Lady Stormlight

He really is, isn't he? He's a nice guy, good brother and son but that's basically it. He's had zero character development after over 3,000 pages; he basically the same character he was at the start. That's not a bad thing but it doesn't make for a very interesting character to me. And there's going to be a Szeth POV book? Ugh. I'm so not interested in that.

I just finished reading OB a couple of hours ago and came here to see what others thought. I'm heartened to see that so many others were unsatisfied with things were handled. Maybe not so much the way they worked out as much as the way it was presented and rationalized. First, two items of self-disclosure: 1. Shallan has never been, and still isn't, a favorite of mine. 2. Kaladin (and all of B4,really) has my heart; he's my absolute favorite. Prior to this book I shipped Kalladin, mostly because Kal liked her and so I wanted her for him if that was what he wanted. Now I have to agree with whomever said it upthread that now I feel like Kal dodged a bulllet. I spent most of this book looking at Shallan and thinking, "Girl, you are crazy." There are some serious issues brewing with her and Kalidan certainly doesn't need to be saddled with that. The boy carries the weight of the world on his shoulders as it is. But the same holds true for Shallan. She's so messed up that she needs someone uncomplicated and easy or, as Veil described Adolin, "nice but bland." Veil also referred to Adolin as "expected" and "obvious". He's the safe choice, the one who won't ever really challenge Shallan on anything. It rather reminds me of what Navani told Dalinar about why she originally chose Gavilar, the more outgoing and personable brother. Because Dalinar's intensity scared her. I think Navani probably was a heck of a lot more mentally and emotionally stable than Shallan but the same motivations seem to be driving Shallan's decision. Because her assertion that Adolin knows her is just so patently ridiculous considering all the secrets Shallan still keeps from Adolin. He still has no clue about the traumas that shaped her. Their whole relationship feels like puppy love, superficial and immature and because of this AND Shallan's dissociative personality disorder thing she'sgot going on... she has no business marrying anyone yet. Unlike others, though, I'm not expecting BS to touch on the romances anymore. I think Shallan and Adolin will stay married and it will magically work out. BS is a great writer but that doesn't mean that he writes everything equally well. When it comes to world building and creating interesting characters he's at the top of the game. But I've never thought he writes romantic relationships very well. I suspect he knows it too and this is why he keeps defaulting to the same formula over and over again. Someone else pointed it out already: naive, young, virginal woman meets nobleman with a heart of gold - and even thought he's the first real relationship of her life, it's love! It's neat and simple so he goes with it. I've read the thoughts on BS maybe foreshadowing things but while I hope those theories are right,I'm not holding my breath. Going into this book I was really looking forward the fallout from Shallan discovering that Kaladin killed her brother, from an alive Jasnah returning to her family, and the consequences of Adolin killing Sadeas (was really thinking that Adolin would finally get a meaty storyline)...but all three plot threads fizzled out. Heck, Jasnah's reunion with her family- her mother!! - happened 100% off the page. Part of this is because as the story gets bigger in scope and POVs (I think this book had the most so far) but the page count stays relatively stable, some things will necessarily fall by the wayside. I think the romance was settled in this book, clumsy and unsatisfying as it is, and that's just where it's going to stay.

Adolin. I'm sorry but I just don't find anything about him even remotely interesting. He's a good person, good officer, good son, good brother so I don't dislike him. I just find him...meh. We're 2000+ pages into this epic and so far he only exists to flesh out the story arcs of first Dalinar in TWoK and now Shallan in WOR. Maybe this will change with his action at the end of WOR but, well, someone had to do it. I suspect he'll be needed to flesh out Renarin's story next. As an individual character he still feels two dimensional to me. Like Navani, really, but with her it's even more so. If we're talking about characters from the Interlude, I'd have to go with Lift. She mostly annoyed me. I kept wishing Wyndle could divorce her.