Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
Blurb:
The long-awaited explosive climax to the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive―the iconic epic fantasy masterpiece that has sold more than 10 million copies, from acclaimed bestselling author Brandon Sanderson.
Dalinar Kholin challenged the evil god Odium to a contest of champions with the future of Roshar on the line. The Knights Radiant have only ten days to prepare―and the sudden ascension of the crafty and ruthless Taravangian to take Odium’s place has thrown everything into disarray.
Desperate fighting continues simultaneously worldwide―Adolin in Azir, Sigzil and Venli at the Shattered Plains, and Jasnah in Thaylenah. The former assassin, Szeth, must cleanse his homeland of Shinovar from the dark influence of the Unmade. He is accompanied by Kaladin, who faces a new battle helping Szeth fight his own demons . . . and who must do the same for the insane Herald of the Almighty, Ishar.
At the same time, Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain work to unravel the mystery behind the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram and her involvement in the enslavement of the singer race and in the ancient Knights Radiant killing their spren. And Dalinar and Navani seek an edge against Odium’s champion that can be found only in the Spiritual Realm, where memory and possibility combine in chaos. The fate of the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.
Review:
Spoiler filled review
Wind and Truth is the epic, herculean mid-season finale that was both exceptionally controversial and, for me, almost exactly what I wanted and needed in this book. I’m going to start this review off with a bit of an explanation. When I heard the date Wind and Truth was going to be published, I began to do a re-read of the Stormlight Archive because it had been a while since I had read them. I was overwhelmingly excited to read the conclusion of the first arc of the Stormlight Archive. This had been one of the most pivotal epic fantasy series of my adult fantasy re-awakenings. But when the date finally came, I was only part of the way through Oathbringer. Journey before Destination, I thought it myself. It’s better if I take my time and finish the re-read like I had planned and just come to Wind and Truth as I come to it. But then reviews started coming in, and while I was able to avoid spoilers, people whose opinion I trusted began saying that they didn’t like it for this or that reason. Some people loved it. But for every person who I talked to who said they loved it, I had another one who said they didn’t like it and that it was the worst Stormlight book they had read. I kept going with Oathbringer and then Rhythm of War. When I finally finished, I was too nervous to start Wind and Truth. What if it didn’t work for me? What if it ruined all of the rest of the Stormlight Archive for me?
Months passed. And then all of the sudden, it had been well over a year. I finally built up the courage to start my journey, and I’m so glad I did.
Were there things I didn’t love about Wind and Truth? Yes, without a doubt. Was it my favorite book in the Stormlight Archive series? No. I don’t actually know where I would rank it yet. I think I will need to sit on it longer. But did I enjoy it immensely? Yes. I really, truly did.
In a book this long, there is so much I could talk about. Let me start by saying one of the things I most appreciate about this book is that it is very obviously the story that Brandon wants to be telling. So many of the comments and criticisms that I heard were surrounding pacing and all the fat that could potentially be cut from the pages. I mean, this was a wicked long book. Like, really, really long. But you know what? For me, I loved the chance to settle in and just come along for the ride. This was an epic and huge and sometimes ponderously slow book, but at this point, I care about these characters and I was happy to be there for the mountains and the valleys of this story. If I’m honest, I don’t think there were any parts of this story that I would cut or remove entirely. This is not a fast-paced, page turner that has action bursting out of each page and chapter. But for me, at this point in my life, I was totally happy with that. I got to marinate and spend time with the characters. And that made me happy.
I loved all of the worldbuilding and visions we saw from the Spiritual Realm and the Stormfather. While none of it blew me away—I feel like most of it was fairly well foreshadowed in other Stormlight books or the Cosmere as a whole—it was great to learn about what made Roshar, Ashyn, and Braize the unique places that they are. The interactions between Odium, Honor, and Cultivation were interesting and opens up so much discussion and anticipation for further work within the Cosmere at large. I’m someone who really enjoys the meta Cosmere story and all of the larger, overarching universe lore. The inclusion and free discussion of Scadrial and other Shards and their planets were fascinating. I’m looking forward to getting more and more of that type of content as the Cosmere continues to become more and more self-aware.
I felt like all of the characters had meaningful arcs throughout Wind and Truth that moved them forward. Adolin’s is certainly a standout, as so many people have said. His relationship with Maya and as a mentor to all those around him has been amazing to witness. Throughout this book, he struggles to develop a healthier relationship with Dalinar after he finds out about the terrible things Dalinar did in his past. I appreciated the mental effort he had to go through to find reconciliation. His internal forgiveness comes just in time to save him emotional anguish given Dalinar’s final resting place at the end of Wind and Truth.
Dalinar was another POV that I continued to look forward to throughout the book. He has always been one of my favorite characters in the Stormlight Archive. In classic Dalinar fashion, he fell down and had to pick himself up as he traverses the Spiritual Realm, seeking the power of Honor to defeat Odium. He is reminded, again and again, that he has the capacity to return to his bullying methods of powering through obstacles, smashing them to the ground, if they stand in his way. But in the end, he makes the strategically brilliant and sacrificial decision to allow Odium to take up the Shard of Honor, becoming Retribution, while sacrificing what remains of his mortal body to save the life of his nephew, Gavinor. He is able to come full circle, from allowing his brother to die because he was in a drunken stupor to saving that same brother’s grandson with his life.
“Your pain. All men have the same ultimate destination, Dalinar. But we are not creatures of destination. It is the journey that shapes us. Our callused feet. Your callused feet. Our backs strong from carrying the weight of our travels. Your back strong from carrying the weight of your travels. Our eyes open. Your. Eyes. Open. You kept the pain, Dalinar. Remember that. For the substance of our existence is not in the achievement, but in the method.”
At this point, I will take a second to discuss how much I loved the end of this book. Even 100 or 200 pages from the end, I kept thinking to myself, I don’t understand how there is going to be a second arc to this story. It just seems like it is coming to a neat conclusion. But utilizing the Sunmaker’s Gambit to force a Cosmere wide war between Retribution and the rest of the Shards was genius. It fits so well within the context of the greater story.
“If it weren’t for that capacity, then what good would choices be? If we never had the power to do terrible things, then what heroism would it be to resist?”
One of my absolute favorite scenes from the book occurred between Kaladin and Syl. At some point in the middle, Kaladin was feeling overwhelmed and began to perform one of his old spear katas with Syl. As they dissolve into the rhythm and motion of the kata, Brandon describes Syl effortlessly transforming back and forth between his spear and a full grown spren. As Syl transitions from spear to young woman as Kaladin spins her into his arms in the kata-dance, I was struck by the deep beauty of their relationship. Syl has always been there for Kaladin, saving him from his darkest, deadliest thoughts. And to watch his kata-dance was one of the most beautiful, touching moments I’ve read in a long minute.
“His invisible armor found wonder in this simple act. A man standing up.
“ 'Impossible,’ Ishar said. ‘What are you?’
“ ‘ I’m just an old spear who wouldn’t break, Ishar.‘ ”
There were so many fantastic moments throughout the book. I could keep going on and on. So many great character moments, so many amazing lore drops, so many heart-breaking deaths, so many more reasons to hate Moash.
But it wasn’t a perfect book and I would be remise if I didn’t mention a few of those things. People mentioned the humor in the book feeling too “Marvel.” While I understand what people are talking about, I would argue that that is the same humor that has been present in Sanderson’s Cosmere throughout all of the different series. Has it ever been my favorite part of these books? No. Definitely not. Very rarely does it work for me. But I honestly don’t think the corny jokes were any more prevalent in this book than any of the other books. However, if you’re trying to compare the prose or mood of one of Sanderson’s books to something written by Abercrombie or Pierce Brown, you’re just not going to be pleased. I don’t go into a Sanderson book expecting a gritty, grimdark book. Sure, there are some grim topics discussed. But Sanderson just doesn’t write like Abercrombie or Martin, but again, that’s not what I’m expecting, so it didn’t hurt my experience.
The one part that probably grated on me most was the really heavy-handed emphasis of mental health discussion in the Kaladin/Szeth sections. Don’t get me wrong, I think Sanderson has done a great job shining a light on mental health and depression in fantasy novels, which I think is great. While Kaladin’s arc transitioning from a fearsome warrior to a much more peaceful, introspective person isn’t necessarily the most interesting to read, I respect the arc and can definitely see how it was necessary to the story. But having Kaladin yell out that he was Szeth’s therapist in one of the climactic scenes with Ishar was kind of foolish in my opinion. It took me right out of the story. Again, the idea wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was the mixing of very modern vernacular and psychology that kept ringing forced and disingenuous in my mind. It felt a little like Sanderson had been praised for highlighting mental health (appropriately) and then had taken that and run with it and felt like that was what was pushing the success of Stormlight, so he then overemphasized it. Not my favorite part of the book, but certainly not enough to ruin it in my mind.
At the end of the day, Wind and Truth was an epic and extremely important mid-season finale for the Stormlight Archive. I am so excited for all that Roshar and the Cosmere as a whole has in store for us. I remain a huge fan of Sanderson and will continue to read every one of his books.
