I just finished the first one and it's easily become one of my favorite fantasy novels. I normally don't enjoy long, world-building novels due to my short attention span, but this one kept me hooked every page of the way.
If anyone is looking for a series to start, check this one out.
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The Blade Itself The Name of the Wind Stormlight #1 A Dance With Dragons Pastwatch Locke Lamora Some Michael Chabon book is my closet Children of Hurin
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I've read the first Stormlight Archive, have the second but have not read it yet. Love it. After reading Kaladin's story I was just *exhausted*. In a good way. I really felt like I lived through it with him.
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I liked the second even more. We really get to know Shallan and Kaladin, though still kind of a grump, has some amazing scenes. One will have you screaming like a crazed soccer fan when his team wins the world cup. Posts: 891 | Registered: Feb 2010
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There is so much win in the Stormlight Archive. And it accelerates far, far faster than The Wheel of Time or any comparably huge book series--things actually happen in these books, things that matter.
After just the first book, Kaladin is Sanderson's strongest character, beating out Vin and Kelsier easily. And the second book is even steeper in awesomeness.
quote: After reading Kaladin's story I was just *exhausted*. In a good way. I really felt like I lived through it with him.
quote: And it accelerates far, far faster than The Wheel of Time or any comparably huge book series--things actually happen in these books, things that matter.
Both of those QFT.
Now that I've had some time to reflect on WoK, the craziest part is, the first like 950 pages are basically a build up to the last 50 pages where all hell breaks loose. But the first 950 pages don't feel like a build up. They are thoroughly enjoyable on their own merits.
I'm into the second one and this one definitely feels like a change of pace from the first one. Shit gets real very early on. Posts: 2054 | Registered: Nov 2005
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This series turned my brother into a reader. He used to make fun of me and would never consider reading a book. I convinced him to download it, and he called me screaming at me for tricking hm when he saw how long it was.
I told him to give it a chance, and began receiving regular updates from him via text message about how incredible it was. When the second one came out we texted each other updates around midnight as we were waiting to download it. Then we teased each other mercilessly as we read it and tried to see who could finish first.
I truly think the Stormlight Archive is a masterpiece.I love, love, love it. Kaldin and Shallan and Dalinar are some of the most vividly realized characters I've ever been exposed to. The worldbuilding is perfection, the plotting so excellent they don't feel like epic tomes... I just can't recommend it highly enough.
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I had Brandon Sanderson's name floating in my head as a good author from either here or from seeing my brother, who is an avid reader, reading him. I was browsing at the library when I saw his name and the only book they had of his that was the first of a series was Steelheart, which was decent. Fun, but cliched and didn't show a whole lot of writing chops even for a YA novel. My brother assured me Stormlight is on a whole different level. I ordered Mistborn and WoK, read a few pages of each, and was immediately hooked on WoK and returned Mistborn.
There must be someone here who has picked it up as a result of all these recommendations... Posts: 2054 | Registered: Nov 2005
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I just finished Words of Radiance. Spoilers ahead:
There's a couple things I don't understand. Throughout the book, I was under the impression that Szeth was named Truthless because he had surgebinding abilities that were only supposed to happen before a Desolation, and since the Shin leaders refused to believe that was happening, they made him Truthless, essentially saying that his existence was a lie. Then we find out that his abilities came from his Honorblade; they weren't innate. So why was he named Truthless? And why would the Shin leaders give an Honorblade to a Truthless and then exile him, essentially losing one of their most valuable possessions?
Also, how long after the Heralds broke their oathpact did Day of Recreance take place? If the Heralds were leading the KR, wouldn't they have ceased to exist at the same time? Or the KR just continued on their own? Were the Heralds regular men who gained their powers and honorblades from their oaths after reading Nohadon's work?
I'm asking this here on the off-chance that any of you read this recently enough to remember details, but I'm also going to register on Brandon Sanderson's forum to ask the same there.
Also, Kaladin saying to the Assassin in White at the end after saving Dalinar, "You sent him to the skies to die. But the skies and the winds are mine" and then having one of the most exciting and incredibly written fight scenes is literally the coolest moment in any book I've ever read.
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I think the next book is about Szeth, so we will likely find out more. My guess is that he has been misled about a lot of things, but now, with his current situation, he is going to be getting revenge. It would lead to at least 2 story lines in the book, present and past.
posted
He was named truthless because he said the radiants were returning and the shin refused to believe him. His whole personal struggle was that he had evidence before him in the form of Kaladin that the radiants had indeed returned, meaning he wasn't truthless and therefore all the killing he had done was on his hands. He couldn't justify it by saying he was following his oaths for being truthless.
It has not been revealed where exactly his blade came from. All we really know is Syl finds something very wrong about it.
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quote:Originally posted by Wingracer: It has not been revealed where exactly his blade came from. All we really know is Syl finds something very wrong about it.
I remember the book specifically saying the Shin leaders gave it to him. They have all ten Honorblades. It was the Shardblades that came from dead Spren that Syl found wrong, not the Honorblade. She told Kaladin to get it and hold on to it when Szeth dropped it.
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quote:Originally posted by Wingracer: It has not been revealed where exactly his blade came from. All we really know is Syl finds something very wrong about it.
I remember the book specifically saying the Shin leaders gave it to him. They have all ten Honorblades. It was the Shardblades that came from dead Spren that Syl found wrong, not the Honorblade. She told Kaladin to get it and hold on to it when Szeth dropped it.
Had to go look it up but you are correct except they only have seven of the ten. Szeth's was the eighth.
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Hmm. I guess one of the two they don't have belongs to the Herald that never broke the oathpact, I wonder which other one is missing?
You're right about why Szeth was made Truthless, I just thought it was his surgebinding ability that was signifying the Knights returning, and the Shin refused to believe that. I remember something about the Shin saying he was a false warning, thinking they were referring to his abilities, not something he verbally claimed. It just seems strange that someone so obedient would claim something contrary to his leaders' beliefs, but I guess like msquared said, we'll find out details in the next book.
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It might be the 5th book. According the Wiki, the 3rd book is about Dalinar and the 4th is about Eshoni. The 5th book is about Szeth. All of this is unconfirmed.
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Who's going to get flashbacks in which book is very uncertain. Szeth was going to be book three until Sanderson started writing it and then it became Dalinar's book. I'm pretty sure books 4 and 5 will be Szeth and Eshonai but I don't think we should take the order as settled.
quote:Also, how long after the Heralds broke their oathpact did Day of Recreance take place? If the Heralds were leading the KR, wouldn't they have ceased to exist at the same time? Or the KR just continued on their own? Were the Heralds regular men who gained their powers and honorblades from their oaths after reading Nohadon's work?
We don't know, the KR did continue on their own so presumably lead themselves, and the Heralds seem to predate everyone and probably got their blades from Honor (and Cultivation?) himself.
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