This is my favorite Cosmere stand alone so far; and I hate it.

[Frustration]

Alright, before we begin, quick disclaimer, I really enjoyed this story, I thought the world was excellent, and it is my favorite Cosmere novel outside of Stormlight and Mistborn. And it's the kind of book I've been needing for years now.

 

That said, I hate it.

 

The problem comes from our dear main character: Nomad/Sigzils/Zellions/this man has too many names.

Every single problem can be traced back to him.

1. His power levels and abilities are wildly inconsistent. In one scene he can form Shardblades, heal really quickly, get shot in the face and keep going, etc. And then in the next he can't do anything. And there's really no consistency in it. How am I supposed to feel any sort of stakes when I know Sig can always just get a powerup when he needs it?

The time that really made it stand out to me was when he's going over the mountains and can't get the water carrier off.

So what does Brando "limitations are more important than powers" Sando have him do? Does he grab one of the bombs that they used easier, perhaps hinted at that they might use them to dig up the Sanctuary? Does he try turning the ship and smashing the container against the mountain?

Nope, he can just make sharp things with Aux again. Because.

 

 

2. I feel nothing from him.

Nomad is apparently on the run from people who will kill him. There should be a sense of urgency, a massive panic throughout the entire book. I felt nothing.

People are dropping like flies left right and center. Aux gets burned away to fuel his abilities. There should be something there, anything. I felt more sorrow over the fact that he wasn't taking Elegy with him than I did at Aux's death.

Usually I get done with a good book and feel that incredible high afterwards that leaves me rushing for days, but I felt, you guessed it, nothing.

 

This book could have easily used 4-5 more revisions, with one focused entirely on the magic and another on the emotional beats.

Edited October 25, 2023 by Frustration

[The Sibling]

3 hours ago, Frustration said:

This book could have easily used 4-5 more revisions, with one focused entirely on the magic and another on the emotional beats.

I think more recent Brandon books feel less well revised than other ones, maybe because he has more pressure to publish things now? Especially with the secret projects, there was not a ton of time to revise them, and he was trying to write Stormlight 5 at the same time.

I also didn't feel too much emotional connection with Sigzil. Throughout the story, his character seemed to change a lot. He didn't seem consistent, and the only real emotion that I got from him was exhaustion. When Aux died there was no grief. I was sad, because I liked Aux. But Sigzil didn't seem sad, and I didn't feel sad for him.

That being said, I really liked this book. Even though I didn't connect with Sigzil very much, there were moment (like the bridge four salute) that were awesome, and the book worked really well anyways. It wasn't as character focused, or at least, it only focused on one character who wasn't that good, but I still enjoyed it more than any other Brandon stand-alone. I hope that maybe seeing Sigzil in Stormlight and having a better explanation as to what happened with him might help to re-contextualise the book and make it a more enjoyable read, but I find it unlikely since Sigzil really isn't the focus of Stormlight.

[PrestoTheMagnificent]

I agree with most points that you give here, especially the powerup and not caring about Sigzil. I had an idea that might make Sigzil's character better for us, but it would make the pacing a lot slower, and perhaps reveal some things that Brandon doesn't want to reveal yet. The idea is simple: Do flashback chapters. That's one of the main calling cards of Stormlight, and it's one of the reasons we care about characters like Kaladin and Dalinar so much. It would probably take at least another revision for pacing, but I think it would be worth it for the characterization we'd get.

[Frustration]

Just now, PrestoTheMagnificent said:

I agree with most points that you give here, especially the powerup and not caring about Sigzil. I had an idea that might make Sigzil's character better for us, but it would make the pacing a lot slower, and perhaps reveal some things that Brandon doesn't want to reveal yet. The idea is simple: Do flashback chapters. That's one of the main calling cards of Stormlight, and it's one of the reasons we care about characters like Kaladin and Dalinar so much. It would probably take at least another revision for pacing, but I think it would be worth it for the characterization we'd get.

A number of times I wondered if we were going to get any, perhaps SA 5 will serve that role.

[PrestoTheMagnificent]

Just now, Frustration said:

A number of times I wondered if we were going to get any, perhaps SA 5 will serve that role.

Yeah, or something in the back half. This point may be moot in a few years, haha. Would have been cool to see them in the book though.