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jaimeacevesm's review against another edition
5.0
This is epic fantasy at its finest.
Different POVs... And each one as interesting as the others. Even the interludes are amazing. I couldn't stop reading.
Different POVs... And each one as interesting as the others. Even the interludes are amazing. I couldn't stop reading.
natenason's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nhernandez2015's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
abbs15norm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sajad409's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.5
beepsleep's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
anapthine's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
kyleighwhitsell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
glendonrfrank's review against another edition
3.0
My frustration is mostly that I've read other books this long and longer, and they at least had the courtesy to go somewhere and be about something.
Maybe it's just that my friends have put Sanderson on this impossibly high pedestal as The modern fantasy writer. To be clear, as a piece of pop fantasy, it is pretty awesome. In the very final 100 pages, he pulls all of the lore he has laid out together and it feels like a pretty satisfying "a-ha!" moment. I definitely liked this enough that I'm intrigued by the world and the story and I want to read the next one. It was good!
But on a thematic/character level I'm left a little underwhelmed. Structurally, Sanderson is weaving together four different character's individual stories, with the addition of one of those characters' backstories. And he is dividing these into five sections, with certain characters present in certain sections. That's all a tall task, but to make it really sing you should have a thematic through-line, some clear reason to pair these stories together, and I'm just not sure that there is? It seems, broadly, that the theme is "war is bad and we should care about people," which can be an awesome theme but it is constantly delivered as if it is a groundbreaking revelation. Sanderson has crafted a world in which war becomes nothing but a game, which in itself could bring out some interesting commentary but he seems content to not delve any deeper than "this is a bad thing." The same goes for the interesting class hierarchies he creates. I love the ways he is able to build twists in his worldbuilding where you can realize several hundred pages in that lighteyes & darkeyes are basically systems of class breeding, but that seems to be as far as he will take it.
As a result of being so thematically inert, his characters suffer. Dalinar especially, I am thoroughly astonished that people appear to be preferring him to Shallan because at least Shallan has an interesting arc with twists and turns and pondering about genuine morality, Dalinar just sits and says, "what if we stopped fighting?" for 400 pages. A thunderously boring character story. I genuinely really liked Shallan's stuff and wish it had more prominence because Dallan's arc just reads as an impossibly dense lore-drop whereas Shallan at least feels like she's interacting with the lore in a way that's engaging. I like Kaladin a lot, and I think the intersection of his present story and his tragic background work a lot, always revealing new shades of him. And yet I can't help but feel like his arc was way too damn long. It's interesting to really break down the intricacies of him slowly winning over the Bridge Team, but his arc isn't even about that as much as it's about learning not to blame himself for everything. They're definitely tied together, but not so inseparably that you need an entire 1200-page book to tell the story. I also don't really know how I feel about the final twist with his character, if only because it came a little late in the narrative. The Szeth stuff was awesome, if only because it felt appropriately brief.
The one thing I did enjoy with this is how unorthodox it feels. It had been pitched to me as The adult high-fantasy entry to Sanderson, and while it doesn't feel particularly adult, it's nice to have a cast of characters out of the limelight. These are largely characters on the fringes of society, and it's cool to see high-fantasy through their eyes rather than a central chosen hero (which is part of why Kaladin's twist is boring). I love an underdog - I am bored by the people wearing magic Shardplate, but I'm very into the scrappy soldiers figuring out how to fight those people.
I don't know! It's a very fun read and pretty light for how long it is, but as a result it feels kind of fluffy and in need of a sharp editor. I think he could easily have consolidated this to 800 pages if not fewer. But I'm intrigued by the story, I like most of these characters, and I'm really a fan of how Sanderson bakes his worldbuilding into the very format of the book. There is definitely a lot to like here, it's just much less refined than I was expecting, giving Sanderson's reputation.
Maybe it's just that my friends have put Sanderson on this impossibly high pedestal as The modern fantasy writer. To be clear, as a piece of pop fantasy, it is pretty awesome. In the very final 100 pages, he pulls all of the lore he has laid out together and it feels like a pretty satisfying "a-ha!" moment. I definitely liked this enough that I'm intrigued by the world and the story and I want to read the next one. It was good!
But on a thematic/character level I'm left a little underwhelmed. Structurally, Sanderson is weaving together four different character's individual stories, with the addition of one of those characters' backstories. And he is dividing these into five sections, with certain characters present in certain sections. That's all a tall task, but to make it really sing you should have a thematic through-line, some clear reason to pair these stories together, and I'm just not sure that there is? It seems, broadly, that the theme is "war is bad and we should care about people," which can be an awesome theme but it is constantly delivered as if it is a groundbreaking revelation. Sanderson has crafted a world in which war becomes nothing but a game, which in itself could bring out some interesting commentary but he seems content to not delve any deeper than "this is a bad thing." The same goes for the interesting class hierarchies he creates. I love the ways he is able to build twists in his worldbuilding where you can realize several hundred pages in that lighteyes & darkeyes are basically systems of class breeding, but that seems to be as far as he will take it.
As a result of being so thematically inert, his characters suffer. Dalinar especially, I am thoroughly astonished that people appear to be preferring him to Shallan because at least Shallan has an interesting arc with twists and turns and pondering about genuine morality, Dalinar just sits and says, "what if we stopped fighting?" for 400 pages. A thunderously boring character story. I genuinely really liked Shallan's stuff and wish it had more prominence because Dallan's arc just reads as an impossibly dense lore-drop whereas Shallan at least feels like she's interacting with the lore in a way that's engaging. I like Kaladin a lot, and I think the intersection of his present story and his tragic background work a lot, always revealing new shades of him. And yet I can't help but feel like his arc was way too damn long. It's interesting to really break down the intricacies of him slowly winning over the Bridge Team, but his arc isn't even about that as much as it's about learning not to blame himself for everything. They're definitely tied together, but not so inseparably that you need an entire 1200-page book to tell the story. I also don't really know how I feel about the final twist with his character, if only because it came a little late in the narrative. The Szeth stuff was awesome, if only because it felt appropriately brief.
The one thing I did enjoy with this is how unorthodox it feels. It had been pitched to me as The adult high-fantasy entry to Sanderson, and while it doesn't feel particularly adult, it's nice to have a cast of characters out of the limelight. These are largely characters on the fringes of society, and it's cool to see high-fantasy through their eyes rather than a central chosen hero (which is part of why Kaladin's twist is boring). I love an underdog - I am bored by the people wearing magic Shardplate, but I'm very into the scrappy soldiers figuring out how to fight those people.
I don't know! It's a very fun read and pretty light for how long it is, but as a result it feels kind of fluffy and in need of a sharp editor. I think he could easily have consolidated this to 800 pages if not fewer. But I'm intrigued by the story, I like most of these characters, and I'm really a fan of how Sanderson bakes his worldbuilding into the very format of the book. There is definitely a lot to like here, it's just much less refined than I was expecting, giving Sanderson's reputation.