are you open to a little extension? 
#Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson
plush root
maiden plank
are you open to a little extension? <:duckShy:830532974273363978>
yes! because i also wouldn't mind one 
. Is an extra week okay?
plush root
yes! because i also wouldn't mind one <:margeshame:859727580961439785>. Is an ex...
that is perfect! I'm off work next week so I should be able to get through it all then
maiden plank
BR Extended
<t:1726358400:D> - <t:1713744000:D>
maiden plank
BR Extended
> **<t:1726358400:D> - <t:1713744000:D>**
crystal orioleBOT
Ongoing BuddyRead
graceful oracle
Omg amazing!
maiden plank
Omg amazing!
are you joining tink?? 
graceful oracle
I will try!
olive tinsel
Ch 78 ||OKAY SHALLAN SHOWED DALINAR HER POWERS 
Shallan (to Dalinar): "You are not my king" -> Well, that might very well change soon 
The return of Shen??||
Ch 79 ||Ohh interesting, Shen also sees their change and doesn't like it ||
olive tinsel
Ch 80 || Kaladin being happy because he is wearing the boots Shallan stole
Ai, I would feel a bit awkward if I were in Kaladin's position when Elhokar comes to me to ask my opinion on his kingship knowing what Moash is planning ||
olive tinsel
Ch 81 ||"The King was Dalinar's Tien" 
||
olive tinsel
Ch 81 continued || Okay, the voice of the Almighty predicting they will die. Well, I doubt they will actually lose this battle, but, it does make me wonder ||
olive tinsel
Ch 82 ||I think Zahel’s advice to choose the option that will allow you to sleep at night was great. I’m happy for Kaladin to seem to do the right thing for his own mental state.
Jeez. What is Kaladin going to do against two Shardbearers without his stormlight?! ||
delicate crown
ooh this got extended! Yay 
delicate crown
Ch.29
||“Others said Parshendi warriors on the field never surrendered, but he’d seen them try it once, long ago, in the first year of the war. They’d laid down their weapons. He’d slaughtered them all personally, with Shardhammer and Plate, beneath the eyes of their retreating companions watching from a nearby plateau.”||
||Ugh this loathsome creature. He really finds pleasure in the pain of others||
||“Alethkar does need to be strong,” Sadeas said, holding out a gauntleted hand. “So I’ll make it so by force of fist and the rule of blood”||
||Ha ha sadeas
Spoken like a true toddler ||
olive tinsel
Ch 84
||
Adolin not falling off a cliff because the bridgemen saved him and them saying “Lifting fat lighteyes is easy, you should try a bridge sometime”
THE ASSASSIN IN WHITE?! NOW..!!?
Kaladin saying the Words and standing up against Moash Another beautiful scene in this series I won’t forget quickly. And he GOT A SHARDBLADE!! SO COOL!!
Also, Graves talking about the Diagram?! Is he in alliance with Taravangian? (I forgot how to spell his name xd)||
olive tinsel
Ch 85
|| Dalinar realising he would have never been able to protect Gavilar back then and it bringing him peace really hit me
Roion 
what a fucked up way to die
KALADIN COMING IN TO SAVE DALINAR I’m looking forward to him and Szeth facing off! And I wonder if they will make peace since Szeth realises the Radiants are back 👀 ||
olive tinsel
Ch 86
|| SYL JUST TURNS INTO A SPEAR INSTEAD OF A SWORD. That’s sick 
I’m still curious about Shallan her Shardblade and that whole story
I suppose Szeth is defeated for now? I always suspected him to become the third Radiant. But we’ll see ||
olive tinsel
Ch 87
|| I see, so Szeth’s sword is an Honorblade making him do all that. I did think he was a Radiant, but I suppose not then.
They hid Elhokar with Lopen’s mom?
What the fuck. Lopen is growing his arm back??? ||
olive tinsel
Ch 88
||Oh shit! So Shallan killed her mother, with the shardblade and her father tried to cover for her
Okay… the Ghostbloods want to kill Amaram… I’m still not really sure what the Ghostbloods want. I am also not really sure what Amaram wants I wonder if he is trying to follow the Diagram too?
Szeth going to join the Skybreakers? It sounds like his new Shard has a spren 
Our third Radiant? ||
olive tinsel
Ch 89
|| Holy. I didn’t expect Adolin to literally just kill Sadeas like that?? Good for him though
Now I’m curious why Book 3 is called Oathbringer
Okay, Dalinar is a radiant with a freaking spren of the Almighty?? Did he really just force that spren into a bond what
Okay and Renarin is a Knight too… why is suddenly everyone a Radiant.
I’m not sure if Skybreakers were an order of Radiants, but I guess we know six now then. Szeth, Shallan, Kaladin, Dalinar, Renarin and Lift. ||
Epilogue || Aaaaaand Jasnah is alive, as expected. So we got our seventh Radiant ||
Finished
olive tinsel
Thoughts
||I absolutely enjoyed and loved like 95%. I adore Shallan and it was great to get to know more about her and her backstory, since she is quite a mystery. Especially all the interactions between the main characters (Kaladin x Shallan x Adolin) left me audibly laughing. The journey Kaladin went through was beautiful and the book once again, just like the last one, had some beautiful moments.
Nonetheless, I really disliked the ending, lol. I felt like in a matter of 5% of the book 3 new radiants appeared (Szeth, Dalinar and Renarin). While Szeth was obvious to become a radiant, I somehow did hope Dalinar would remain more of the glue rather than a part of them. Nonetheless, the actual dialogue with his spren was cool and there were certain conditions set (no Shards, etc.) that still gave it a nice tough. But then, he comes down to Shallan and Kaladin to tell them, and suddenly Renarin is a radiant? Idk, this interaction suddenly felt so rushed to me that it almost destroyed the whole experience for me. Rather than it being "cool and a lot of stuff happening" it just felt wrong, especially with the general pace of the book.
In the epilogue Jasnah turned out to be alive, obviously. I would have been happy about this since I am probably the biggest Jasnah-is-alive-coper, but the ending of the main story sort of destroyed my mood, ngl. Also, her attitude towards the world almost feels a bit off and egoistic compared to what has happened so far in the whole book. Yes, Jasnah, we have already figured it all out while you were gone doing whatever you were doing.
All in all, this book did not end the way I expected it to. I thought we would see Kaladin and Shallan as our radiants, Dalinar aware of their powers. Perhaps Szeth joining them. So, at this point, I have no clue what is going to happen nor do I have any theory left in me. I feel like a lot of 'sides' or 'teams' were introduced, so I am curious to see how it all connects. ||
Rating
||Well up to 95% of the book I wanted to give it 5 stars, but now I feel really pitiful because of the ending I guess I will give it 4,5 stars or something ||
olive tinsel
Something I still wanted to mention ||I do really love the depth King Taravangian has been given in this book, even if it was only one interlude. I am really interested in the whole 'Diagram' idea and how some follow this document almost religiously. I'm curious how correct it is, and also what it will be like for Dalinar to meet Taravangian. After all, he did try to assassinate him 
||
delicate crown
Ch.31
||“That one,” Rock said. “Keeps loitering here with sketchbook. Wants to draw bridgemen. Ha! Because we are famous, you see.”
Kaladin frowned. Strange actions for an ardent—but, then, all ardents were strange, to an extent. ”||
||I feel like this might somehow be of significance later||
||“Shallan immediately pulled her safehand up to her breast. “What!”
“I warned you about difficult things,” Tyn said, smiling in a devious way. “West of Marat, almost all women go out with both hands uncovered. If you’re going to go to those places and not stand out, you’ll have to be able to do as they do.”
“It’s immodest!” Shallan said, blushing furiously.
“It’s just a hand, Shallan,” Tyn said. “Storms, you Vorins are so prim. That hand looks exactly like your other hand.”||
||Spittin facts Tyn lol, I still can't wrap my head around this safehand thing ||
Ch.32
||“In the privy, bridgeboy,” Adolin said, nodding to another door. “You can sleep during a highstorm. That’s impressive. Almost as impressive as how much you drool when you’re dozing.”
No time for gibes. That dream… Kaladin turned toward the balcony door, breathing quickly.”||
||I really can’t unsee it now that the image’s in my head, Adolin’s so much like Prince Arthur from s1 of Merlin! ||
||“Nonsense.” It was the king’s voice. Elhokar stepped into the room behind him. “What are you babbling about?”||
||Of course lol, I'll refrain from saying anything further as we all know how I think of this guy||
||“The guards scrambled into action without question. As the scouts ran ahead, Kaladin moved back to the king and grabbed him by the arm, then hauled him toward the door. Elhokar allowed it, a stunned expression on his face.”||
||I love this side of Kal
The man in action, taking up leadership, being in charge — he's such a natural||
||“He’s here,” Syl whispered.
A solemn figure stepped out of the side corridor, holding a long, silvery Blade that cut a trail in the stone floor. The figure had flowing white clothing: filmy trousers and an overshirt that rippled with each step. Bald head, pale skin. Shin.
Kaladin recognized the figure. Every person in Alethkar had heard of this man. The Assassin in White. Kaladin had seen him once in a dream, like the one earlier, though he hadn’t recognized him at that point.
Stormlight streamed from the assassin’s body.
He was a Surgebinder.”||
||The atmosphere here
||“ Tears of frustration. “He’s one of us. A Radiant.”
“No!” Syl said forcefully. “No. He’s something far more terrible. No spren guides him, Kaladin. Please. Get up.”||
||Not a radiant? Syl, you're scaring me further
He's not a bad guy is he? I mean I was hoping he'd join forces when he meets the good guys||
Ch. 33
||“One question answered, he thought, struggling to his knees on the wet rock. The Stormlight was already working on his skin, which was shredded along his right side. He’d broken something in his shoulder; he could feel its healing as a burning pain that slowly retreated.
But his right forearm and hand, faintly lit by the Stormlight rising from the rest of him, were still a dull grey. Like a dead candle in a row, this part of him did not glow. He couldn’t feel it; he couldn’t even move the fingers. They drooped, limp, as he cradled the hand.”||
||Nooo poor boy 😭 He can’t be losing a whole right arm when we’ve JUST STARTED! Stormlight show your power, DO SOMETHING!
Also I admire Kal's resilience like here he is with a dead hand but thinking sort of positive and on the goal?||
||“The color returned to his hand, and feeling—cold pain—suddenly flooded his arm, hand, fingers. Light began to stream from his hand.
“No…” the assassin said. “No!”
Whatever Kaladin had done to his hand had consumed much of his Light and his overall glow faded, leaving him barely alight. Still on his knees, gritting his teeth, Kaladin grabbed the knife from his belt, but found his grip weak. He almost fumbled the weapon as he got it free.”||
||Yay yay I’m glad his arm isn’t actually gone! He only needed some more stormlight! Did Szeth somehow contribute to Kal's healing?||
||“The assassin scrambled backward, eyes as wide as if Kaladin had turned into a chasmfiend. “They told me I was a liar!” the assassin screamed. “They told me I was wrong! Szeth-son-son-Vallano… Truthless. They named me Truthless!”||
||oooh there’s history here that I can’t wait to uncover! We still know very little of this guy despite having so many chapters in his POV||
||“The assassin scrambled back through a puddle. “Are they back?” he demanded. “Are they all back?”
“Yes,” Kaladin said. It seemed like the right answer. The answer that would keep him alive, at least.”||
||Wdym??? Radiants? Voidbringers? I thought you were a radiant too Szeth! If not you, who else then
||“I healed,” he whispered, then coughed. “I healed from a Shardblade wound. Why didn’t you tell me I could do that?”
“Because I didn’t know you could do it until you did it, silly.” She said it as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. Her voice grew softer. “There are dead. Up above.”||
||Wait, who’s dead?
Also Syl being an absolute gem as always||
||“Kaladin nodded, then slumped down in one of the plush royal chairs, uncaring if he got water or blood on it. He let out a soft groan—half relief at seeing them all well, half exhaustion.
“How?” Adolin demanded. “You fell. I was barely awake, but I know I saw you fall.”
I am a Surgebinder, Kaladin thought as Dalinar looked over at him. I used Stormlight. He wanted to say the words, but they wouldn’t come out. Not in front of Elhokar and Adolin.
Storms. I’m a coward.”||
||Oh you're not Kal! Good thinking there because I am not ready to let Elhokar and Adolin know and I'm not even you. It's not cowardly, your instincts are hopefully saving your arse||
||“Kaladin met his eyes. Behind him, Adolin glanced over, narrowing his eyes. He looked down at Kaladin’s arm and frowned.
That one saw something, Kaladin thought. As if he didn’t have enough trouble with Adolin as it was.”||
||I hope Adolin doesn't cause trouble ||
|| “He died protecting.” Syl’s voice.
“I should be able to keep them alive,” Kaladin said. “Why didn’t I just let them go free? Why did I bring them to this duty, and more death?”
“Someone has to fight. Someone has to protect.”
“They’ve done enough! They’ve bled their share. I should banish them all. Dalinar can find different bodyguards.”
“Kaladin knelt, struggling with his grief.You have to learn when to care, son. His father’s voice. And when to let go. You’ll grow calluses.
He never had. Storm him, he never had. It was why he’d never made a good surgeon. He couldn’t lose patients.
And now, now he killed? Now he was a soldier? How did that make any sense? He hated how good he was at killing.”||
||I love this soft side of his, makes him so relatable and human and like he's still a sweet kid at the end, a kid whose life was riddled with pain and difficulties||
||“No,” Kaladin said firmly. “You’re still Bridge Four. You’re always Bridge Four.” He forced himself to smile. “We’ll just have Rock teach you how to cook. How are you with stew?”
“Awful, sir,” Hobber said. “I can burn broth.”
“Then you’ll fit right in with most military cooks. Come on, let’s get you back to the others.” Kaladin strained, getting his arms under Hobber, trying to lift him.”||
||Can I love this guy anymore?
Ch.34
||“You think you can actually get clemency for these men? From a man like Highprince Sadeas? Don’t be an idiot. Even if you get the con going with Dalinar, you want to spend what little credibility we can fake in order to free murderers from Dalinar’s political enemy? How long did you think you could keep this lie going?”||
||I hate to agree with her but knowing Sadeas, she’s right||
||“… a girl named Shallan. Red hair. Pale skin. Nobody knows much about her. Didn’t seem important news to our informants until I pried.
Shallan looked up just as Tyn did, meeting the woman’s eyes.
“Ah, Damnation,” Tyn said.”||
||Oh shit no
||“Difficult things,” Shallan growled. “Yes. I believe I told you. I’ve learned that lesson already. Thank you.” She crawled to her feet, wobbling.”||
||Woaah cool Shallan! I didn't know you had it in you but I can see how you can be a force to reckon with! So much growth from the timid old creature you'd been in Book 1||
delicate crown
Interlude I-5
||>>> “This one, the soul of the storm, was the one the humans called Stormfather—and he was not one of her people’s gods. In fact, the songs named him a traitor—a spren who had chosen to protect humans instead of the listeners.
Still, her people respected him. He would kill any who did not respect him.”||
||Lmao
Seems like they’ve no choice but to respect ||
||> “The Rider of Storms was a traitor, yes—but you could not have a traitor who had not originally been a friend. These storms belonged to her people. The listeners were of the storms.”||
||Interesting thought process! So basically because they’d once been a friend, it leaves a lot to chance and like there’s some amount of mutual understanding ||
||>>> “Eshonai gasped, the rhythms fleeing her mind, and fell to her knees. She felt it wash through her, the transformation.
I AM SORRY.
The rains came again, and her body began to change”||
||Angerspren? No way, is the only sane listener who was willing to have a discussion with humans gone off now? ||
eternal sand
I realized I never actually said I finished or posted my final thoughts 
but I finished awhile ago
||I’m glad Shallan can go band-for-band with Kaladin, he needed someone to challenge his biases.
The meme pages I’ve followed have lowkey spoiled bits and pieces (such as Jasnah didn’t actually die, the identity of the Knights) but nothing I’m upset about. I know some (not here) think that this is the weakest in the series so far and I can see where they’re coming from. Syl’s “death” was so unnecessary (as in, were we supposed to actually believe it?)
I’m a little surprised that Adolin ended up killing Sadeas, but I bet the consequences are going to be unfortunately minimal.||
eternal sand
Combining Discussion Posts-
Favorite character: has changed since the first book, ||Renarin and Kaladin are tied for favorite, honorable mention The Lopen’s Mother for bullying Elhokar||
How did I feel about the book/the end: Fine, I guess. Didn’t lean one way or another. Skeptical in a few places, ||i know im going to be disappointed with Adolin’s Murder Consequences tho.|| Knowing that a Rosharin year is longer than an Earth year (source: Arcanum Unbound) makes me feel a bit better about ||Shallan/Adolin since Shallan would be 19 in Earth Years, but c’mon man I thought you were better than 17 X 24||
Will I continue: Yes and I have all but W&T, but I have Big Life Things happening so it’ll be a minute until I start Oathbringer
Favorite recurring symbol/metaphor/etc etc: ||Pattern Kaladin being like “this sucks and I hate it but I’m gonna do it anyway.” Real, king, something the good and/or right thing DOES suck.||
Comparison to Book 1: ||Easier to get into because the Worldbuilding Foundation has been established, think I liked Way of Kings more tho.||
Casting: Already answered, see Instagram reel where Branderson did a Muppet casting
scarlet peak
I'm stupid and I completely forgot 😭 I'm going to power read this this week so I can finish before the deadline!
maiden plank
I'm stupid and I completely forgot 😭 I'm going to power read this this week so ...
okido! If you have already started, finishing a few days late is fine as long as you let me know of your progress!
scarlet peak
okido! If you have already started, finishing a few days late is fine as long as...
I only read the prologue last night but I'll try to do at least 150 pages a day and hopefully that will let me finish in time! 🤞
scarlet peak
Ch2 || ahh so good to see Kaladin again! Pookie is a captain now
Also already hyped about the fake dating subplot of Adolin and Shallan. That sounds like it's going to be juicyyy ||
scarlet peak
Ch4 || I don't think it's the everstorm. I think it was Szeth who broke in and scribbled on the wall and he'll murder Dalinar in 62 days. ||
graceful oracle
Starting this. Going to try to listen to 4 hours a day
Prologue ||Pretty sure the word beads is already over quota. I stg every 10th word is beads||
graceful oracle
Part 1 ch 7 ||Ok def didn’t expect Jasnah to be killed off||
graceful oracle
Part 1 ch 11 ||Aww Shallan learned to use her white woman privilege. Yay||
Yay I survived part 1! ||Fine, no notes. Shannon is like in the fey realm but there’s also slavers there? Kaladingdong is still war bro, but now he’s big war bro, but now his number one opp is back 
||
sleek remnant
Ch 14: ||Adolin treats his Shardblade like a partner, not a possession. He refuses to name it, believing the Radiant who once wielded it already did. This suggests a deep, subconscious respect for the blade's origins||
||I somehow forgot that male illiteracy is really a thing here. Adolin doesn't even recognise that "safety and glory" are two different words, so he doesn't know how to read at all. This just seems like an odd societal rule; it makes strategic, military, and political planning so much harder. Dalinar and Kaladin have both ignored this restriction, but Adolin? He's so deep in tradition that he never even thought to learn. It's one of the ways he's completely different from Dalinar. Adolin is very comfortable in the system he was born into. Where Dalinar is questioning things, Adolin takes things as they are.||
||Salinor was expecting a traditional, elegant duel. Instead, Adolin wrecks him. It's not a contest, it's a statement. While the judge is horrified by Adolin's aggression, no one can prove he cheated. He fought within the rules, just not in the way the aristocracy wanted him to. This fight is Adolin at his best. There's tactical awareness, he knew the stakes weren't just personal. He overpowered Salinor completely, showing physical dominance. And lastly, he won in a way that made people talk. But it also hints at his biggest flaw: he's emotional. His rage at Sadeas fuels his aggression, and while it serves him here, it feels like a dangerous thing for someone in his position.||
||I very much enjoy Adolin and Renarin's relationship. Adolin is protective, supportive, and proud of his brother, even if he doesn't fully understand him. However, gifting Renarin a Shardblade?? Renarin clearly doesn't want it. He clearly wants a different path. But Adolin sees it as a gesture of support and trust.||
sleek remnant
Ch 15: ||It's impossible not to feel for Shallan here. She's filthy, bruised, shoeless, and practically a prisoner, yet she still carries herself like a woman of station because she has no choice not to. Her only real weapon is perception, both others' perceptions of her and her increasingly slippery grip on her own. Her confrontation with Tvlakv is one of those moments where Shallan blends insecurity, courage, manipulation, and improv into something effective. She channels Jasnah, even imagines what Jasnah would do, and then does it. And somehow, it works. Not because she's sure of herself, but because she knows she has to be sure in front of others.||
||Pattern really levels up here. Mimicking human voices? Mimicking everything? That's incredible powerful. And Shallan reacting like "this could be useful" - she's already thinking like a strategist.||
||Shallan doesn't think about the glow, she doesn't analyse the clear magic behind it. She doesn't question it. That's so... Shallan. She possesses these powers, but she also has a practiced ability to suppress any thought that might lead her somewhere uncomfortable. The cognitive dissonance is one of her defining traits, and it makes this whole magical awakening more complicated, more personal. She doesn't just have to unlock her powers, she has to unlock her willingness to even look at them.||
sleek remnant
Ch 16: ||Kaladin's interaction with Adolin is tense. There's so much unspoken class tension here. Kaladin follows the chain of command, but there's no warmth. Adolin represents everything Kaladin resents.||
||Syl is just wonderful. She's lifting Kaladin up, and her jokes - calling herself a god, teasing about him bowing - are meant to make him smile. She's trying to guide a man who seems to want to believe the world is broken and irredeemable. Kaladin isn't just doubting lighteyes anymore, he's starting to doubt his own judgement. He trusts Dalinar, but he can't let himself act on that trust.||
||Kaladin spotting Zahel and immediately moving to engage is such a "two wolves circling each other" moment. I'm wondering what his endgame is.||
||Syl's hatred for Shardblades is growing louder. When she says that the Shardblades weren't always abominations, it's like a window cracking open just a bit more. We're not just dealing with weapons here, clearly. You can really feel Syl walking a tightrope: she wants to protect Kaladin, guide him, but she can't also speak too plainly.||
sleek remnant
Ch 18: ||I really like Zahel so far. He's blunt and wise, and his training methods are very "throw the kid off the roof and see what happens." But most importantly, he calls Kaladin on his arrogance. Zahel sees right through Kaladin's judgemental, slightly martyr-complex-laced lens and reminds him that he doesn't have the right to look down on others, especially when those others are trying their best. And Renarin? Renarin is trying, even if he faceplants off the roof on the regular. I actually laughed out loud when Renarin jumps off again, head-first this time, as if determined to impress or die trying. That boy is out here risking physical injury for validation and I just want to give him a hug||
||Kaladin's reluctance to train - the arrogance, the defensiveness, the sense of not belonging, of being apart - is all on display here. It's so much less about him thinking he's "too good" to learn, and more about him not trusting anyone outside his little inner circle. And then, Adolin enters. Beautiful, smug, golden-boy Adolin, who honestly has every reason to be suspicious. Kaladin is a mystery, clearly dangerous, and, in Adolin's eyes, condescending to Renarin, who Adolin loves fiercely and protectively. You can feel the tension building between them. So of course it ends with a full-blown brawl and Kaladin getting launched across the training grounds. Honestly, he had it coming. He's good, he's absolutely great, but he's not untouchable. And then the Stormlight fails him, and it's crucial. It's not just a physical loss of power, but it has to leave Kaladin feeling insecure about his abilities. But why did it happen??||
||Okay a bit more about Renarin, my precious little cinnamon roll with a Shardblade. It's just impossible not to feel protective of him. He's throwing himself (literally) into training, he's awkward and self-conscious, but trying so desperately to fit in. And I'm just angry that Kaladin is being rude to him 
.||
graceful oracle
Through ch 36, early Part 3 ||ok it might actually be a little exciting to see our storylines converge. It does feel like it’s been 84 years. I do feel like I’m supposed to be excited about Shanna’s arc, taking control of the caravan, but it just feels a little yikes and I can’t really put my finger on it. Like I’m just not going to find the energy to root for her using her “light eyes” to control and then literally own people. Like I’m not saying she had any other choice in the situation, it’s just part of my lingering uneasiness with this whole social sphere dynamic.
Same with the first book, just too many pages where nothings going on.
Oh they did finally meet. That was anti-climactic. This fighting is so stupid and feels unnecessary||
sleek remnant
Ch 19: ||This chapter starts with Shallan emotionally erasing herself. She doesn't speak, doesn't draw, and when her thoughts even brush against memories of her mother, her mind shuts off. I get the sense that Shallan's muteness isn't just grief, it's protection. She's a child surviving the only way she knows how: by compartmentalizing so hard that her own past becomes a blind spot. There's this sense of loneliness in her silence. I feel so bad for her.||
||Helaran is gentle with her, and seems to be there for Shallan. But is he really a good person? He gives Shallan a sketchbook, and immediately rips her drawing and tells her not to draw that horror. He wants her to draw "safe" things, "good" things, pretty lies. That kind of sets off alarm bells. The Shallan we've come to know is one who draws everything, no matter how uncomfortable. But Helaran doesn't want that. But Helaran doesn't want her to express herself.||
||The moment when Helaran draws the Shardblade is electrifying. Not just because of the power on display, but because of their father's reaction. The whole mood just shifts. It's fear. Maybe recognition, some type of knowing. Did he fear retribution? Did he recognise the Blade his son was holding? Or does he simply realise that this time, he can't intimidate or control the room? Then Shallan speaks up. Not to confess anything, not to tell the truth about events. But to stop Helaran from doing something he can't take back. Her words aren't heroic. They're desperate, she's pleading. But she saves her father. And that's so complicated, because does he deserve it? Shallan still loves him, even though he's an abuser. She still wants his approval, even though he's terrifying. And when he breaks the furniture, I hate him. This is all so messy.||
sleek remnant
Ch 20: ||It wasn't that long ago when Shallan was a lonely survivor with a mission, trying to keep herself together with sketching and sarcasm. Now, she's standing here with bandits, danger everywhere, and she's commanding. Negotiating. Inspiring. She's powerful, in ways that she doesn't even realise yet. Her line about changing the men's future hits like a hammer. She's very much channeling the same energy as Kaladin, that instinct to save, to redeem, to pull someone back from the edge. But she's doing it her own way.||
||Gaz is here?? The guy with the missing eye, a drinking problem, and the emotional range of a rock? Wasn't expecting this. And now he's charging into battle, what kind of redemption arc is this? Maybe he finally remembers what it feels like to have a spine, all thanks to Shallan's speech. I'm wondering if he will become something more than this small side character, though||
sleek remnant
Ch 21: ||Let's start with Bluth, whose quiet arc ends here in a way that hits a little hard. Shallan finds the page missing from her sketchbook, a drawing of Bluth as a soldier, clean and proud, a man he could've been. And the fact that he took it, that he carried it with him, even to his death... 
. This was the picture of the man he wanted to be. I don't know, maybe I'm in my feels too much but why does this make me emotional||
||Ah, Vathah. He's the wet blanket here, the surly realist who can't believe any of this redemption nonsense is going to stick. And honestly? He's maybe not entirely wrong. Shallan's victory was charismatic and improvised. She's betting on hope, image, and sheer force of will. Pattern, delightfully, makes him nervous. Pattern truly might be Shallan's best tool to keep Vathah in line. But still, Vathah is important here. If Shallan can win him over, it would be great.||
||Tvlakv is the worst, and watching Shallan absolutely destroy him is the highlight of my day. She demands that Tvlakv give her the slaves as payment. It's not just about dominating him, it's about reframing the world around her. She gives the slaves a system, a path, a wage. Options. She gives them dignity. That's where Shallan shines, in rewriting rules and systems. The world says "slaves", and she says "workers". The world says "bandits", she says "soldiers." And somehow, reality bends just a bit to make it true.||
sleek remnant
Ch 22: ||Dalinar and Kaladin are in this strange orbit, they share goals but their communication is just not working. Dalinar, bless him, is slow. He doesn't leap. He waits, builds, considers. And Kaladin, who has waited so long to tell his story, who carries scars from Amaram, expects the world to shift immediately in response. He sees Dalinar's lack of immediate outrage as betrayal. But maybe Dalinar isn't dismissing him. He's doing what he typically does: he's considering, processing. And Kaladin doesn't know how to interpret that silence. They're both right, and yet they're wrong for each other. They both believe in honour, but they practice it differently. Kaladin's is forged in desperation and defiance. Dalinar's is tempered by hierarchy, tradition, legacy. And then there's Amaram; he's a man who Dalinar knows, who seems so righteous. To believe Kaladin is to unknow Amaram. That's not an easy task.||
||This chapter also shines in how it feels to be stuck in a room with people you're trying not to hate. Elhokar is twitchy and it feels like his paranoia is turned up to eleven. Adolin is distracted and mildly entitled. Renarin is fidgety and awkward. And Kaladin is trapped. He's an outsider who cannot believe these are the men running the world. There's a dark kind of comedy in it. Kaladin, the man who once led bridgemen into death every day, who fought for scraps of humanity, now just stands there and watches lighteyes play at power. No wonder he's losing it||
sleek remnant
Ch 23: ||Thankfully everyone's okay. Elhokar dangled from his balcony like a terrified noble sloth, but at least he's alive. The guy nearly died, and he's not really showing "royal dignity" here (not that I blame him); he's whining, throwing a tantrum instead of discussing things and forming a strategy.||
||Kaladin's slow realisation that he's begun to feel protective even toward lighteyes is one of the best emotional parts of this chapter. He probably doesn't want to care. It's easier to see lighteyes as the enemy. But life isn't neat and clear like that, and things and feelings change||
||This whole balcony incident is shrouded in a weird aura of deliberate incompetence. A Shardblade used to cut through the railing? Not subtle, not smart. Whoever did this didn't want to kill Elhokar cleanly; they wanted a message, or maybe a distraction. Dalinar and Kaladin's shared analysis (someone from inside, someone with access) is compelling. But what if this wasn't just about Elhokar at all? What if the real goal was to drive a wedge between people, like Dalinar and Elhokar, or Dalinar and Kaladin? This assassination attempt feels amateur, more like intentional misdirection.||
sleek remnant
Ch 24: ||Gaz is somehow becoming... likeable? Sanderson what is this . We met this guy as a petty tyrant, and now here he is, sanding Shallan's wagon, blushing and acting like someone who doesn't know how to process being treated like a person again. It feels like he's trying to believe he could be someone better if he sticks close enough to Shallan. I'm not sure he's trustworthy, but maybe he wants to be.||
||I didn't expect the spicy curry to be the thing pointing out the gender norms in this chapter, but here we are, and I'm here for it. Shallan sniffing at the forbidden bowl of "men's food", and then seeing Tyn eating it, is a subtle but pointed moment. It's not just about food, it's about identity as well. Tyn is dangerous, yes, but she also represents freedom. She lives outside the constraints of the womanhood this society expects. She eats spicy food, and carries weapons. She leads, she lies, and does what she wants. And Shallan notices this. She notices that there's another way to be a woman. That matters, especially to a character who's been told her whole life that sweet food, pleasant drawings, and soft smiles are her only acceptable traits.||
||Tyn sees right through Shallan's facade, and calls her out as a con artist. And Shallan, in a moment of ease, rolls with it. She seems to accept and embrace it.||
sleek remnant
Ch 25: ||I just want to appreciate the humour 
. Because when have we got a whole chapter where Kaladin's main antagonist is a freaking horse? They act like they've been asked to befriend a strange beast. And frankly, it's fair. Horses are weird if you've only ever known chulls. Kaladin gluing himself to the saddle with Stormlight is so far one of the funniest scenes in the book. "Instead of being tossed from horseback like a limp cloth, he got whipped back and forth like a limp cloth." Absolutely golden. But what makes this more than comic relief is Kaladin's motivation. Kaladin, legendary survivor of hellish bridge runs and battlefield nightmares, is afraid of a horse. And he chooses to ride anyway. That's some character growth right there. He's choosing to face his fear||
||I feel like Kaladin and Adolin will eventually become friends. The walls are high between them now, but I feel like some cracks are forming!||
||Syl is always a delight, and I notice how she seems to always be mirroring Kaladin. She's constantly embodying the things he's grappling with. Now she's the embodiment of his fear, as she herself becomes a tiny horse. Also, Syl's confusion of Kaladin's logic of choosing to ride because he's scared is interesting. It highlights how spren don't always get human psychology. She learns with Kaladin, even when she doesn't understand him.||
||Hidden in all this horseplay is some actual plot movement. Kaladin finally realises something crucial: the sabotage of the balcony rail had to happen after the highstorm. That narrows the suspects. Moash is put in the potential danger zone, but Kaladin shrugs it off. Maybe because Moash hates lighteyes, like Kaladin does. Is Kaladin's loyalty to Moash based on shared bitterness? That's a dangerous foundation. I don't trust Moash, I feel like Kaladin should look into him more closely||
sleek remnant
Ch 26: ||Jakamav is someone Adolin considers a good friend. The kind of guy you'd go into battle with and trust to watch your back. But then he shows Adolin just how transactional their friendship always was. It's all "you're bad for my image now, get back to me when your dad is less controversial." That moment lands harder than any blow from a Parshendi axe. You can just feel Adolin's realisation setting in, and it's kind of tragic.||
||Renarin freezes up in combat but tells that it wasn't because of a fit. He calls himself a coward, but I don't think it's as simple as that, it's not the whole reason. What's up with the missing glasses? Is it some insecure posturing to leave them, or does Renarin truly not need them anymore because of some reason that I don't know?? And here's the thing: Adolin is trying. He talks to his brother. He shows concern. But he doesn't really know how to understand Renarin. He's protective, but not perceptive. Renarin is clearly struggling, but no one around him seems to really see that.||
||Oh, and Sureblood. Nothing bad can happen to that horse 
.||
Ch 27: ||Shallan is in the gardens. A refuge, supposedly, but the Davar family estate offers no real sanctuary. There's no peace here. And the shouting never stops. Not in this house. One brother is setting fires, another is raving how he's the only sane one, and Shallan is quietly disassociation against the wallpaper. The vibe here is less "family drama" and more domestic psychological horror.||
sleek remnant
Ch 28: ||Shallan meets Kaladin, I'm so excited ||
||I'm a little confused. There's this moment where Tyn is pretending to be angry, and it's noted that "she actually managed to produce angerspren with the remark." I thought spren responded/appeared from genuine emotion? So apparently it isn't like this, and a performance and lying can cause spren to appear? Do the spren just not care if the emotion is genuine, as long as the outward "signs" are there?||
sleek remnant
Ch 29: ||Sadeas is again being horrible, he just slaughters the Parshendi and is proud of it. He also remembers the one time they surrendered, and he personally killed them all, ensuring they'd never try it again. He brags about this. So there was a moment of potential peace, and he crushed it. What kind of man is proud of that? What does it say about the culture of his surroundings that no one calls him out about it?||
||Sadeas says that he knows Amaram for "the ruthless bastard" he really is. It's kind of a mirror moment. Sadeas sees himself in Amaram. He's disgusted about Amaram pretending to be something he's not, but he sees right through the act. Sadeas may be awful, but he's not a hypocrite. He doesn't pretend to be better than he is. He's honest about the fact that he's a villain.||
||Sadeas and Ialai are a good match. They're both cold, conniving, devoid of empathy. Watching them scheme together is like imagining a pair of spiders discussing which part of the web to reinforce. Ialai drops the revelation about the assassination attempt with disturbing casualness. And Sadeas's only reaction is a sort of bored curiosity; not only about who did it, but whether he should beat them to the punch. He even thinks that he should kill Elhokar himself, "out of respect for old Gavilar." Excuse me? He's going to murder the king, and then what? Rule the place from the shadows? Use a puppet king? Crown himself?||
sleek remnant
Ch 30: ||Shallan draws a portrait of Gaz, and she doesn't just draw what's there. She draws what could be, what should be. And in doing so, she shapes reality. Maybe now Gaz stands straighter. People begin to treat him with a little more respect. He sees himself in her drawing, and starts to become it.||
||I really don't know what to make of Tyn yet. She's dangerous, but is she going to be a threat to Shallan in the future?||
sleek remnant
Ch 31: ||The scene with Kaladin and Pitt . They are two men who have survived through unspeakable trauma. The fact that Pitt speaks of their time as bridgemen like it was a past life is very real, because trauma can sometimes feel like that. Like you were someone else back then, like you can't quite recognise that version of yourself anymore. And Kaladin is quietly validating Pitt's pain, showing how far he's come as a leader. Teft has been successful in training new squad leaders, it's a small victory that speaks volumes. People are healing, trust is being built. Hope is returning.||
||Kaladin really seems to sense a highstorm before it arrives. He's not really sure if it's that he's detecting, just that the air feels wrong. What is exactly happening here? Is he growing more powerful, and is now able to do this as well? If what Kaladin is sensing is really a highstorm, is there something about this particular storm that makes it somehow special?||
||Tyn is not giving me good vibes at all. I feel like she's really going to become a problem for Shallan.||
eternal sand
Meme about a later chapter || https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEoJS_lRKPP/?igsh=MWx0dmxyb3FjOTAxcQ==||
Instagram
sleek remnant
Ch 32: ||Dalinar is questioned by the Stormfather. That interrogation about whether he will betray Syl is so unsettling. It also strikes Kaladin's big fear: not being trusted, not being worthy, and above all, failing those who rely on him.||
||There's this eerie little part where Shallan is watching Pattern tremble and whimper in fear. Like Syl, he's sensing the doom that's coming; neither of them really have the words to explain it. It's like the spren can smell a predator in the wind.||
||Kaladin wakes up already on edge, his instincts screaming that something is wrong. I love that he doesn't question those instincts, he just acts. Dalinar also listens to Kaladin without demanding logic, he is just trusting him, which I'm happy about. Kaladin, of course, ends up being right, and what follows is pure chaos. The Assassin in White arrives like death incarnate, and things become very intense very quickly.||
||The fight . Kaladin, who's been getting more comfortable with his powers and more skillful, now gets to test his skills against Szeth. Szeth doesn't have a spren guiding him, and he's not a Radiant. That is an interesting detail. So it looks like Szeth's power is kind of a hollow mimickry of that of a Radiant, and it shows in how he moves: efficient, brutal, joyless. Kaladin gets wrecked. Not because he's weak, necessarily, but because he's just not ready yet. Szeth is a trained assassin, he's like the best of the best, and Kaladin is still finding his feet in this magic stuff. When he takes that Shardblade to the arm, it's brutal. A harsh reminder that even with Stormlight, even with speed and instinct, he's not invincible. Still, Kaladin tackles Szeth away from Dalinar. That's some unhinged, classic Kaladin bravery right there||
||Dalinar did what?? He's catching a Shardblade with his bare hands? Are you kidding me? This is a killing stroke for sure, intended for his heart, and he's catching it between his palms like he's clapping back at death itself. Please tell me that Dalinar will get some amazing magic powers later on in this book as well, because he's clearly not an ordinary dude||
sleek remnant
Ch 33: ||Kaladin just yeets himself out of a castle with Szeth and survives. Sure, he had Stormlight, and yeah, I've seen him do some wild things before, but this is different. He hits hard, he breaks. Then, he heals. But it's not just the physical damage that's important here, it's what that injury means to him. His hand is gone, and for a horrifying moment, he believes he is gone. No spear grip. No saving people. No meaning. And then, the Stormlight works. Kaladin heals from a Shardblade wound. This is a crucial moment, not just for Kaladin, but for Szeth. Because Szeth knows that can't happen, and as a result he's having an existential crisis because his whole life has been a lie.||
||Szeth's reaction is heart-wrenching. He's not angry, he's not vengeful. He's shattered. His scream of "They told me I was a liar!" is full of agony. I could just hear his worldview collapse. How will he act now, knowing that he was right all along?||
||It's a little frustrating how Kaladin refuses to tell Dalinar and the others the truth. Like the moment is right there, and he doesn't say it. But I can understand why he doesn't; he's traumatized, and deeply unsure of how people in power treat people like him. It's fear born from experience. But still... this hurts. It's a moment where he could've gained allies and lifted a huge burden, and instead, he doubles down on secrecy. Adolin, of course, notices. His suspicions mount. Kaladin is acting very much not like a guardsman, and Adolin is getting strange vibes. The problem is that his feelings are clashing with his respect. Adolin wants to trust Kaladin, but Kaladin gives him nothing to work with. And that silence breeds more paranoia. Also? From Adolin's perspective: Dalinar is the Blade-catcher, Kaladin is the assassin-tackler, and he's... stuck to a ceiling. That's gotta sting||
sleek remnant
Ch 34: ||Tyn, you chose the wrong girl to mess with . She completely underestimated Shallan. Tyn thought she had a puppet. Instead, she had a badass with magical powers and a spren.||
||Pattern is again being the best; mimicking Jasnah's voice, alerting the men 
.||
||The moment Shallan sends the spanreed message and accepts the invitation to the meeting, it's a moment of competence. She's playing a very dangerous game. And it's just remarkable how she doesn't hesitate. She's stepping into her own now; not as Jasnah's ward, not as the innocent noblewoman, but as something else. She's truly becoming a player in this game||
sleek remnant
I-6: ||I think Zahel really recognises how much weight Kaladin is carrying, and how much he still has to learn. And how much he needs someone to show him the way. But it's really awesome that Kaladin now wants to learn how to fight a Shardblade, he really needs to know how to do that!||
maiden plank
I finished part 3 today. I have sticky tabs for all the notes i have to share but just wanted to do a quick update:
Up to ch 58 mood spoilers ||AAAAAAAAAAH IM NOT OKAY, I MIGHT BINGE THIS ALL TOMORROW BECAUSE I HAVE TO KNOW||
cyan flame
I love this for you!!!
sleek remnant
Ch 35: ||Navani continues to be one of the most compelling characters for me. She doesn't possess Stormlight, she's not a warrior, she's not even officially in power. But she is brilliant, sharp, and deeply aware of what she is able to do.||
||Adolin is in a spiral here. Fresh off his brush with death, he's chosen a new path: never take off the armor. Ever. In a way Adolin is the ideal of a man in this society; he's a skilled warrior, a noble, and charming. But he's also a young man rocked by the realisation that a Shardblade and rank can't guarantee safety. Now he's clinging to what control he has: armor, caution, mistrust. His mistrust of Kaladin is evident. Kaladin saved his father's life, but he's also a total mystery. Adolin can't seem to decide if Kaladin is a threat or an ally.||
sleek remnant
Ch 36: ||Shallan's ability to imagine and then become a version of herself is on full display here. She literally sketches the woman she needs to be and then plays the part. The tension between truth and illusion is a constant theme with Shallan, and now her transformation is not framed as deception, but as potential truth. She's done pretending she's small, and that resolution gives her the power to walk into Dalinar's war camp like she owns the place, even if the guards don't quite agree.||
||The meeting between Shallan and Kaladin is so satisfying, and also kind of ridiculous. Both are on edge, both feel they have something to prove, and both come off as petty and reactive. At this point they're like oil and water, I wonder what will happen to their relationship as time passes.||
||Vathah is really starting to shine. His suggestion that Shallan might be planning to assassinate the king is so matter-of-fact . He's pragmatic in a way Shallan needs, and his evolution from reluctant mercenary to invested bodyman is happening fast. His willingness to let her do her job and his distaste for the king show that he's picking sides. For now, he chooses Shallan.||
||I wouldn't want to be Gaz right now, seeing the man you sent to be killed numerous times be in such a high position must suck||
sleek remnant
Ch 37: ||Adolin is practically vibrating with frustration. He's fresh off an encounter with a literal magical assassin, and here the rules of politics seem more constraining than ever. There's a lot of status games, shallow alliances, polite backstabbing, and a whole lot of nothing getting done. I can almost feel Adolin's blood pressure rising. And honestly, who wouldn't be climbing the walls? He wants action, something concrete; a duel, a plan, a direction, but all he gets is talk. Adolin has many strengths, but he's still very much out of depth when navigating the world of politics. That moment where he nearly punches Sadeas? Completely justified emotionally, but also exactly what Sadeas wants him to do. And he almost gives it to him.||
||Sadeas is still just... ugh. There's no villain quite like the smug, untouchable kind. He doesn't even need a Shardblade to be dangerous; his weapon is words. Amaram stepping in to "mediate" is just like an another snake coming in the scene. It's fascinating how smoothly he inserts himself into the moral middle ground. I was just rolling my eyes at his attempts to cast himself as the great unifier.||
||Shallan walks in, and the tone shifts. Adolin is immediately intrigued, not just by her looks, but because she doesn't fit. She's not like the women he's used to. That sense of otherness draws him like a moth to a flame. It's not love at first sight exactly, but something is happening ||
sleek remnant
Ch 38: ||Shallan is navigating political tension, grief over Jasnah's death, and her growing attraction to Adolin, all at once. And then she decides to try flirting with lines like "Your hair is nice." It kind of feels like a line you say when your brain hits the panic button and shoves the first vaguely positive phrase it can find into your mouth. It's funny and sweet, and it gives Adolin a glimpse into her vulnerability. More importantly, it breaks the ice. Shallan is not hiding behind a mask. She's just Shallan, awkward and endearing.||
||Every time Sadeas opens his mouth, I want to punch something. He doesn't even need to say much, just exist in Dalinar and Adolin's space, and you can feel the tension go up. Dalinar's restraint in the face of that smug smile is saintly. Adolin's visible reaction shows what's just beneath the surface.||
||I really don't know what to make of Sebarial yet||
sleek remnant
Ch 39: ||At this point, Lin Davar is all but a ruined man. He's still pretending, clinging desperately to appearances. The pathetic grandeur of it all is so transparent, and Shallan sees the cracks. But what's really chilling is how much more dangerous he's become. He brutally beat a maid because of a letter from Helaran. This is the kind of man that burns everything in his radius.||
||Balat is angry and bitter, understandably so. Shallan, ever the one trying to keep the family stitched together, quietly insists their father didn't kill their mother. But she can't say either what did happen. Her repression is so absolute that even she doesn't know the truth anymore. She's built walls so high around that day, even her subconscious can't peek over them. I just feel horrible for her||
||It just hurts my heart how Shallan is making up stories for her brothers, making these humorous comments and telling tales about their father's conversation. She's a child trying to bring some cheerfulness to her shattered family, creating laughter in the very house that snuffs out joy.||
||It's notable that no one speaks up when Redin calls for information. It's a horrifying moment, because the fear is so paralysing. Everyone knows something is off, and yet silence rules.||
graceful oracle
Ch 39: ||At this point, Lin Davar is all but a ruined man. He's still pretending...
I love reading your comments
sleek remnant
Ch 40: ||Dalinar thinks he's building the future of Alethkar with honour and vision. Sadeas thinks he's maintaining power through old-school brutality. But Sebarial is doing something totally different; he's building a city. He is misjudged by the rest of the Highprinces and even by Jasnah, whose notes are significantly out-of-date. I think Sebarial is a character who weaponizes being underestimated. The others dismiss him as lazy and foolish, but he's quietly cornered the market on essentials; there's manufactories, food, textiles, glassblowers - the things that truly support an army or a kingdom. He doesn't care about looking glorious, he cares about being in control of the things other people will eventually need.||
||After so many chapters of pain, pressure, and tension, Shallan's arrival at Sebarial's warcamp feels like a soft landing. Not only is the place shockingly functional, but it's also civilised, thoughtful, well-planned, and surprisingly warm. It's a place where Shallan can breathe. This is one of the first moments since Jasnah's death where she seems to have a chance to stabilise. She's still clearly struggling, but this is the beginning of her new life. She's stepping into a court, into political maneuvering, and into a new identity. And now, instead of harsh scrutiny, she's welcomed with banter and care.||
||Palona is an immediate fave; she's witty, grounded, and has zero time for anyone's nonsense. And she does all this while casually offering Shallan financial and emotional support without making a big deal about it.||
sleek remnant
Ch 41: ||There's something quietly heartbreaking about Kaladin thinking the chasms feel like coming home. These were the places of his lowest points, his deepest despair. And yet, this is where he feels comfortable. Maybe that's because the world of the lighteyes, politics, and honour, still feels alien and unstable to him. Down at the chasms, the lines are clearer. It's life or death. Step carefully or don't.||
||Kaladin has spent so much time being reactive; reacting to betrayal, reacting to injustice, reacting to pain. But now, maybe for the first time, he's trying to act from principle. He wants to know if Dalinar really is who he says he is. If he is, Kaladin can believe in something again. In honour, in purpose. In the idea that maybe, just maybe, the world isn't as broken as he thinks. Syl's response that honour is dead is simple, but it hits deep. Maybe honours is literally, cosmically dead. But that doesn't mean the idea of it is. It survives in people, in their choices, in small acts of decency and sacrifice. In Kaladin himself. In Syl, who is not just a windspren anymore, but a representation of ideals.||
||Okay, Kaladin runs up a wall. This is huge. Even though he falls flat on his back shortly afterwards, that's amazing progress . Kaladin is rising, but it won't be easy. He's gaining power, but his mistrust and emotional baggage are holding him down.||
||Renarin, sweetie . Here's a boy, a prince, a Shardbearer, humbling himself completely to be part of something that looks, from the lens of his peers, probably like the lowest rug of the war machine. But to Renarin, Bridge Four is everything. Brotherhood, competence, courage. He wants in not for glory, but to understand and learn. Kaladin, in turn, sees him, like really sees him, and finally makes a choice not based on lighteyes vs. darkeyes. He sees Renarin's anxiety, his resolve, and his need, and he respects it. Why was Renarin so afraid to ask, though? Is he used to being turned away? Mocked? Ignored?||
||I don't trust Moash. His bitterness is taking root, his cynicism growing. I don't know, he's suspicious. Or maybe I'm just overreacting, because I don't like him 
.||
sleek remnant
Ch 42: ||Shallan is finally taking conscious control of her powers, no longer just reacting instinctively. She is no longer doing some minor changes, now she is stepping into someone completely different. She is understanding that she can be someone else. This is such fascinating stuff!||
||Pattern's obsession with lies and truths, and his childlike glee at discovering metaphors is so endearing 
||
||The spanreed conversation is tense. Shallan impersonating Tyn is such a high-stakes moment. She's bluffing, adapting, weaving illusion not just visually but socially. The fact that she succeeds, and even books a meeting, proves she's growing more dangerous and confident. But this situation is no joke, and I'm a little bit afraid of how this will work out. At least she has Pattern, that spren is extremely competent||
sleek remnant
Ch 43: ||Shallan finds her disguise very freeing. As a lighteyed woman, she's always been scrutinized, expected to be polite, proper, or quiet. But as a darkeyed "nobody," she can slip between people, watch unobserved, and be whoever she wants. As she finds the right building and enters, she's terrified, but is charging ahead anyway. I think that's why I like her character so much, it's that blend of vulnerability and boldness. She doesn't stop being afraid. She just keeps going anyway.||
||Shallan actually notices her coping mechanisms, I love a good self-awareness moment ||
||Omg the Ghostbloods are so intimidating. The fact that Shallan survives this meeting, much less impresses Mraize, is remarkable. Still, the whole thing makes my skin crawl. I really don't want Shallan to be in any kind of contact with these people.||
||Now Shallan has a mission: investigate Amaram. This is juicy, because I already know he's shady, but not really the full details. I feel like now that Shallan is inserting herself full force into this particular political knot, there's going to be more crossover with Kaladin, and inevitably more painful revelations. Also, the stakes are so high here: Shallan is now infiltrating both the Ghostbloods and Sebarial's camp while secretly investigating a highlord close with Dalinar. And there's this marriage thing with Adolin. Shallan is truly playing multiple sides here.||
||Shallan makes a spontaneous wall-illusion to get away from the person following her? That's so cool. It's a good thing that Shallan is such a quick thinker. But this also makes me so nervous because it's all very risky. Shallan's illusions require Stormlight, and without it the disguises fall apart. So Shallan's magic isn't a get-out-of-danger-free card. It amplifies the stakes. This same goes for Kaladin obviously||
sleek remnant
Ch 44: ||Kaladin's interactions with Syl are starting to be a little snappy and just not great. It feels like his choices are actively warping their bond in a way, like Syl is being driven further away||
||Shallan's entrance is classic her; it's unpredictable, self-assured, and delightfully disruptive. She immediately unravels both Kaladin and Adolin just by existing. She's interacting with Adolin in a way he's obviously not used to. Shallan sees things differently. She's not bound by the same cultural rules. She's still playing roles, of course, but this moment feels like her being herself. Adolin very much seems to like being thrown off. His interaction with Shallan moves beyond flirtation into genuine fascination. Poor Kaladin cannot figure her out at all. He's deeply distrustful of her, mostly because he has to categorise her as a lighteyes to make sense of his world, and she keeps refusing to play by the rules.||
||Moash's story here hits hard. His background - how his grandparents were falsely accused and broken - reveals the underbelly of the lighteyes' system. It's tragic, and it's also understandable that Moash feels justice will only be served through assassination. Kaladin's bargain with him feels ominous. I feel like Moash is not backing down, he will end up doing something||
sleek remnant
Ch 45: ||The full dysfunction of the Davar household is on display here. Each family member is falling apart in a different direction: Balat mutilating creatures to exert control, Wikim toying with the thought of death, Jushu gambling and spiraling. And in the middle of it all is Shallan, the quiet caretaker. The child trying to be the adult, to keep everyone stitched together with her wit, her intelligence, and her refusal to let go of hope. It's just heartbreaking. The way she takes on the role of peacemaker, fixer, and secret-keeper; these are roles thrust upon her not by choice but necessity.||
sleek remnant
Ch 46: ||I like how Bridge Four continues to evolve. Hobber is back, even though he's wounded. Renarin seems to be quietly accepted, not as a full member but at least as someone who matters. Lopen and his endless cousins bring a kind of warmth that keeps the group from slipping into despair. Even the mention of different bridge crews progressing at different paces feels very real; healing doesn't happen at the same pace for everyone. Rock's story is incredible, and I just love him as a character.||
||Then there's the political scheming. Danlan, Graves, and the mercenaries want Elhokar dead. They're calm, rational, and even persuasive. Their arguments make sense, but they're built on despair. The belief that Alethkar is beyond saving unless drastic action is taken. It's chilling that they're not entirely wrong. Dalinar probably would make a better king. Elhokar has made a mess of things. But murder really isn't the answer. And yet, Kaladin isn't able to fully reject it. That's really the tension: Kaladin knows it's wrong, but part of him wants it anyway.||
delicate crown
I’m hoping to binge through this the next two days!
I-6
||>>> “Zahel pulled up his blanket—damn monks only got one—and turned over on his cot. He expected a voice to speak in his mind as he drifted off. Of course, there wasn’t one.
Hadn’t been one in years.”||
||oooooh, there’s history here too. Zahel, who are you really? 
||
I-7
||> “Kalak will teach you to cast bronze, if you have forgotten this. We will Soulcast blocks of metal directly for you. I wish we could teach you steel, but casting is so much easier than forging, and you must have something we can produce quickly. Your stone tools will not serve against what is to come.”||
||This is interesting… who is this person and what’s happening ||
Ch. 35
||>>> “ “Aunt,” he said. “Have you been, uh, doing anything to encourage my father’s advances? Between you two, I mean.” For a boy who spent half his life flirting with anything in a dress, he certainly did blush a lot when he said that.
“Encourage him?” Navani said. “I did more than that, child. I practically had to seduce the man. Your father is certainly stubborn.”||
||LMAO, I hadn’t expected Adolin to have a shy side. I really admire Navani btw, she’s a force to be reckoned with ||
sleek remnant
Ch 48: ||There's a rare moment of peace and laughter, with Shallan, Balat and Wikim joking and having fun. It's a scene that almost feels out of place, because pretty much everything else I've read about Shallan's past has been so horrible. For a brief moment, Shallan's interventions are working. Balat, who used to dismember creatures as a stress outlet, is becoming more stable thanks to his relationship with Eylita. Wikim, the intellectual but previously suicidal brother, has found meaning in math and support from the local ardents. Shallan, ever the glue holding things together, gets to smile for once. But that peace doesn't last.||
||Unlike Balat or Wikim, Jushu never stabilised. He leaned into gambling and arrogance. He's pretty much still a child in a man's body, looking for escape in the thrill of chance. But the house of cards has collapsed. He gambled too much, owes too much, and their father is too broke and too bitter to save him. And so it's time for Shallan to step up again. She offers the daggers and her necklace, and a story of emotional safety. It's a beautiful, desperate appeal to humanity. Not legal obligation, not honour, not pride, just love. And it works, but barely.||
||Lin Davar is a terrifying man. Shallan sees his eyes glowing like embers, is the man possessed or something? Then he grabs Shallan and it takes a while before he even notices her tears and fear. Lin's controlling abuse, and the way he hurts others to punish Shallan is just awful. He shows her that the terribly beaten maid is the price of her saying no.||
sleek remnant
Ch 49: ||I really liked Adolin in this chapter. Up until now, I've mostly seen him through others' eyes, through Kaladin's skepticism, or Dalinar's expectations. He's the dashing prince, the Shardbearer, the golden son. But here we meet Adolin as a person. And he's... a little dorky. Surprisingly sincere. Kind of exhausted with all the performative aspects of his life. He's a guy who's played the role of "the ideal noble" for so long, he's numb to it. Shallan, with her bizarre questions and strange insights, cuts right through it. There's the poop story (I didn't need to know this much detail but it's fine 
), and in a way it's profound. He doesn't try to impress her; instead, he tells the most undignified story there is, and she loves it. Because it's real. Adolin has all these depths, and Shallan brings them out. It was so nice to see how they both slipped out of their roles and into something real. They talk about politics, war, and biology. And it's not boring, it's intimate. There's a growing mutual respect alongside the romantic tension.||
sleek remnant
Ch 50: ||After the spark of connection with Shallan, Adolin is left to stew in his own thoughts, thinking about her, yes, but also about politics, power, and Sadeas. The duel with Elit, Sadeas's taunts, it's all pressing in. Still, he doesn't break. He wants to, and that moment with Sadeas is a knife's edge. When Adolin thinks about what it would be like to kill the man right there - how satisfying, how just, how final it would be - it's very understandable. Only his training and the memory of his father's honour hold him back.||
||The fact that the bridgeman acknowledges Adolin with a subtle nod after that confrontation with Sadeas is huge. Adolin is earning real loyalty from men who value honour, restraint, and strength of will. Adolin's refusal to descend to that level doesn't make him weak in their eyes, it makes him worthy.||
||Every scene with Sadeas makes me anxious. He's the perfect antagonist. His arguments about Dalinar and Elhokar being shadows of the men they once were are maddeningly manipulative. He believes himself the hero of his own story. That conviction makes him incredibly dangerous.||
||More glyphs 
. They're a countdown. The "thirty-two days" warning hangs heavy, and with Navani confirming that it doesn't lead to a highstorm, but to a mysterious date during the Weeping, just adds the tension and my confusion. Dalinar assumes he scratched them, but he seems to think something is off. It's as if his body was used like a pen, and he doesn't remember writing the message.||
sleek remnant
Ch 51: ||Adolin finally wins an argument against Dalinar. Adolin knows, how rare that is. He's aware of the sheer gravity of his father's presence, and in that moment, he matches it. This isn't a rebellious son challenging his father. It's a man who has shouldered enough responsibility, carried enough burdens, to demand that his voice be heard. And he does so not with disrespect, but with urgency. He's scared for Dalinar, and that's perfectly reasonable.||
||Sureblood isn't just a horse to Adolin, the horse is his bonded companion. Losing that connection, even temporarily, puts him off-balance. Gallant belongs to Dalinar. Riding Gallant unfamiliar. Adolin is stepping into Dalinar's literal and metaphorical shoes, but he knows he doesn't fit them. Not quite. He respects his father enormously, but he's not him. And I feel like Adolin doesn't want to be his father, not entirely. But there's this strong feeling that he's trying to play a role he's not quite built for.||
||By the time Adolin returns, Dalinar is already planning a full-scale attack. He's not shaken by Eshonai's words, he's energised by them. He's the Blackthorn. Once he decides something, it happens. The idea that this massive plan was already in motion when Adolin returned makes me wonder if this war was always going to escalate. Was this meeting just a formality? Now, there's nothing holding back the tide. And the timing syncs up perfectly with the countdown glyphs.||
sleek remnant
Ch 52: ||There's something euphoric in Kaladin's arc here. After chapters of struggle, trauma, and hesitation, we get to see him take control of his powers with purpose. He's not reacting to danger anymore, he's training. And it feels like watching someone learn to fly in every sense of the word. The moment he realises how Lashings really work is triumphant. He doesn't really analyse it at first, he just feels it. And for a character like Kaladin, who's so used to being stuck in his head, weighed down by guilt, that moment of instinctive, unburdened motion is breathtaking. He embraces his powers with joy instead of dread or duty. He's still grounded; he know what he wants them for, but just for a moment, he lets go. There's beauty in that.||
||Syl and Kaladin's conversation about Shardblades is powerful. Syl's reaction isn't a dramatic outburst, it's wounded. Her pain at Kaladin even considering a Shardblade is so real, and yet Kaladin is being practical. He needs a weapon to match Szeth. Still, Syl won't tell him how to forge a new Shardblade, even though she admits it's possible. Why? Is she afraid of what it means to him, or what it would mean for her?||
||Shallan swaps disguises fluidly, manipulates staff without cruelty, and uses her skills with Pattern like a pro. There's a thrill in watching her own this part of her identity. This is her element. Deception is her artistry, and in that regard, she's soaring just like Kaladin. But then: the Shardblade. The horror of realising that her beloved brother, Helaran, was the assassin Amaram boasts about killing, while keeping his Shards, is unbearable. It's especially grotesque how casually Amaram tells the story. It's now clear that Amaram hasn't just ruined Kaladin's past, he's a source of personal devastation for multiple protagonists.||
||Rlain reveals his true identity and says goodbye. He's a Parshman, but not a mindless one. He has intent. He clearly has secrets. His decision to leave has some regret in it. Kaladin doesn't stop him, but it feels like he wants to. The fact that Rlain came to say goodbye at all feels significant. There's a respect there. What's he going to do? Where's he going?||
delicate crown
Ch.36
||>>> “You unlocked it.”
“A pattern,” he said happily.
“You can move things?”
“Push a little here and there,” he said. “Very little strength on this side. Mmm…”||
||Oh pattern, you little cutie 
I love both sprens so much that I get scared about their foreshadowed future ||
||>>> “Do you still think I’m incapable of keeping my promises to them?”
He actually smiled. “No. I think I’ve been right convinced, Brightness.”
“Well then?”
“I’ll reassure them,” he said.
“Excellent.” ”||
||The GROWTH ✨
I’m all for this bad-ass confident Shallan||
delicate crown
||>>> “Well, forgive me for not trusting the word of a Horneater princess. Would you like some shells to chew on while my men tow you away to the dungeons?”
All right, that’s enough.
“The dungeons sound wonderful!” she said. “At least there, I’d be away from you, idiot man!”
“Only for a short time. I’d be by to interrogate you.”
“What? I couldn’t pick a more pleasant option? Like being executed?”
“You’re assuming I could find a hangman willing to put up with your blathering long enough to fit the rope.”
“Well, if you want to kill me, you could always let your breath do the job.”
He reddened, and several guards nearby started snickering. They tried to stifle their reaction as Captain Kaladin looked at them.
“I should envy you,” he said, turning back to her. “My breath needs to be up close to kill, while that face of yours can kill any man from a distance.”
“Any man?” she asked. “Why, it’s not working on you. I guess that’s proof that you’re not much of a man.”
“I misspoke. I didn’t mean any man, just males of your own species—but don’t worry, I’ll take care not[…]”||
||I’m loving their bantering so much!||
maiden plank
i stayed up till 4:30 am to finish part 4 
i would share my notes but i am now currently in too deep and i must continue and will share what I've tabbed out later
)
maiden plank
MANOUK please rest omg
I slept for 6 hours, that's enough to continue to read /hj
I AM LOVING IT, IM OBSESSED. But why do these books always get me into the slump in the first place I do not know
now that im pushing through i am enjoying the binge and getting over my slump that the book itself created
maiden plank
it helps when i pick up the audio book and select the speed and see the number go down
sleek remnant
Ch 53: ||What I like about this duel with Elit is how methodical and emotionally restrained Adolin is. He doesn't let the thrill control him, and he doesn't fall into the trap of trying to be flashy or satisfying the crowd. He executes a plan, and it's very precise.||
||Elit clearly isn't playing fair; aiming for Adolin's faceplate with a Shardblade? That's not dueling, that's attempted murder. Which makes Adolin's cool-headed response even more impressive. He disarms Elit, and he doesn't gloat. He's above it.||
||Again there's a spark between Shallan and Adolin. Shallan congratulates him, and Adolin melts a bit. It's sweet. But of course, it doesn't last. The arrival of Relis shifts the mood hard. Adolin was prepared, but maybe not quite as prepared as he thought.||
||Adolin's challenge to Relis. It's a brilliant bait, but taken maybe a little too far. "I'll fight you and whomever you bring, together" is either boldness taken too far, or the kind of high-stakes bluff that only plays off if the opponent doesn't fully realise the loophole. Because if I was Relis, I would think it would be the best course of action to just exploit this wording, and bring some freaking monster creature to the duel and just be like "you said I could bring whomever I wanted" 
. Also, where is Dalinar in all of this? Does he know what his son is doing? Does he approve of this plan? Or has Adolin started to operate more independently?||
sleek remnant
Ch 54: ||Shallan is, for the most part, in control. Her performance in the meeting is sharp: her notes are perfectly redacted, her story convincing, her use of Veil as a cover persona well-practiced. But it only takes a single slip, admitting her sketching is drawn from memory, for the whole mask to crack just slightly. Shallan is brilliant, but she's still young, still new to this. She doesn't have the same instincts that some of these other people might have, and the truth has a way of slipping out. Mraize doesn't miss a thing. It's insane how calmly he identifies that she killed Tyn and praises her for it. Shallan has been spiraling further into morally grey territory, and now she's being told that she did a good job. The Ghostbloods don't see murder as a tragedy, they see it as merit.||
||Mraize has given the others permission to eliminate Shallan, and that's terrifying. The burned carriage, the murdered coachman, the dead parshmen. Shallan walks away, alive, but the cost is real. People died because of her association, and though the murders weren't her doing, she knows it was her decisions that put them in danger. That's a devastating realisation||
delicate crown
I slept for 6 hours, that's enough to continue to read <:kek:811230413154025472>...
I feel the same way!! Idk what it is about it like it’s not that I’m not enjoying them but it’s a slow trudge and then when I start bingeing, I just can’t stop
It’s a proper vacation book as in if I were to have a day off with no plans whatsoever, I’d finish this in a day easily
olive tinsel
i stayed up till 4:30 am to finish part 4 <:kek:811230413154025472> <:hellodark...
Omg Manouk
I agree though, I went super slow through the first 400ish pages and then went so fast because I was so intrigued
sleek remnant
Ch 55: ||Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin in one carriage? That's quite a setup. Kaladin is grumpy and suspicious, Adolin is increasingly frustrated by his bodyguard third wheel, and Shallan is just trying to be delightful (and succeeding). Kaladin's moodiness is tied to his mistrust of lighteyes and all his unresolved trauma. Watching him try to justify inserting himself into the date with "maybe she's an assassin" is peak Kaladin: deeply protective, emotionally avoidant. He's convinced he doesn't belong with these people, and yet he's growing slowly close to them. He's going to end up being friends with Adolin, I'm sure of that.||
||Wit is here?? His banter with Kaladin is funny. He clearly sees him. Wit knows exactly what Kaladin is. And then there's the reunion with Shallan. Her hug, that burst of genuine emotion . Shallan rarely lets her mask slip, but here, she's just a girl thanking the man who once offered her help. And Wit, who is always clever and in control, is completely thrown.||
||The visit to the menagerie is interesting. Shallan is curious, empathetic, eager to learn. She engages fully with the world, and is endlessly curious. Adolin is baffled but tries to connect. He's a man of action, not introspection, but he genuinely wants to understand Shallan. Kaladin sees the cages as safety. Maybe he recognises his own metaphorical prison, and it feels familiar.||
||Why can't these people just have a good time without some piece of work arriving to ruin the moment . Now it's Amaram. This man betrayed Kaladin, murdered his friends, stole his Shards. And here Dalinar is showing support to Amaram in public. This sucks||
graceful oracle
Ch 56 ||Omg Kale, you idiot||
Hee hee ||Im going to start calling them Kale and Shale||
sleek remnant
Ch 56: ||Of course these petty pieces of crap were going to find the loophole in Adolin's words, and now everything's a mess. Even with all this strength and skill, Adolin can't win alone, not against four Shardbearers who have no intention of fighting fair. Clearly the honour of the lighteyes and these dueling conventions is corruptible. The system is a facade. The highjudge's refusal to intervene despite everything is sickening.||
||I'm sorry but what the f is Renarin doing in the arena . He knows he can't win, he can barely even function in the environment, and yet he steps into the arena without hesitation. Yes he's choosing to be brave and all, but please just don't do this||
||Dalinar's rage and helplessness is so clear, and it's tough to watch. He's essentially reduced to pleading with the crowd, he can't do much else. He appeals to Amaram, and Amaram looks away. So there's no longer any illusion of Amaram's integrity, and now hopefully Dalinar understands that he's a fraud.||
||Oh look, it's Kaladin once again being impulsive and self-destructive||
graceful oracle
Ch 57 ||I do feel a little bad for Kale. He did do a good job fighting the shardbearers and then overstepped with the boon. Two steps forward three steps back||
sleek remnant
Ch 57: ||After all the posturing, arguments, and tension between Adolin and Kaladin, here they are; they're fighting back to back, trusting each other in the ultimate moment. No hesitation, no hierarchy. Just two warriors, acting as one. Adolin really shines here. His fighting skills are pretty jaw-dropping. He doesn't have any flashy magical abilities ; he's just that good.||
||Kaladin is a badass too, obviously||
||It all ends in triumph, and then Kaladin opens his mouth. I understand why he did this and challenges Amaram, but this is not the way. I feel so bad for him though, the system is just against him||
graceful oracle
Interlude 9 ||the constant references to her awesomeness is really annoying me. What do you mean?||
sleek remnant
Ch 58: ||Kaladin is a bit infuriating in here, even though he's one of my favourite characters and I deeply support him . He's raw, honest, and completely committed to doing what he thinks is right... but oh my god, is he blind to the consequences of his actions. Because tbh, he sabotaged this whole thing. I can feel his justified rage, Amaram stole everything from him. Yes, Amaram is scum. Yes, Kaladin saved Adolin's life. But the perfect political checkmate against Sadeas had been orchestrated, and Kaladin totally ruined that. Dalinar sees the long game, and understands that now, because of Kaladin, Sadeas slipped free and there's nothing they can do about it. Kaladin only saw the moment, not the mission.||
||This is also one of Elhokar's worst moments. And that's saying something. I want to root for him, he's a man trying to be a king. But he's still more concerned with being respected than being worthy of respect. He rages at Kaladin and Dalinar because Kaladin embarrassed him, the main reason is not that Kaladin jeopardized the plan. That's the main difference between Elhokar and Dalinar. Elhokar feels personally insulted. Dalinar feels like the world just got more dangerous. Elhokar is a guy who thinks power equals obedience, not responsibility. And that's why he stomps off like a toddler who's denied candy||
||It's satisfying to see Sadeas panic. He's shaken. He knows how close he came to being forced into a duel. And that fear is going to make him more dangerous. He starts plotting immediately, because fear doesn't humble Sadeas, it fuels him.||
sleek remnant
Ch 59: ||Kaladin is full of anger. He's furious at Elhokar of being a terrible king, furious at Dalinar for not stopping Elhokar, furious at Syl for telling him to trust, and most of all, furious at himself. This version of Kaladin is like a wound that refuses to heal because he won't stop poking it. The parallels to his time in the Bridge crew are stark, but different: then, he was broken but rising. Now, he's rising but letting himself break again. Syl is begging him not to lose faith, not just in others, but in himself. Syl's heartbreak is visible; she can only watch as the man she bonded with starts to turn into someone different. But Kaladin is not wrong. Elhokar is a bad king. The nobility is corrupt. Moash's anger is valid.||
||How does Wit just always randomly appear out of nowhere? He builds the story of Fleet around Kaladin's own words, and it feels like he's coaxing something out of Kaladin. Fleet's run against the storm is very much a metaphor for Kaladin's struggle.||
sleek remnant
Ch 60: ||It's sad to watch Shallan confront (and simultaneously flee from) the part of herself she refuses to acknowledge. There's something deeply human in her refusal to open the door fully to those locked-away memories. She's convinced that remembering will break her. In a way, it might, but not remembering isn't doing her any good either. I love how Pattern is guiding her, rather than simply observing.||
||It's fascinating how Shallan is progressing with her abilities. The way she instinctively attaches the illusion to Pattern and powers it through him is something new. It's as if she's creating living illusions, ones that persist beyond her immediate control. She's edging into territory we haven't seen before. If she can make them autonomous and mobile, that's an enormous leap. Imagine if she fully unlocked this skill? Multiple illusions acting independently, fully capable of producing sounds and speech... You could use that in so many situations.||
sleek remnant
Ch 61: ||These Shallan flashbacks are just really hard to read. The slaughter of Balat's axehound pups . It's known that Balat is unstable, violent even, but his devotion to Eylita and those pups gave him a sliver of humanity, something that mattered. Lin Davar has to know this. That's what makes this so much more awful. This is not merely a punishment, it's psychological warfare. It's a father telling his son: "Even the best parts of you are mine to ruin."||
||Shallan's continued insistence that she must stay with her father, even as Balat offers her a way out, is so sad. She still sees her father as redeemable, as someone she can help, someone she must help. She needs to believe her father isn't the villain, because facing the truth, that her father has become a monster is too traumatic to accept all at once.||
||Okay Malise, wow. This is the first time she's anything more than a shadow in the background, and her confrontation with Lin is fierce. Malise knows. She sees what Lin is doing, and for once, someone stands up to him for real. But it's a little too late, isn't it? Lin has already set the plan to kill Helaran in motion.||
delicate crown
Ch.37
||>>> “Someone stood behind him—a stout man with a bulbous face and black curly hair. His complexion was ruddy, the nose too red, fine veins visible in his cheeks. The man had the arms of a soldier, despite his frivolous outfit—which was, Adolin admitted grudgingly, quite fashionable. Dark slacks that were trimmed with forest green silk, a short open coat over a stiff matching shirt. Scarf at the neck.
Torol Sadeas, highprince, Shardbearer, and the very man Adolin had been thinking of—the single person he hated most in the world.”||
||oooh
Idk why I’d been imagining a short lanky old fellow when I thought of Sadeas. I mean not exactly ‘lanky’ but more like a sly snake kinda figure to represent the character he is? ||
sleek remnant
Ch 62: ||The story of Roshone is no longer a small town tragedy. It becomes part of a larger, systemic failure, and Kaladin finally has a name to pin to it: Elhokar. The worst part is that Elhokar probably doesn't even remember it. To Kaladin, it was a foundational trauma. To Elhokar, just another bureaucratic decision gone wrong. Kaladin still doesn't tell Dalinar the whole story, he doesn't mention his family.||
||Kaladin is reasoning that because Elhokar has made these decisions and because Kaladin and others have suffered, removing Elhokar might be not only justified, but necessary. Things are starting to get real||
delicate crown
I’m a little ahead btw like 42% in but sharing my annotations in sequence whenever I find the time to do so 
||>>> “Who was that?
Gorgeous red hair. There wasn’t a single lock of black in it. A slender build, so different from the curvaceous Alethi. A silken blue dress, simple yet elegant. Pale skin—it almost had a Shin look to it—matched by light blue eyes. A slight dusting of freckles under the eyes, giving her an exotic cast.
The young woman seemed to glide through the room. Adolin twisted about, watching her pass. She was so different.”||
||ooooooh, taken it at first sight! From what I’ve known of Adolin from book 1, this seems like a first and I’m excited||
Ch. 38
||>>> “I like to walk,” Shallan said. Stupid! Quick, say something witty. “Um. Your hair is nice.”
A part of her—the part trained by Tyn—groaned”||
||LMAO CUTE
Adolin’s always been so silly that I find it funny having someone be so taken in by him and of all folks it’s SHALLAN who sunk a ship full of assassins and killed a skilled one in actual combat! ||
||>>> “She’s watching the zoo, obviously,” Sebarial said. “The lot of you making fools of yourselves is the best free entertainment to be found in this frozen wasteland.”||
||Lmao, I’m liking this guy ||
||>>> “Almost, I wonder if the Parshendi are being framed—if someone is using this assassin to make certain that Alethkar never knows peace. But then, the Parshendi did claim to have hired him to kill my brother…”||
||yes dalinar! Yes! Just what I’ve been saying!||
sleek remnant
Ch 63: ||It's great to see how in control Shallan is, until, of course, she isn't. Watching her manipulate illusions, catch Iyatil, and then flip the situation around is exhilarating. She's using her powers so skillfully to her advantage. She's not just surviving, she's thriving. I'm a little worried how deeply involved she's becoming in half-truths and outright lies. She's lying to Adolin, she's cloaking herself in multiple personas, and now she's working together with Iyatil. I hope she doesn't forget her own identity while juggling all these false ones.||
||Iyatil is a curious presence. What does she really want? Is she an observer or an influencer? Is she teaching Mraize, or manipulating him? And what's the deeper significance behind her identity being so obscured?||
||The moment the so called madman grabs Shallan is scary. He seems to somehow sense her powers, and this stirs something in him. But he clearly isn't just chanting nonsense, there's more to this||
sleek remnant
Ch 64: ||Kaladin just screams depression: he's numb, hollowed out, unmotivated, and most alarmingly, losing his connection with Syl. That scene where the Stormlight resists him? It's like his bond, and therefore, his access to magic, hope, identity, is rejecting him. Syl warns him he's growing dark, and Kaladin shrugs it off as circumstantial. But the truth is deeper. His soul is shifting. He's turning inward, and justifying his growing desire for revenge and isolation.||
||Shallan is sharp, reactive, and balancing her masks even under extreme pressure. Her instant decision to go pitch black and hide in the corner is amazing, and shows how well she owns her powers. The presence of Amaram, and Shallan's reaction to him, is loaded with justified emotion. Yet she keeps her cool.||
||Shallan has gained the trust of the Ghostbloods, and she's excited about it. They respect her competence. It must be thrilling to be seen as something more than a sheltered noblewoman. It's validating, and dangerous. I don't know what Shallan's going to do with this tattoo thing though||
sleek remnant
Ch 65: ||The juxtaposition between Shallan's writings and Shallan's reality is sharp. Jasnah speaks of freedom, of choosing one's role. For Shallan, that's a fantast. It highlights the privilege Jasnah has; yes, she's challenged norms, but she's also done so from a position of relative power and safety. Shallan has grown up navigating a minefield, playing the perfect daughter, hiding secrets that would break most people, and absorbing trauma like a sponge. Jasnah is theorising about identity. Shallan is fighting for it.||
||Balat is a complicated character. Maybe he's not evil, but he's fragile and damaged and repeating the cycle. Hurting animals is the only way he knows to feel in control. It's absolutely horrific behaviour, but it's also a twisted coping mechanism. He doesn't have Shallan's strength, or her intelligence. He only has fear, resentment, and trauma.||
||Shallan becomes a healer here, not just literally, but emotionally. She's trying to fix things. Create escape routes. Offer freedom. Sacrifice her own chance to get away because she's the one who has to stay and keep holding the house together. She believes she's the glue, and that if she leaves, the rest will shatter.||
||Malise is misplacing the blame heavily. Saying that Shallan is the one who deserves to get beaten?? Why does she think Shallan deserves the pain? It just feels cruel and unfair; Shallan's the one risking everything to get them out. But I also understand that Malise has gone through trauma, and trauma can warp perception. Malise has probably been watching Lin Davar hold it together only around Shallan. Maybe she thinks Shallan gets a free pass. Maybe, deep down, she resents that this girl, who seems so clever, never gets the bruises, the cruelties. But the truth is that Shallan doesn't escape it either.||
maiden plank
I finished . I have even more tabbies now, I will catalogue them all tomorrow and also share final thoughts then. I need some time to let what happened settle in
And trust me, I have a lot of things to say these are all from part 3 and onwards
plush root
Chapter 1: ||Shallan saying that she thought Kabsal was in love with her and not mentioning her feelings on the matter at all 
it seems like a very deliberate distinction. ||
sleek remnant
Ch 66: ||After the emotionally exhausting tile of Kaladin's imprisonment and slow unraveling, there's a moment of hope: Kaladin is released. And more than that, Adolin was there with him, willingly imprisoning himself out of principle and camaraderie. That act speaks volumes. It reflects the ideal of unity, of loyalty between men of vastly different classes. Kaladin has long struggled to believe that lighteyes could be honourable, and here is Adolin, completely proving him wrong. Their exchange is tender, funny, and honest; their relationship is evolving! But I just feel bad now that I know Kaladin is actively seeking to get Elhokar killed. He just started to form a real relationship with Adolin and his family, now it's all going to be ruined||
||Moash is now magnificent, glowing, confident. I still have a bad feeling about him, I just can't shake it||
||I'm a little gutted that Kaladin decided to support Moash and the others' plot against Elhokar. After the growth he's shown, the friendships he's built, the men who have believed in him; it just hurts to watch him take this turn. He's had all this time to sit in a cell, brooding on injustice and powerlessness. To him, Elhokar is a symbol of all that's wrong with the system: weak leadership, privilege, and careless arrogance. Kaladin sees himself as taking control, restoring balance. But I don't like how Syl is just completely missing. It's just eerie silence when Kaladin agrees to help assassinate Elhokar. I feel like this decision will end up costing him so much||
sleek remnant
Ch 67: ||Navani is rambling, almost aimlessly. Dalinar, true to form, initially misses the point. Then, at last, he realises this is her way of coping with Jasnah's death. Despite being this master engineer and queenly figure, Navani is still a grieving mother.||
||Does Navani know that Dalinar cannot remember his wife? I don't remember if that's been mentioned. But I don't think she does||
||The feast is this political trap, full of snide whispers and falsified transcripts. Someone (Sadeas, clearly) has twisted Navani's accounts of Dalinar's visions to make him look like a religious fanatic or a madman. It could have gone so badly. But instead, Dalinar climbs on the table and gives this speech. That's such a power move; he embraces the thing used to mock him and flips the narrative. He doesn't just deflect the attack. He owns it, turns it into a momentum, and uses it to build support. He doesn't shrink from ridicule, he weaponises it. It's also a reminder that Dalinar's greatest strength isn't just his skill in battle, it's his conviction. When he believes in something, he commits. That confidence is what wins the room, not evidence or argument. He sells belief. And that's what leadership often comes down to. Dalinar is becoming the de facto ruler, even though Elhokar wears the crown. That can't last. Either Elhokar has to grow into his role, or there's going to most likely be trouble||
||Of course, Amaram shows up, ugh. I just don't understand how Dalinar doesn't suspect him more, even though Kaladin's words seem to echo in his mind. Maybe he's not ready to call Amaram out just yet, but hopefully soon. What's wild is how Amaram still talks like he has the moral high ground. It's infuriating. How many people in the warcamps still believe Amaram is noble?||
sleek remnant
Ch 68: ||Ok, this is rough. Watching Kaladin flail around trying to draw Stormlight, lashing out at Syl, then trying again and still failing... It's frustrating. I don't think Syl is punishing him. Kaladin wants to believe it's about her feelings or being too simplistic, but something deeper has to be at play here. What gets to me is how alone Kaladin is in this moment. He's trying to do what he thinks is right, but he doesn't know what that is, not really. He has no teacher, no map, just gut instinct and wounded pride. Because of that, he's hurting people who don't deserve it.||
||Kaladin's unresolved trauma and bitterness is spilling into every interaction. His jabs at Adolin are unfair, but understandable; they're grounded in class resentment, past abuses, and his struggle to reconcile his new role with his old identity. He's still trying to figure out if he's a soldier, a noble's pet, a slave, or something else entirely. So when he sees Adolin, he lashes out, even though there are moments of kindness. Shallan's takedown of Kaladin is 
. Her comments are sharp and grounded in truth. She sees that Kaladin isn't being noble or honourable, he's just being mean. And she calls him out in a way no one else has had the guts or insight to do. And then we cut to Adolin, who is laughing with the water boys. That image just crushes Kaladin's assumptions. Adolin doesn't see himself as better. He's not perfect, but he's not the privileged monster Kaladin is imagining. I do think that Adolin and Kaladin are almost friends. They could be great friends, if Kaladin would let his walls down. They are having some great discussions, and there are good moments. Kaladin almost starts trusting, but he can't quite bring himself to.||
||The bridge collapses . The panic is real||
sleek remnant
Ch 69: ||Syl screams . Then there's the comment of "what have you done?" So has Kaladin destroyed Syl somehow? Please tell me that Syl is okay||
||Kaladin and Shallan's arguing is a lot. All the feelings have been churning just beneath the surface, and now it's all spilling over. Shallan is trying to diffuse the tension with humour, but Kaladin is past that point. He strikes out; he wants to be angry, to feel justified, to put others in the role of oppressor so that he can cling to his bitterness. The way he generalises the lighteyes is unfair, but I get where he's coming from.||
||It's a little amusing how neither of them know about the other's powers||
||There's truly so much action going on, it's hard to put this book down ||
sleek remnant
Ch 70: ||Oh, the irony. Kaladin is making an impassioned and condescending speech about how easy Shallan's life must have been. Shallan is just absolutely stunned, because she knows how wrong he is. She knows pain; deep, scarring, unspeakable pain. And Kaladin has no idea.||
||Romance hasn't been a big part of the story so far, but I'm wondering if there's a sort of enemies to lovers thing going on between Kaladin and Shallan. Are they going to eventually be a couple?||
sleek remnant
Ch 71: ||We finally get Teft's story. It's a tragic one for sure, and it makes sense how he's been clinging to Kaladin as his last tether to meaning. His past haunts him, and the possibility that Kaladin might be dead, threatens to push him over the edge.||
||Shallan and Kaladin have this discussion about being broken. It's the first time Kaladin really sees Shallan not just as a witty noblewoman or a potential threat or Adolin's betrothed, but as someone just like him: shattered, haunted, struggling to breathe. And despite all of that, she smiles. That's what hits Kaladin the hardest. She smiles anyway, despite the crushing guilt, despite the horrors she's seen. That, right there, is a different kind of strength than Kaladin knows. Not the kind that swings a spear or leaps into battle, but the quiet resilience of choosing hope over despair when there's no evidence you should. Kaladin sees it, and in a way, he's transformed.||
||The chasmfiend is a huge threat, and Kaladin is doing the Kaladin thing: self-sacrifice. But this time, it's a different kind of sacrifice. He isn't doing it out of guilt or obligation. He's doing it because he understands the stakes and trusts that Shallan is the one who needs to survive. Then Shallan summons her Shardblade, and it reframes everything about her again. Kaladin must be shocked||
sleek remnant
Ch 72: ||Kaladin kills a chasmfiend . And he does it without Stormlight, with a Shardblade he's never used, and he's severely injured. That's so impressive. But it wouldn't have been possible if Shallan wasn't there. It's a team effort with Kaladin's fighting skills and Shallan's illusions.||
||Why doesn't Shallan's Shardblade scream at Kaladin? What am I missing?||
sleek remnant
Ch 73: ||This household is a battlefield. The arrival of Eylita acts as a trigger, and the situation quickly unravels. Lin's dominance is terrifying, and even now, even when he knows his son is planning to run away, he doesn't panic. He just controls. It's very cold and efficient. Until Shallan takes that away from him.||
||Omg the lullaby... It ties the chapter to Shallan's earlier childhood, to innocence, but it's used in the moment she strangles the last of that innocence away. Singing a song he used to soothe her, as she ends his life? It's mercy, rage, grief, justice, and cruelty all wrapped together. It's the death of a father and the death of a daughter's childhood in the same breath. Was it justified? Probably. Was it necessary in that moment, with Lin already incapacitated? That's a little more complicated. But Shallan wasn't just reacting to what happened that night; she was reacting to everything that came before. The years of abuse, the manipulations, the murders, the damage to her brothers, the fear, the lies, the trauma. This was the only way she could survive.||
sleek remnant
Ch 74: ||Kaladin has killed Syl?? Is that really true? It sure feels like it.||
||The emotional exchange between Kaladin and Shallan is quite intimate. They're opposites in some ways; light and shadow, snark and stoicism, but here they're equals. They're broken in different ways, sharing their pain. Shallan tells him the truth, that she strangled her father. No euphemisms, no different phrasing to make it sound less than it is. It's hard, it's brutal, but it's also a release. Kaladin listens. It feels like in that moment, he finally understands that other people carry unimaginable weights too. Kaladin, always seeing himself as the brooding martyr, suddenly sees himself as privileged; not in wealth, but in love. What a moment of growth.||
||A Highstorm still sounds so terrifying||
sleek remnant
Ch 75: ||Adolin's instinct to protect is so genuine, and so completely the wrong approach for Shallan at this moment. Her visceral reaction of being protected, of being "locked away again", is such a strong reaction that it cuts through her usual composure. And she doesn't explain it, not fully. Adolin is left confused, and Shallan brushes the moment aside. He just isn't someone she's ready to tell. It stings, because I like Adolin. He's earnest, kind, fiercely loyal. He didn't deserve to be snapped at. But from Shallan's perspective, the idea of being someone else's responsibility, a porcelain doll to be sheltered from the world after all she's survived, is unbearable. If she was this vulnerable and honest with Kaladin just a short moment before, is Adolin truly the one for her? The one she connects with?||
graceful oracle
Part 4 ch 69 ||I love that they both think they saved the other. Maybe it’s just the enemies-to-lovers ho in me, but I like their dynamic better than anything else in this book. It is marginally better||
delicate crown
I’m going to need a day or two, currently on Ch.49
median zodiacBOT
sleek remnant
Ch 76: ||Okay finally Amaram's true colours are revealed .||
maiden plank
I’m going to need a day or two, currently on Ch.49
yeah no worries! I'll do a quick update later, but as long as you've started the series already I can wait up to a week with the report
graceful oracle
End of Part 4, so close! 
sleek remnant
Ch 77: ||Shallan is flourishing. She's working on her project and her teaming up with Navani is delightful. There's a respect and mutual admiration there that is so earned. Shallan's willingness to open up , even a little, about Jasnah being a Radiant is a big deal. She's starting to trust others. I also like how Navani is taking a side role in this project. She could easily dominate the scholarly effort; she's older, more experienced, more politically connected, but she doesn't do that.||
||Shallan is conflicted about Adolin and Kaladin. Her rational appreciation of Adolin's kindness and steadiness is there, but she's undeniably drawn to Kaladin's complexity. But she also clearly doesn't know him that well yet; she's all like "Kaladin is like wind and rocks, you couldn't hurt or change him, no matter what." Be so for real, that man is one step away from unraveling most of the time||
||I feel like Kaladin's mind is finally starting to clear a little. He's comparing Moash, who is his friend and comrade, to the very man who betrayed him. He points out Moash's eye colour and its similarity to Amaram's. He's also noticing that Moash and Amaram are basically saying the same thing, that they do things for the "greater good". He's starting to maybe notice that this "let's kill the king" project isn't the best idea. But is it too late? Things are already pretty solidly in motion||
sleek remnant
Ch 78: ||The secret is out . Shallan finally shows Dalinar her Stormlight Illusion and reveals her magical identity. It's simple, elegant, and powerful. But what makes it land so well is Dalinar's reaction. We've seen this man bear the weight of enormous expectations all while wondering if he's going mad. He has so much faith, and so little proof. Until now. This is validation for him. The tears in his eyes aren't just because he's moved, they're because he's finally not alone in his beliefs. He didn't imagine it all.||
||Shallan standing her ground against Dalinar is another highlight. I think her pushing back on Dalinar telling Navani is a bit of a losing argument; that woman is going to know about this sooner or later.||
||Parshendi with red eyes? Then Shen shows up, not to fight, but to surrender ||
Ch 79: ||The emotional weight of Rlain's realisation - that the people he was trying to help, the people he was - have likely been lost to something monstrous, is heartbreaking. He's caught between two worlds, and neither one feels like home anymore. On one hand, his people have likely succumbed to a transformation that destroyed their essence. On the other, the humans who claim to accept him may still view him with suspicion. Rock brushes off his comment about being a traitor. That is the magic of Bridge Four: unconditional loyalty, born from shared suffering and mutual belief.||
||Dalinar actually listens. Despite the pressure, the panic, the implications, he believes Rlain and gives him space. He asks questions, and vows to help.||
sleek remnant
Ch 80: ||Okay Shallan no pressure at all, just keep in mind that pretty much everything is on your shoulders and if you fail, all this goes to shit||
||I wasn't expecting Elhokar to have a self-awareness moment like this, good for him. He obviously has no clue how to do this king thing, and he knows it's obvious to everyone and is aware of it himself. But what are these shadows he's speaking of? What am I missing?||
scarlet peak
I haven't posted a lot but I'm also still reading! I'll write more thoughts later, I've been saving them up for a bit 😊
maiden plank
I haven't posted a lot but I'm also still reading! I'll write more thoughts late...
nw! Where you at rn?
scarlet peak
nw! Where you at rn?
About halfway!
delicate crown
yeah no worries! I'll do a quick update later, but as long as you've started the...
thanks manouk! 
maiden plank
Okay massive notes section incoming, I'll try to combine them in messages but I have also a character limit lol.
CH 35 ||"Dalinar would have a heart attack if he'd learned of [Navani being on top of the rising parapet herself]. The man was a dear, but he was a touch overprotective. In the way a highstorm was a touch windy." I thought this was such a standout quote. It's witty, funny but also illustrates his character and his feelings for Navani very well i think, such small words for a big meaning.||
CH 36 ||OH MY GOD, PATTERN CAN UNLOCK LOCKS FOR HER, THATS HILARIOUS AND CUTE AND SUCH A GAMECHANGER. oh my god. This has massive potential. Also the return of Shallan and Kaladin meeting again! Haha i love this part. Especially when she eventually was allowed in.||
CH 40 ||I find Palona such an interesting character. She has such a mysterious air to her and she definetly in the woman of the house unlike Sebarial.||
CH 46 ||I thought Rock's story about the Horneater civilization and such is really cool. And very interesting worldbuilding. I wonder if there really is such a big spren or god or something deep in that lake or something, but for now it sounds a bit like folklore. I wanna learn more about these different cultures tho.||
sleek remnant
Ch 81: ||Sureblood no ||
||Poor Renarin, he's just not ready for this||
||I want to know more about Zahel. He's regretting not taking his own advice of choosing the option that makes it easier to sleep at night, so he's clearly made some haunting choices in his past. I want to know more||
||Kaladin is finally seeing the humanity in Elhokar, but I still don't know if he can save him from being killed||
||The Almighty speaking? Actual chills||
Some speculation about Ch 81: ||I just realised that there's under hundred pages left of this book, and I know Sanderson has to twist the knife somehow and plunge us all into desperation. So now that Kaladin has had a change of heart about Elhokar and seems to want to stop the plan of assassination, I'm pretty sure that this is going to end in Moash or someone framing it to look like Kaladin is the one who's trying to kill the king/has killed the king. Like I can see it happening: Kaladin manages to get to Elhokar in time, and then there's some framing happening, or he finds the king dead, and then the guards burst in at that moment and are like "boom omg look everyone, Kaladin is an assassin and a traitor." And then there's this giant misunderstanding and Kaladin loses everything and we're all sad||
maiden plank
CH 47 ||ngl I thought it was kinda mean of Shallan to ignore Pattern in this chapter. Sometimes she's so sweet and other times she's like so full of herself or super distracted, idk which one but it's kinda sad 
||
CH 48 ||What a tyrant of a father, giving his son away omg, that was fucked up||
CH 49 ||Is this really happening this conversation is so weird omg. Shitting yourself in your shardplate. But also kinda funny worldbuilding and would make sense. ||
CH 51 ||I thought the WoR text before this was really interesting. I wonder what unwholesome elements were involved 
also that meeting with Eshonai, i can't believe it worked with Adolin disguising himself as Dalinar ||
CH 52 ||Oh my god, I couldn't believe that Shallan was actually doing this AND THE BLADE WAS HER BROTHERS?! DOES THAT MEAN KALADIN KILLED HER BROTHER!??!!?! OMGGGG I CANT BELIEVE IT .||
CH 54 ||Ohhh surge to make sounds?! that could also be very interesting. I like seeing Shallan learn about her abilities and I think her's are very cool. Also using pattern to repeat the words back exactly like her is so cute||
CH 55 ||WIT IS BACK 
i love Wit, I missed him a Wit show more of yourself old bastard i need this energy all the time. Amaram a knight radiant???? how the fuck did that happen 
dalinar wtf||
sleek remnant
Ch 82: ||We've watched Kaladin wrestle with the weight of betrayal, injustice, and disillusionment for pretty much the entire book, especially when it comes to authority figures like Elhokar. So to see him dragging the king out of the jaws of death while himself being broken and limping is powerful. Fleet becomes the metaphor for everything Kaladin is trying to be; a man defined not by his power, or even his victories, but by his persistence. Kaladin is finally internalising the kind of honour that transcends grudges. It's not about whether Elhokar deserves saving, it's about Kaladin choosing to protect, regardless.||
sleek remnant
Ch 83: ||Shallan maybe you should be taking Renarin seriously instead of dismissing him as creepy and weird||
||So the Stormfather just abandons Dalinar? That's wonderful||
||Kaladin chooses the path of principle, not vengeance. It must be a deja vu moment for him to be in the same exact place now trying to prevent an assassination, where he once fought to kill an assassin||
maiden plank
CH 56 ||I had a feeling he was gonna have to face more than one, that deal was made with very loose description. and Renarin tagging in POOR FELLOW i feel so bad for him. AND I WAS SCREAMING WHEN KALADIN TAGGED IN. I WAS ALSO SCREAMING FOR HIM TO GET IN THERE, BUT STILL HAHAHAHA||
CH 57 ||Omg KICKING into shardplate using a lashing, that's so clever and the Right of Challenge being called but oh no, Kaladin is getting betrayed again ||
CH 58 ||I'm happy Kaladin hasn't gotten such a harsh punishment, but still, what he asked for was in his right imo. He's getting hurt by these people again, i hope Dalinar keeps his word. Also this is the end of part 3, I WANNA CONTINUE BUT NOW THERE ARE INTERLUDES??? I DONT WANNA 
||
sleek remnant
Ch 84: ||The words Kaladin says are not just an oath to protect the deserving, it's a rebirth. He's truly free.||
||Syl is back 🩷 Her loyalty, her belief in Kaladin; that's love.||
||Adolin doesn't have the same supernatural powers as others around him, but he's still so competent, so focused. And he's still fighting so well, even without the Thrill.||
maiden plank
I9 ||Not sure what to think of Lift, she's.... interesting, and a literal child. Very different vibe suddenly, it's a little hard to adjust. I like Wyndle and Lift's powers. Wonder what an Edgedancer means, the word makes no real sense. Also she can touch the spren???? woooow that's freaky and cool, the food thing is cool, AND REVIVING PEOPLE WTFFFF. This interlude tho makes me confused what the difference is between the heralds and the knights radiant. Why is there a painting of all the heralds there? I thought the knights radiant were important. Maybe I missed something ||
I10 ||Not a whole lot to note on, but i wonder where he'll go next. ||
I11 ||Oh they can make.. storms now?! 
that's kinda disturbing. I also wonder why Venli is so strange?? huh||
sleek remnant
Ch 85: ||For so long, Dalinar's been carrying the guilt of Gavilar's death like a stone chained to his soul. But in that desperate fight against Szeth, he faces a liberating truth: he couldn't have saved Gavilar, not then, not now. It's not giving up, it's accepting. That moment, that realisation, allows him to finally set down that burden. It doesn't make him weaker, it makes him stronger. That visual of Dalinar falling from the sky, streaming white light is something mythic, almost biblical. His fairwell to Adolin wrecked me though. There was no hesitation, no doubt. Just love, belief, and legacy.||
||Adolin also breaks my heart here. He's not in full Shardplate, he's injured, desperate, and powerless, but he runs in anyway. His pain over his father is so visceral. And that moment where he watches Dalinar fight? Adolin doesn't see his father as a tyrant, or a Highprince, but as a man who still fights when he has nothing left to prove. Also, I'm loving how the bridgemen are constantly around Adolin. He's earned their respect, and it also shows how Adolin has in a way adopted Kaladin's people without even realising it.||
||I never expected Roion to rise to the occasion the way he did. It's brief and doomed, but real.||
||Kaladin's arrival is pure gold. Everything is hopeless. Szeth has essentially won. Dalinar is down, Adolin is broken; then, bam, from the sky itself comes Kaladin, crashing like the fury of the Stormfather himself. He becomes a legend.||
maiden plank
CH 59 ||Very interesting pre chapter start already even tho it's so short. Anyway, Syl gets so sassy with Kaladin, it's giving "mom energy". AND WIT IS BACK YIPPIEEE ||
CH 61 ||Killing the axehouds, jfc also shallan moving the illusions in the previous chapter is insane omg||
CH 62 ||I can't believe Kaladin is agreeing with the plan to assasinate Elokhar ||
CH 63 ||It's kinda funny that Shallan is now doing the thing that Tyn did to her but to Iyatil and it's working lmaooooooo But omg Talenel is here omggg this is so cool BUT WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HERALD AND A KNIGHT RADIENT, I TOTALLY FORGOT im so confused, but anyway Amaram is here?!?!??! insane||
CH 64 ||hmm I dont know if Syl is purposefully ignoring him or not, it's very strange that she's basically going back to her old ways. But also kinda cute in a way though ❤️ Also kinda crazy that shallan now is part of the ghostbloods ||
CH 66 ||awww that's so cute. I like how Adolin and Kaladin are growing closer together. It's kinda cute to see this friendship / commradery bloom||
sleek remnant
Ch 86: ||This duel between Szeth and Kaladin is overwhelming, so much is happening. The same goes for everything else, it's hard to keep up . I also feel this emptiness that this book is coming to an end, it's probably because it's such a huge one so I've spent a lot of time with it, and now that it's pretty much over I'm like 
||
graceful oracle
Alright let’s finish strong (trying to motivate myself)
maiden plank
CH 67 ||What happened at the feast is insane, but also good, i think it was a long time coming that people knew about the visions. The best move is indeed to face it and speak to the people instead of hiding away. Not sure what Sadeas thought what would happen. Also I really hope Wit can help them out that would be so cool||
CH 71 ||The tension between Shallan and Kaladin 
I also laughed at shallan's pun in the previous chapter but the tensions are brewing. ngl i kinda ship them a little if it's werent for adolin and shallan's dynamic also intrigueing me. BUT SHE SHOWED HIM HER SHARDBLADE ||
Ch 72 ||OMG it worked out a bit, but damn, kaladin can't heal himself with the stormlight now. the climbing into the wall is very smart though ||
CH 73 || damn wtf, Shallan can really show some cold blooded shit sometimes. wtf. ||
CH 74 ||Ah, the traumabonding experience and the stormfather shows up again, shallan saw him too?! so strange. ||
CH 75 ||kinda sad that Pattern seems to like know that he'd be killed, or that he's so certain about it. i wanna learn so much about the spren but i feel like they can't tell it. Also very fun that they believe Shallan's abilities to map out the shattered plains and to learn her story. Navani might have overcome her grief of Jasnah and now cares for Shallan like she never could for jasnah, it's kinda wholesome. This is also the end of the part, this was a ride already, can't wait to see what will happen||
sleek remnant
Ch 87: ||Kaladin's return to Bridge Four moved me. There's pain, but also resilience. Not all of them survived, and there are also wounded. Kaladin is very vulnerable as he's forced to face the damage. But Teft's words are true; Kaladin can't really protect them all, and he needs to accept that if he wants to grow further. He needs to learn to have that balance between protecting and leading.||
||Moash is bitter, broken, and beginning to understand. He's finally aware he was used, but he doesn't know how to walk it back. He has Shards, but no honour. Power, but no purpose. I don't know what the future will hold for him||
maiden plank
I12 ||I didn't really care much for this interlude, but it's interesting to see the political changes in a different place. ||
I13 ||WHY IS VENLI THE SAME, THIS IS SO WEIRD?! ||
I14 ||Nightwatcher??? who that 
also kinda wack to wake up everyday with a different level of intelligence When Szeth glanced tho at Adrotagia is just so intense hahaha i cracked a little at this. The honor blades??? hmm Also wait?!?! he's also following Gavilar?? gavilar had visions?!?!? whaaaaaat 
||
sleek remnant
Ch 88: ||Shallan finally lets herself see. Not just illusion, not just creating lies to shield herself, but staring the truth in the face. When she whispers "I hate you", the ambiguity of who she's speaking to, her mother or Pattern, makes it all the more sad. Both options are extremely plausible. If she's talking to her mother, it's a whispered rebellion against everything her mother tried to do, against being killed for who she is. If it's Pattern, it's her misplaced self-loathing, projected onto the spren who reflects her truth back at her. Pattern expects Shallan to kill him. Is that what will eventually happen?||
||Mraize makes my skin crawl. He's so confident in his knowledge and so smugly certain that he holds the upper hand. His words to Shallan about Veil being more "true" than Shallan are so manipulative. Is he trying to push her towards an identity crisis, one that might break her Radiant bond? It's almost like he wants her to fracture, so the Ghostbloods can shape the pieces. Also, the talk about Shallan's brothers? He's taken them hostage.||
||Szeth is resurrected?? When he wakes, he's not joyful or grateful, he's horrified. He truly feels like death was his only peace.||
sleek remnant
Ch 89: ||Now Sadeas is dead, just like that . It's not shocking because it came out of nowhere; if anything, it's shocking because it didn't. The tension between Adolin and Sadeas has been simmering for so long. When he says to Adolin that he will take all of this from his Dalinar, it almost feels like he's daring Adolin to do something. And Adolin does, he snaps. There has to be consequences for this, though.||
||The meeting of the four Radiants is a fascinating moment. They represent different ideals, each one is flawed in their own way, still processing their trauma, still unsure of their place in this new world. Renarin's reveal just hits especially hard 
.||
maiden plank
CH 76 ||THE WAY DALINAR TRICKED AMARAM OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG im screaming. and also Aladar helping out by his own violition very veeeeery cool, although im not sure if they will work well together with Sebarial and Roion's forces but it could work out||
Up to ch 80 ||I love the Shallan Adolin Kaladin love triangle, ngl idk it hink it's cute. But I also love how Shallan and Navani are now working together. But Rlain is back too and the conversation that Kaladin had with Elokhar was enlightning 😮 ||
ch 81 ||omg tensions are rising so hard. and Pattern is showing himself to others thats kinda cute. perfect circle plateau is esoteric though hmmmmmm that's so interesting. And the voice of the ALMIGHTY??!?! shit's going down 
||
ch 82 ||Kaladin fighting while injured with the guards omggg luckily the king is not dead...... yet??!?? ||
ch 83 ||OMG ADOLIN IS SO SMART. i mean he couldnt have done it without shallan but wow great tactics. but a storm of cleansing??? that sounds disturbing ngl||
ch 84 ||THEY FOUND IT?!?! AND A KEYHOLE??? SZETH SHOWING UP?? SYL AND THE STORMFATHER ARGUING WHILE KALADIN IS FIGHTING I was legitemately crying here ||
ch 85 ||"You sent him to the sky to die, assassin, but the sky and the winds are mine. I claim them, as I now claim your life" KALADIN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH im screaming||
ch 86 ||AAAH THE PORTAL WORKED?! That so coool. Szeth is also facing the truth himself, he cannot deny it. well he cant deny it anymore cause he ded but still ||
ch 87 ||ohhh shardblades are dead... dead spren??? that's cruel in some way, holy shit. and that one blade doesn't have a spren?? huhhh how dat work? it's an honor blade??? damnnn and Kaladin's eyes have changed im sure that will get to his head eventually. and shallan doesn't have to speak words but truths?? im so confused how she had her powers then if she hasn't spoken the words yet. funny tho that Elokhar was safe with lopen hahah true Herdazian experience for just a little while. but lopen can also use stormlight or heal for it, that's crazyyy and graves is also on the same path like Gavilar. how can one man have so many factions form around him?? what did gavilar know? I wanna know ||
up to ch 89 ||and now shallan was followed. the ghostbloods are involved with her father?? a long awaited kiss too between shallan and adolin i never thought adolin was so shy lollllll but Pattern chose the room to have shallan face these truths and she killed her own mom AAAAAAAAH IM SO SAD AMARAM IS ALSO NOT THAT KINDA BAD OF A DUDE CAUSE HE ALSO DID IT FOR GAVILAR:? i mean he did do bad shit, but he did it knowing it would unite people?????ZETH IS A KNIGHT RADIANT, RENARIN A KNIGHT RADIANT??? DALINAR A KNIGHT RADIANT so many omgggggggg IM GOING CRAZY. Where did Renarin and Szeth come from holy shit?? Dalinar I can see but wtff ADOLIN MURDERED SADEAS THE FUCK?! I know this is classic Brandy sandy to end it drastically but WTF ||
epilogue ||Jasnah is not dead ?!?! but wtf, she missed everything this is so unsatisfying, but I guess wit was waiting for her, he kept his word to Dalinar. Jasnah and Wit agreeing wiht each other is cute, but im kinda dissappointed that if Jasnah wasn't dead it took her so long what did she doooooooo????||
graceful oracle
Ch 87 ||They really killed me with that “now you have blue eyes” shit. I hates it||
sleek remnant
Epilogue: ||Jasnah is alive . I'm never trusting anything again, I thought for sure she was dead||
I'm finished 
I'll give some thoughts about the whole book soon!
maiden plank
final thoughts ||I had a hard time to get into it, although the brandon sanderson fast pace kicked in earlier than I thought it would, around part 3 or so already. But even then, I enjoyed a lot of it so many cool things happened, I'm not sure what will happen next time, im sure guessing from the title something will get a tail with Sadeas's murder and the lost Oathbringer sword, but i have no clue really. The parashendi transformations were creepy, the love triangle was cute, the battle scenes were cool. A lot of cool lore reveals too and FINALLY WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE WITH LEARNING ABOUT THE STUFF. I just didn't really vibe with how the last two chapters, you just get smacked left and right with like truthbombs of what happened in the "aftermath". I wish sometimes there was just a little bit more explanations. I guess Renarin being a Truthwatcher was like the most the biggest backlash of the end, like wtf do you mean????? WHEN HOW WHY WHO? I feel like I needed some more POV from him to really let this stick a bit better. I'm also glad that Kaladin could find trust in Dalinar and stuff. So many factions though that are trying to achieve the same thing or find the truth, all linking in some way to Gavilar??? But each faction is also opposed in some way to one another?? It's so weird. I hope we get to learn more about this later. Some of the interludes I really didn't reel like I needed to know, but i guess it will matter in the next read.|| Overall, besides these minor critiscms, I still gave it a 5 ⭐ . Good Words 
graceful oracle
Ch 88 ||All the numbers are weird||
crystal orioleBOT
@delicate crown,@cyan flame,@sleek remnant,@light dagger,@grim stratus,@timid wren,@glass pivot,@eternal sand,@maiden imp,@opal compass,@mystic salmon,@maiden plank,@inner spruce,@scarlet peak,@spring condor,@young robin,@patent mauve,@loud hare,@gaunt raven,@delicate mantle,@olive tinsel
maiden plank
Sofia and manouk finishing this book vs me finishing this book
Good day epic readers ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ 
Today marks the end of this buddy read, thank you all for participating! If you're still currently reading, you have up till next week to finish up, but I'm only waiting for those who have already started the book ❤️ I also have some questions for those who still remember what happened in the book and have finished.
Finished and discussed: iggy, Maffy, Alex, Haze, MidnightDancer, Vaydium, katto, Avialia, evet, manouk, Sofia, Raya, ctrlaltmerdel, tink, Hanzy (has finished but will share discussions later)
Started: Andy, Abi, Celine
Discussion questions:
full book spoilers for ALL QUESTIONS. ONLY READ IF FINISHED!
- ||Many different factions have shown themselves to work to seemingly a similar but different goal. Which organisation did you think was the most interesting in this book?||
- ||Morally gray decicions had to be made in the story of this book. Do you think vengeance and justice can coesist at the same time? ||
- ||Which Interlude did you think was the most interesting for you in this book?||
- ||If you could bond with a spren, what kind would you hope to attract—and why?||
Also general Big Stormlight BR announcement
Gentle reminder that theres a special role if you finish book 2.5 and 3.5 that are shorter lore books along with them! 
(all books have br's btw). Below is an overview of the next books and when the BR's end!
Book 2.5 https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/1295778279201968212 ends May 15th (optional novella)
Book 3 https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/1303998672136179792 ends June 15th
Book 3.5 https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/1310526492987625512 ends July 15th (optional novella)
Book 4 https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/1320445046604169329 ends September 15th
Book 5 https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/1329932012819185767 Ends November 15th
delicate crown
Sofia and manouk finishing this book vs me finishing this book
Tink, I'm with you
I want to be Sofia/Manouk but can't help lol
maiden plank
Tink, I'm with you <:kek:811230413154025472>
I want to be Sofia/Manouk but can...
and that's okay ❤️ but you can do it!
graceful oracle
How many more books are there?
graceful oracle
Tink, I'm with you <:kek:811230413154025472>
I want to be Sofia/Manouk but can...
Ok I almost grouped you with them, but I was feeling more skeleton vibes
delicate crown
Wind and Truth is the last one released and the end of an arc iirc
graceful oracle
End of an arc? Ugh
delicate crown
The books in all I believe would be 10? I'm not too sure but yes, we're just going to be done with one arc
maiden plank
yeah it would take 10 more years for the other 5
And technically since it's cosmere, there are more books to read. like the Mistborn trilogy and some standalones
maiden plank
How many more books are there?
if you're not looking to get the special role, the novellas are a bit more like interludes from what I understand, that just give some light on extra worldbuilding and stuff, but aren't a must read to the stormlight Archive series, so you're left with 3 more after this one then.
graceful oracle
Eh I’m just here for the points lol
delicate crown
And technically since it's cosmere, there are more books to read. like the Mistb...
You know those questions like, 'if you were to choose to read 'one' author for the rest of your life, who would it be?' and you could choose Brandy Sandy cuz the man never stops writing
sleek remnant
Final thoughts: ||I think it's easier to do this character by character, so I'll just do that . In this book, Shallan becomes formidable. A scholar, a con-artist, an assassin, a spy, and a soul slowly fracturing under the weight of truths too dark to face. And still, she pushes forward. She maps the Shattered Plains using symmetry, takes fantastic jabs at everyone, manipulates con artists with grace, and ends up saving the day like it's just another Tuesday. She's iconic, and I can't wait to see what she does next!||
||Dalinar is the anchor this world needs. He's the moral core. The man who speaks words no one else dares to say. He gives inspiration around around him, and follows his words with action that reshapes nations. He's brave enough to discuss his visions in front of everybody. He's one of the Radiants. He believes Kaladin when it's expected that he wouldn't. He leads charges. He's just an amazing dude.||
||Adolin is one of my favourites! He's charming, noble, protective, and so incredibly strong in his own right (and holds his own even though he's surrounded by these magical badasses). He's steel. He defends Kaladin, and went to prison alongside him. He's a fascinating fashion-loving superstar, hopefully this murder of Sadeas doesn't catch up with him||
||Kaladin, the one who's been through the wringer and back. In this book we saw his journey from vengeance to redemption. He's so achingly human. He's pure legend, a badass, most likely experiencing a crush on Shallan. He's also injured, broken, torn between ideals. Fly in the skies with that joyous smile on your face, you lovely man!||
||Renarin, my cinnamon roll turned Radiant... Show all of them what you're made of!||
||Since this seemingly turned into a love letter to the characters without much of an discussion, I'll just conclude that I agree with manouk's points!||
maiden plank
You know those questions like, 'if you were to choose to read 'one' author for t...
SAME BECAUSE I CANT KEEP UP
maiden plank
Eh I’m just here for the points lol
The novellas would be point effective though, pretty short for 5 points, just saying
graceful oracle
Yeah that doesn’t make any sense tbh, but we’re not here to debate the points system
I’m just saying I don’t want the role particularly
I just want the main story and those 10 points
maiden plank
I just want the main story and those 10 points
then i'd suggest just going on to Book 3, Book 4 and Book 5 after this links are in the pins for you when you're ready
olive tinsel
CH 76 ||THE WAY DALINAR TRICKED AMARAM OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG im screaming. and also A...
|| I SWEAR THIS IS THE FIRST LOVE TRIANGLE EVER THAT I JUST SO ABSOLUTELY LOVE ||
opal compass
# Good day epic readers ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ <a:white_sparkles:1323294492429778986>
Toda...
I wanna answer all the questions, but after finishing the series, it has all become almost 1 story, so I can't go into too much detail for things, since everything is so jumbled up together with more information and also not remembering specific details for each book
-2. It's a slippery slope, because who can judge this properly and where are the limits? I think the book handled that idea well though and showed that dichotomy.
-4. ||I think... Inkspren. Elsecallers are kind of cool, though I'm not sure if one would want me ||
So, I'll suffice to say, THANK YOU for this BR, manouk ❤️
delicate crown
I’ve reached Part 4! Going slow cuz I’ve caught a bad flu that’s affected my reading in the past two days but I’m at a point where I cannot think of anything else but the book
maiden plank
I’ve reached Part 4! Going slow cuz I’ve caught a bad flu that’s affected my rea...
get well soon, but yeah I've been there
eventually it just hits
inner spruce
Starting this one
maiden plank
Starting this one
hi, it's too late to start, the BR has ended
you can read it but i won't give you points for it
inner spruce
Part 1-1 || I love the relationship of Shallan and Jaznah now. And Shallan being engaged to Adolin. This is so exciting. ||
inner spruce
you can read it but i won't give you points for it
Yeah its okay. Thanks
maiden plank
Sofia and manouk finishing this book vs me finishing this book
btw, sorry for the ping, have you finished or still need to read the epilogue?
sorry it wasn't really clear to me
graceful oracle
btw, sorry for the ping, have you finished or still need to read the epilogue?
Sorry I did finish. I’ll add final thoughts today
graceful oracle
Final thoughts ||THe best thing I can say for this is I liked it much better than Way of Kings
Reading people's comments as I read helped a lot. I cannot find it in me to care about these characters at all, but reading from the POV of other readers who did was really helpful. Like at least I could see what you all see in it. It also showed me that I just literally wasn't seeing things in the same way. Example, when Kale was having her gaslight girlboss moment in the desert with that band of raiders, I realized after reading other people's comments that to some it was empowering. And I can kind of see it knowing more about where she came from. Kale is still bugging me, and probably always will. They're quibbling was cute, but too predictable for me. I'm sure it's supposed ot be a will-they-won't-they, I just don't care. Kale literally changing eye color is so unnecessary to me and just doubling down on the weird phenotype dynamic from the first book.
These books still feel unnecessarily long to me. Sure, characters are starting to overlap and meet a little bit, not enough for me. Slow burn so slow the fire is going out. I gave it a 3.25 because i did like it better than WoK, which I gave a generous 3.||
patent mauve
# Good day epic readers ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ <a:white_sparkles:1323294492429778986>
Toda...
I've read up to the third book and didn't realize this was the second one at first. I was almost going to reply with whatever I remembered from finishing the third but my memory has also faded a little from both. I do remember that ||I thought this book is a lot more exciting than the third one. There were a lot of thrilling moments in this book, especially before each interlude, that I didn't feel as much in the third book.|| I won't say more because I can't be sure what I remembered from each book and I don't want to spoil anything for others.
In any case, I'm enjoying the series very much and very happy to be reading this with all of you! Thank you so much for hosting this, manouk!!
scarlet peak
Ch6 || excuse me???? We can't just kill off Jasnah!! 😭💔💔 Time to cry and put on some James Blunt because what is this 😩😩
I'll say I loved seeing more of pattern, and how Shallan transformed the ship! I hope most sailors survived and that Shallan does too! And what about the books 🤔 ||
Ch8 || Dalinar is really struggling with all of this. I have no clue how he's supposed to convince these stubborn backstabbers into uniting and trusting eachother... ||
Ch10 || I wonder if the people who killed and chased Jasnah were after her because they suspected her bond with a spren (like Kaladin and Shallan have too) and are trying to keep that from happening to others 🤔 ||
Ch12 || ohh I was waiting for Amaram to return! This clash has been a long time coming for sure! I really hope Dalinar will choose Kaladin... ||
Eshonai || the mental image of these parshendi doing art and focussing on their cutesie pictures is everything to me 😂 😂 ||
Posted part of my thoughts! They're scattered so I'll post more later!
Not quite finished yet but definitely getting closer!
delicate crown
I have reached Part 5! I’m sorry I’m going a lot slower than I’d hoped but I’m getting there
opal compass
you cutie! It's ok!
delicate crown
I have all my annotations to share as well and just hoping to find the time to do that soon
delicate crown
I finished this last night before bed and I have A LOT of thoughts and I just want to start #1303998672136179792 now
I will share my full and final thoughts after work as I don’t want to delay Manouk any further (I feel awful for dragging it out so much already ) but I’m hoping to share my annotations of the reading as well sometime this week if I can get to it
maiden plank
I finished this last night before bed and I have A LOT of thoughts and I just wa...
thanks for letting me know! I'll hand out the points for the others as well, but once you can share thoughts or annotations I'll add you as a late addition 🤍 . Today is the day i have to submit the report unfortunately
delicate crown
Of course yes, I understand Manouk! Truly grateful that you waited out so much for me already
olive tinsel
Thank you for hosting this BR @maiden plank !!
scarlet peak
I also finished! I'll post thoughts in a bit and I'll see you all in the next novella. I'll say this was a RIDE though and I liked it a lot more than book 1! Can't wait to see what else will happen!
delicate crown
Annotatations incoming! Manouk, I'd like to sincerely apologise for the delay and also thank you for waiting out for me
Ch.40
||“Of course I am!” he exclaimed. “Fighting is too much work. Besides, soldiers die, and that makes me pay out to their families. It’s just useless all around.” He looked out the window. “I saw the secret three years back. Everyone was moving here, but nobody thought of the place as permanent—despite the value of those gemhearts, which ensured that Alethkar would always have a presence here…” He smiled.”||
||Okay, this guy seems promising! I've thought all high princes to be utter fools so this one's a refreshing change||
||“He’s good at skulking,” Palona said. “Well, come along. Let’s get you settled. Make sure you tell me how much he’s promised—even by implication—for your stipend. I’ll make sure it happens.”||
||ooooh I'm liking this one!||
Ch.41
||“Is he calling me vast?” Syl said, cocking her head to the side. “Not sure what I think of that.”||
||LMAO, I LOVE SYL ||
||“Renarin scrambled to his feet and saluted. “I would like to serve under your command, sir.”
Inside, Kaladin groaned. “Let’s talk away from the fire, Brightlord.” He took the spindly prince by the arm, leading him away from the ears of the others.
“Sir,” Renarin said, speaking softly, “I want—”
“You shouldn’t call me sir,” Kaladin whispered. “You’re lighteyed. Storms, you’re the son of the most powerful man in eastern Roshar.”||
||Awww poor babyyy
I want Kal to take him in🥺||
||“Huh,” Kaladin said. “I suppose that could fit with the seizures. Have you ever had any persistent relaxation of the muscles, an inability to smile on one side of your face, for example?”
“No. How do you know these things? Aren’t you a soldier?”
“I know some field medicine.”
“Field medicine… for epilepsy?”||
||Kal is just so ||
Ch. 44
|| “Look,” Adolin said, turning to Shallan. “I can see what you’re up to.”“Five foot six inches,” Shallan said. “I suspect that’s all I will ever be up to, unfortunately.”
“Five foot…” Adolin said, frowning.“Yes,” Shallan said, scanning the practice grounds. “I thought it was a good height, then I came here. You Alethi really are freakishly tall, aren’t you? I’d guess everyone here is a good two inches taller than the Veden average.”
“No, that’s not…” Adolin frowned. “You’re here because you want to watch me spar. Admit it. The sketching is a ruse.”
“Hmmm. Someone has a high opinion of himself. Comes with being royalty, I suppose. Like funny hats and a fondness for beheadings. Ah, and it’s our captain of the guard. Your boots are on the way to your barracks via courier.”
Kaladin started as he realized she was talking to him. “Is that so?”
“I had the soles replaced,” Shallan said. “They were terribly uncomfortable.”||
||I'm loving this so much lmao||
||“And what else am I supposed to do?” Moash asked softly. By now, he’d pulled right up to Kaladin. “What kind of justice can a man like me get on a king, Kaladin? Tell me.”
This can’t be happening.
“I’ll stop for now,” Moash said. “If you’ll agree to meet with someone.”
“Who?” Kaladin asked, looking back to him.“This plan wasn’t my idea. Some others are involved. All I had to do was throw them a rope. I want you to listen to them.”
“Moash…”
“Listen to what they have to say,” Moash said, grip tightening on Kaladin’s arm. “Just listen, Kal. That’s all. If you don’t agree with what they tell you, I’ll back out. Please.”
“You promise not to do anything else against the king until we’ve had this meeting?”
“On my grandparents’ honor.”
Kaladin sighed, but nodded. “All right.”||
||I really have not liked Moash too much since like Book 1 and kinda find him to be a bit of a bad influence on Kal. I'm hoping my fears don't come true though
||
narrow orioleBOT
joe mama
delicate crown
Ch.45
||“The messenger smiled. “To be human is to seek beauty, Shallan. Do not despair, do not end the hunt because thorns grow in your way. Tell me, what is the most beautiful thing you can imagine?”||
||I really liked the story shares and this particular line here||
||“I see,” the messenger said softly. “You do not yet understand the nature of lies. I had that trouble myself, long ago. The Shards here are very strict. You will have to see the truth, child, before you can expand upon it. Just as a man should know the law before he breaks it.”
Shadows from her past shifted in the depths, surfacing just briefly toward the light. “Could you help?”||
||Interesting... so Shallan was aware of some of her powers before meeting Jasnah||
Ch.46
||“It was the kind of lie that commanders learned to give. Kaladin didn’t mention how some of the bridgemen shuffled while they stood, or how their maneuvers in formation were sloppy. They were trying. ”||
||Commanders and Teachers 🤝 ||
||“Sitting nearby on a log were not one, but three beefy, thick-armed Herdazians. All wore Bridge Four uniforms, and Kaladin only recognized Punio out of the three.
Kaladin found Lopen nearby, staring at his hand—which he held before himself in a fist for some reason. Kaladin had long since given up on understanding Lopen.
“Three?” Kaladin demanded.
“Cousins!” Lopen replied, looking up.
“You have too many of those,” Kaladin said.
“That’s impossible! Rod, Huio, say hello!”
“Bridge Four,” the two men said, raising their bowls.”||
||LMAO LOPEN IS A GEM ||
||“Really?” Kaladin had heard of wealthy darkeyes marrying lowborn lighteyes, but never anyone as high-dahn as a Shardbearer.
“Yeah,” Moash said. “One of his sons is even a one-eye. Graves doesn’t give a storm about what other people think of him. He does what is right. And in this case, it’s—” Moash glanced around. They were now surrounded by people. “It’s what he said. Someone has to do it.”
“Don’t speak of this to me again,” Kaladin said, pulling his arm free and walking back toward the table. “And don’t meet with them anymore.”
He sat back down, Moash slinking into his place, annoyed. Kaladin tried to get himself to rejoin the conversation with Rock and Lopen, but he just couldn’t.
All around him, people laughed or shouted.
Be the surgeon this kingdom needs…
Storms, what a mess.”||
||I don’t trust Moash one bit I feel like he's going to make some rash decision or betray Kal||
Ch.47
||“Her skin was pale and dusted lightly with freckles, and her body was nowhere near curvaceous enough to inspire envy. She could change all of this with an illusion. An augmentation. Since Adolin had seen her without, she couldn’t change anything dramatic—but she could enhance herself. It would be like wearing makeup.
She hesitated. If Adolin came to agree to the marriage, would it be because of her, or the lies?
Foolish girl, Shallan thought. You were willing to change your appearance to get Vathah to follow you and to gain a place with Sebarial, but not now?
But capturing Adolin’s attention with illusions would lead her down a difficult path. She couldn’t wear an illusion always, could she? In married life? Better to see what she could do without one, she thought as she climbed out of the carriage. She’d have to rely, instead, upon her feminine wiles.
She wished she knew if she had any.”||
||Awww, she’s already falling for him isn't she
||
Ch.48
||“She opened her eyes. Father stood outside. Shallan could make out a crumpled form beyond him, lying on the floor of the hallway. Minara, the serving maid. Her body didn’t lie right, one arm bent at the wrong angle. Her figure stirred, whimpering, leaving blood on the wall as she tried to crawl away.
Father entered Shallan’s room and shut the door behind him. “You know I would never hurt you, Shallan,” he said softly.
She nodded, tears leaking from her eyes.
“I’ve found a way to control myself,” her father said. “I just have to let the anger out. I can’t blame myself for that anger. Others create it when they disobey me.”
Her objection—that he hadn’t told her to go immediately to her room, only that she shouldn’t leave it once she was there—died on her lips. A foolish excuse. They both knew she’d intentionally disobeyed.”||
||No
Poor Shallan||
Ch. 49
||“He paused again. She was probably supposed to ask what happened next.
“What if you need to poop?” she asked instead.
“Well, I put my back to the chasm and laid about me with my sword, intending to… Wait. What did you say?”
“Poop,” Shallan said. “You’re out there on the battlefield, encased in metal like a crab in its shell. What do you do if nature calls?”
“I… er…” Adolin frowned at her. “That is not something any woman has ever asked me before.”||
||Shallan asking the right questions
||“That’s what you want to know?” Adolin said, scratching his head. “I thought for sure you’d want to know about the chafing…”||
||LMAO
OFCOURSE ADOLIN, what do you do for the chafing? ||
||“I mean,” she said, “the stench alone—”
“I suspect I’m never going to live down telling you about that.”||
I'||m LOVING this
Ch.50
||“That’s too simple a term,” Adolin snapped. “You’re not just evil, you’re a selfish, crem-crusted eel who is trying to strangle this kingdom with his bulbous, bastard hand.”||
||Lmao yesss Adolin!! Couldn't have stated it better||
||“She was marvelous. Exotic, witty, and not smothered in Alethi propriety. She was smarter than he was, but she didn’t make him feel stupid. That was a large point in her favor.”||
||Awww, I’ve heard from friends that Sanderson doesn’t do romance well but I think he’s doing it just fine? There’s depth here that I really appreciate and enjoy ||
Ch.51
||“Well, it’s not there yet,” Adolin said. “To get it there, we’re going to need you. And that means you need to let us watch out for you. I’m sorry, Father, but once in a while you just have to let someone else do their job. You can’t fix every problem with your own hands.”
“He’s right, sir,” Kaladin said. “You really shouldn’t be risking yourself out on those Plains. Not if there’s another option.”
“I fail to see that there is one,” Dalinar said, his tone cool.
“Oh, there is,” Adolin said. “But I’m going to need to borrow Renarin’s Shardplate.”||
||I see a leader in Adolin
Ch.52
||“I see. And I suppose he started doing all of this the moment he was born, without any practice at all.”
Kaladin exhaled softly. “You sound like Tukks used to.”
“Oh? Was he brilliant, beautiful, and always right?”
“He was loud, intolerant, and profoundly acerbic,” Kaladin said, standing up. “But yes, he was basically always right.” He faced the wall and leaned his spear against it. “Szeth called this ‘Lashing.’ ”||
||I love themmmm! I'm dying at all these lovely interactions and having so much funnn||
||“Shen shook his head. “Parshmen do not flee captivity. They will see only a slave doing some assigned task. I will leave your spear beside the fire.” He walked to the door, but then hesitated beside Kaladin, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You are a good man, Captain. I have learned much. My name is not Shen. It is Rlain.”
“May the winds treat you well, Rlain.”
“The winds are not what I fear,” Rlain said. He patted Kaladin’s shoulder, then took a deep breath as if anticipating something difficult, and stepped from the chamber.”||
||Why do I have a bad feeling I'm hoping no matter what, Rlain would stay loyal to Kal||
Ch.53
||“Spectacular…” Adolin said.“I’ll explain more tomorrow,” Shallan said.
“What happens tomorrow?”
“You’re feeding me dinner.”
“I am?”
“And taking me on a walk,” she said.
“I am?”
“Yes.”
“I’m a lucky man.” He smiled at her. “All right, then, we can—”||
||awww this lovey doveys ||
Ch.55
||“You!” he said, pointing at the driver.
“Me!” the King’s Wit replied from where he sat holding the reins. Blue eyes, black hair, black uniform. What was he doing driving the carriage? He wasn’t a servant, was he?
Kaladin clambered cautiously up into his seat, and Wit shook the reins, prodding the horses into motion.
“What are you doing here?” Kaladin asked him.
“Trying to find mischief,” Wit replied cheerfully, as the horses’ hooves rang against the stone. “Have you been practicing with my flute?”
“Uh…”
“Don’t tell me you left it in Sadeas’s camp when you moved out.”
“Well—”
“I said not to tell me,” Wit replied. “You don’t need to, since I already know. A shame. If you knew the history of that flute, it would make your brain flip upside-down. And by that, I mean that I would shove you off the carriage for having spied on me.”
“Uh…”
“Eloquent today, I see.”||
||OMG WIT!!! I'm so happy to see him again!||
delicate crown
Okay I've had many annotations on Ch.55 because I was just SO excited to see|| Wit again ||and all those hilarious interactions. I'm skipping them and will be sharing only a few of the remaining ones because apparently, this book has me annotating A LOT and I don't have the capacity to share them all
Ch.56
||“He scanned the crowd. The king was looking at his feet. Amaram. What of Amaram? Dalinar found him seated near the king. Dalinar met the man’s eyes.
Amaram looked away.
No…”||
||The coward, of course. I'm desperately waiting for Dalinar to uncover his truth||
Ch.80
||“I saw them in mirrors, in the corners of my eyes. I could swear I even heard them whispering, but you frightened them. I haven’t seen them since. There’s something about you. Don’t try to deny it.” The king looked to him. “I am sorry for what I did to you. I watched you fight to help Adolin, and then I saw you defend Renarin… and I grew jealous. There you were, such a champion, so loved. And everyone hates me. I should have gone to fight myself.
“Instead, I overreacted to your challenge of Amaram. You weren’t the one who ruined our chance against Sadeas. It was me. Dalinar was right. Again. I’m so tired of him being right, and me being wrong. In light of that, I am not at all surprised that you find me a bad king.”
Elhokar pushed open the door and left.”||
||I feel a twinge of pity for this man now. For him to stoop to this level being a friggin KING but like, I admire the man's honesty ||
Ch.81
||“Damnation,” Sebarial said, watching Roion go. “Damnation. What about me? Where’s my impassioned speech?”
“You,” Dalinar said, “are to go back to the command tent and not get in the way.”
Sebarial laughed. “All right. That I can do.”||
||LMAO
Here I was, waiting for the man to surprise me but he did, I mean of course he did. I was mad having silly expectations ||
||“It is death,” Rlain whispered. “Brightlord, I have never heard it before, but the rhythm is one of destruction. Of power.”||
||I'm so happy they have Rlain and that he decided to be of help. Truly affects the scales in a way nothing else can||
||“Choose the option,” Zahel said, rearranging his pillow, “that makes it easiest for you to sleep at night.” The old ardent closed his eyes and settled back. “That’s what I wish I’d done.”||
||That's such SOLID advice though!||
||“The king was Dalinar’s Tien."||
||I never saw it that way but makes so much sense
||“Know you nothing of Patterns, old human?” Pattern said, huffing. When had he picked up how to huff? “Voidbringers have no pattern. Besides, I have read of them in your lore. They speak of spindly arms like bone, and horrific faces. I should think, if you wish to find one, the mirror might be a location where you can begin your search.”||
||LMAO PATTERN!!! The way I keep cackling with this book
||“ Storms. Dalinar had never known a man who could look awkward in Shardplate, but his son managed it. The sheet of wind-driven rain passed. Light from blue lanterns reflected from Renarin’s wet armor.”||
||Now that's quite the insult if there ever can be from a father to a son
||“I am sorry that you have to die this way.”
Dalinar stood still. Rain streamed down. He looked to the flock of messengers, aides, bodyguards, and officers who attended him. “Who spoke?”
They looked at one another.
Wait… He recognized that voice, didn’t he? It was familiar to him.
Yes. He’d heard it many times. In his visions.
It was the voice of the Almighty.”||
||Nooooo too soon too soon, Dalinar cannot die no 😭
If he dies, I will riot. Sanderson, you better not kill him off this early in the series
cyan flame
> ||“ Storms. Dalinar had never known a man who could look awkward in Shardplate...
The way Dalinar ||keeps GRILLING my boy Renarin 
||
delicate crown
I knooooow, poor boy really
cyan flame
delicate crown
Ch.82
||“The king lay on the couch, unmoving.”||
||I don’t give a shit about this guy but for Dalinar and Kal’s sake, I wish he lives
||“The hand came away bloody. “I’m dead,” Elhokar whispered, regarding the blood.”||
||LMAO come on Elhokar, I know you're a bumbling fool but PLEASE ||
Ch.83
||“I AM CALLED. I MUST GO. A DAUGHTER DISOBEYS. YOU WILL SEE NO FURTHER VISIONS, CHILD OF HONOR. THIS IS THE END.FAREWELL.
“Stormfather!” Dalinar yelled. “There has to be a way! I will not die here!”
Silence. Not even thunder. People had gathered around Dalinar: soldiers, scribes, messengers, Roion and Navani. Frightened people.
“Don’t abandon us,” Dalinar said, voice trailing off. “Please…”||
||Is Syl the daughter??? Is she coming back??
Okay and I went full binge mode after this chapter and have no recorded annotations except in like the later chapter where ||Adolin rightfully gets rid of a long-standing pest and the the epilogue where Jasnah is revealed to be alive! Too many emotions there||
delicate crown
My final thoughts:
||I LOVED THIS! I struggled a bit to get into it at the start but apparently that's just Sanderson for you and I'm not alone in that. So much was happening, and even though it was a lot, I really enjoyed it. The Parshendi transformations were creepy in the best way with the whole red eyes 'voidbringers' turn and we get to know the characters a lot more deeply, and the lore reveals! Like Finally. We’re actually starting to get somewhere with all the mysteries. I still don’t know what’s coming next, but with the title and how things ended, I’m guessing the whole Sadeas thing and the lost Oathbringer sword are going to blow up somehow. I loved that this book included so much of the Parshendi POV and things are making so much more sense yet I know there's a LOT more to uncover. One thing I really loved is how it’s not just big plot moments. The little interactions, the humour, the way characters just are around each other — that’s what made it feel alive. Sanderson’s humour really works for me. I LIVED for the ShallanXPattern, KaladinXSyl, Bridge 4 and all those other interesting interactions. Shallan and Kal in the chasms like their bond developing slowly and not being forced into romance was so refreshing. Also, it was really explored, Kal's inhibitions and thoughts and Shallan's perspectives. I feel bad for the girl for she truly had a traumatic past and the two seemed to have something of a trauma bonding. I can see them being great friends in the future and I'm desperately hoping it doesn't turn into a love triangle in the future cuz I love it all the way it is. And Dalinar making Amaram apologise to Kaladin? That was actually perfect I felt so happy with the turnouts of everything in the book really||
||That said, the end did feel a bit chaotic. The last two chapters were just a bunch of truth bombs all at once and I didn’t always feel ready for them. Renarin being a Truthwatcher was like… wait, what? I mean I had an inkling but like I wish we got more from his point of view to make it hit better. Also, there are so many factions now and they’re all somehow connected to Gavilar but also working against each other in weird ways? Lift's an interesting character and I can't wait to see more of her in Edgedancer and also waiting for all the interludes to like connect together better because some did feel almost random atm. Oh and JASNAH! I whoooped when I found her to be alive! There’s just something about the way Sanderson writes that pulls me in. So much emotion, tension, and action, but also so many warm or funny little moments too. This book gave me everything. Easy 5 stars ||
delicate crown
Final thoughts ||THe best thing I can say for this is I liked it much better tha...
lmao, I was like 'Kale'? and then I realised
Tink, I love the your names for them
delicate crown
Final thoughts: ||I think it's easier to do this character by character, so I'll...
||Renarin cinnamon roll turned Radiant is such a lovely way to describe the boy! I love it! After his dad's dissing, we love some Renarin appreciation ||
delicate crown
final thoughts ||I had a hard time to get into it, although the brandon sanderso...
OMG NO WAY MANOUK Why are our thoughts so similar??
||Also, am I the only one who didn't see it to be a love triangle? I thought KalxShallan were quite platonic despite having a very deep sort of connection. I mean Kal's made his point very clear about not being into light-eyes and Shalln's just madly in love with Adolin so I just don't see it?||
delicate crown
CH 76 ||THE WAY DALINAR TRICKED AMARAM OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG im screaming. and also A...
||lmao your comment about Jasnah not being dead and what was she doing for the whole book, I cackled ||
delicate crown
Ch 65: ||The juxtaposition between Shallan's writings and Shallan's reality is s...
I honestly love how detailed your thoughts have been through your reading
||Agree with what you share about Malise but like I understand her really... I felt like everyone around her would be holding some sort of grudge because she seems to be the only one to not be beaten down and while yes, the blame's misplaced, the hurt has to go somewhere and Shallan's easier to be blamed in her state of helplessness ||
delicate crown
OMG NO WAY MANOUK <:kekCry:1269303993411047434> Why are our thoughts so similar...
I’m honestly creeped out rn because I just reread our reviews and it looks like even the way we processed stuff like the order of it seems similar and I’m like how
I write all my reviews in my reading journal first before I type them out here and it’s been a while but did I perhaps read yours and get influenced? I literally have no memory of doing that though I tend to avoid reading what others have written before I share mine because I don’t want my thoughts getting muddled up but this is seriously creepy to me
olive tinsel
OMG NO WAY MANOUK <:kekCry:1269303993411047434> Why are our thoughts so similar...
||I would absolutely love for this to be/stay platonic. The way Kaladin talks about Shallan’s way of thinking and handling life heals my inner soul 
||
delicate crown
||I would absolutely *love* for this to be/stay platonic. The way Kaladin talks ...
Yes!! ||Also, I'm low-key shipping Kal with Syl so I really don't want my ship sinking before it has a chance to sail ||
olive tinsel
Reading your review gave me motivation to continue again I always love how everyone gets so excited for this series and it gives me energy
delicate crown
I'm glad it did I'm planning to start #1295778279201968212 sometime this week
plush root
Chapter 2: ||That’s a pretty clever strategy to get all of those people trained up but that requires them to all be motivated and for the people who have been trained to have the necessary skills to train others. A lot of variables there and it would be so easy for things to go wrong or for people to be unprepared.||
The illustrations are so pretty!
Chapter 3: ||Shallan and Jasnah, how I’ve missed you. ||
Chapter 5: ||So I know Oathbringer is the title of a future book and if that’s the name of Dalinar’s shardblade then either he or his blade should have a big part to play down the line.||
plush root
Chapter 7: ||I refuse to believe that Jasnah is dead just like that. Nope, not buying it at all. There's still so much more we can get from her character so I really really hope she pops back up again down the line somehow.||
plush root
Chapter 10: ||Sometimes I forget just how young Shallan actually is. She's been through so much 😭 ||
Chapter 11: ||So is there Stormlight merch that is just 'I am a stick' because it feels like that could be their equivalent of 'I am Groot' ||
plush root
I-3: ||Omg yes, the King in this is a trans man and we have Talik saying gender is irrelevant? I love it I wasn't expecting that at all and I don't care that it's a side character, unexpected rep is better than no rep at all.||
plush root
Chapter 14: ||Salinor is massively being a sore loser there. How exactly was Adolin meant to have cheated?||
plush root
Chapter 18: ||Given how reliant Kaladin can be on stormlight sometimes during fights, having it drained from him is not good at all 
||
plush root
Chapter 33: ||I love chapters with Kaladin and Szeth the fact that Kaladin has managed to survive so many situations where he should have died is equally 
and 
to me but I'm not complaining at all. ||
Chapter 34: ||I will forever live in denial/hope and believe that Jasnah is alive ||
olive tinsel
Chapter 34: ||I will forever live in denial/hope and believe that Jasnah is aliv...
||YES! FINALLY I can read someone being in just as much denial as me ||
plush root
||YES! FINALLY I can read someone being in just as much denial as me <:kekCry:12...
We’re in this together 
plush root
I'm halfway through
Chapter 48: ||I'm a little surprised by how many Shallan flashbacks we're getting in this book but it kind of makes sense when we had that focus on Kaladin in the first book.||
plush root
Chapter 56: ||Dalinar going into the duelling arena at the end there was kinda sexy ||
cyan flame
Chapter 56: ||Dalinar going into the duelling arena at the end there was kinda s...
agreed LM AO
plush root
omg I thought you were gonna call me out then
plush root
Chapter 57: ||My guy, how are you still willing to fight when you've broken your legs and your feet?? Surely there's going to come a point where the Stormlight can't fix everything for him and he just fully depletes it or he's unable to use it for some reason. ||
||Um, what do you mean Kaladin is being arrested? That's not what's meant to be happening ||
plush root
Chapter 59: ||I just feel bad for him now comparing being a prisoner to being a slave and how he has better treatment as a prisoner which is probably really bad treatment anyway 
someone protect him and get him out of there. His conversation with Syl is reminding me of the phrase 'just because it's legal doesn't mean it's moral'. ||
plush root
Chapter 65: ||Jasnah, come back to me already 😭 I love how unapologetic she is in who she is. ||
Chapter 67: ||Now why does my copy have that name blurred out? 
I'm very suspicious now but it could just be a very random weird printing error.||
Chapter 68: ||Not the bridge collapsing ||
Chapter 69: ||So many of the main characters being in peril like this I can't be losing anyone else that I like.||
||Yay, at least Kaladin and Shallan are alive!! I totally agree with Kaladin that why would someone use the emergency latch and why is there even one in the first place? It definitely sounds like someone tried to sabotage them on purpose. I'm excited for the two of them to be working together though.||
plush root
Chapter 72: ||Ugh, why was this chapter so good? 🛐 ||
Chapter 74: ||Syl will come back as well 
/delusional||
plush root
Chapter 80: ||Shallan still being so trusting of Jasnah and her word even if she isn't around anymore. What if I cry? ||
||Days of rain sounds absolutely exhausting. Kaladin is a better person than me because I would've given up.||
plush root
Chapter 84: ||Hmm, am I meant to understand what all of those numbers mean? ||
Chapter 86: ||Huh, I really thought when I read TWoK that Szeth was going to be redeemed somehow but it seems like that's not going to happen?||
Chapter 88: ||Szeth died but now he's alive? 
see if it can happen to him then it can happen to Jasnah too I will forever live in hope because I think anything can happen in this world. We've seen how many times Kaladin has defied certain death so why not her too?||
Epilogue: ||I was right??? Hello I need the next book right now immediately.||
me when it comes to ||Jasnah being alive||
