This is what’s going to happen guaranteed. This is the problem with these huge epic stories. You have to learn to accept the tedium and almost frivolous details and side arcs to get a better and more fulfilling ending. After reading oathbringer, I trust Sanderson can pull it off. I felt so crestfallen about 60% through it, but that last part woo boy. We don’t want a season 8 GoT on our hands do we?
@@august4471 Harry Potter 6 is J.K.’s best book to date. While it was a setup, it was masterfully written such that there was a balance in the plot points. From Harry’s relationship with Ginny, then the horcruxes, finding out who the half blood prince is, what Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape were up to e.t.c. Plus, the ending of that book. I love how the way it ended broke the norms of he previous books, where it ended on a more somber note rather than Harry going back to the Durdleys. With this as a penultimate book, I hope it does the same.
I'm kinda happy that there is no "sanderlanche" at the end I think we needed a mellower ending to the book as you can have only so much action in a series, and I think that Brandon is saving up all the high intensity epic battles for the 5th book. This might be a setup for this last book of the first arc which kinda explains the low rating tbh.
Snaps to that, and I’m so glad Daniel pointed it out. I love Sanderlanches, but they can be a lot sometimes and the last one felt so big that I got worried about how he’ll keep up. I’m excited for a very complex ending to this book.
Not gonna lie, I'm encouraged by what Daniel didn't like that much, I don't think it will bother me. The negative parts of reviews are at least as useful as the positives, thanks Daniel for not being afraid to speak your mind honestly.
So did you like it? I'm hesitant to read it seeing as Oathbringer took me about as long to read as the first two books combined. The bloat just seems like an increasing problem to me tbh
@@MILOPETIT i did like it, but less than oathbringer, which itself was less than either of the first 2. I do read all of sanderson's books though, so if you're on the fence about it maybe go for something you know you're more likely to enjoy
@@enescustef6154 Ok yeah I did feel pretty much the same about Oathbringer, it just seems like the first one (which was already pretty stretched out) was the only one who didn't go into more sidequests than the main plot.
Yeah, the constatnt pov skipping in the later Stormlight books is one of my least favourite parts, especially when new characters are introduced. I just find caring about an ever-growing cast of characters much harder, as I just tend to get attached to the main characters and move on. On a different note, hearing that Kaladin gets so much page time makes me happy as he is definitely my favourite Stormlight charcters.
I totally agree and I’m worried about the growing cast of characters. We will have to see how this works cause I had issues with later ASOIAF books because of so much perspective skipping. I really like the way of kings method of just sticking to one to two characters, but the cast has grown to the point where you can’t do that. I definitely think Sanderson will deliver. However, I will definitely be more nit picky about that in This book than in oath bringer. Also Kaladin is fantastic.
Agreed, although Daniel mentioning that he takes a path some of the fans won't like or expect makes me a bit wary. My personal theory is that Kaladin doesn't swear the fourth oath in this book (which I believe most readers think he will), and his squires and fellow Bridge Four Windrunners will surpass him in that regard. Personally, I trust Daniel, and if he likes that character arc, I probably will too.
@@kvothethearcane146 SPOILERS BELOW That could actually be true. I don't know how I feel about that. I've been reading up to what's been out so far and I don't think the "non warrior path" fits him, like I just don't see him as a surgeon. I also didn't like the love triangle at the end of oathbringer (and I don't know how Daniel felt about that) but I hope the story doesn't disappoint because he's the main reason I read Stormlight.
@@sam.s.g I agree! SPOILERS: Kaladin ultimately is not a surgeon, I feel like that was really hammered home when he ultimately decided that even if a surgeon would "cut off an infected limb" but Kaladin, a Windrunner, would not let Elhokar die, even if he was a terrible king whose death would improve the lot of Alethkar. A surgeon acknowledges that they cannot save everyone, but Kaladin needs to save everyone - imo his fatal flaw.
I hope we get to see Axies the collector again! More of the Aimien people overall. We got a strong introduction to them in Edgedancer, and since then I want to know more !
@@MitchellD249 I'm about to finish it. I was just hoping for more in my comment, not knowing what Dawnshard or ROW were going to be about, but Brandon answered my prayers and he didn't disappoint 😅
You lucky son-of-a-gun! You got to read it first! Not that you don't deserve things like that. You've earned it. I'm just over here rereading my Oathbringer being jealous. Thanks for all the good content!
I don't know, I fell in love with Venli in Oathbringer, and I liked the chapters on her Brandon released. So I think I'm going to enjoy this book more than you.
So far based off reviews this seems to be exactly what I want it to be. I always like when previously major characters are pushed back to make room for previously smaller characters or even new characters. (For example my favourite ASOIAF book is A Feast for Crows and my favourite parts of Oathbringer were the bits with bridge 4 and the parshendi. I also really love the interludes in stormlight.) So yeah I'm very excited and this seems to be exactly what I was hoping for at this point in the story. I completely understand anyone who disagrees though this is entirely down to personal preference.
I totally agree! I was so excited when Dawnshard was announced as a Rysn POV novella because I love her as a side character, even though before OB we had only seen her twice. I love getting the perspective of smaller side characters.
I wonder if the fact that this is, basically, the 4th part of a 5 part book might be causing some issues with the structure. Yes it's a standalone book, but in the overall structure of the Stormlight Archive, it's part 4 of 5 of the first half. So it's going to be a lot of rising action, a lot of set up, all setting up for what will happen in book 5 as the payoffs. Just my thoughts having only read throught the preview chapters and Dawnshard
Actually Brandon said in an update when he was writing/editing this book (they're like 8 or 9 updates so idk which one) that he was worried about this book bc the outline was a bit messy after finishing OB and we all know that Brando really likes having his books planned out. But as far as I know, he already has book 5 outlined and knows where he's wanting to go
@@mrsirperson9656 and also depends on how the writer structured the keypoints of the series (and the audience taste). SPOILER FREE: - Anime/manga Fairy Tail (I recomend watching low expec), the penultimate arc was by far the best one and had a great set up for the final arc, desfortunately the last one was horrible. -Percy Jackson, first book was great and second slow (opposite as SA lol), third great again and darker, 4th was a step down but still great and 5th was awesome. - Lightbringer first was good, second even better, third even more, 4th meh and 5th meh. - Harry Potter 4th book, that is the middle point, is the peak of HP's quality (still my fav is 6th idkw) So it kinda depends a lot on how the autor structured the story. It seems Brandon really planned the ending (he even has the epilogue of book 5 done), but struggled a bit with the middle point (OB) and the point before the last (RoW). I trust him and I know this book is more of a set up like HP&TDH part 1 like you said and the last one will be great. Cmon, Brandon is great with endings. Even in RoW that seems to be the weakest entry, both merphy and daniel said the ending was great
@@august4471 No Problem, I really like seeing people explain their points in detail and we have to keep in mind that even a "bad" Stormlight book is still an amazing book I have to keep reminding myself that a 7/10 on Daniel's scale means it's a really good book
My biggest issue with Oathbringer was definitely the pacing. I'm not exactly thrilled to find out that it's going to be an issue this time around too. But I know that I'll still really enjoy the book. Only 10 days to go!
I just want to say that the first time that I read oathbringer I fell it very confusing and don't like it as much, BUT when I read it for second time I fell kind of stupid for thinking it was confusing and The second time I notice a lot more details that is what I like the most
I do think there's like a big sanderlanche in the middle that kinda dies down after a bit and another smaller wave towards the end... the momentum does slow down quite a bit.
Reading the early release chapters, and without getting into spoilers for Oathbringer or RoW, I think I really like where Kaladin is going. Daniel is right when he says a lot of people won't tho.
One of my favorite things of this series so far SPOILERS Dalinar: has THE LITTERAL STORM FATHER Ardents: no no no no no you'r a heretic and everything you do including your marriage is illegitimate XD
@@DoublexCoke Yup was not sure. Just did not want anyone to get spoiled by that. I know there are a lot of people who are reading through SA right now because of Daniel and in the comments.
I'm only about 200 pages in, but I've been enjoying the parts focusing on the newer characters the most. I love our big 3 of Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin but we've spent plenty of time with them already and it feels like whatever is left to tell of their stories is probably best saved for book 5.
okay, im just gonna say: sequels can never get better and better forever, there will come a time that its worse than the last, or cannot live up to the last one, or whatever., we just have to believe/support whatever books come out long enough for the next book to come out., ;) ;)
I think this is a good point, and also brings up that in a series, each book while needing to be a good read on its own, is really just a chapter in an ongoing narrative. If you couldn't just pick the book up absent reading the preceding books, than it shouldn't be judged as good or bad, so much as stronger or weaker parts of the narrative. (I mean unless the qualitative aspects are actually hugely divergent, as in the writing suddenly becomes worse, or something like that) Because book four or five in a series, is never going to stand as tall as book one or two, it's not really that books job to do so, it's just bearing the load of the story to progress it through the series. By that point the over arching story is going through high and low notes, and each book is just going to fall somewhere on the spectrum. We don't generally judge each chapter by the preceding and succeeding ones in a story (you can of course, but it's kind of pointless unless you're doing a close examination of the structure of the book) because we know that each chapter is just a building block in the narrative, and that there are stronger and weaker chapters, which are more or less important. We kind of forget that when we look at a series of books (especially a long one). We won't really be able to judge if this book did it's job (or how well) until we finish the song (to stretch a metaphor) and see how it fits into the arcs and rhythms of the complete work.
Yeah I agree with the take on Shallan's arc. Ever since book 2 I keep getting this feeling we will eventually get some Kaladin-esque level character arc for her and I was actually hoping we would get that in this book but her arc felt surprisingly subdued to me.
Definitely sounds like there is a bit of up and down in this one but I'm very excited to get further into it. I've enjoyed the first 18 chapters so far but it hasn't blown me away. I was nervous that this may be a big setup book for the conclusion in book 5, but hopefully it doesn't feel like that.
Navani has been one of my favs since WOR. More brilliant than Jasnah with none of her arrogance and condescension, with a quiet authority about her. Awesome to her full potential realized here.
I was one of the betas and I really struggled with this book. I'm really hoping the final product has changed from the draft I read. I agree with a lot of what Dan says, and we'd probably have a lot more to agree on if we could get into spoiler territory.
Whoa, you were one of the betas? Lucky. Anyway, the pacing issues were GLARING when I was reading Part 3 of Oathbringer. For the first time ever, the book truly FELT like a 1200 page book when with the others, I was hooked all the way through. I really hoped the pacing issues would be resolved in ROW with the way Part 1 was incredibly fast paced(I’ve only read the first six chapters btw) but from most of the reviews I’ve watched, pacing seems to be a huge problem where attention is given to less important issues and other bigger issues just don’t have enough page time. Still hyped up for it though.
@@henrywayne5724 I can't say a whole lot until release day, but pacing was a major issue we talked about during the beta. I felt the same way, that there were definite periods of mental fatigue because the pacing was so slow. I hope he's fixed some of it in the final product, but it sounds like maybe not.
The problem with Stormlight is that the amount of characters that deserve more pagetime is so high, it's almost impossible to be satisfied with the end product and that is something i am prepared since having the same kind of disappointment when reading Oathbringer. I am also very jealous of you right now for getting to read it early.
Thanks for an honest review. I appreciate that you are a true Sanderson fan, but not just giving it blind praise. Looking forward to finishing the book. Have really enjoyed the early chapters released.
I always have kind of an issue with the comparison between a book's function in a continuous series and it's enjoyability/strength/etc as a standalone experience, i.e. "as it's own book," because it isn't it's own book. It's printed with its own cover and its own back blurb and its own quotes but especially in the case of Brandon's books, it's the next chapter in a saga. Does each chapter in a book have to be engaging on its own? Yes, but even many engaging chapters don't "stand on their own," because it's nonsensical to read only chapter 120 of Oathbringer without any context. it's an incredible chapter, but "on its own" it's the ramblings of a lunatic... because it's so heavily couched in the rest of the story. So, though I have obviously not read RoW, I have heard that same criticism leveled by many people at many books, and it strikes me as sort of nonsense, even though I know it's trying to articulate some actual aspect of the reading experience.
This is a terrible argument. You'd be a pretty terrible author if you just completely decided to ignore the inherent consequences of how your work is consumed. I mean we all know pretty well that Brandon himself structures individual books specifically to be enjoyed in his signature arc. Maybe what you're saying would be valid if Sanderson had decided to only publish all five books in this first arc as one volume, internally divided into 5 'books' the same way Dune is. But the fact of the matter is that he chose to release it one book at a time, knowing that for a large portion of readers, it would be a while until they would be able to read the next one. How are you even meant to evaluate a book solely based on its function in a continuous series if the rest of the series has yet to be released? Does that mean it shouldn't be evaluated at all until the entire series is done? Should Daniel not have made a video at all? Books in a series are for the most part consumed piecemeal. Anything that has a beginning and an end can and unavoidably will be evaluated on its own merit. Even in the example of Chapter 120 that you mentioned, sure it's the ramblings of a madman, but it's still designed to have a beginning, middle, and an end, that separates it into an individual unit distinct from the rest of the whole. Otherwise how would questions like 'what was your favorite chapter?' come to be? It's not nonsense, it's just conveying information that's actually valuable as far as it applies to the real life reading habits of people who are going to be reading this book.
Yes and no. TL;DR: a middle book can’t be just filler. Of course a fourth book in a series cannot be read as a stand-alone, and thus ‘is not a book in its own right’. But I have to stress a point that a book (usually a middle one) in a series cannot serve solely to further the overall plot. If it did just that, then the series is structured poorly. When I read a book I’d expect it to have a story in it, and not just filler. There’s a reason there’s a syndrome called “the middle book syndrome”. In fact, the best examples I can find to do a sequel right is Brandon’s books like the mistborn trilogy and words of radiance. After the first mistborn book I was like “what? They won in the first book?? What happens now?” And the second book seemed to address that issue and expand the lore wire having a complete narrative on its own. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m still very excited for this book.
@@ProvidenceNL dude its coming next year ,grrm has already written 3000 manuscript pages its gonna be epic and will surely overtake whichever series u find better.
@@nityamjain1561 not necessarily. The hype for ASoIaF has died down currently, and comparatively, it’s nowhere near the hype the SA has received these past years, especially since the show ended and killed a lot of hype, I feel. Sure, maybe the hype will pick up when the new book comes out, but that’s assuming it’s good. I’d actually compare it to the Kingkiller Chronicles, where fans have just stopped hyping and have kinda gotten fed up. Not to the same extent. But undoubtedly, ASoIaF hasn’t been on the scene, like at all, and there hasn’t been hype for it.
Kaladin is my favorite character. And if your favorite character is Kaladin, you *will* love this book. SPOILER ZONE I hate to admit it but I think his decision in the end is the most realistic and beneficial one. And in the end I’d rather see a happy surgeon rather than a broken soldier. I doubt he will never fight again. That’s part of who he is. He will protect those who cannot protect themselves, and if he has to fight he will do so. It’s the oath he took. But at the same time I am excited even if he never picks up a spear again. He wants to reform the mental health care system, and I feel like that is such a significant thing. He will be saving thousands of people, doing so much, even without a spear. And in the end he tells his dad he will save people his own way. Kaladin says never fighting back seems right in his head but not in his heart. This is why I think he’s not going to give up fighting entirely. But he will at /least/ take a good break from it. And this I fully support. Even if I might miss his epic fighting. It’s hard to accept this but once you do it’s so *satisfying*.And it’s what made me cry when he swore the 4th ideal. Made me cry from happiness. As of right now, having just finished the book, it is my favorite solely based on the fact that it has done so much for Kaladin. I cried 4 times reading it, threw it at the wall at some point and cursed at Moash like a sailor, and it was all incredibly fun. And also Navani’s pov was perfection and the music theory and science of it all absolutely blew. My. Mind. The world-building is *insanely* well done. And Moash remains the storming personification of a cancerous anal discharge.
For all the criticism this book gets, I loved it. I don't know where I place it among the other SA books, but I am certain that its not a step down for me. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, one thing that Sanderson did NOT get enough credit on was the opening. That was some serious en medias res, that reminded me of the way Star Wars ep III opened. While that movie is heavily flawed, go back and rewatch the first 20 minutes, its near perfection, much like the opening here. We get an immediate highlight reel of all of the most entertaining qualities of Kaladin, Dalinar and Shallan, and it sets them all up so well for their arcs in the remainder of the book. Edit to Add: Also, while the flashbacks in this one weren't quite as strong overall as previous books, the payoff in the final one was as good as they've ever been.
I LOVE how you have spoiler-free and spoiler-filled segments. In general, it's great to finish a book and come to a video where you talk about some highlights and what you liked.
hot damn....getting really close to a quarter million subs man....big grats, love your channel, started watching a number of years ago while i was reading wheel of time books when i was looking for vids discussing the lore and whatnot. very happy to have found your channel.
I have to admit I'm glad that other characters will get more spotlight. I like Shallan, but I want to know more about Seth, Renarin, Teft, Lopen, Azure etc I loved their viewpoints the most in Oathbringer
Shallan is one of my favorite characters, and I’ve really been wanting more page time for her while reading the early chapters. The book got off to a really great start, but the pacing got clunkier as I kept reading, I can see how a lot of this review applies to what’s already been released. I’m still very excited, and I expect I’ll be pleased with it.
Ehi Daniel, first of all kudos for your channel. You are a great entertainer and always keep a very intelligent position without shying away from taking position. Nice work. I am a Sanderson fan and I love your reviews and perspective on his books, on Rhythm of War though I do not agree on the pacing remarks you have made. It is true that some characters should have needed more page time and their arc feels a bit "rushed" - although coming - but the pace of the book itself I thought it was very enjoyable and slightly better then Oathbringer (which I loved btw, im one of those) mainly in part 3 and 4. I agree with all the props you highlighted though, new povs, new characters, MINDBLOWING world-building. I also want to really suggest to listen to the Audiobook if you can. Kate and Michael are true artists and we all know it but I felt this one was THE best audiobook so far for Stormlight. Highly recommended.
i Have not read it yet obviously..but the impact of this entry will be felt later on the series way more than it does now i guess...It might become a favorite among a lot of people..For me thats the most fun part about reading a long on going series..Cant wait to read it..
I liked words of radiance. Oathbringer ejected me. And i think you're saying the structure and the pacing are the same as that... Yeah imma head out. Back to waiting on doors of stone.
Man, this is probably my second favourite SA book after Words of Radiance! It was almost perfect. Maybe some of the flashbacks weren't that interesting, but everything else was just a blast to read. I couldn't stop reading. Everyone had pretty strong arcs in this book. I began to like Venli a lot, Kaladin's battle with depression and PTSD was so relatable; I really enjoyed all the science behind the fabrials and lights and Navani suddenly became one of my favourite characters; the villains were superb; Adolin and Shallan' s journey was super interesting; Teft's story gave me the feels, all the Cosmere references made me want to buy every other book that is connected to it, and I hate Taravangian even more. The SA books are my first Sanderson books, to be fair. I heard good stuff about the Mistborn series and I'm planning on buying them next, because I just need more Sanderson stuff now and I'm dying to learn more of the Cosmere. That's Fantasy at its highest!
Great review Daniel! Something Im really missing though is when back in the day you rated each part of the novel, that is giving character work, plot etc a grade each
As Sanderson says in his classes, there will always be different tastes, and when he receives comments from his beta readers he mentions "I will not write what you want but what I want to convey in my story, I will take into account your comments but I must separate both things "(it doesn't say that exactly but in short it does), so everything is subjective. So there is no problem in giving an opinion. I liked your video, only that reading forum comments, it saddens me that there are people who mention "thanks to those reviews (Merphy and you) I saved money on not spending on a bad book (I know they don't say that in their reviews but some people interpret it that way, perhaps because of the note that even surprised me) "without even giving the book a chance, I repeat, it's sad to not have a personal opinion. Just to add Sanderson had already mentioned that the structure would be different in the fourth book, perhaps it would be more similar to the first and that it was intentional since there will be 10 books and what he is building is immense, in addition to not being so focused on certain characters It is understandable since they already had a book to develop (if they are one of the main 3 and I think you mean them) and going to the background is not bad if you develop other characters that would be fundamental and relevant later, which remembering will be 10 books they have to "ration" in some way also of course that the fifth book, I hope, is the goal of so much preparation in previous books. Peace
I think it's quite possible that the people who say they're not going to buy the book because of these reviews will change their minds if the book gets a lot of acclaim from fans after it comes out. I find it kind of weird that Daniel's and Merphy's reviews were taken as negative when they both had plenty of positive things to say.
If someone saw this review and thought this was a "bad" book that should not be read, they did not actually watch the video. Criticisms can be levelled om every bood and should be. WoT, Lotr and Harry Potter all have valid criticisms throughout their sagas. Does not stop them from being solid bools and masterpiece level fantasy epics.
I really, really loved Kaladin's story in this. It was a bit unexpected at first, and I was worried on Kal's behalf, but it turned out so, so well. Shallan, hm. I liked her development. But then this big thing happened, and then we only get half a chapter with her after that. It's just, what happened after that? I would've appreciated more page time for her there. So much seemed to have happened between the big thing and her next chapter, but we barely see any of it.
Sounds like my fears for this book were somewhat justified (too much focus on the Parshendi characters - who I'm less interested in - and less on the fan faves). Hopefully it doesn't stray too far into A Feast for Crows or mid-Wheel of Time syndrome.
Uhh, it can't be as meandering as A Feast for Crows. All I remember was Brienne wandering in the mud for a hundred pages (or so it felt). Roshar, fortunately, doesn't have mud. Since I'm not too attached to Shallan, it doesn't sound like its going to bother me too much, but it might annoy others.
I gotta say. I'm falling out of Shalaans arc. Her multiple personality disorder seems too forced to me. Navaani on the other hand has become my top 3 at this point. Kaladin as always is the 🐐
Don't expect things to fully make sense until like chapter 10ish, then you'll be able to track with what's happening better. It's an awesome book with an amazing ending.
I've been listening to the released audio chapters on UA-cam! Brilliant advertising technique to get you to buy the next book. I wish I had the book to read. Very jealous.
I've only read the released chapters so far, but I definitely feel you on the Parshendi POV sections. It's like, yeah, cool, we get to see what they're up to, but I care so much more about the humans that any Parshendi POV is going to drag for me.
I just finished it, and I'd give it a 10/10. Thats just me, but I had no issues with plotlines going away for a few hundred pages and kicking back in. I'm reading a 1000 page books, that's to be expected. And I love Adolin anyway. SOOO READY FOR BOOK %
To enjoy shallan’s arc in the first 18 chapters, I had to let the chapters breathe, being extra thoughtful and patient. I thought she had her own unique, personal shine. I get a sense for what you’re saying, and the trajectory this book could take, leaving you to desire more... indeed, I wonder how he’s gonna tie it up in book 5, or if he’ll feel the need to spend a 6th volume with these characters. However, you get what you get.. he pours his heart into these characters, so there is enough beauty in the story to warm your heart and comfort you, not enough to dwell upon and devour. That’s something I first sensed in the show community, then even more-so in avatar the last airbender- the story is not necessarily an ocean, but it’s enough for you to dive into and have a relationship with; all good things come to an end, but they live on in our hearts and our lives.
I want to start reading this but don't want overwhelming character PoV bloat, which is (in my opinion) an issue in the Wheel of Time. ASoIaF also suffers a bit from this as well, but there are far fewer books and some of the PoV characters only have a few chapters to their name. Daniel, can you tell me if this series is as stuffed full of characters as the Wheel of Time?
The book DOES have many characters, not as many as ASOIAF and WOT though. Although it has many characters, there are only like, four main POV characters that are focused on.
So on Kaladin- I'm not far in yet, but a thing I'm appreciating is... Kaladin is Broken. That he's not just shrugging off what amounts to PTSD and a rather accurate account of chronic Depression (which I am intimately familiar with). I'm going to give his struggle early in the book the "Yeah, that's realistic" stamp of approval. Shalan as well. These sorts of deep damage, are not something one should get over in a book or two. It doesn't work that way. I dunno, I was just struck by it. Maybe because I know it from the inside. It's well done.
The Way of Kings: 9.5/10 Words of Radiance: 8/10 Oathbringer: 9/10 Rhythm of War: 7/10 Overall Series Score: 8.375/10 Grade: B, signifies levels of solid accomplishment and goodness
@@jprec5174 I was just documenting Daniel's past scores for the other books in the series to get a gauge on how he feels about Stormlight overall. These aren't my own scores.
Great review! Sanderson is masterful at certain things, but I have to admit that I think making him an example for his depictions/thematic work on mental illness and the realities of war is emblematic of fantasy as a whole being held to a fairly low standard in some ways. It's not that those themes aren't there, or that he does them BADLY, but I feel it's generous to say his treatment of material on this level rises to anything special. That's my feeling on Stormlight Archive in general at least, not that I've read Rhythm of War obviously.
mmm going by both Daniel's and Merphy's reviews this is gonna be a bit of a medium enjoyment read for me. I loved the 1st two books of the series while OB kinda dragged for me and I did have a problem with how a bunch of characters went missing from the narrative only to show up 3/4 of the book later (or so it felt this way), and I'm also 50/50 on new characters being introduced into the narrative while I'm already very invested in the ones I've known so far. I'm very curious how this book turns out for me.
I hear you on pacing and structure. In Oathbringer there were a few things that I thought should have been a much bigger deal when they were *finally* revealed, but even if the structure isn't as great as I would like, the meat of the story is so good that it makes up for all of that. Sanderson is providing the material for what will be the best TV show ever.
Thanks for overview. Plot is extremely complex, yet entertaining, enjoyable. Like the characters, the story telling style, but I got lost due to too much happenings; twists and turns along the flow of the story.
I just finished Dawnshard and am excited to get Rhythm of War in 10 days! I loved Oathbringer after reading it, especially the ending. After rereading the first 3 books again leading up to RoW, I realized how much the middle of OB lags and isn't my favorite anymore. I would say WoR is my favorite now. But I still overall enjoyed OB. I think even if the pacing is off, I will still enjoy the world building and am interested to learn more about the Singer side and Odium.
Of course you can! I would only recommed reading Warbreaker before you get to book 3 in the Stormlight Archive.. It is not necessary but you will appreciate some characters more
Very interesting to see the opinions I share with Daniel and the places at which our opinions diverge. I hated how much time was spent on Kaladin's stuff. I hated how much time was spent on it in the first book too. The Sanderlanche is frustrating for me, if satisfying. The payoffs are there, it's just the progress feels unbalanced and that he enjoys the characters more than the world and story itself. Also the events in this book with Adolin were some of my favorite moments. Shallan's stuff is... confusing. It feels like someone sitting at a DnD table trying to RP multiple characters. I guess I can appreciate what Branderson was trying to represent, but at the same time I didn't come here for a slog about mental health with 10 minutes of action, so to each their own. Still one of my favorite series and I'll definitely be right there for each book launch, but Sanderson has quickly become one of my biggest inspirations for what I would do differently in my books.
Reading this book I totally get where you're coming from but I honestly didn't feel that way about most of the things you said :D. Maybe the pacing though I might notice it more on reread. I liked Adolin's arc in this, I liked how he was setting out to do one thing and ultimately things didn't go his way (I consider his a small victory that I imagine may have a larger implication for the world rather than the book). Shallan is not one of my favorite people though I recognize many love her and I do find her story interesting,I think I am ok with the page count she got and I appreciate her now much more with the way Brandon has handled her condition (I saw her thing coming though I regret I didn't inform the internet of my theories :D).And I have always loved the Listener/Singer viewpoints in the previous books so I adored them in this one even more. I found it confusing initially when you said we were asked to suddenly care about new characters I was confused cuz I already cared a lot about most of the Listener/Singer characters we were following here. Well in any case everything is subjective so I appreciate your view on the book greatly :) Also Navani *Chef's kiss*
I've been reading the sample chapters and I couldn't agree more with your criticism. The Parshendi pieces are fun but I want to spend more time with the others.
Great review, really primed readers for what they may or may not like. As someone who’s loved Stormlight so far and has been burning through Malazan over a year or two, seems like I’m primed for your major warning of new characters coming in and others fading out a bit. Really looking forward to it!
It's better to read the first trilogy of MistBorn first, maybe even Elantris. Without getting into spoilers: it seems that reading the rest of the cosmere is going to become a bit more necessary to appreciate things more from now on
If you just want to read SA, just read it. It’s its own series and you’ll get plenty enjoyment on its own. Plenty of fans just read SA. But if you want to get into Cosmere, I’d say Mistborn or at least Warbreaker before SA.
I agree completely about your structural complaints, but it's kinda funny because Navani, Taravangian, and Szeth all hit my bottom favorites and frustrated me to no end, while Adolin's arc was by FAR my favorite and I adored the surprising yet inspired direction Brandon took his character. Interesting.
I've already read Rhythm of War so I'll keep my reply spoiler free here! I disagree with you on the Sanderlanche thing. But I am in that "ooh I've just read it and everything is shiny phase", so bear with. The Sanderlanche just wasn't as we expect them to be, usually. It was at the START instead of the main focus at the end, but I like how he included a mini Sanderlanche and the shorter chapters to make the pace and intensity of the book seem a lot quicker by flitting between action in each perspective. So it was like... a beginning Sanderlanche with off-sets of other small ones later, which I liked quite a bit. :) What I absolutely ADORED was the emphasis on mental health in this book, it was always THERE in the others but it was presently discussed in RoW and addressed which is a nuance that I really appreciated (spoiler freeeeee is haaaaard). I'm one of those people who adored Kaladin's story because it didn't let him remain the same, it pushed him to new moments for his characterisation. I loved this book but I can absolutely see why you had a few problems with its structure. I definitely noticed those things but they didn't drag my rating or enjoyment down; these new additions and pacing actually piqued my interest and made me excited for the changes that I'm SURE Brandon is developing and will introduce in his installments to come. :D "So if you don't wanna know who lived, gEt OuT!!!" Bahahaha!
This makes me think book 5 is going to be an all out sanderlanche.
Yeah, just the whole book starts with the lanche
It seems book 4 is more of a set up than it's own thing and that is not a bad thing. Just like Harry Potter 6 was
Just one big lanche
This is what’s going to happen guaranteed. This is the problem with these huge epic stories. You have to learn to accept the tedium and almost frivolous details and side arcs to get a better and more fulfilling ending.
After reading oathbringer, I trust Sanderson can pull it off. I felt so crestfallen about 60% through it, but that last part woo boy.
We don’t want a season 8 GoT on our hands do we?
@@august4471 Harry Potter 6 is J.K.’s best book to date. While it was a setup, it was masterfully written such that there was a balance in the plot points. From Harry’s relationship with Ginny, then the horcruxes, finding out who the half blood prince is, what Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape were up to e.t.c. Plus, the ending of that book. I love how the way it ended broke the norms of he previous books, where it ended on a more somber note rather than Harry going back to the Durdleys. With this as a penultimate book, I hope it does the same.
Brandon will finish book 10 of the Stormlight Archive before George RR Martin will finish The Winds of Winter.
I think that is inevitable.
No doubt, Martin will never finish
And before Rothfuss finishes book 3.
Who is Martin? Oh yeah, the meme author who kinda forgot about writing books he started some decades ago?
Which is why I stopped caring
I'm kinda happy that there is no "sanderlanche" at the end I think we needed a mellower ending to the book as you can have only so much action in a series, and I think that Brandon is saving up all the high intensity epic battles for the 5th book. This might be a setup for this last book of the first arc which kinda explains the low rating tbh.
Snaps to that, and I’m so glad Daniel pointed it out. I love Sanderlanches, but they can be a lot sometimes and the last one felt so big that I got worried about how he’ll keep up.
I’m excited for a very complex ending to this book.
Whats a sanderlanche lol
He builds up tension for the whole book and is very slow and then has an extremely massive and fast pace finnaly in the last 75 pages
Funny how 7/10 is seen as a "low rating", that really speaks to how good Sanderson is as a writer
When Eric from 17th shard reviewed the book he said there is a sanderlanche
Smaller ending? Good. I was having trouble imagining how he could go bigger.
There will eventually be book 10
Not gonna lie, I'm encouraged by what Daniel didn't like that much, I don't think it will bother me. The negative parts of reviews are at least as useful as the positives, thanks Daniel for not being afraid to speak your mind honestly.
So did you like it? I'm hesitant to read it seeing as Oathbringer took me about as long to read as the first two books combined. The bloat just seems like an increasing problem to me tbh
@@MILOPETIT i did like it, but less than oathbringer, which itself was less than either of the first 2. I do read all of sanderson's books though, so if you're on the fence about it maybe go for something you know you're more likely to enjoy
@@enescustef6154 Ok yeah I did feel pretty much the same about Oathbringer, it just seems like the first one (which was already pretty stretched out) was the only one who didn't go into more sidequests than the main plot.
Yeah, the constatnt pov skipping in the later Stormlight books is one of my least favourite parts, especially when new characters are introduced. I just find caring about an ever-growing cast of characters much harder, as I just tend to get attached to the main characters and move on.
On a different note, hearing that Kaladin gets so much page time makes me happy as he is definitely my favourite Stormlight charcters.
Kaladin is de bhest
I totally agree and I’m worried about the growing cast of characters. We will have to see how this works cause I had issues with later ASOIAF books because of so much perspective skipping. I really like the way of kings method of just sticking to one to two characters, but the cast has grown to the point where you can’t do that. I definitely think Sanderson will deliver.
However, I will definitely be more nit picky about that in This book than in oath bringer.
Also Kaladin is fantastic.
Agreed, although Daniel mentioning that he takes a path some of the fans won't like or expect makes me a bit wary. My personal theory is that Kaladin doesn't swear the fourth oath in this book (which I believe most readers think he will), and his squires and fellow Bridge Four Windrunners will surpass him in that regard. Personally, I trust Daniel, and if he likes that character arc, I probably will too.
@@kvothethearcane146
SPOILERS BELOW
That could actually be true. I don't know how I feel about that. I've been reading up to what's been out so far and I don't think the "non warrior path" fits him, like I just don't see him as a surgeon. I also didn't like the love triangle at the end of oathbringer (and I don't know how Daniel felt about that) but I hope the story doesn't disappoint because he's the main reason I read Stormlight.
@@sam.s.g I agree!
SPOILERS:
Kaladin ultimately is not a surgeon, I feel like that was really hammered home when he ultimately decided that even if a surgeon would "cut off an infected limb" but Kaladin, a Windrunner, would not let Elhokar die, even if he was a terrible king whose death would improve the lot of Alethkar. A surgeon acknowledges that they cannot save everyone, but Kaladin needs to save everyone - imo his fatal flaw.
Clicked so fast, I didn’t even notice the Premiere label!
Lol me too
Yes. This totally happened hahaha
Holy shit, same!😂😂
Liked the video before it started
Exact same! Lol
I hope we get to see Axies the collector again! More of the Aimien people overall. We got a strong introduction to them in Edgedancer, and since then I want to know more !
Read Dawnshard when it comes out Tuesday! It’s set around Aimia.
Definitely read Dawnshard if you haven't already, way better than Edgedancer IMO and gives exactly what you're asking for here.
@@MitchellD249 I'm about to finish it. I was just hoping for more in my comment, not knowing what Dawnshard or ROW were going to be about, but Brandon answered my prayers and he didn't disappoint 😅
You lucky son-of-a-gun! You got to read it first! Not that you don't deserve things like that. You've earned it. I'm just over here rereading my Oathbringer being jealous. Thanks for all the good content!
Very well said.
x2! the hyyyype is real!
I guess a lot of people are reading Oathbringer right now.
@@elessarbre you mean dawnshard
@@rearea260 That too.
Tbh, as long as Kaladin and Navani both have strong arcs, this one is gonna be a win for me.
This is pretty much how I feel
Kaladin doesn't
Abod Ghazi boy thata cap
@@argonexxcutter4192 thats just my opinion, but then again SA to be slightly overrated and abit YA
I loved both their arcs
The kaladin story in this book was so relatable and amazing. Wish more authors would approach mental illness in an honest and meaningful way
I don't know, I fell in love with Venli in Oathbringer, and I liked the chapters on her Brandon released. So I think I'm going to enjoy this book more than you.
I read "Premieres in 23 years".
Was thinking how and why then wow I'm stupid
You accidentally found the Kingkiller Book 3 review
23 years is probably how long it would take me to physically read it. thank goodness for audible
@@Abundy dang😂
So far based off reviews this seems to be exactly what I want it to be. I always like when previously major characters are pushed back to make room for previously smaller characters or even new characters. (For example my favourite ASOIAF book is A Feast for Crows and my favourite parts of Oathbringer were the bits with bridge 4 and the parshendi. I also really love the interludes in stormlight.) So yeah I'm very excited and this seems to be exactly what I was hoping for at this point in the story. I completely understand anyone who disagrees though this is entirely down to personal preference.
Same, for me this is an hype review, as my favorite book is OB
I totally agree! I was so excited when Dawnshard was announced as a Rysn POV novella because I love her as a side character, even though before OB we had only seen her twice. I love getting the perspective of smaller side characters.
I wonder if the fact that this is, basically, the 4th part of a 5 part book might be causing some issues with the structure. Yes it's a standalone book, but in the overall structure of the Stormlight Archive, it's part 4 of 5 of the first half. So it's going to be a lot of rising action, a lot of set up, all setting up for what will happen in book 5 as the payoffs. Just my thoughts having only read throught the preview chapters and Dawnshard
Actually Brandon said in an update when he was writing/editing this book (they're like 8 or 9 updates so idk which one) that he was worried about this book bc the outline was a bit messy after finishing OB and we all know that Brando really likes having his books planned out. But as far as I know, he already has book 5 outlined and knows where he's wanting to go
It's kinda how people don't like Deathly Hallows Part 1 as much as Part 2, because it's a lot of setup in comparison to Part 2.
@@mrsirperson9656 and also depends on how the writer structured the keypoints of the series (and the audience taste).
SPOILER FREE:
- Anime/manga Fairy Tail (I recomend watching low expec), the penultimate arc was by far the best one and had a great set up for the final arc, desfortunately the last one was horrible.
-Percy Jackson, first book was great and second slow (opposite as SA lol), third great again and darker, 4th was a step down but still great and 5th was awesome.
- Lightbringer first was good, second even better, third even more, 4th meh and 5th meh.
- Harry Potter 4th book, that is the middle point, is the peak of HP's quality (still my fav is 6th idkw)
So it kinda depends a lot on how the autor structured the story. It seems Brandon really planned the ending (he even has the epilogue of book 5 done), but struggled a bit with the middle point (OB) and the point before the last (RoW). I trust him and I know this book is more of a set up like HP&TDH part 1 like you said and the last one will be great. Cmon, Brandon is great with endings. Even in RoW that seems to be the weakest entry, both merphy and daniel said the ending was great
@@mrsirperson9656 just noticed the post was long af, sorry
@@august4471 No Problem, I really like seeing people explain their points in detail
and we have to keep in mind that even a "bad" Stormlight book is still an amazing book
I have to keep reminding myself that a 7/10 on Daniel's scale means it's a really good book
Just imagine if the whole fifth book was all sanderlanche set up by the forth and previous ones
Kaladin's struggles with depression were almost too real... It brought up a lot of difficult thoughts.
As someone who has hit rock bottom, it hit home. The message was crazy huge.
My biggest issue with Oathbringer was definitely the pacing. I'm not exactly thrilled to find out that it's going to be an issue this time around too. But I know that I'll still really enjoy the book. Only 10 days to go!
Adolin's arc is INCREDIBLE! Could not disagree more.
Agreed!
I just want to say that the first time that I read oathbringer I fell it very confusing and don't like it as much, BUT when I read it for second time I fell kind of stupid for thinking it was confusing and The second time I notice a lot more details that is what I like the most
Don't worry we will have enough time to get attached to new characters, as we all know Stormligh 5 hardcover will be about 2-3 stories tall.
I can’t wait for this book to come out.
"Characters dropping out for 100s of pages" lol anyone whos read WoT is battle hardend against this
I’ve survived Moiraine’s imprisonment in the Tower of Ghenjei. I’m good.
@@burgerpattie xD
@@burgerpattie lol facts
Everyone saying theres no sanderlanche really needs to read the damn book again. There most certainly is one and its hefty imo.
I do think there's like a big sanderlanche in the middle that kinda dies down after a bit and another smaller wave towards the end... the momentum does slow down quite a bit.
Book 5 is the Sanderlanch
Yeah the end of the book was crazy. It was just emotionally crazy and not "battle crazy"
Reading the early release chapters, and without getting into spoilers for Oathbringer or RoW, I think I really like where Kaladin is going. Daniel is right when he says a lot of people won't tho.
I appreciate what sando did to kaladin in chapter 18. For a person like kaladin that is really a healthy choice
One of my favorite things of this series so far
SPOILERS
Dalinar: has THE LITTERAL STORM FATHER
Ardents: no no no no no you'r a heretic and everything you do including your marriage is illegitimate XD
It is not a spoiler for me but you should force the spoiler to only be showed if you hit more. It is just courteous.
@@alek2913 fixed thank you didn't realize it wasn't fully under the read more
@@DoublexCoke Yup was not sure. Just did not want anyone to get spoiled by that. I know there are a lot of people who are reading through SA right now because of Daniel and in the comments.
if Kaladin doesn't swear the fourth ideal, I'm going to be so mad.
I’m guessing he doesn’t until 5
Do Windrunners have 4 or 5 ideals? if five imma guess he does, if not, IDK probably not
@@benjaminwhitehead4050 windrunners have 4
@@randalthor2859 Okay good to know, thanks!
@@benjaminwhitehead4050 nah, they have 5. The fifth is rarely attained though
I'm only about 200 pages in, but I've been enjoying the parts focusing on the newer characters the most. I love our big 3 of Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin but we've spent plenty of time with them already and it feels like whatever is left to tell of their stories is probably best saved for book 5.
okay, im just gonna say: sequels can never get better and better forever, there will come a time that its worse than the last, or cannot live up to the last one, or whatever., we just have to believe/support whatever books come out long enough for the next book to come out., ;) ;)
I get what you’re saying and I would agree but I’m sure that won’t be an issue. Brandon Sanderson knows when to stop writing
I think this is a good point, and also brings up that in a series, each book while needing to be a good read on its own, is really just a chapter in an ongoing narrative. If you couldn't just pick the book up absent reading the preceding books, than it shouldn't be judged as good or bad, so much as stronger or weaker parts of the narrative. (I mean unless the qualitative aspects are actually hugely divergent, as in the writing suddenly becomes worse, or something like that) Because book four or five in a series, is never going to stand as tall as book one or two, it's not really that books job to do so, it's just bearing the load of the story to progress it through the series. By that point the over arching story is going through high and low notes, and each book is just going to fall somewhere on the spectrum.
We don't generally judge each chapter by the preceding and succeeding ones in a story (you can of course, but it's kind of pointless unless you're doing a close examination of the structure of the book) because we know that each chapter is just a building block in the narrative, and that there are stronger and weaker chapters, which are more or less important. We kind of forget that when we look at a series of books (especially a long one). We won't really be able to judge if this book did it's job (or how well) until we finish the song (to stretch a metaphor) and see how it fits into the arcs and rhythms of the complete work.
Yeah I agree with the take on Shallan's arc. Ever since book 2 I keep getting this feeling we will eventually get some Kaladin-esque level character arc for her and I was actually hoping we would get that in this book but her arc felt surprisingly subdued to me.
I find her arc a whole lot more interesting than Kaladin. Still like his arc aswell but 🤷♂️
Definitely sounds like there is a bit of up and down in this one but I'm very excited to get further into it. I've enjoyed the first 18 chapters so far but it hasn't blown me away. I was nervous that this may be a big setup book for the conclusion in book 5, but hopefully it doesn't feel like that.
Haha bothered by characters dropping for a long time. Can't be worse than Perrin Aybarra.
I just finished book 6 and starting book 7. I hope Perrin comes back now 😢, it’s been two books so far without him really
Yeah you only really get back to his plot line in like book 10 I’m pretty sure
And his plotline is only really good in like books 13-14
Or the entire cast of Malazan in book five.
@@kalshal4ever987 He comes back but...like, don't expect much until book 11 or 12 now that you're past the (excellent) return to Two Rivers.
Navani has been one of my favs since WOR. More brilliant than Jasnah with none of her arrogance and condescension, with a quiet authority about her. Awesome to her full potential realized here.
I was one of the betas and I really struggled with this book. I'm really hoping the final product has changed from the draft I read. I agree with a lot of what Dan says, and we'd probably have a lot more to agree on if we could get into spoiler territory.
Whoa, you were one of the betas? Lucky. Anyway, the pacing issues were GLARING when I was reading Part 3 of Oathbringer. For the first time ever, the book truly FELT like a 1200 page book when with the others, I was hooked all the way through. I really hoped the pacing issues would be resolved in ROW with the way Part 1 was incredibly fast paced(I’ve only read the first six chapters btw) but from most of the reviews I’ve watched, pacing seems to be a huge problem where attention is given to less important issues and other bigger issues just don’t have enough page time. Still hyped up for it though.
@@henrywayne5724 I can't say a whole lot until release day, but pacing was a major issue we talked about during the beta. I felt the same way, that there were definite periods of mental fatigue because the pacing was so slow. I hope he's fixed some of it in the final product, but it sounds like maybe not.
Wait wait wait .... the ending isn't an avalanche but is more like book 12 of The Wheel of Time?
VEINS OF GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!
@CallMe Sherlock that chapter still gets me, even years after reading it for the first time. It's so poignant!
The problem with Stormlight is that the amount of characters that deserve more pagetime is so high, it's almost impossible to be satisfied with the end product and that is something i am prepared since having the same kind of disappointment when reading Oathbringer. I am also very jealous of you right now for getting to read it early.
Thanks for an honest review. I appreciate that you are a true Sanderson fan, but not just giving it blind praise. Looking forward to finishing the book. Have really enjoyed the early chapters released.
I always have kind of an issue with the comparison between a book's function in a continuous series and it's enjoyability/strength/etc as a standalone experience, i.e. "as it's own book," because it isn't it's own book. It's printed with its own cover and its own back blurb and its own quotes but especially in the case of Brandon's books, it's the next chapter in a saga. Does each chapter in a book have to be engaging on its own? Yes, but even many engaging chapters don't "stand on their own," because it's nonsensical to read only chapter 120 of Oathbringer without any context. it's an incredible chapter, but "on its own" it's the ramblings of a lunatic... because it's so heavily couched in the rest of the story. So, though I have obviously not read RoW, I have heard that same criticism leveled by many people at many books, and it strikes me as sort of nonsense, even though I know it's trying to articulate some actual aspect of the reading experience.
This is a terrible argument. You'd be a pretty terrible author if you just completely decided to ignore the inherent consequences of how your work is consumed. I mean we all know pretty well that Brandon himself structures individual books specifically to be enjoyed in his signature arc. Maybe what you're saying would be valid if Sanderson had decided to only publish all five books in this first arc as one volume, internally divided into 5 'books' the same way Dune is. But the fact of the matter is that he chose to release it one book at a time, knowing that for a large portion of readers, it would be a while until they would be able to read the next one. How are you even meant to evaluate a book solely based on its function in a continuous series if the rest of the series has yet to be released?
Does that mean it shouldn't be evaluated at all until the entire series is done? Should Daniel not have made a video at all?
Books in a series are for the most part consumed piecemeal. Anything that has a beginning and an end can and unavoidably will be evaluated on its own merit. Even in the example of Chapter 120 that you mentioned, sure it's the ramblings of a madman, but it's still designed to have a beginning, middle, and an end, that separates it into an individual unit distinct from the rest of the whole. Otherwise how would questions like 'what was your favorite chapter?' come to be?
It's not nonsense, it's just conveying information that's actually valuable as far as it applies to the real life reading habits of people who are going to be reading this book.
@@Monkixote Hmm. I'm going to go with you are both right. Just combine what you're saying and all's well.
Yes and no.
TL;DR: a middle book can’t be just filler.
Of course a fourth book in a series cannot be read as a stand-alone, and thus ‘is not a book in its own right’. But I have to stress a point that a book (usually a middle one) in a series cannot serve solely to further the overall plot. If it did just that, then the series is structured poorly. When I read a book I’d expect it to have a story in it, and not just filler. There’s a reason there’s a syndrome called “the middle book syndrome”.
In fact, the best examples I can find to do a sequel right is Brandon’s books like the mistborn trilogy and words of radiance.
After the first mistborn book I was like “what? They won in the first book?? What happens now?” And the second book seemed to address that issue and expand the lore wire having a complete narrative on its own.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m still very excited for this book.
You and Merph have convinced me to read R.F. Kuang's latest book first. Thanks for the review!
Well we all kinda already know this book is gonna be amazing...
@momarist Opinions my friend, learn to respect them and don't be a jerk
It wasnt lol,the writing was shit
"Largest currently ongoing fantasy series." RIP ASoIaF.
That is because it is not even being written lol.
Dude asoiaf is still unparalled
@@nityamjain1561 No its not, not by a long shot. If there had more more than 0 books in the last 8 years maybe, but its been overtaken.
@@ProvidenceNL dude its coming next year ,grrm has already written 3000 manuscript pages its gonna be epic and will surely overtake whichever series u find better.
@@nityamjain1561 not necessarily. The hype for ASoIaF has died down currently, and comparatively, it’s nowhere near the hype the SA has received these past years, especially since the show ended and killed a lot of hype, I feel. Sure, maybe the hype will pick up when the new book comes out, but that’s assuming it’s good.
I’d actually compare it to the Kingkiller Chronicles, where fans have just stopped hyping and have kinda gotten fed up. Not to the same extent. But undoubtedly, ASoIaF hasn’t been on the scene, like at all, and there hasn’t been hype for it.
Even if the review is bad I’m still buying it no doubt no doubt no doubt
Kaladin is my favorite character. And if your favorite character is Kaladin, you *will* love this book.
SPOILER ZONE
I hate to admit it but I think his decision in the end is the most realistic and beneficial one. And in the end I’d rather see a happy surgeon rather than a broken soldier. I doubt he will never fight again. That’s part of who he is. He will protect those who cannot protect themselves, and if he has to fight he will do so. It’s the oath he took. But at the same time I am excited even if he never picks up a spear again. He wants to reform the mental health care system, and I feel like that is such a significant thing. He will be saving thousands of people, doing so much, even without a spear. And in the end he tells his dad he will save people his own way. Kaladin says never fighting back seems right in his head but not in his heart. This is why I think he’s not going to give up fighting entirely. But he will at /least/ take a good break from it. And this I fully support. Even if I might miss his epic fighting. It’s hard to accept this but once you do it’s so *satisfying*.And it’s what made me cry when he swore the 4th ideal. Made me cry from happiness. As of right now, having just finished the book, it is my favorite solely based on the fact that it has done so much for Kaladin. I cried 4 times reading it, threw it at the wall at some point and cursed at Moash like a sailor, and it was all incredibly fun.
And also Navani’s pov was perfection and the music theory and science of it all absolutely blew. My. Mind. The world-building is *insanely* well done.
And Moash remains the storming personification of a cancerous anal discharge.
love & agree with all of this !!!!
I also love and agree with all of this!
100% agree and well said.
I second all that you said. And you described moash perfectly!
For all the criticism this book gets, I loved it. I don't know where I place it among the other SA books, but I am certain that its not a step down for me. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, one thing that Sanderson did NOT get enough credit on was the opening. That was some serious en medias res, that reminded me of the way Star Wars ep III opened. While that movie is heavily flawed, go back and rewatch the first 20 minutes, its near perfection, much like the opening here. We get an immediate highlight reel of all of the most entertaining qualities of Kaladin, Dalinar and Shallan, and it sets them all up so well for their arcs in the remainder of the book.
Edit to Add: Also, while the flashbacks in this one weren't quite as strong overall as previous books, the payoff in the final one was as good as they've ever been.
I LOVE how you have spoiler-free and spoiler-filled segments. In general, it's great to finish a book and come to a video where you talk about some highlights and what you liked.
After reading Malazan the cast shift is likely a non issue for me. Looking forward to it. WoT did it too to a degree.
"5:12" as a one piece fan i couldn't care less as long as what is shown is interesting and relevant
hot damn....getting really close to a quarter million subs man....big grats, love your channel, started watching a number of years ago while i was reading wheel of time books when i was looking for vids discussing the lore and whatnot. very happy to have found your channel.
I have to admit I'm glad that other characters will get more spotlight. I like Shallan, but I want to know more about Seth, Renarin, Teft, Lopen, Azure etc
I loved their viewpoints the most in Oathbringer
Shallan is one of my favorite characters, and I’ve really been wanting more page time for her while reading the early chapters. The book got off to a really great start, but the pacing got clunkier as I kept reading, I can see how a lot of this review applies to what’s already been released. I’m still very excited, and I expect I’ll be pleased with it.
Ehi Daniel, first of all kudos for your channel. You are a great entertainer and always keep a very intelligent position without shying away from taking position. Nice work.
I am a Sanderson fan and I love your reviews and perspective on his books, on Rhythm of War though I do not agree on the pacing remarks you have made. It is true that some characters should have needed more page time and their arc feels a bit "rushed" - although coming - but the pace of the book itself I thought it was very enjoyable and slightly better then Oathbringer (which I loved btw, im one of those) mainly in part 3 and 4.
I agree with all the props you highlighted though, new povs, new characters, MINDBLOWING world-building.
I also want to really suggest to listen to the Audiobook if you can. Kate and Michael are true artists and we all know it but I felt this one was THE best audiobook so far for Stormlight. Highly recommended.
Daniel's most anticipated review ever?
i Have not read it yet obviously..but the impact of this entry will be felt later on the series way more than it does now i guess...It might become a favorite among a lot of people..For me thats the most fun part about reading a long on going series..Cant wait to read it..
How can you say that when you have not read it?
@@alguienrandom7398 because i have read enough Books from Brandon that i know he will truly not fuck this up..
This was my favorite book in the series
I liked words of radiance. Oathbringer ejected me. And i think you're saying the structure and the pacing are the same as that... Yeah imma head out. Back to waiting on doors of stone.
Man, this is probably my second favourite SA book after Words of Radiance! It was almost perfect. Maybe some of the flashbacks weren't that interesting, but everything else was just a blast to read. I couldn't stop reading. Everyone had pretty strong arcs in this book. I began to like Venli a lot, Kaladin's battle with depression and PTSD was so relatable; I really enjoyed all the science behind the fabrials and lights and Navani suddenly became one of my favourite characters; the villains were superb; Adolin and Shallan' s journey was super interesting; Teft's story gave me the feels, all the Cosmere references made me want to buy every other book that is connected to it, and I hate Taravangian even more. The SA books are my first Sanderson books, to be fair. I heard good stuff about the Mistborn series and I'm planning on buying them next, because I just need more Sanderson stuff now and I'm dying to learn more of the Cosmere. That's Fantasy at its highest!
Awesome, Thanks Daniel! I can't wait to read it. Now off to read chapter 18! I wish there were more preview chapters left!
Great review Daniel! Something Im really missing though is when back in the day you rated each part of the novel, that is giving character work, plot etc a grade each
I wish book 5 be about Szeth. We have gotten so little of him in the series so far.
Szeth is actually the main flashback character in book 5
@@EE12345 That is very good hear. Thanks fellow radiant
As Sanderson says in his classes, there will always be different tastes, and when he receives comments from his beta readers he mentions "I will not write what you want but what I want to convey in my story, I will take into account your comments but I must separate both things "(it doesn't say that exactly but in short it does), so everything is subjective.
So there is no problem in giving an opinion. I liked your video, only that reading forum comments, it saddens me that there are people who mention "thanks to those reviews (Merphy and you) I saved money on not spending on a bad book (I know they don't say that in their reviews but some people interpret it that way, perhaps because of the note that even surprised me) "without even giving the book a chance, I repeat, it's sad to not have a personal opinion.
Just to add Sanderson had already mentioned that the structure would be different in the fourth book, perhaps it would be more similar to the first and that it was intentional since there will be 10 books and what he is building is immense, in addition to not being so focused on certain characters It is understandable since they already had a book to develop (if they are one of the main 3 and I think you mean them) and going to the background is not bad if you develop other characters that would be fundamental and relevant later, which remembering will be 10 books they have to "ration" in some way also of course that the fifth book, I hope, is the goal of so much preparation in previous books. Peace
I think it's quite possible that the people who say they're not going to buy the book because of these reviews will change their minds if the book gets a lot of acclaim from fans after it comes out.
I find it kind of weird that Daniel's and Merphy's reviews were taken as negative when they both had plenty of positive things to say.
If someone saw this review and thought this was a "bad" book that should not be read, they did not actually watch the video. Criticisms can be levelled om every bood and should be. WoT, Lotr and Harry Potter all have valid criticisms throughout their sagas. Does not stop them from being solid bools and masterpiece level fantasy epics.
From what i’ve heard so far, i think RoW will be my favorite
I really, really loved Kaladin's story in this. It was a bit unexpected at first, and I was worried on Kal's behalf, but it turned out so, so well.
Shallan, hm. I liked her development. But then this big thing happened, and then we only get half a chapter with her after that. It's just, what happened after that? I would've appreciated more page time for her there. So much seemed to have happened between the big thing and her next chapter, but we barely see any of it.
Finally a Stormlight review where Daniel doesn't talk about Kal being superman lol
This book was such an improvement over Oathbringer for me. I find myself heavily disagreeing about this book being bloated.
Planning on reading the stormlight archive series and wanted to see how well the books progress and pay off, thanks for the spoiler free review!
Sounds like my fears for this book were somewhat justified (too much focus on the Parshendi characters - who I'm less interested in - and less on the fan faves). Hopefully it doesn't stray too far into A Feast for Crows or mid-Wheel of Time syndrome.
Uhh, it can't be as meandering as A Feast for Crows. All I remember was Brienne wandering in the mud for a hundred pages (or so it felt). Roshar, fortunately, doesn't have mud. Since I'm not too attached to Shallan, it doesn't sound like its going to bother me too much, but it might annoy others.
I gotta say. I'm falling out of Shalaans arc. Her multiple personality disorder seems too forced to me. Navaani on the other hand has become my top 3 at this point. Kaladin as always is the 🐐
I picked up the way of kings recently. I hope I like it
It's amazing! You won't regret picking it up
It's amazing, but it is SLOW. It takes a while for it to get going, but then it becomes addictive
@@carlosperezdelema Yeah, he has a lot to set up at the start to immerse us into the world
Don't expect things to fully make sense until like chapter 10ish, then you'll be able to track with what's happening better. It's an awesome book with an amazing ending.
@@Osiris623 10????
It took me almost half a book to understand how everything worked. Hahahahahha.
I've been listening to the released audio chapters on UA-cam! Brilliant advertising technique to get you to buy the next book. I wish I had the book to read. Very jealous.
You will be able to soon enough, Radiant.
I've only read the released chapters so far, but I definitely feel you on the Parshendi POV sections. It's like, yeah, cool, we get to see what they're up to, but I care so much more about the humans that any Parshendi POV is going to drag for me.
We got from the parshendy side in the last two books. It's not that Venly and Ashonai are completely new. So it is not "late in the game"
I just finished it, and I'd give it a 10/10. Thats just me, but I had no issues with plotlines going away for a few hundred pages and kicking back in. I'm reading a 1000 page books, that's to be expected. And I love Adolin anyway. SOOO READY FOR BOOK %
To enjoy shallan’s arc in the first 18 chapters, I had to let the chapters breathe, being extra thoughtful and patient. I thought she had her own unique, personal shine. I get a sense for what you’re saying, and the trajectory this book could take, leaving you to desire more... indeed, I wonder how he’s gonna tie it up in book 5, or if he’ll feel the need to spend a 6th volume with these characters. However, you get what you get.. he pours his heart into these characters, so there is enough beauty in the story to warm your heart and comfort you, not enough to dwell upon and devour. That’s something I first sensed in the show community, then even more-so in avatar the last airbender- the story is not necessarily an ocean, but it’s enough for you to dive into and have a relationship with; all good things come to an end, but they live on in our hearts and our lives.
I first saw Merphy's, now watching Daniel's, next Elliot's .
SAME
Reverse order for me!
da big 3
Hey Daniel, do a longer, spoiler review please! Or do a live chat with the fans! It would be so cool to discuss the book more.
I like that Bob is guarding your Butcher section :)
I want to start reading this but don't want overwhelming character PoV bloat, which is (in my opinion) an issue in the Wheel of Time. ASoIaF also suffers a bit from this as well, but there are far fewer books and some of the PoV characters only have a few chapters to their name. Daniel, can you tell me if this series is as stuffed full of characters as the Wheel of Time?
The book DOES have many characters, not as many as ASOIAF and WOT though. Although it has many characters, there are only like, four main POV characters that are focused on.
@@henrywayne5724 much appreciated. I picked up the Way of Kings.
So on Kaladin- I'm not far in yet, but a thing I'm appreciating is... Kaladin is Broken. That he's not just shrugging off what amounts to PTSD and a rather accurate account of chronic Depression (which I am intimately familiar with). I'm going to give his struggle early in the book the "Yeah, that's realistic" stamp of approval. Shalan as well. These sorts of deep damage, are not something one should get over in a book or two. It doesn't work that way.
I dunno, I was just struck by it. Maybe because I know it from the inside. It's well done.
The Way of Kings: 9.5/10
Words of Radiance: 8/10
Oathbringer: 9/10
Rhythm of War: 7/10
Overall Series Score: 8.375/10
Grade: B, signifies levels of solid accomplishment and goodness
Switch the scores for WoR and oath-bringer and you right
@@jprec5174 I was just documenting Daniel's past scores for the other books in the series to get a gauge on how he feels about Stormlight overall. These aren't my own scores.
Dang that felt like such a solid review. Your level of analysis has increased so much form when I first started watching you. Job well done!
I think I speak for everyone when I say "What about Lopen and his cousins!!!!!!!?"
Great review! Sanderson is masterful at certain things, but I have to admit that I think making him an example for his depictions/thematic work on mental illness and the realities of war is emblematic of fantasy as a whole being held to a fairly low standard in some ways. It's not that those themes aren't there, or that he does them BADLY, but I feel it's generous to say his treatment of material on this level rises to anything special. That's my feeling on Stormlight Archive in general at least, not that I've read Rhythm of War obviously.
mmm going by both Daniel's and Merphy's reviews this is gonna be a bit of a medium enjoyment read for me. I loved the 1st two books of the series while OB kinda dragged for me and I did have a problem with how a bunch of characters went missing from the narrative only to show up 3/4 of the book later (or so it felt this way), and I'm also 50/50 on new characters being introduced into the narrative while I'm already very invested in the ones I've known so far.
I'm very curious how this book turns out for me.
Thanks for doing this review Daniel. I absolutely cannot wait for my pre-order to get here!
I hear you on pacing and structure. In Oathbringer there were a few things that I thought should have been a much bigger deal when they were *finally* revealed, but even if the structure isn't as great as I would like, the meat of the story is so good that it makes up for all of that. Sanderson is providing the material for what will be the best TV show ever.
Thanks for overview. Plot is extremely complex, yet entertaining, enjoyable. Like the characters, the story telling style, but I got lost due to too much happenings; twists and turns along the flow of the story.
Oh lord, I busted out laughing at the Storm Pants!
I just finished Dawnshard and am excited to get Rhythm of War in 10 days! I loved Oathbringer after reading it, especially the ending. After rereading the first 3 books again leading up to RoW, I realized how much the middle of OB lags and isn't my favorite anymore. I would say WoR is my favorite now. But I still overall enjoyed OB. I think even if the pacing is off, I will still enjoy the world building and am interested to learn more about the Singer side and Odium.
I really liked this book, I respect your views, but personally, that score is way too low.
Agreed
Finishing book 2 now mate!!!! Looking soo so forward to it
I've never read any sanderson book
I don't wanna read mistborn
Can I start with the stormlight archive first?
Of course you can!
I would only recommed reading Warbreaker before you get to book 3 in the Stormlight Archive..
It is not necessary but you will appreciate some characters more
@@lilwinchester1417 thanks a lot
Very interesting to see the opinions I share with Daniel and the places at which our opinions diverge. I hated how much time was spent on Kaladin's stuff. I hated how much time was spent on it in the first book too. The Sanderlanche is frustrating for me, if satisfying. The payoffs are there, it's just the progress feels unbalanced and that he enjoys the characters more than the world and story itself. Also the events in this book with Adolin were some of my favorite moments. Shallan's stuff is... confusing. It feels like someone sitting at a DnD table trying to RP multiple characters. I guess I can appreciate what Branderson was trying to represent, but at the same time I didn't come here for a slog about mental health with 10 minutes of action, so to each their own. Still one of my favorite series and I'll definitely be right there for each book launch, but Sanderson has quickly become one of my biggest inspirations for what I would do differently in my books.
Reading this book I totally get where you're coming from but I honestly didn't feel that way about most of the things you said :D. Maybe the pacing though I might notice it more on reread. I liked Adolin's arc in this, I liked how he was setting out to do one thing and ultimately things didn't go his way (I consider his a small victory that I imagine may have a larger implication for the world rather than the book). Shallan is not one of my favorite people though I recognize many love her and I do find her story interesting,I think I am ok with the page count she got and I appreciate her now much more with the way Brandon has handled her condition (I saw her thing coming though I regret I didn't inform the internet of my theories :D).And I have always loved the Listener/Singer viewpoints in the previous books so I adored them in this one even more. I found it confusing initially when you said we were asked to suddenly care about new characters I was confused cuz I already cared a lot about most of the Listener/Singer characters we were following here. Well in any case everything is subjective so I appreciate your view on the book greatly :) Also Navani *Chef's kiss*
Love me anyone who loves the wheel of time! Thanks for the review and just bought it for kindle. See y’all next week.
I've been reading the sample chapters and I couldn't agree more with your criticism. The Parshendi pieces are fun but I want to spend more time with the others.
Great review, really primed readers for what they may or may not like. As someone who’s loved Stormlight so far and has been burning through Malazan over a year or two, seems like I’m primed for your major warning of new characters coming in and others fading out a bit. Really looking forward to it!
I've never read a Sanderson book, should I jump in straight into The Stormlight Archive or should I read something else first?
Não faça isso, querido. Comece por Mistborn. Tem vários vídeos aqui no UA-cam falando qual a melhor forma de entrar no Cosmere
It's better to read the first trilogy of MistBorn first, maybe even Elantris. Without getting into spoilers: it seems that reading the rest of the cosmere is going to become a bit more necessary to appreciate things more from now on
If you just want to read SA, just read it. It’s its own series and you’ll get plenty enjoyment on its own. Plenty of fans just read SA.
But if you want to get into Cosmere, I’d say Mistborn or at least Warbreaker before SA.
Thanks
Mistborn is a lot better.
I agree completely about your structural complaints, but it's kinda funny because Navani, Taravangian, and Szeth all hit my bottom favorites and frustrated me to no end, while Adolin's arc was by FAR my favorite and I adored the surprising yet inspired direction Brandon took his character. Interesting.
I've already read Rhythm of War so I'll keep my reply spoiler free here!
I disagree with you on the Sanderlanche thing. But I am in that "ooh I've just read it and everything is shiny phase", so bear with. The Sanderlanche just wasn't as we expect them to be, usually. It was at the START instead of the main focus at the end, but I like how he included a mini Sanderlanche and the shorter chapters to make the pace and intensity of the book seem a lot quicker by flitting between action in each perspective. So it was like... a beginning Sanderlanche with off-sets of other small ones later, which I liked quite a bit. :)
What I absolutely ADORED was the emphasis on mental health in this book, it was always THERE in the others but it was presently discussed in RoW and addressed which is a nuance that I really appreciated (spoiler freeeeee is haaaaard). I'm one of those people who adored Kaladin's story because it didn't let him remain the same, it pushed him to new moments for his characterisation.
I loved this book but I can absolutely see why you had a few problems with its structure. I definitely noticed those things but they didn't drag my rating or enjoyment down; these new additions and pacing actually piqued my interest and made me excited for the changes that I'm SURE Brandon is developing and will introduce in his installments to come. :D
"So if you don't wanna know who lived, gEt OuT!!!" Bahahaha!