So sad to see that Wind And Truth is disappointing you so far. I’ve really been enjoying it and I’m about 80% done as well. I predict it’ll probably land in the middle as far as my rankings go.
Brandon did get a new editor since the release of the last Stormlight book. His previous one retired and this new one doesn’t seem to be able to reel him in when he’s going to long or tell him he’s not funny.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviewsI think it is combination of various factors: People being yes men to Brandon, him not having as much time as he used to write because he is now a business man, his clear unwillingness to delay a release once a date is set (seriously, why? No one is going to blame him and he has already talked about that he had to push forward some parts of the book, if any book needed extra time in the series to flesh it out it was this one) and also some burn out might be due, he actually sounds tired from stormlight, so much in fact he won't be coming back to it in a while.
Always love your honest perspectives! With regards to Wind & Truth, it’s getting harder and harder for me to recommend Sanderson books to non fantasy readers. Unfortunately, there still remains a lot of folks in academia who don’t take fantasy seriously for a plethora of reasons (in my opinion these are excuses rather than valid debate points) such as, “lack of stylistic and/or subtle prose, paucity in emotional resonance, disincentivizing intellectual muscles, etc”. Hobb, Martin, Erikson, Abercrombie, Lynch, and Williams, among many others, are some of the best examples of outstanding writers who’ve mastered their craft in this genre. Hence, these authors are great basis for some of these criticisms to lose ground. However, as soon as Sanderson’s prose is mentioned in these circles, the argument takes root again. I do not understand how his writing is getting worse with time. Even though he is prolific, his products (not all but some) suffer from being half baked. If he’d written W&T and sat on this story for atleast a few more years rather than meeting some arbitrary deadline, fantasy fans would be having a very different conversation now. I’m not sure how the legacy or reach of this book will turn out to be. Only time will tell.
I saw an interview in which Brandon said he is exhausted with stormlight and he needs a break. The quality of Szeths arc shows that. His backstory was great but the present day story was meh. But it could have been so good.
Yeah Wind and Truth was considerably worse for me than every previous Stormlight book. And his longtime editor that brought him into Tor named Moshe did indeed retire a few years ago and was not involved with this one, and it shows.
Two of the many issues with Iron Flame are A, Varrish is such an over-the-top moustache twirling Umbridge of a character that you can't take him seriously, and B, Violet defends the brutal conditions of the college because she says it makes them stronger but that's not how military training works! Your unit is supposed to build camaraderie during training, why are people just allowed to bump each other off without any consequences? There's no court martials or discipline or anything.
I am curious about a comparison between Wind and Truth and The Wandering Inn series. You mentioned not liking how long W&T was and not being invested in the side characters. Those are things I love about TWI, do you not like it in general or was it just not pulling you in?
Wind and truth is honestly the disappointment of the year for me. The bloat and dialogue/humor really got far worse than any previous book including even rhythm of war.
@@trojanfan4321it’s a good fantasy book but for the most hyped stormlight so far to also be the worst is a big disappointment. It still has great moments of course as Sanderson is a genius when it comes to plotting and world building.
I just didn’t connect with it because of how it was written, so to me it was not a good fantasy book, especially after reading Malazan, Tad Williams and Christopher Rucchioo earlier this year. But I know Sanderson can write good fantasy due to the first books in the series.
Wind and Truth has a loooooot of set up. It also has some of the best foreshadowing and best endings I've ever read. So yeah, the ending is worth it, but it takes a long time to get there. I could see you ending around a 4+ just based on the last few dozen chapters
He won't like the ending and give it more than 3 stars. If anything, it is likely even lower. W&T was a huge letdown for me, it is unquestionably a mediocre book and an awful end to a 5 book saga.
At some point I switched to 3x speed wind on wind and truth and still was pretty bored. Kinda just wanted to get over with the book. Really enjoyed Maya and Adolin chapters and I think interludes where really good tho
How is WaT a 3 right now when it seems you're not enjoying it that much? Seems like your scores skew too high. Especially since a good ending can somehow bump up your score a whole 1.5 points
I honestly love WaT. But if i DIDNT disagree with you on nearly everything what would the fun be of this channel? Haha i love how much i disagree with you. Except for The bound and the broken! Which by the way book 4 of that Ryan Cahill said will be coming out in march!
I’m 45% into Wind and Truth. Don’t get me wrong, it’s more exciting than most books out there, that’s why Sando is so popular, but yeah…the constant telling instead of showing, the childish humour and common American modern language is so so much worse in this book. Also I’m really not into all the diversity and mental health stuff. Nearly the entire story has been told through internal monologues whilst the character is daydreaming away from any action. I only know a character has a romance with another because an internal monologues told me so, I haven’t seen anything in the actual scenes playing out to indicate the romance. The same can be said for the exposition and reveals, the mental health issues, the battle updates and pretty much the entire story. There have been very little movie scenes created so far. Plot wise it’s still fun but it’s by far my least favourite Stormlight book. (***spoiler***) I think Kaladin and Szeths journey is too formulaic and I have never had any interest in dream/flashback/alternate reality plots in any media. A lot of the reveals are interesting, but none of the characters have done anything heroic yet and I’ve been reading it for like 20 hours. It’s a 2.5 or 3/5 for me so far.
Wind and Truth I think is my last Sanderson book I’ll read which is so sad. Totally agree with you. I also think the characters distinct voices were gone from the writing and the humor was even worse than Wax and Wayne. I’ll also be thankful for the first 4 book in the series, but I’m bummed right now.
I havent been much of a fan lately like era 2 mistborn really sucked in my opinion and all the secret projects were average besides sunlit man. Idk how much of that is brandon or how much of it is that ive read so much more authors that blow him out of the water recently
The only reason I got back into re-reading sanderson was stormlight 5 since it was supposed to be conclusion and I think I'll be done with him for a while too. He was great entry point for me, but I think I don't enjoy his writing style anymore
I gave WaT 2 stars. For all the reasons you mentioned and more. Writing feels way too modern. Character voices are very same-ish. The plot was stagnant for 1000+ pages (days 3-9), however I suspect 10 days structure is quite a big culprit here, since I knew no big surprises could happen until the last day. Also, as with Lost Metal, I simply don't like how MCU it all feels now. Sanderson is no longer a "go to" author for me....and I am sad about it....
Yea same I’ve been lowkey dreading this book since the lost metal. I felt like that book was a fat red flag for the direction of his writing and I was fearing it would continue on into this book. Depressing cuz stormlight archive got me into epic fantasy and I love the first three books so much hahaha
In my opinion, his prose in previous books was sub-par but not particularly bad. That has changed with Wind and Truth Edit: on second thought, I think his prose started getting worse in the secret projects
Just finished Wind and Truth and I’m right there with ya, Matt. Agree with every point. Sanderlanche gives it a boost, thank God. But on a positive note, my wife and I did a buddy read of Fourth Wing, both hated it and I did not have to suffer through Iron Flame! 🤓👍🏻
Actually really loving Wind and Truth. My 3rd favorite Stormlight so far. The spiritual realm and Szeth’s storyline are great. And finding out more about the real history is so exciting.
Wind and Truth has been a struggle for me. Needlessly bloated and self-indulgent. If this was any other writer I would have dnf'ed it but I know that things will probably come together by the end, but even if the ending is five stars, it will be hard for me to justify a high review score due to the length Sanderson took to get me there.
W&T was a HUGE letdown for me. I feel Brandon has too many yes people behind him. I do not understand how, with all the resources and beta testers he has, this was the best he could do. For me, it was almost all bad, just a couple things here and there were good.
wind and truth was pretty damn bad. SO bloated and the ending for me was such a shit cop out i hope that doesnt come off as a spoiler. It feels like his new editors are more concerned with inclusiveness than anything else
@@iSamwise Kinda hard without spoiling but it feels about 70% of the book is focused on every character being mentally unwell and 28% their sexuality's and then 2% epic stuff
So sad to see that Wind And Truth is disappointing you so far. I’ve really been enjoying it and I’m about 80% done as well. I predict it’ll probably land in the middle as far as my rankings go.
Agree with you on W&T. Reallllyyyy needs heavy editing. Excited for the review!
Brandon did get a new editor since the release of the last Stormlight book. His previous one retired and this new one doesn’t seem to be able to reel him in when he’s going to long or tell him he’s not funny.
Feels like a George Lucas situation to be honest. Too many people unwilling to challenge Brandon behind the scenes.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviewsI think it is combination of various factors: People being yes men to Brandon, him not having as much time as he used to write because he is now a business man, his clear unwillingness to delay a release once a date is set (seriously, why? No one is going to blame him and he has already talked about that he had to push forward some parts of the book, if any book needed extra time in the series to flesh it out it was this one) and also some burn out might be due, he actually sounds tired from stormlight, so much in fact he won't be coming back to it in a while.
Always love your honest perspectives! With regards to Wind & Truth, it’s getting harder and harder for me to recommend Sanderson books to non fantasy readers. Unfortunately, there still remains a lot of folks in academia who don’t take fantasy seriously for a plethora of reasons (in my opinion these are excuses rather than valid debate points) such as, “lack of stylistic and/or subtle prose, paucity in emotional resonance, disincentivizing intellectual muscles, etc”. Hobb, Martin, Erikson, Abercrombie, Lynch, and Williams, among many others, are some of the best examples of outstanding writers who’ve mastered their craft in this genre. Hence, these authors are great basis for some of these criticisms to lose ground. However, as soon as Sanderson’s prose is mentioned in these circles, the argument takes root again. I do not understand how his writing is getting worse with time. Even though he is prolific, his products (not all but some) suffer from being half baked. If he’d written W&T and sat on this story for atleast a few more years rather than meeting some arbitrary deadline, fantasy fans would be having a very different conversation now. I’m not sure how the legacy or reach of this book will turn out to be. Only time will tell.
I’m enjoying Lonesome Dove way more than Wind and Truth. I’m reading both together yet LD is moving forward. W&T is BORING!
I saw an interview in which Brandon said he is exhausted with stormlight and he needs a break. The quality of Szeths arc shows that. His backstory was great but the present day story was meh. But it could have been so good.
merry christmas to you and your family matt! god bless eh brother! hope you enjoy your week off and kick your feet up!
Massive congrats on your new job! Enjoy your time off! 😊
“Keepin’ it real” Matt strikes again!
Yeah Wind and Truth was considerably worse for me than every previous Stormlight book. And his longtime editor that brought him into Tor named Moshe did indeed retire a few years ago and was not involved with this one, and it shows.
Two of the many issues with Iron Flame are A, Varrish is such an over-the-top moustache twirling Umbridge of a character that you can't take him seriously, and B, Violet defends the brutal conditions of the college because she says it makes them stronger but that's not how military training works! Your unit is supposed to build camaraderie during training, why are people just allowed to bump each other off without any consequences? There's no court martials or discipline or anything.
Mistborn era 1 > Stormlight era 1 at this point Stormlight peaked at WoR and has been worse with every passing book
Yeah I'm on day 5 and it's a slog... so far it's been disappointing at best. I'm only in it for the sanderlanche I hope is there.
I am curious about a comparison between Wind and Truth and The Wandering Inn series. You mentioned not liking how long W&T was and not being invested in the side characters. Those are things I love about TWI, do you not like it in general or was it just not pulling you in?
Too bad Wind and Truth isn’t living to your expectations😢
Merry Christmas.
Wow! Sad to hear you’re not enjoying Wind and Truth! It beat out words of radiance for me! Becoming my second favorite in the series
Cool, I do not see it but good for you
Wind and truth is honestly the disappointment of the year for me. The bloat and dialogue/humor really got far worse than any previous book including even rhythm of war.
Same for me. Not the worst book I read this year but definitely the most disappointing
Wind and Truth is very poorly written and even the plot is more about the Cosmere Easter eggs and future.
@@trojanfan4321 agreed. Feels like a massive step down after books 1 & 2 to me
@@trojanfan4321it’s a good fantasy book but for the most hyped stormlight so far to also be the worst is a big disappointment. It still has great moments of course as Sanderson is a genius when it comes to plotting and world building.
I just didn’t connect with it because of how it was written, so to me it was not a good fantasy book, especially after reading Malazan, Tad Williams and Christopher Rucchioo earlier this year. But I know Sanderson can write good fantasy due to the first books in the series.
Wind and Truth has a loooooot of set up. It also has some of the best foreshadowing and best endings I've ever read. So yeah, the ending is worth it, but it takes a long time to get there. I could see you ending around a 4+ just based on the last few dozen chapters
idk it's kind of mediocre to me
The amount of adolin plot armor in the second half was insanity, ending still paled in comparison to 1/2
@@ShortSideSniper17 I personality didn't find it all that distracting, but to each their own
He won't like the ending and give it more than 3 stars. If anything, it is likely even lower. W&T was a huge letdown for me, it is unquestionably a mediocre book and an awful end to a 5 book saga.
nah ending was dogshit
Would you be continuing the second apocalypse series?
At some point I switched to 3x speed wind on wind and truth and still was pretty bored. Kinda just wanted to get over with the book. Really enjoyed Maya and Adolin chapters and I think interludes where really good tho
How is WaT a 3 right now when it seems you're not enjoying it that much? Seems like your scores skew too high. Especially since a good ending can somehow bump up your score a whole 1.5 points
Because it's his opinion 😂
i hear you...the simping for certain books is insane..it's truly disappointing what money and clout have to done to so many industries
I honestly love WaT. But if i DIDNT disagree with you on nearly everything what would the fun be of this channel? Haha i love how much i disagree with you. Except for The bound and the broken! Which by the way book 4 of that Ryan Cahill said will be coming out in march!
I’m 45% into Wind and Truth. Don’t get me wrong, it’s more exciting than most books out there, that’s why Sando is so popular, but yeah…the constant telling instead of showing, the childish humour and common American modern language is so so much worse in this book. Also I’m really not into all the diversity and mental health stuff.
Nearly the entire story has been told through internal monologues whilst the character is daydreaming away from any action. I only know a character has a romance with another because an internal monologues told me so, I haven’t seen anything in the actual scenes playing out to indicate the romance. The same can be said for the exposition and reveals, the mental health issues, the battle updates and pretty much the entire story. There have been very little movie scenes created so far.
Plot wise it’s still fun but it’s by far my least favourite Stormlight book. (***spoiler***) I think Kaladin and Szeths journey is too formulaic and I have never had any interest in dream/flashback/alternate reality plots in any media. A lot of the reveals are interesting, but none of the characters have done anything heroic yet and I’ve been reading it for like 20 hours.
It’s a 2.5 or 3/5 for me so far.
Wind and Truth I think is my last Sanderson book I’ll read which is so sad. Totally agree with you. I also think the characters distinct voices were gone from the writing and the humor was even worse than Wax and Wayne. I’ll also be thankful for the first 4 book in the series, but I’m bummed right now.
I havent been much of a fan lately like era 2 mistborn really sucked in my opinion and all the secret projects were average besides sunlit man. Idk how much of that is brandon or how much of it is that ive read so much more authors that blow him out of the water recently
The only reason I got back into re-reading sanderson was stormlight 5 since it was supposed to be conclusion and I think I'll be done with him for a while too.
He was great entry point for me, but I think I don't enjoy his writing style anymore
I gave WaT 2 stars. For all the reasons you mentioned and more. Writing feels way too modern. Character voices are very same-ish. The plot was stagnant for 1000+ pages (days 3-9), however I suspect 10 days structure is quite a big culprit here, since I knew no big surprises could happen until the last day. Also, as with Lost Metal, I simply don't like how MCU it all feels now. Sanderson is no longer a "go to" author for me....and I am sad about it....
Yea same I’ve been lowkey dreading this book since the lost metal. I felt like that book was a fat red flag for the direction of his writing and I was fearing it would continue on into this book. Depressing cuz stormlight archive got me into epic fantasy and I love the first three books so much hahaha
I’m surprised people are just now realizing how juvenile Brandon’s writing comes off. I was never a huge fan of his writing.
It is because it is getting more blatantly tacky as he continues
In my opinion, his prose in previous books was sub-par but not particularly bad. That has changed with Wind and Truth
Edit: on second thought, I think his prose started getting worse in the secret projects
Just finished Wind and Truth and I’m right there with ya, Matt. Agree with every point. Sanderlanche gives it a boost, thank God.
But on a positive note, my wife and I did a buddy read of Fourth Wing, both hated it and I did not have to suffer through Iron Flame! 🤓👍🏻
Actually really loving Wind and Truth. My 3rd favorite Stormlight so far. The spiritual realm and Szeth’s storyline are great. And finding out more about the real history is so exciting.
Oh, thank goodness. I was starting to think I was the only one who also wasn't enjoying it. And I'm like 100 pages from the end.
Wind and Truth has been a struggle for me. Needlessly bloated and self-indulgent. If this was any other writer I would have dnf'ed it but I know that things will probably come together by the end, but even if the ending is five stars, it will be hard for me to justify a high review score due to the length Sanderson took to get me there.
W&T was a HUGE letdown for me. I feel Brandon has too many yes people behind him. I do not understand how, with all the resources and beta testers he has, this was the best he could do. For me, it was almost all bad, just a couple things here and there were good.
Merry Christmas Matt! Hopefully Wind and Truth nails the landing and gets to at least a 4 star.
Sandersons trying to better the Wheel of Time slog section.
Never finished sanderson, but I thought stormlight was his weakest series?
The first few books are generally well loved, especially number 2, then it goes slowly downhill.
W&T was a pretty big disappointment, it sadly does not improve at the end
Crazy how 15 000 rated wind of truth 4,7 on goodreads😂 that’s just the definition of overrated
nah the dickriding is crazy 😭
I can’t fathom how that’s possible. I feel like those people would give it a 5 no matter what.
Every single thing you disagree with/dont like much is overrated. It’s how overrating works.
@@civoreb No but some people are way too obsessed with Brandon and thinks everything he writes is S-tier even though it’s just mediocre writing.
@ that is true that some people give him automatic 5/5 on every book. I mean, i had an author like that in the past so I am guilty as well.
wind and truth was pretty damn bad. SO bloated and the ending for me was such a shit cop out i hope that doesnt come off as a spoiler. It feels like his new editors are more concerned with inclusiveness than anything else
Haven’t read it, but would you explain what you mean a bit more?
@@iSamwise Kinda hard without spoiling but it feels about 70% of the book is focused on every character being mentally unwell and 28% their sexuality's and then 2% epic stuff