This is my reaction blog for Winds and Truth. Index post here. (No spoilers for Winds and Truth this post, but the rest of the cosmere is fair game.)

This post is for my expectations and predictions. Got to get these etched in metal before I’m tainted with anything like actual content.

First, I will note that unlike the other Stormlight books, I’ve only read Rhythm once so far. I ran out of time for a true reread, and when I tried to go through the audiobook I had to quit several chapters in. No shade on Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, but their delivery and embodiment of the characters was just far enough away from my own that it was an incredibly frustrating experience to try to listen to. Almost every other line I would compulsively repeat it to myself with different intonation or emphasis, in the way I wanted it to sound. And so my preparation for Winds and Truth primarily consisted of re-reading my own liveblog of Rhythm of War, which was actually a lot of fun to do and contained enough detail that I feel like I have a good grasp on most of the critical pieces.

So, a brief recap of what I liked and didn’t. On the positive side, my favorite part of Rhythm of War was Navani’s relationship with Raboniel, and her whole character arc about recognizing her own achievements. I do have some complaints about that (see below), but if Navani manages to fit any more fabrial science and sprengineering (I’m sure that’s the official term) into the final ten days, I will be eager to dive into it.  I am also all the way here for Shallan’s plural experience. Her interactions with Veil, Radiant, and Formless were one of the things I was most excited about throughout Rhythm. Along with that, Adolin and Maya’s relationship is top tier and the culmination of that in Lasting Integrity has to be one of the best stand-up-and-cheer moments for me out of the whole book. 

And, of course, I was completely blown away by Taravangian’s ascension. It blindsided me in the best way, and I have only good expectations for how that will shake up and subvert the status quo. There are many different directions things could be headed, but Vargo supplanting Rayse as Odium’s vessel makes the conflict more interesting in every way.

Less enthusiastically, I also liked plenty of other elements such as Venli’s journey and the Kaladin / Leshwi totally-not-a-ship. 

On the negative side of things, I was disappointed by a few things, especially two of the major outcomes at the climax of the book. My complaints here are less severe than when I disliked Amaram’s possession in Oathbringer (which absolutely needed more groundwork to make it meaningful, and even then would still would have made him a more boring antagonist), but I still feel that Brandon undercut his own themes and made the wrong storytelling decisions in two places.

First, Navani and the Sibling. Navani’s best feature as a character was that she didn’t have a nahel bond and still managed to be such a larger than life figure by relying on her personal strengths. Her scientific mind, her engineering acumen, and her leadership ability defined her, and her whole journey through Rhythm culminated in her recognition of those skills and valuing herself for herself. To then immediately have that success result in bonding a spren and becoming another radiant works counter to that entire narrative. Not to mention that having another Bondsmith among the Kholin family exacerbates the “Skywalker Problem” of making this one family matter more than the rest of the planet, and the Sibling’s own preference for a singer rather than a human. If I were to get my preference, I’d have the Sibling’s bond not even follow the nahel model but rather form something new like Adolin and Maya’s connection, and do so with Rlain or someone else that’s not Navani.

Second, it feels very cheap that Kaladin’s fourth ideal about not being able to save everyone immediately results in him being able to save Lirin. It’s like saying the costs he paid to reach that point were unnecessary because actually he can do everything when he gets his next powerup. By putting Lirin in peril, that scene pulled the focus away from Teft, who had just had a dramatic death scene. I think Lirin’s place in that sequence confused the emotional beats and made me care a lot less about Kaladin’s success or the way Dalinar’s feat enabled it by granting him time to stabilize. I also think the first dramatic on-screen appearance of Shardplate should have been given on screen to Jasnah, rather than to Kaladin.

Outside of the climax, it’s frustrating how many unnecessary secrets about Renarin continue to be withheld while he is forced into the background. I know that Brandon is saving a lot of his stuff for the back five books, and I expect that knowing too much about Glys and Renarin will spoil reveals he has planned for Winds and Truth or later books, but it feels like manufactured mystery when the characters have had a year of time-skip to explore and talk about some of these things, and they all say “Ah, and Renarin, who was special…and I won’t think any more about that now.”

Anyway, those likes and dislikes will certainly play into my reactions as I get into the newest book, so this context feels important to provide.

A few other things I am very curious or excited about:
Nightblood! This being Szeth’s book, we know that Nightblood will feature prominently. We already saw a brief interaction with Ishar’s honorblade, and the climax with Taravangian. More shenanigans expected from sword-nimi!
Secret societies! We learned a little bit about some of them, but there are still a whole lot of unknowns. Will we finally figure out what’s up with the Sons of Honor? Will we get a better explanation for why the Rosharan and Scadrian chapters of the Ghostbloods have such different styles?
Unmade! Who is the unmade in Shinovar? Best candidates are Chemoarish (aka the Dustmother) and Dai-gonarthis (aka the Black Fisher) largely because we know the least about them, but it could be several others. What will they do with Ba-Ado-Mishram? Will Restares convince them to release her? What is the status of Sja-Anat’s defection from Odium, now that the Vessel has changed? Here’s hoping we get more answers here.
Art and Translations! I always love the art in Stormlight books, and like to decipher the new scripts or glyphs that appear. I’m not really expecting a new writing system in this book, but would be excited if there was one.