An overabundance of locations [Discuss]

[+Oltux72 he/him]

This may just be me but this book just seems to explode with locations:

The sites of battles:

1. Azimir
2. Thaylenah
3. Narak
4. Herdaz

The expeditions already sent out:

1. Shinovar
2. Lasting Integrity

Searching important entities

1. the search for honor
2. the search for Ba-Ado-Mishram

And whereever the strike against the Ghostbloods will leave Shallan. From the readings we also know that Iri will play a role. And unless Navani is supposed to be left out from now on, Urithiru will also be important, leaving out that the contest is supposed to happen there. Sigzil also needs to find a Dawnshard in this book. Is El supposed to show up during one of the battles or do we also need to see Kholinar?

At a minimum that amounts to 10 important locations. It could be 15. Yet even that means that we would hear nothing from Venli and Leshwi. It would mean that we do not learn what is going on with the Horneaters. We would not learn why the Sleepless put a spy into Jasnah's tent.
If Brandon really goes wild we will have stuff with Thaidakar or Frost's sister. Something does not quite add up here. Yes, it is supposed to be a thick book. But I don't understand how this is supposed to fit into one book, no matter how thick it be.

[coolsnow7]

Two things:

1) it’s not implausible that we don’t spend much time in certain locations. Adolin in Azimir might be, cumulatively, a chapter. Out of approximately 120. Same with the battle for Thaylenah. Narak, I believe the back cover already told us (indirectly) that Venli is going to show up and help with the Listeners. And we might not even hear of Herdaz.

2) Maybe I’m the only one but I felt RoW went incredibly slowwwww. I devoured the book in about 40 hours, pausing to eat and sleep, but even with that enthusiasm I started skipping Navani chapters. Brandon got way too into his own head with this “writing about the process of scientific discovery” business. We had to go through the motions of Kaladin staging a resistance when we knew it was never going to work - what, we’re 600 pages into a 1200 page book and Kaladin is going to figure out a way to recover the Tower? And Venli’s development went basically nowhere plot-wise (and don’t get me started on her flashbacks.)

My point isn’t to bash the book - it has more than enough redeeming qualities at the beginning and the end for me to be happy. My point is that Brandon could easily have doubled the amount of plot movement that took place in RoW without making the book any longer. 

So I regard the fact that this book is going to have a lot of important things happening as a very positive sign.