thought that Taravangian was this kind grandpa . But aside from me being totally oblivious, what truly are his motivations? He's saying that all this monstrosity is for the greater good and that he will save the world, but really?||
||Now there's an answer for all those quotes in the epigraphs, and it's quite fascinating to say the least.||
||Szeth is doing worse and worse mentally, he seems totally defeated and is even hearing the screams of the victims. I was a little surprised that he didn't kill Taravangian considering how much he loathes him.||
||Hopefully Kaladin stays around so that he can save Dalinar from Szeth||

[lean swallow]

im on book 2 already but yea wow || totally forgot they mentioned this in book 1 i wonder that too ||

^ this doesn't have spoilers for book 2, just agreeing with you

[tight vault]

Ch 72: ||The fact that they enslaved the Voidbringers is kind of blowing my mind rn||

Ch 73: ||Protect all these bridgemen and Kaladin at all costs||

Ch 74: ||Shallan and Jasnah are such a powerful duo, I love it! I truly hope they will manage to keep all this information from those other groups. Shallan must be stunned right now, learning that his father most likely was a Ghostblood. He just sounds like an evil dude from everything I've heard||

Ch 75: ||So Dalinar never actually interacted with anyone but has just seen and heard the thoughts of a dead God? And Odium has killed him? But how dead is Almighty really, if he's here having this inner monologue? And what really, truly was this entity who delivered this message to Dalinar? I have more questions than answers at this point||

Okay I'm finished! That was such a journey and I want to start reading the next book immediately . I have to give this one 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[warped crypt]

awesome job!! any final thoughts you'd wish to share? Or do you have some takes on the discussion questions in the pins?

[tight vault]

Sure! Let me gather my thoughts a bit, I'll be back soon

[warped crypt]

no worries, take your time ❤️

[tight vault]

Okay let my rambling start: Before anything else, let's start with the writing. ||This book is very long so I expected to inevitably feel a bit bored at times. But that didn't happen at all, and I could have read even more of this book if there happened to be more pages. I didn't feel like it dragged on unnecessarily. I really liked the writing, and Sanderson handles very well all the storylines, character arcs and the massive world-building. The world-building and magic system are actually one of my favourite things about this book, it is so detailed and it gives you this rabbit hole to get totally lost in. I feel like I could read this book at least a couple of times and find some new connections and things I hadn't thought of before.||
||There are plenty of epic battles and very intense scenes which I liked, but I feel like the action scenes are balanced. There isn't too much of them so you don't get numb from there constantly being just fighting all the time. Overall I liked how the pacing between character development and plot progression went. The way Sanderson used flashbacks to give out information about Kaladin worked out well, and there were some heart-wrenching moments in them that stood out to me, particularly all the Tien moments. He's such a cutie and I'm not over his horrible fate 💔||
||I absolutely adored the theme of found family, in the bridgemen Kaladin found a new family, and thanks to his efforts and dedication the men found a family among each other as well . This was one of the highlights of the entire book for me.||
||The plot-twists and reveals slapped, what more can I say||
||Oh and I also enjoyed the theme of there being a chosen one (Kaladin). I liked how he wasn't perfect instantly, but had to figure things out over time and needed assistance.||

[tight vault]

Then about the characters: ||Kaladin is everything to me, and his journey all the way from childhood through wrongful enslavement to eventually leading Bridge Four is so powerful. I feel like I felt his struggles, Sanderson wrote them so well and in such detail. His despair, at times apathy and depression, determination and joy are vivid. His mistrust of the lighteyes and his internal conflicts about morality are explored well. Bridge Four's loyalty to him was heartwarming and it shows how he built himself a family from a place where all hope should have been lost 🩷. It's just very easy to love Kaladin and to root for him!||
||I feel like Adolin and Dalinar complement each other perfectly, and I almost see them as a duo (it's embarrassing how long I mixed up their names). Even though Adolin was a bit immature at times, there's a charm to him and a lot of passion. I think there's more depth to him, and I hope he is even more present in the other books. His loyalty to his family is beautiful.||
||Dalinar is so noble and just as a character, he's one of my favourites. His mission to unite Alethkar and his visions were genuinely fascinating and I liked reading about them. His struggle with his past and his extreme sense of honour make him compelling. He's also emotionally vulnerable, which I loved. I want his life to be happy and good ||
||Sanderson better give Renarin more lines and scenes in the future books, I want more!! He's an intelligent and interesting in his own right, his character should definitely be explored more. He's one of those "protect him at all costs" characters, a sweetie 💛.||
||Shallan, I was invested in her story from the beginning. I adore her confidence and wit, and how there's still some maturing she has to do. I liked her and Jasnah's dynamic, and I want to see more of that in the next book. Her sketching and the inclusion of her artwork added a nice touch to the book!||

||Kaladin's Bridge Four crew has my heart, especially Rock. If something happens to him I will sob into my pillow.||
||Szeth is complex and fascinating and I want way more of him in the next book. I want him to have some kind of redemption arc, to break free of his current existence where he has to do things that destroy him inside.||
||Wit as a character intrigued me. I want to learn more about him, because there has to be way more to him than what was told in this book.||

||I forgot to mention earlier, but I liked how romance is very subtle in this book, and not one of the main points. This book didn't need some epic romance to carry it, and I enjoyed how it was left as a side part of certain character' stories.||

I think that's all, still a five star book

[meager furnace]

I hadnt yet sent a final thoughts on this: || I think brandy sandys book have this flavor that is just not my favorite. His worlds are too made in a way and I cant explain why that doesnt entice me as much as it does others. I do like his characters. Theyre often very unique. I was smitten with Dalinar. A 50 ish character with moral struggles? slay. Adolin was my cutesy himbo baby and I was happy he didnt get the 'blond and beautiful = cruel' treatment writers often give these type of characters. Kaladin I didnt really feel for. I know Sanderson wanted me to think Kaladin could also be selfish and he was just working on his own survival but in the end he was just such a Mary Sue. Also Kaladin Stormblessed = Anakin Skywalker and you cannot convince me otherwise. Shallan started of super strong and then she disapeared and i forgot about her. She also turned from 'evil' to 'good' too quickly. The book was such a slow read for me it took forever to finish. I read the Sea Witch (+- 500 pages) in the same time it took me to advance 1 part in The Way of Kings. There is just sooo much lore, I'm probably missing most of it but is really the only way to read this book by keeping notes? of course the last 10% of this book felt just so good with the characters coming together, yet even in the end Brandy just kept adding chapters? I was like sir we are done here we had the closing chapters for each of these characters already please just end this misery. Because im a bitch i will let brandy lead me on some more and i will read words of radiance as i have no spine. 3 stars and thank you for coming to my tedtalk ||

[warm otter]

im so sorry i never got done with this manouk i still intend on finishing it its just been a wild few months thats entirely my bad

[warped crypt]

no worries things happen. I hope everything is okay with you ❤️ If you're still down to read all of the books I'd still like to hear what you think of the books ❤️ but at your own pace of course.

[warm otter]

slowly but surely im 100% gonna keep working on these!!! it'll take me a while but 2025 is gonna be the year i tackle these monsters LOL ill be like tentatively in the other brs, like as a "if i finish it in time, i finish it in time nd if i dont i dont" purely because after this i dont wanna mess anyone around again tysm for being so understanding