Just finished read Book 5. Took a while since I started about a year ago by rereading the previous 4 books for the sake of continuity. And wow, lots of ups and downs. It felt epic in a way that few series ever live up to. I can't wait for the second arc. Here are my thoughts.
The good:
1. Like in many of his Cosmere books, Sanderson did his magic trick in the end where the good guys somehow pull off a victory, not because of dumb luck, but by something that was entirely predictable if you'd been paying attention. I think of it like a magic trip because its fun to be tricked and discover something obvious youd missed. But it also feel satisfying when you can see the trick coming from a mile away, but get to watch along with the main characters who have no idea what's going to happen.
For example, when Maya went off for help to get help for Adolin, I also incorrectly thought she would get more spren, like thr honorspren, to bind. In hindsight it made a lot of sense that she would find other forgotten spren. I shared Adolin's excitement when he realized what she had actually done.
On the other hand, I could see Dalinar's betrayal of oaths coming from a mile away, with a parallel to solution at the end of the classic 80's movie, WarGames. But it was still fun to watch Dalinar go through the steps until he reached the same conclusion.
2. Adolin's story arc. Just fantastic epic hero action from beginning to end. Almost a little too perfect at times, but then Sanderson actually forces him to fight with one leg, so I guess it's fair. He still hasn't suffered any real consequences for murdering Sadeas though? I was hoping to see something about that situation wrapping up, but it never happened, and maybe it never will. Jasnah was at least forced to acknowledge her history of casual murder, so that was nice.
3. Development of Sigzil as a character. He needed some experience as a leader, and he got that.
The less good:
1. As others have noted, the insertion of more modern prose really ruined the immersion at times. Phrases like "kick his ***" or Lift's use of "sh*t" felt out of place to me. The word therapist wasn't as big of a deal, at least Wit introduced it. But I would have been fine if they'd stuck to something more in-theme like "mind healing" or similar.
2. I don't understand how Odium was allowed to use his power to just wipe out Kharbranth. This was a monumental use of power, and was done in a casual way. Up to that point, the Odium couldn't just murder people directly, so why could make a tsunami that would wipe out a city? He did it with the Intent of killing his enemies.
Oh and he could instantaneously save his family and friends from the destruction. That seems really convenient and powerful. And if he could do that at any time, why didn't he just pull his family into the Spiritual Realm when Cultivation's agents attacked?
And if he was allowed to just shift the planets tectonic plates to create a tsunami, why didn't he just make an earthquake to bring down Urithiru, or destroy Azimir's defenses? I felt like this was a loose thread that wasn't sufficiently explained.
3. Speaking of which, I had a really hard time following what the gods were allowed to do, couldn't do, or could do with consequences. I know Wit brought it up a lot, which I suspect was Sanderson'd method for explaining these rules to the reader. But the problem with that is we've gotten use to Wit being opaque and deliberately leaving out explanations with his language. Plus, we learn that he has other motives that don't necessarily align with the people of Roshar. So why should we trust anything he says to them?
And last point on this, how was Odium allowed to transport inside Urithiru and just vaporize Wit? Besides just ignoring the protections in Urithiru, wasn't Wit still protected from Odium by the contract? Just because Dalinar broke his part of thr agreement, the Wit part was kind of separate, right? Also, it seems very un-Taravangian to just kill someone who could be a very valuable tool, like Wit. Even if the Powers wanted to do it very badly you'd think he'd at least try to fight the urge?
