I don't get some of the hate

[Wind and Truth apolgist]

Look, we all have seen it. Everyone from youtube to goodreads to twitter to even here has been saying Wind and Truth is bad, or at least not as good as the previous four books in the series. And most of their arguments are easily dismissed, but you can see where they're coming from.

"Bad pacing"? This book is a literal countdown to destruction where some people are having a nice walk in the countryside with occasional fights, some people are fighting an all-out war against a suicidally aggressive enemy, and some people are having a completely hallucinatory experience. 

"Shallan sucks"? She's a cruel, narcissistic, melodramatic, vindictive bully whose definition of accountability for herself is "forgiving and accepting myself". She's liked only by Hoid, who she hugged once, and by Adolin, who managed to offend every single woman in the warcamps despite being the heir to Kholinar which you might think would make girls pretty tolerant of him, and who has such a hard time saying "no" to women that when he had to tell a girl she couldn't fight on the front lines, he all but adopted her. 

"Modern prose"? This book is a translation into English. Complain about the puns if you will, and nobody did that before, but if you think the slang and words they're using are too "modern", look at the Pompei graffiti and tell me if you think that, translated to english and rephrased in modern syntax, they wouldn't sound insanely modern. 

"I don't like the ending"? This is the Empire Strikes Back, of course it doesn't have a happy ending with roses and flowers. And anyone who thinks Dalinar's death was in any way anticlimactic or lame or not true to his character really needs to rethink life. 

 

But I keep seeing "this is woke" or "the lgbt scenes were shoehorned in" and...I don't get it?? Like sure, the pacing isn't like a standard novel. Shallan is annoying, as she was written to be. Some of the prose is jarring, like when Maya called Adolin a slut, even if the Alethi would naturally have words for that. And the ending isn't nearly as warm and fuzzy as some people wanted. But the point of the scene with Adolin and the transgender-paperwork-filing soldier was Adolin dealing with an unusual person, not some kind of social message. And sure Renarin and Rlain's romance was a little drawn-out and I wanted to get back to the more dangerous and actiony chapters, but what else were they doing in the Spiritual Realm? Of course they'd have a heart-to-heart, that's what the place is for. And I've seen a dozen posts or more, especially on Reddit and twitter, about how the whole "trans radiant" thing is so woke and I just don't get it???? It's literally the opposite, my one gripe with Brandon is how right-wing he is about trans people. Like radiants have mental illnesses, that's how the magic gets into their souls. And Brandon said that the healing that does gender affirmation on trans people would also work on people who are mentally ill and people who are even hypnotized into thinking of themselves in a different way. Like to Brandon, trans people aren't any different from people who are mentally ill. Or even people who are hypnotized. I get that of course if a woman who is hypnotized into thinking she's a man is going to have her body turn male from being a radiant, of course I as a trans man would also have my body change, but it's still gross to think of us being treated the same. And I love the fantasy of becoming radiant and finding that I'm finally physically who I am spiritually, but I don't like how that's no different from someone who got hypnotized. So how is this "woke"??? How????? I don't get it?????????? Do people really see any trans character, no matter how they're treated, and freak out????????????????

[1000CremlingsInATrenchcoat He/Him]

I don't think Shallan sucked in this one at all, but pointing out the lead female role "sucks" is an annoyingly common reprisal that I suggest learning to tune out. More times than not, on the internet, that's not a critique coming from an empathetic or honest position. Female leads are a lightning rod for dingdongs to launch their opinions at. I doesn't matter how you write them.

I thought Maya calling Adolin names and such made a lot of sense. Edgedancers historically had the largest vocabularies, so she'd have words for everything under the sun. I found Syl saying "for real" instead of "sincerely" or "in earnest" to be the most jarring linguistic choice. That and some of the therapy language was a little too textbooky. Sarqqin's introduction was definitely more to show what a "mensch" Adolin was and how easily he got to know those around him with little judgement. Sarqqin was definitely being seeded as an Era 2 character in Adolin's Power Ranger squad too, so I am super stoked for that.

I would say, in general, just dismiss out of hand anyone who uses "woke" derogatorily. There is a much too popular subset of media who feed on this anger and who are not arguing from a sincere place because as soon as they see anything that isn't just a bunch of straight cis dudes, they just go off the handle. They're programmed by social media, and that same machine wants to feed on you too, which is why it's pushing all this ignorant nonsense your direction. You gotta reject the algorithm and get away from those bullies and bigots.

[Wind and Truth apolgist]

19 minutes ago, 1000CremlingsInATrenchcoat said:

 

I don't think Shallan sucked in this one at all

 

Exactly!! She’s such a good character!! Sure she’s a bad person, but so many of the best characters are. I love Cersei as a character too even if she’s literally evil

19 minutes ago, 1000CremlingsInATrenchcoat said:

some of the therapy language was a little too textbooky.

I didn’t think so, I thought kaladin was just being clinical. 

20 minutes ago, 1000CremlingsInATrenchcoat said:

Sarqqin was definitely being seeded as an Era 2 character in Adolin's Power Ranger squad too, so I am super stoked for that.

We SOOO need more trans rep in the main cast. I was so sad when I read that Lift wasn’t trans, and we really need more trans stories in fiction. I just hope Brandon makes it clear that trans people aren’t ever mentally ill and we’re different. I hope he makes a way to see male and female and nonbinary spiritwebs so trans characters can be different from hypnotized people and having a main trans character would be such a good way to do that.

22 minutes ago, 1000CremlingsInATrenchcoat said:

They're programmed by social media, and that same machine wants to feed on you too, which is why it's pushing all this ignorant nonsense your direction.

maybe your right, after Elon bought twitter I started seeing so much right wing evil stuff….i had to delete my account 

[Nitpicking]

4 hours ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

We SOOO need more trans rep in the main cast. I was so sad when I read that Lift wasn’t trans, and we really need more trans stories in fiction. I just hope Brandon makes it clear that trans people aren’t ever mentally ill ...

I'm pretty sure there are some transfolk who are mentally ill. That is, after all, true of every group of human beings.

Part of what you're seeing, I think, is just that it's easier and more fun to criticize than to praise. I have criticisms of WaT, but I don't hate it. I'm just disappointed that it isn't as good as WoR or Oathbringer. Shallan was fine in this. I thought the Renarin/Rlain storyline was ... flabby. It would have benefited from another edit, it's just padded-feeling and repetitive. I've said elsewhere my two problems with the Kaladin through-line: it's the same plot arc as he's already done four times, and therapy was represented very poorly. Szeth ends up doing nothing of importance. If Kaladin had gone to Shinovar alone, he would have solved the problems by  himself much more easily than the pair of them did in this book.

Does any of that make the book bad? No. Would one more complete rewrite, ideally involving Tor editorial, have made it much better? Yes. Did Brandon feel he could spare another year of his life for this book? Obviously not.

[Ahriman he/him]

I've made most of the complaints you're talking about, but funnily enough I usually like Shallan quite a bit. I also think she's too much of a mess to be let out of the house, but that's part of the charm. I also think the Dalinar/Retribution parts of the ending are intriguing, but other aspects of the ending (like Ba Ado Mishram's release coming so late and doing so little) really did frustrate me. These books always have pacing issues, due in part to their size, though I don't think that should be dismissed as a legitimate problem. The language was especially jarring in this book; there is a certain literary style people tend to expect from the genre, and although we know Sanderson won't give us that it seems he's going further and further from that to something that's very hard to take seriously. It's not just language, but also his choice of emphasis and punctuation.

As for LGBT stuff, there will always be people who complain about that, especially if it appears after the beginning of a series. That being said, I think I remember a comment about Azir having gender paperwork before, and that character's deal was summed up in a single sentence that felt more like a comment on Azir's bureaucracy than anything else, so anyone harping on about that is being far more dramatic than they need to be.

[eriwancoselyn]

before we get started, I just wanted to say that I love your name. Steps into boxing ring.

7 hours ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

"Bad pacing"? This book is a literal countdown to destruction where some people are having a nice walk in the countryside with occasional fights, some people are fighting an all-out war against a suicidally aggressive enemy, and some people are having a completely hallucinatory experience. 

idk why you've mentioned all of this like it's got anything to do with pacing. 

7 hours ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

"Shallan sucks"? She's a cruel, narcissistic, melodramatic, vindictive bully whose definition of accountability for herself is "forgiving and accepting myself". She's liked only by Hoid, who she hugged once, and by Adolin, who managed to offend every single woman in the warcamps despite being the heir to Kholinar which you might think would make girls pretty tolerant of him, and who has such a hard time saying "no" to women that when he had to tell a girl she couldn't fight on the front lines, he all but adopted her. 

none of this makes her a good or bad character. if you respond, could you please lay out what you think a good character should be?

7 hours ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

"Modern prose"? This book is a translation into English. Complain about the puns if you will, and nobody did that before, but if you think the slang and words they're using are too "modern", look at the Pompei graffiti and tell me if you think that, translated to english and rephrased in modern syntax, they wouldn't sound insanely modern. 

if I had to sum it up in short, the issue there is glibness. there have always been glib or on the nose things in bs books but it's getting worse. there's also been a shift in the formality with which people speak. this isn't always true, some of the characters have stayed very consistent in voice but it's more a general trend that people point to. ofc the books are translated into English, but there's been a shift between the translation between book 1 and 5.

 

8 hours ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

"I don't like the ending"? This is the Empire Strikes Back, of course it doesn't have a happy ending with roses and flowers. And anyone who thinks Dalinar's death was in any way anticlimactic or lame or not true to his character really needs to rethink life. 

I like empire's ending and don't like this ending. mainly due to the story leading up to the respective endings. dalinar's sacrifice is fine, it's an echo of hero of ages but I don't really mind. it's more the story leading up to it that I have an issue with.

[scottos]

I thought the book was great. There have been quite a few really good things that have come out in the past decade that people have missed out on because of woke labeling. It's ironic that folks would struggle with Stormlight though; a major theme in these books is people finding strength in the things that make them different. I applaud Brandon for taking on issues that challenge his readers.

[Wind and Truth apolgist]

5 hours ago, eriwancoselyn said:

none of this makes her a good or bad character. if you respond, could you please lay out what you think a good character should be?

I was saying she’s a good character??? She’s complex and even if she’s written to be annoying and unlikable that’s not anything bad, that’s who she is. She’s like Cersei, a bad person who is a really good character.

[eriwancoselyn]

47 minutes ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

I was saying she’s a good character??? She’s complex and even if she’s written to be annoying and unlikable that’s not anything bad, that’s who she is. She’s like Cersei, a bad person who is a really good character.

but you realize that a simple character can also be a good character, right? and characters don't just get better the more complex they are. can I ask, is it impossible for a good character to just be written as normally likable?

this is what I mean, I want to know what qualities all good characters should have.

also, just clarifying, I like shallan too. I'd say she's taken a nosedive in the later books but that's not my biggest issue with the book. I was more just pointing out that nothing in your post made shallan a good character.

[Wind and Truth apolgist]

6 hours ago, eriwancoselyn said:

can I ask, is it impossible for a good character to just be written as normally likable?

What??? No???? Most of the characters are likable?????? Why do you think I said that??????

[Fractalfire]

9 minutes ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

What??? No???? Most of the characters are likable?????? Why do you think I said that??????

Why exactly did you feel you needed 19 question marks to ask that?

 

[eriwancoselyn]

22 minutes ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

What??? No???? Most of the characters are likable?????? Why do you think I said that??????

I'm sorry, maybe I misread your comment. when I asked what made a good character, I expected the things you said in your response to be reasons why she was good. what do you think about the rest of my comment?

[Wind and Truth apolgist]

2 hours ago, Fractalfire said:

Why exactly did you feel you needed 19 question marks to ask that?

 

Can't a guy want to type more than one question mark???? <-- like right there

1 hour ago, eriwancoselyn said:

when I asked what made a good character, I expected the things you said in your response to be reasons why she was good. what do you think about the rest of my comment?

I really have no idea what you even want from me here? I just said that shallan as a person isn't good but as a character she is? Like people are confusing being a good person with being a good character? Like they read her and hate her and think that's a bad thing? What even do you want me to say?

[eriwancoselyn]

5 minutes ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

Can't a guy want to type more than one question mark???? <-- like right there

I really have no idea what you even want from me here? I just said that shallan as a person isn't good but as a character she is? Like people are confusing being a good person with being a good character? Like they read her and hate her and think that's a bad thing? What even do you want me to say?

not to be rude, but it's not that complex of a question, I'll repeat my initial thing. what do you think makes a good character? because I think the reasons you gave for shallan being a good character aren't compelling.

[Ookla she/her]

On 1/9/2025 at 11:12 PM, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

Look, we all have seen it. Everyone from youtube to goodreads to twitter to even here has been saying Wind and Truth is bad, or at least not as good as the previous four books in the series. And most of their arguments are easily dismissed, but you can see where they're coming from.

"Bad pacing"? This book is a literal countdown to destruction where some people are having a nice walk in the countryside with occasional fights, some people are fighting an all-out war against a suicidally aggressive enemy, and some people are having a completely hallucinatory experience. 

"Shallan sucks"? She's a cruel, narcissistic, melodramatic, vindictive bully whose definition of accountability for herself is "forgiving and accepting myself". She's liked only by Hoid, who she hugged once, and by Adolin, who managed to offend every single woman in the warcamps despite being the heir to Kholinar which you might think would make girls pretty tolerant of him, and who has such a hard time saying "no" to women that when he had to tell a girl she couldn't fight on the front lines, he all but adopted her. 

"Modern prose"? This book is a translation into English. Complain about the puns if you will, and nobody did that before, but if you think the slang and words they're using are too "modern", look at the Pompei graffiti and tell me if you think that, translated to english and rephrased in modern syntax, they wouldn't sound insanely modern. 

"I don't like the ending"? This is the Empire Strikes Back, of course it doesn't have a happy ending with roses and flowers. And anyone who thinks Dalinar's death was in any way anticlimactic or lame or not true to his character really needs to rethink life. 

 

But I keep seeing "this is woke" or "the lgbt scenes were shoehorned in" and...I don't get it?? Like sure, the pacing isn't like a standard novel. Shallan is annoying, as she was written to be. Some of the prose is jarring, like when Maya called Adolin a slut, even if the Alethi would naturally have words for that. And the ending isn't nearly as warm and fuzzy as some people wanted. But the point of the scene with Adolin and the transgender-paperwork-filing soldier was Adolin dealing with an unusual person, not some kind of social message. And sure Renarin and Rlain's romance was a little drawn-out and I wanted to get back to the more dangerous and actiony chapters, but what else were they doing in the Spiritual Realm? Of course they'd have a heart-to-heart, that's what the place is for. And I've seen a dozen posts or more, especially on Reddit and twitter, about how the whole "trans radiant" thing is so woke and I just don't get it???? It's literally the opposite, my one gripe with Brandon is how right-wing he is about trans people. Like radiants have mental illnesses, that's how the magic gets into their souls. And Brandon said that the healing that does gender affirmation on trans people would also work on people who are mentally ill and people who are even hypnotized into thinking of themselves in a different way. Like to Brandon, trans people aren't any different from people who are mentally ill. Or even people who are hypnotized. I get that of course if a woman who is hypnotized into thinking she's a man is going to have her body turn male from being a radiant, of course I as a trans man would also have my body change, but it's still gross to think of us being treated the same. And I love the fantasy of becoming radiant and finding that I'm finally physically who I am spiritually, but I don't like how that's no different from someone who got hypnotized. So how is this "woke"??? How????? I don't get it?????????? Do people really see any trans character, no matter how they're treated, and freak out????????????????

I think the issue we're running into here is that it's impossible to please everyone--Brandon's fanbase is so large at this point that there's going to be some subset of people somewhere who will take issue with some part of the way he's written the book. Personally, I loved Wind and Truth--and once she grew a bit after the Way of Kings, Shallan has been one of my top three favorite characters ever since. You find Brandon a little right-wing for your taste; I find him a little left-wing for mine. That's not a bad thing; that's just how people are--we've all got different preferences and interests, and as a result, no matter what Brandon does, someone is going to leave disappointed. It goes right back to the fable by Aesop about the old man, his son, and the donkey--no matter how you take the donkey to market (whether the old man is on its back, the son is on its back, both are on its back, or they carry the donkey), someone will think it's a bad way to do it.

Personally, I think it's better to focus on the parts one does like rather than harping on to no end about the parts one doesn't. The Renarin/Rlain relationship wasn't my favorite for various reasons, but I've made my peace with it and moved on. I love the books for other reasons, but if you love the books because you feel represented by the characters in them, great! That means the writing is doing its job. And if we both have different quibbles about the books, that's okay too. It's a book, not the end of the world.

Plus, as I mentioned in another post recently, sure, maybe Wind and Truth isn't quite as polished as it could have been if it had more time. I, for one, appreciate that Brandon wanted to follow through on the deadline he set himself and get the story to us when he said he would. Plus, I've heard he's just changed editorial teams--that's going to make a difference. And if this book ends up being a learning experience for him, great! That means we'll get even higher quality writing from him later on. Whatever the case, it was good enough for me!

[therunner he/him]

19 hours ago, Nitpicking said:

 Szeth ends up doing nothing of importance. If Kaladin had gone to Shinovar alone, he would have solved the problems by  himself much more easily than the pair of them did in this book.

In spirit of your nickname, that is not true.

If Kaladin went to Shinovar alone, he would have died at the Elsecaller trial, because he simply couldn't get himself back. He'd also likely fail at the Stoneward temple, because Adhesion nor Reverse Lashing would let him break the stone like Division did for Szeth.

If he beelined to Bondsmith temple, Ishar would kill him, Nale already showed that Kaladin simply cannot match Heralds once they get serious.

So no, Kaladin couldn't solve the Shinovar problem himself, and Szeth was in fact crucial (as was Nightblood).

[Nitpicking]

6 hours ago, therunner said:

In spirit of your nickname, that is not true.

If Kaladin went to Shinovar alone, he would have died at the Elsecaller trial, because he simply couldn't get himself back. He'd also likely fail at the Stoneward temple, because Adhesion nor Reverse Lashing would let him break the stone like Division did for Szeth.

If he beelined to Bondsmith temple, Ishar would kill him, Nale already showed that Kaladin simply cannot match Heralds once they get serious.

So no, Kaladin couldn't solve the Shinovar problem himself, and Szeth was in fact crucial (as was Nightblood).

If Kaladin went alone, the story would have been written differently. He wouldn't have been nearly as bumbling as he was here, for one thing. Yes, if you have the same video game series of minibosses and they were exactly the same as these ones and Kaladin was restricted to exactly what he was able to do here, you are totally correct.

[therunner he/him]

16 minutes ago, Nitpicking said:

If Kaladin went alone, the story would have been written differently. He wouldn't have been nearly as bumbling as he was here, for one thing. Yes, if you have the same video game series of minibosses and they were exactly the same as these ones and Kaladin was restricted to exactly what he was able to do here, you are totally correct.

Well, that point can be done about anything.

If it was written differently, it would be different, is a bit vacuous statement.

[Nitpicking]

12 minutes ago, therunner said:

If it was written differently, it would be different, is a bit vacuous statement.

Fair. I realized as I was writing the previous message that I skimmed the entire miniboss thing because read as obvious filler to me.

[therunner he/him]

11 minutes ago, Nitpicking said:

Fair. I realized as I was writing the previous message that I skimmed the entire miniboss thing because read as obvious filler to me.

Fair.

It was kinda minibossy, but I liked it for showing of Surgebinding in hands of actual masters, plus it gave space to Szeth to confront his past with them, and contrasted Nightblood and 12124.

[Wind and Truth apolgist]

23 hours ago, eriwancoselyn said:

what do you think makes a good character? because I think the reasons you gave for shallan being a good character aren't compelling.

Someone who's complex and has realistic motivations and desires? I didn't give any reasons why she was a good character I just gave reasons that people think she's a bad character and said that they don't make her a bad character. I also don't think she's a mary sue or unrealistic or anything like that.

[eriwancoselyn]

10 minutes ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

Someone who's complex and has realistic motivations and desires? 

ok great. so, to repeat myself, complexity isn't indicative of quality in characters. idk about the other one... I'd say light's motivations and desires in death note aren't exactly realistic but I find him to be a fun character/

11 minutes ago, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

I didn't give any reasons why she was a good character I just gave reasons that people think she's a bad character and said that they don't make her a bad character. I also don't think she's a mary sue or unrealistic or anything like that.

you didn't?

On 1/10/2025 at 5:12 PM, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

"Shallan sucks"? She's a cruel, narcissistic, melodramatic, vindictive bully whose definition of accountability for herself is "forgiving and accepting myself". She's liked only by Hoid, who she hugged once, and by Adolin, who managed to offend every single woman in the warcamps despite being the heir to Kholinar which you might think would make girls pretty tolerant of him, and who has such a hard time saying "no" to women that when he had to tell a girl she couldn't fight on the front lines, he all but adopted her. 

idk what I'm supposed to read from this then. but, if you didn't then that's ok.

let's get onto the other points, since you don't seem to be taking a hard stance on shallan. what do you think of the pacing?

[Basia]

On 1/10/2025 at 7:12 AM, Wind and Truth apolgist said:

"Shallan sucks"? She's a cruel, narcissistic, melodramatic, vindictive bully whose definition of accountability for herself is "forgiving and accepting myself". She's liked only by Hoid, who she hugged once, and by Adolin, who managed to offend every single woman in the warcamps despite being the heir to Kholinar which you might think would make girls pretty tolerant of him, and who has such a hard time saying "no" to women that when he had to tell a girl she couldn't fight on the front lines, he all but adopted her. 

I can’t believe people say Shallan sucks, she doesn’t suck at all, she’s amazing! I think she’s such a wonderfully bonkers character, she accepts her faults and forgives herself and she’s a true artist. I find her super relatable, and I love how she self analyses and is so aware of her mental health problems and works to over come them. It makes her not perfect, but super mature.

And she’s funny. Not as funny as Pattern or Design but still funny…

[Starthief]

I will ignore 100% of complaints about fiction being "too woke."

Rlain/Renarin really do not strike me as token gay characters at all.  Rlain has to deal with racism, but also, he's a spy who turned on his own people because they never really seemed to support him and Kaladin did.  Renarin has his disability, neurodivergence, comparisons to his brother, etc. to deal with.  And they both have an Unmade in their heads, more or less.  And their relationship crosses a racial boundary that is taboo to almost all of society. 

Compared to the issues of racism, classism, and sexism there's very little said in the series about the struggles of LGBTQ+ people in Rosharan societies.  One could conclude either that (A) Rosharan cultures are much more accepting than our real-world culture, or (B) Sanderson did not want to or feel qualified to write about it.  Possibly both.  If anything, given how many characters have been in the series so far, LGBTQ+ representation is quite low (compared to self-reported numbers on survey results in the real world).  But I'm not here to complain about that; I'm honestly more pleased that Sanderson has come around to more inclusive and compassionate politics.


Shallan?   Is great.  Yes, she's a mess, but *all* of the major characters are a mess, it's absolutely one of the major themes of the series!

My only complaint about Shallan has more to do with how very indirect the Ghostblood plot has seemed to the struggle against Odium. The Ghostbloods' motives and methods on Roshar have seemed very weird and it makes me wonder about Kelsier's sanity.  But I guess we'll see more about that in the next Mistborn books.  I also expect Shallan is going to end up as a Worldhopper, and may end up involved in other Shards' efforts against Retribution in the future?  It's exciting to contemplate.


I loved the format of this story, with the 10-day countdown helping to provide tension -- like it did in The Ring or Space Battleship Yamato.

My main disappointment with Wind and Truth, if it's even really disappointment, was that the raw emotional impact of the "big hero moments," major setbacks and huge revelations seemed a lot less.  Especially in the first three books there were times when I had to just put the book down and cry (usually with joy) for a couple of minutes or take a walk or something, even on a second and third reading.  In this one I felt like there were some incredibly big moments for several characters (and Roshar and the Cosmere as a whole!) but they didn't hit me right in the feels quite so much.  It could just be that I was trying to devour the book too quickly though!
 

[Hexagonal He/Him]

21 minutes ago, Starthief said:

My main disappointment with Wind and Truth, if it's even really disappointment, was that the raw emotional impact of the "big hero moments," major setbacks and huge revelations seemed a lot less.  Especially in the first three books there were times when I had to just put the book down and cry (usually with joy) for a couple of minutes or take a walk or something, even on a second and third reading.  In this one I felt like there were some incredibly big moments for several characters (and Roshar and the Cosmere as a whole!) but they didn't hit me right in the feels quite so much.  It could just be that I was trying to devour the book too quickly though!
 

That is something I also have felt. I read the chapter where both Kaladin and Szeth swear their 5th ideals, and it just didn't have the same relative weight. I think part of it is that there is so much weighty stuff going on throughout the book, especially the last third, that big moments are popping up a lot. Not to say that WaT was too full and crammed together, but more that things that in the past would have been the focal build up of a few scenes(both dalinar's and kaladin's 3rd ideal, kaladin's 4th ideal) just are part of the bigger weight of the story as a whole. I completely get the (small) disappointment with the book not having as (relatively) powerful scenes. The first(and so far only) book to make me cry was RoW with Kaladin's 4th ideal scene. I think we as a fan base may have hyped up the book(and maybe the series) to an unobtainable level of quality. These are good books, but they are made by people, and sometimes people fail(which is one of the points of the book).