Read Completed 1/19/25 | 3.75 - 4 stars | Book #3 of 2025
I did it! I made it! I did an entire Stormlight reread before this and whew, it was a long journey. Let's see if I can gather some thoughts about WIND AND TRUTH.

Firstly, I always enjoy every Cosmere book. I don't think I've rated any Cosmere book under 4 stars (some non-related books of his, yes) so while I have some *thoughts* on WIND AND TRUTH. Also ** there will be spoilers** so you've been warned.

Yes, I did enjoy it but I also felt like it was really choppy. I don't know if it's a fact, but it felt like the amount of time we spend with each character before jumping to another one felt very fast and short. I just wanted to spend large amounts of time with some of them, even if it wasn't chronologically correct according to what was going on. Especially spending time in places like Shadesmar, or spending time learning about Rosharan history -- things I really wanted to give my time and attention to.

The book also spent a LOT of time with side that I didn't like as much and it felt like there wasn't a good enough reason to spend so much time with them. I never really connected with Venli as much as I wanted to and I think most of it was because she shows up later and we don't know enough about the Singers for me to immediately connect. I WANTED to know more but I always found it difficult. I don't think her POV added ENOUGH to this story line to be a secondary character POV over just an interlude. There was also a ton of time learning Szeth's history, which was important, but maybe it was a little TOO much time. He was important to the ending, but flipping back and forth to his history really kept bringing the momentum down.

I also felt like this was the book with the least amount of character growth. Some characters make HUGE shifts in their futures, but I think the really hit the peak of their growth in RHYTHM OF WAR and made the final choices here. I would have loved to see a little bit more character in personality, which is why I loved Adolin's perspective in this book. He brought a lightness and a genuine attitude when everyone else was saving the end of the world.

This is the end of the *arc*, not the end of the series, so there's still a lot more to come. I don't know exactly if everyone will be returning, but I also felt like considering the consequences, Sanderson could have put a lot more people in mortal peril. I would have liked to see some more high stakes consequences, because everyone kind of coming out okay didn't really hit me in the emotions like I was expecting. YES, there is some really serious shit that goes down, but I also expected/hoped for more.

I also felt like some of the ending did a disservice to the series. The rushed history of the Heralds, the fracturing of shards, etc -- why couldn't we have gotten more of this throughout the series instead of just the last quarter of this book? I could legit use a whole "novella" (I say "novella" because Sanderson's short books are still 300+ pages) about Adonalsium, Shards, Splinters, the humans coming to Roshar, etc. I would have liked to read this -- like Edgedancer and Dawnshard -- before this installment. ALSO speaking of Dawnshards, more happened there and I still don't understand it? I guess that's going to be a part of Arc #2, but why not go into it more here? There were still a lot of unanswered questions. I guess to get us to come back to Arc 2 after however many years it's going to take, but I'm a little disappointed some things didn't get wrapped up.

During my reread, I realized how much I kind of got lost in the Shadesmar parts and I equally got lost in the Spiritual Realm here. I think we spent too much time there. The Spiritual realm really kind of has no rules. People get sucked in to memories and visions all the time and nothing is real, but it is. I wanted more order, and I get if that's not the place for it, but I think it dragged on and on when we didn't need to have 125 different visions. Maybe cut it down.

Kaladin being a damn therapist -- and literally using that term -- was cringe-worthy. I don't mind him working through that and taking up that calling to help others, but it felt too forced and too 21st century Earth. I actually really appreciate the mental health reps in these books, but I feel like we were just hit over the head here multiple times. We can understand what's happening without being told about THERAPY. You could have just as easily said counselor and that would have 100% been okay.

I'm disappointed in the lack of closure with the Ghostbloods. Again, it seems like that's going to be a HUGE part of Arc 2 (and probably Mistborn Era 3), but also again, it would be nice to have a semi-closure there. I liked that Shallan got left in Shadesmar, though. I like the messing with time. I liked Dalinar's sacrifice, but wanted to spend more time with Wit working through what all of it MEANT. The really interesting stuff -- to me -- came all with the Sanderlanche in the last 10%, but why couldn't we have had MORE MORE MORE of it throughout the whole book!?! There were still some really good things but too much got saved for the end.

TL;DR: I think this just had too much ... I wouldn't fall it fluff or filler... but while things were constantly moving, it was like moving laterally for a long time. A LONG time. We could have had some other BIG world-building reveals throughout the book that really would have had me amazed, but it was all saved until the end, and by then, I felt a little deflated. I rated this 4 stars, but my gut tells me to knock some points off. We'll see how I feel after sitting with it and talking about it with others.

I'm extremely disappointed with this book. I'm an avid Brandon Sanderson fan and always recommend him. Not only is he normally a safe author for any demographic, he writes good stories that make a lasting impact. This book though, did not. The focus was away from the characters and towards an agenda. You can physically feel it while reading. Did the publisher push smut because romantasy sells even though Sanderson has amassed millions of followers without it? Did we need to need an interspecies gay relationship? It takes away so much from the story, and robs the readers. Please stop pushing for more inclusivity and smut.

Excerpts are tricky to review! This series has so much world building and thick plot, so it generally takes at least 500-700 pages before you get to anything exciting. This was about 300 out of 1300 pages and was pretty slow moving. There are a lot of characters to keep track of. Having the same narrators for the series is nice because you know what to expect. I think they do a great job. I started at 1.5x and was able to get up to 2.5x, but the best speed was 2x. Any faster and it's hard to keep track of all the nuances. After the last few books had such slow starts I was hoping for a more exciting book. I will most likely co finish the book with my eyes instead of audio.

Thank you Brandon Sanderson (author), Kate Reading (narrator), Michael Kramer (narrator), Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for this advanced listener copy of "Wind and Truth Extended Excerpt" (Book Five of the Stormlight Archive) for an honest review.

I laughed, and cried, and swooned, and died. Hyperbolic, yes, but I cannot help it when it comes to the masterpieces that Sanderson weaves out of magic into words. Every single character is so individually sounding in their point of view and so utterly different in how they make their choices and why. The continuing unfurl of so many characters' arcs—Bridge 4, Radiants, Shallan, Kaladin, Dalinar, Adolin, on and on and on—are so perfect y suited to their characters, both in the missteps they take and the triumphs they reach in surmounting those.

Five Stars Forever on this series.

One cannot forget to give a shoutout to Kate Reading & Michael Kramer whose amazing voices own every emotion, low and high, to exquisite perfection as well in these recordings. I live for them, as well.

I am a huge Sanderson fan and he is a creative genius. However this sample fell very short for me for some specific reasons.

At this point in the series I feel like I know these characters. Many decisions that were explained didn't feel like the character we have come to know and love would have acted that way, or even thought the explaination we were given.

Deviation from universe expectations. I read sanderson because I like the high stakes and plot twists, I don't need to hear about every main character (and some not main characters) sex lives and whether or not they enjoy it. Especially when this is not consistent or a logical progression from previous books. Also, up to this point sanderson makes world specific curse words which I find endearing and enriching the world building, rather than just copy and pasting American curse words, since America doesn't even exist in the cosmere. It felt like a betrayal of the world and the characters that began to use it in the 5th book, and hadn't when we had interacted with them in every other book, including not in the storm light archive.

Characters showing romantic interest that hadn't even been foreshadowed that felt forced due to political appeasement. Token diverse characters should be a thing of the past and they are beneath a talent like Sanderson. I support representation but don't phone it in. It felt cheap.

There were a few things that lived up to the Sanderson standard.
- the tensions were properly high
- it illustrated what was at stake well
- lots of background that had been hinted at was fulfilled
- cool reveals and confirmed suspicions of other cosmere known characters that had been hinted at previously

Overall, I hope the rest of the book is better than this snippet and I'm not sure how soon I'll try to read it.

As always Kate Reading and Michael Kramer did a stellar job with the narration of this audiobook. They really bring the story to life and make the experience more immersive. Thank you Macmillan Audio and Tor for this extended excerpt!

This was just an Excerpt, so I cannot give a full review of this book of course. I as always enjoy these two narrators. I don't think they are fancy or going to get any awards for this series but get the job done and get it done well.
This book is moving at an absolutely glacial pace. Based on this I am not going to rate this excerpt very highly. I love the series and have high hopes that it will turn around.

A very exciting start to the book. I found that I was engaged with the characters fully through these first two sections of the book. I also really loved the pacing and how quick the sections seemed to fly by as we see the starts of where these characters will end up.

This audiobook extended excerpt was the perfect amount to get me even more hyped for thr rest of Wind and Truth.
Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are outstanding narrators, and did amazing as per usual.

I will have a full review up on my goodreads when I finish this whole book

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Books for the extended excerpt of Wind and Truth!

The performances in this book are fantastic. The pacing superb. A satisfying conclusion to the first arc with lots of potential for where the story goes.

I have not read a single of his books before. So to start here was a bit confusing. But I enjoyed the book anyways. Yes I was confused, yes I was lost , but overall it was enough to captivate me and give me the drive to read the rest. I will be reading them all and after my earring could change. I also listened to the audiobook and I loved the narrators splitting parts of the book. I think it helped since it’s quite long. It is so detailed and there is so much lore than I know I have a lot to catch up on. But overall I very much enjoyed the book.

Really really great start to the 5th book of this series. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading always do an amazing job. Can't wait to read the rest.

Brandon Sanderson is a master of writing books in a way that draws readers in from page 1 and keeps them running back .... For every single release from book 1 until the end of time. I can't find the words to say how amazing this series was.

This was just a sample, so it is hard to give a complete review. I have purchased this book for our library and did enjoy the part I listened to. Brandon Sanderson is always a great hit with our students.

So good! Definitely can’t wait to listen to it all! Brandon Sanderson is always a yes! The way he pulls you into the story!

This audio was incredible! As always Sanderson delivered. Can’t wait to finish the rest of it. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this early excerpt!

This was such a good story! I loved returning to this world. The audiobook version was definitely worth the wait.

Brandon Sanderson has done it again! I have waited for what feels like forever for this book and it did not disappoint! I live for the world building in this series as well as the relationships and friendships. If you like any of that then this book is for you!

This book is incredible, i'm now about halfway through the full release and loving every second. I can't wait to see how it all ends. Each characters story arc so far has been so so good. Brandon never disappoints! Thank you so much for letting me read the extended preview ahead of time.

Sanderson caps off arc 1 of the Stormlight Archive with the epic flourish and propulsive energy that only he brings to fantasy literature. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading continue to narrate this series and set new standards for quality in narraton. As our Radiants flit to vast parts of Roshar to figure out the final secrets of Honor and the Heralds before Dalinar's final clash; a new race begins, to conquer as many kingdoms as possible before borders are locked into place.