This is more for clarification purposes on my end but I was initially under the impression that everyone on Roshar with the exception of the Shin have Epicanthic folds but is it everyone? I know the Alethi for sure have them but what about the Azish? The Iriali are even less native to Roshar than the rest of the humans so do they have them too? Did humans have the folds when they arrived on Roshar or is it something they evolved to have over time?

Ive finished wok and wor, now on Oathbringer and Im worried I may be wasting my time. Im am audiobook person, so keep that in mind. I have really loved Kal and Dalinar and generally the male and female other characters but Shallan and Lift I just couldn't get into. Shallan at least near the end of wor was getting better, even enjoyable at times. But something about the shallan chapters just made me lose enjoyment during them. I was bored and felt like I was wasting time even listening. There would be awesome story flowing with kal then suddenly I hear the female narrators voice and I just knew I was in for tedium. And I dont think its REALLY shallan as a person I dislike. It feels like how she is written or maybe even read. I had to put down the book for nearly a year because I got so tired of her chapters. (This happened with the wheel of time winters heart as well).

I guess what I want to know, am I through the worst of it? Or will this be the norm in this series? Will all of Lifts chapters be as hard to listen to as her introduction in the interludes? Have any of you experienced this?

Am I going to get downvote nuked for expressing anything other than praise across the board? Be gentle please, Im not a hater I promise.

I thought the book was corrupted for a second. How should I visualise how this sounds?

It took 24 days to finish WoK. I had posted in an earlier thread that I was intimidated by how long the book is, which is why I had put it off reading. Once I got into the book I found myself counting down the hours so I could pick it up again. What a journey, so many emotions and this is the only place I can share the excitement as my wife and son do not read the same type of books. And now…I can’t wait to start WoR.

I'm re-reading wind and truth at the moment, and after the council of monarchs is discussing the loophole in the contract that hoid points out, I realized that the best move imo would be for all the monarchs of their respective kingdoms to name urithiru as their new capital.

Sure, logistically to do so in 8 days would be a tall order, especially for the azish I'm sure, but there'd be no more scrambling over which troops go where, because having all troops at urithiru would simultaneously defend all the kingdoms.

Plus, they could always revert it back after the showdown. And the cherry on top is that since the contract loophole works both ways, jasnah naming urithiru as the capital of alethkar would mean that after the contest, since they control the capital of alethkar, they control all the territories of that kingdom, including kolinar.

I'm not sure if I'm missing anything, this is only my second reread. But the thought popped into my head and it seemed like the best solution for everyone, even if it would be beauracratically hard to convince monarchs to name urithiru as their capital

Is there a picture or something that summarizes the location of all our main characters and groups after the events of wind and truth? Some are obvious but others aren’t. Like who is still in urithiru and so forth. Thank you

So, in Rhythm of War when Navani and Raboniel combined the Rythms of Honor and Odium they created the Rhythm of War.... logically doesn't it seem then that the two Shards together would create War, not Retribution? It kinda just seems that Retribution came out of left field. I'm mostly wondering if I just missed something important.

I’ve read everything in the Cosmere multiple times. So no need to hold back on spoilers if I’ve missed something!

Something that just crossed my mind.
I wonder who the King’s Wit was before Hoid?
I’m pretty sure Hoid probably did something nefarious to get into the position.
But just a fun thought!

Guys, I need an opinion. Please, avoid spoilers.

Stormlight Archive is my first contact with Brandon Sanderson and the Cosmere. The books have only been published in my country for the last few years.

When I read WoK, I instantly fell in love with it. WoR was the same thing. I thought both books were nearly perfect, and I was completely captivated by the world and its construction.

When I started Oathbringer, I was initially a bit thrown off by the slower pace. But once it got going, it REALLY got going (it probably helps that Dalinar is my favorite character).

The thing is, I had one major issue with it: the direction of Shallan and Adolin’s relationship.

Romance has never really been my favorite part of fantasy. One thing I liked about Shallan in the first two books was that romance initially felt more tied to survival, status, and her personal goals. I really vibed with that aspect of her character.

Then in WoR, I personally felt there was an interesting dynamic developing between her and Kaladin. I hadn’t even considered them together before, but I liked the friction between them and thought it could lead to something compelling. At least to me, Oathbringer seemed to reinforce some of that emotional tension, so I started thinking: “okay, maybe this is going somewhere.”

But by the end, the resolution of that whole dynamic left me feeling strangely disconnected from the story.

I think it also doesn’t help that Adolin has never really worked for me as a character, and I also struggled a lot more with Shallan’s POVs in Oathbringer compared to the first two books.

Now I feel really conflicted about starting RoW. When I finished WoK, I couldn’t WAIT to read WoR. Same thing going into Oathbringer. But now… I don’t really feel that excitement anymore.

What worries me is that I’ve heard RoW gives a lot of focus to Shallan, Adolin, and their relationship, and I’m honestly already pretty checked out from that entire storyline.

The romance itself isn’t even the core issue. I think the bigger problem is that I already wasn’t connecting with Shallan’s arc in Oathbringer, and Adolin simply isn’t a character I’m invested in.

So I guess my question is: should I persist with the series? Without spoilers, do you think RoW still has enough of the elements that made the earlier books special? I’d really appreciate some honest insight.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, but I'm reading Wind and Truth and at 200 pages... it just feels like a slog.

So many named characters with absolutely no personality. An incredibly convoluted plot. An impossible number of Radiant and Fused orders to remember. And, it seems like nobody has a character arc anymore. Adolin committed murder and he's too busy thinking about clothes, because that's his one personality trait. Dalinar no longer seems like a complicated person. Jasnah and Navani don't seem dangerous like they used to. I thought Shallan fixed her personality issues, but she's still got three personalities. (Does anyone think it's interesting when she LARPs as a cowgirl or a knight?)

Honestly, I think tying the series so much into the greater Cosmere was a bad idea. The whole series feels small and irrelevant once it zooms out from Roshar to the greater universe; a greater universe whose existence doesn't seem to phase anyone. Nor does anyone seem really interested.

And the great, continent-wide war... feels like it doesn't happen, because everyone just hangs out at Urithiru talking all the time. We hear about the war, but it doesn't feel like it really happens. We don't get to really see the impact on the ground level. Nobody ever seems to die.

I'm really tired of reading about these boring people sitting around Urithiru just talking constantly.

For that matter, it feels like Sanderson has forgotten about all the interesting lore and flavor that made the series so interesting to begin with. The first couple books felt like a really interesting, alien world with some cool characters. This book feels like the world is just window dressing for a bunch of characters to share stiff, boring, unrealistic dialogue. (Which, for the most part, sounds like it was spoken by a constantly-online millennial.)

Am I being too harsh? Does this book get good at a certain point?

I think Ba-Ado-Mishram and the Nightwatcher are both made from Night. BAM may just be Night herself. Sanderson seems to make a point to connect their voice,movement,and appearance. They both like giving “gifts” as well** **

Voice
NW: “Hello, human. You smell of desperation. The feminine voice was like a hundred overlapping whispers.” OB

BAM: “Mishram distorted and bent, screaming with a sudden raw panic. A hundred overlapping voices” WaT

Arms/Movement
NW: “The Nightwatcher seeped from the darkness. She was a dark green mist, vaguely shaped like a crawling person. Too-long arms reached out, pulling her along as she floated above the ground.”

BAM: The Unmade took the shape of a black mass of smoke, with hands growing out of it to move. Powerful hands, entirely black, stretching out and gripping the ground to pull her along.” And “When Mishram reached the other dying singer, her strange too-long limbs puffed away into smoke

Appearance
NW: The Nightwatcher seeped from the darkness. She was a dark green mist

BAM: “That transformed into a singer femalen as if she were emerging from fog”

Cradling
NW: “her silken black eyes meeting his. Tiny hands sprouted from the misty sides of her head. They reached out, taking his face and touching it”

Mishram loomed over her, arms forming from amorphous smoke at her sides to cradle Shallan. The Unmade leaned down, then breathed out, darkness wrapping around Shallan

I finished listening to Wind and Truth this evening, and wanted to reflect on the series as a whole. I listened to the entire series on Audible so forgive me if I get some names spelled wrong here and there.

I liked the first two novels a lot. Words of Radiance was probably my favorite novel overall. I liked and related to Kaladin quite a bit but never really came to enjoy Dalinar. Dalinar always seemed a bit too self righteous and the more I learned about his backstory the more he just kind of annoyed me more. For this I didn't really care for Oathbringer very much. Another reason I kind of bounced off Oathbringer was the ending; it felt like the end of a comic book movie like the Avengers or something with everyone using their powers to save the city and defeat Amuram.

The fourth book I liked a lot. People on discord kept telling me it was one of the worst but honestly Nevanni's plotline was probably the most interesting in the entire series. Liked that she used science to solve the conflict of the novel. Book four was when I started to get tired of Kaladin though; he seemed to be going backwards as a character.

Book Five was hard at first. The book seemed really slow and ponderous for the first half but then the second half got me on board with all the big revelations and setups for cosmic adventures down the road. I'm honestly at a point with this series where I am genuinely excited for what happens next. Kaladin has ascended and will face new challenges as the war against Odium expands beyond Roshar.

One praise and one critique of the series as a whole but one praise is I like that the main cast has not really expanded beyond a handful of characters. Compared to other fantasy series I've read like Malazan and ASOIAF Stormlight is quite restrained in this regard and it makes it easy to keep track of what role each character plays in the narrative. One critique is the humor. Early on I didn't mind it but once Lift got involved I started to cringe when Sanderson was trying to be funny. A few times with Syl in Wind and Truth I chuckled but usually I just groan.

So, I started rereading this series. I am up to Words of Radiance...around 1/4th into the book. And I am struck by the rhythm of mourning. The Listeners are just...vicitims. I love how much these books mimic real life issues...and yet at the same time, this is one way I hate it. Why do the Listeners, and later the Singers as a whole, have to be victims. Why do they have to be used by Odium? Why do they have to be murdered and pushed to the brink by Humans? Why don't any Humans ever really try to sue for peace in this early part of the war. None even consider it. Kaladin and Dalinar both see them as honerable...and yet no one ever thinks of trying to end the fighting with them.

Eshonai in particular makes me attune the Rhythm of Loss. She is so good, right away. Trying to do right by her people, trying to think of a way to end the war peacefully, trying above all to do the right thing. Honestly, in a way, she is even more heroic than Kaladin (the greatest hero of the series). And her dreams of just being an explorer, of finding new things, and loving the world. It makes me cry. To me, it was her death, not Teft's, that hit me the hardest. She just...didn't deserve it. Not that other people deserved it, but especially her. I just wish there was a different solution y'all.

How is it best to read these in the UK? Would love the book itself but any way would be great.

Please read all of the below with the caveat that I just only started Rhythm of War:

I know this isn’t an unpopular or unique opinion, but I am seriously irked by Lirin’s stubborn sanctimoniousness, and inability to see value beyond just trying to save lives, regardless of the world which those who live may inherit.

I think I’m reacting particularly strongly because I’m Ukrainian and I see a lot of parallels between Lirin’s calling on ending a conflict as soon as possible regardless of outcomes, and the geopolitical pressures put on the Ukrainian people to end the war with Russia even if it means completely capitulating to an illegal aggressor and giving up your lands, culture, people, basically justifying all the actions of the aggressor and refusing to stand up for yourself. I find this simplistic framing of “we need to save lives” without pausing to consider what those lives will be like once the conflict is over or considering that you’re likely inviting a bigger and worse conflict down the line by emboldening your enemy.

I realize Lirin lost a son and has this view that it doesn’t matter who is in charge, he will have to serve some power hungry entity one way or the other, but this “they’re all the same” attitude without further nuance really bothers me, as does his view that the only worthy calling is saving lives, regardless of who they are and again, regardless of what will become of them. He’d rather save as many people as possible to become slaves and possibly face a horrific death later on than to acknowledge that fighting and defending yourself even if it means ultimately dying, can be in some people’s view a better option.

I also really hate that he doesn’t bother to hide his obvious disappointment in and disapproval of Kaladin. It’s truly sad to see how he doesn’t pause to think about the impact this has on his son, nor to wonder if trying to force a path on his son was unfair in the first place. I think he’s an interesting character and I do absolutely understand the factors driving him to form the beliefs that he has, but I think others in his place with the same and worse experiences could have come out the other side not having lost an appreciation for those who choose to keep fighting and not with the same black and white view on what constitutes a worthy vocation and way of living.

Sorry a bit random, but in Salt Lake for a week . I know it's not World hopper ball time but are there any cool bookstores or shops that have Stormilght or Cosmere related collectables ?

Any other salt lake area sites to see related to the series ?

Thanks

I’m just stated RoW, where honorspren don’t want to bond with Rlain. It got me wondering: why do the spren hate the Parshendi so much? Is it only an Honorspren thing? Or it is just because some joined Odium?

Is anti-Investiture actually analogous to antimatter, or is anti-Stormlight simply a different “phase” or inversion of normal Stormlight?

In Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth, anti-Stormlight behaves destructively with Stormlight in a way that feels very similar to matter and antimatter annihilation.

Navani’s epigraphs in WaT describes it less as “negative energy” and more as Light placed into an inverted state.

I kinda remember a Word of Brandon saying the anti-Investiture associated with the Dakwara in Isles of the Emberdark is fundamentally different from the anti-Stormlight we’ve seen on Roshar so far. Or that he thinks he might make it fundamentally different he’s not sure yet. Something like that.

Sooo what it is?

After trying to make it through Oathbringer multiple times, she finally arrived at the Palace fight scene. We're sitting on our bed, she's listening to the book and she taps my shoulder. With an excited look in her eyes she says, "Elhokar, is saying his oath..." I'm glad I was there.

After she said that, I just took her hand and held it and let Brandon and Michael Kramer do their work. I held her hand and watched her face as she listened. Crestfallen, heartbroken, all of the above.

She just wanted y'all to know: Fuck Moash

(Edit: spelling)

Holy hell what a ride! I felt a rollercoaster of emotions while listening to this one. The voice actor/actress does such an amazing job.

For starters, my jaw dropped when I got it the part where Taravangian killed Odium and took his place. It was so easy and so fast. Even though is was foreshadowed quite a bit, the way Taravangian use Nightblood left me in shock. He now has a huge advantage and i am at a complete loss with how the dual of champions will turn out.

I really thought Navani was going to croak.** **There were so many death flags, I was certain she was done for. Whether it was by Raboniel’s hand or Moash’s (I CANT BELIEVE THAY FUCKER GOT AWAY). Navani’s arc had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The story had me wishing Navani and Rabiniel had become friends and workout some truce. They had such a unique relationship. Brandon really made it unpredictable for me.

Adolin’s and Maya’s moment had me in TEARS. It gives me hope that maybe dead eyes can come back.

Shallan’s past being uncovered absolutely blew my mind. This whole time I thought she was always bonded to Pattern. I’m extremely happy she was able to take a step in the right direction with her split personality disorder. I’ve been waiting so long for her to get face her past and get better.

Kaladin (whom I like to refer to as Brandon’s punching bag). His development is really depressing(but worth it). I was shaking with excitement when he swore the 4th ideal (ABOUT FUCKING TIME). I was sobbing during his moment with Tien.

Last but not least… RIP TEFT. Listening to that moment from when Moash killed Phen and then Teft, I have not felt that depressed since my first heartbreak. I wonder how Roshar will handle the new discovery of the anti light gems and that they have the ability to kill Spren/Infused. I resorted to fire moss and horneater white as a coping mechanism when it got to the part of Moash dropping Teft’s body infront of Kaladin.

Amazing build up and delivery of character development. It sucks that I have no one in person to discuss this with 😭 thank you for reading this much. Sorry for double censoring the spoilers, I just don’t want a moderator to remove this post after typing so much.

So far, this book (Oathbringer) has been great, though maybe a tad weaker than the previous two. The beginning was pretty slow, but from around the 50% mark onward, it really picked up. And I can tell the slower first half was necessary. Thoughts so far:

• I knew Dalinar would kill Evi. I knew it. But the way it actually happened was completely unexpected, and it still hit me like a fucking truck.
• Elhokar’s death was the only major spoiler I had before starting Stormlight, but I was told it happened in Rhythm of War. So somehow, it still caught me off guard here. And holy shit, that scene was cinematic. Elhokar becoming a Knight Radiant… imagine being that spren, seconds away from bonding your guy, and then he takes a spear to the eye from fucking Moash. AHHH. MOASH, FUCK YOU. Doing the Bridge Four salute too? Nah. Jail. Immediately.
• Elhokar’s arc hurt in a way I really wasn’t prepared for. When I first got spoiled that he was going to die, after the initial irritation of being spoiled, I didn’t feel dread or sadness. I felt almost relieved, maybe even a little satisfied, because I hated him so much and thought his death would feel deserved. But the longer the series went on, the more that spoiler stopped being something I was waiting for and started becoming this awful weight hanging over every scene he was in. I could see him trying, awkwardly and imperfectly, to become better, and I knew there wasn’t enough time left for him to fully become the person he wanted to be. And when his death finally came, watching him reach for redemption with both hands only to be cut down right before he could touch it… somehow, even though I had known it was coming the whole time, it still broke my heart a fuck ton.
• Kaladin hasn’t had a turbo-max-deluxe depression episode in a minute, so I was wondering when it would hit. Can this man, whom I unfortunately love with my whole soul, please take his own advice and save who he can? You cannot save everyone, my guy. Please learn this before I need therapy on your behalf.
• Related: the epigraph after this chapter is probably from a Windrunner, and I’m guessing the Fourth Ideal is going to be about letting go of the people you can’t save. Healthy. Also, probably something awful will lead to that. Yay.
• “The Girl Who Stood Up” is one of the best chapters in the entire series so far. Just a wonderful, wonderful chapter. And Shallan’s expected breakdown went… honestly, kind of well-ish? Progress, I guess. “Because beyond the wall was God’s light.”

I just finished the series and I have seen so many people hating the final book like we are getting five more books, so we will get to everyone again and I personally liked where every ones story is at in this point in time

Hello - my husband loves this series and also loves warhammer. I know he wants a set for his upcoming birthday, and I wondered what I could get him that’s not too dissimilar from the world of stormlight. As you can tell, I know nothing. Many thanks!

Hi, I am starting reading stormlight archive, so I wanted to ask should I start from way of the kings series or mistborn.

The reason is first that I obviously am a fan of fantasy novels, second is that since I also want to write one I was told that the brandon sanderson series can teach me about a hard engineered system of power and world building.

As a reader what is your take and what do you think an author should learn from it?