Is it insane to not give this 5 stars? Perhaps.

While it is clear Tolkien crafted an amazing world that has inspired generations of fantasy writers, there were parts of this book that just dragged. Obviously I am but one humble reader, but it is not the best book I’ve read, nor do I believe it is the best book ever written. But just because I believe that to be true does not mean I didn’t have a good time! 

The characters (at least the ones we spent the most time with) are super fun and engaging. I enjoy Tolkien’s writing regarding friendship, Frodo’s friends are truly ride or die in a way many companions in epic fantasies are not… Pippin and Merry keep going to protect their friend, and above all Sam exists to just be Frodo’s companion. While I am aware Tolkien didn’t write Sam and Frodo romantically, there is still a very intimate nature to their relationship that makes it seem more than just friendship, and I really did enjoy that. 

Perhaps another reason I don’t fully believe this deserves 5 stars other than for its legacy, is how brief the “dangers” they face truly are. The dark riders, baltog, and gollum, really never truly reach them and all the things that put them in immediate danger are quickly dispatched in a not very exciting way. 

One thing of note, while reading I kept thinking of how much this book reminded me of the Chronicles of Narnia. They are written very similarly and I’m aware that Lewis and Tolkien were friends. It is curious to me, that despite all their similarities, Narnia is considered a children’s story, while this is not. I think I will forever intermingle them in my head as they are very similar to me. 

Altogether, I clearly understand why this book is a classic and is revered for its contributions to the fantasy genre, but it is not my personal favorite fantasy book!

This was my least favorite Sanderson novel so far… the story itself just really didn’t interest me or keep my attention as I so often find in his writing. 

The points that DID get my attention were the moments that made the book connect to the stromlight archive and Hoid+Dawnshard. 

Overall not bad, just not great either. 

I think that the strongest part of this book and the bits that made me smile were Hoid’s interjections and little wisdoms throughout the story. 

While Yumi and painter were certainly interesting there were just parts of this book that fell flat for me… I did really enjoy the conclusion though and that’s where it gets the 4 stars from me! 

While this colossus of a book kept my attention the entire time, I find it to be my least favorite of the installments into the stormlight archive so far… my main reason is it felt as though Sanderson spent much of the last book setting Shallan up to adequately deal with her past traumas, and then we spent the entirety of this book with her having yet to come to grips with it. Despite this I still enjoyed her sections, but I think it was Pattern and Adolin that really made that plot point interesting. Adolin’s plot with Maya was good, but predictable which is not always the case for Sanderson. 

Kaladin’s plot was also a bit difficult for me to get through, while I appreciate Sanderson’s attention to mental health it fell a bit flat to me when it comes to Dabbid and how he writes about cognitive differences. It was a bit frustrating to wade through in all honesty. Kaladin’s father was also extremely annoying to read with the amount of self righteousness… I’m aware that was resolved but getting through it was simply annoying. 

Navani had the most interesting plot by FAR in this entire book, and I really enjoyed her POV. It was a different perspective and one that I believe pushes the book into a new and interesting direction with the work she did with the fused and singers. Venli’s perspective seems to be intermingled with Navani’s because of their fused counterparts, and I think it made for the most interesting and engaging parts of the book. 

Dalinar’s portions were fine, I didn’t find myself overly invested in what was happening on his end during this as the tower was much more interesting. Wit’s inclusion in Dalinar’s plot line was probably the most interesting and I am excited to see where it goes. 

And finally… ugh Taravangian is the worst, boo. 

All together I did enjoy the story and the stage it sets for the next book but I don’t think this is the strongest, nor the best, of the stormlight archive to date. But it leaves me eager to get the next one in my hands once it is out!

I really struggled to get through this book, not because I didn’t enjoy it necessarily but perhaps because the meaning just wasn’t as deep to me? 

It was there, an underlying current but it felt like two separate characters to me, Antonio was not an anti-hero in the beginning, he turned into one but it felt like a switch was slipped for that transition, and that there was no actual change over time for him to reach that point. One day he was hard, and the next he wasn’t; and to prove to you he wasn’t always hard here are examples of how he helped others… I’m not sure why but it just fell flat to me. 

I did enjoy the ending with Jaimie and his father, but I think it would’ve been more powerful if I had fully bought into Antonio’s arc and I just didn’t. 

There is no way to adequately describe how much I enjoy Chakraborty’s writing, there is just something about it that brings me so much satisfaction, it’s like music but in a book.

Nahri and Ali’s friendship I found very refreshing, platonic relationships with fierce loyalty and protection is always a good mix up for me. This one was particularly fun because of the ambiguous motivation behind continuing the friendship on both their ends until they both just realize they do actually like one and another. 

Dara was interesting, I find myself conflicted on whether I should like him, which makes me believe I’m reading this 100% the way Chakraborty intended.

Also.. DAMN, that ending?? Super interesting and makes me so excited to move to book 2

This was somehow better and worse than book 1? The intro of new characters was certainly the highlight of this book, particularly June. 

The Eli parts of this book fell flat, and his end with the doctor wasn’t as interesting as it could have been when the doctor only popped up once again before finding Eli.

"Do not fucking ask me for information. I could not be more lost right now."-Gideon 

That quote pretty much sums up how I felt during this entire book, it all came together and made sense at one point and then swiftly became a “wtf is going on” moment once again… but it was a good wtf is going on time. 

4.25/5

 wish I liked this more because it had a lot of potential in my mind with music aspect and the monsters but it just didn’t really hit home for me, it wasn’t bad, just not what I expected I think.

This was fine? 

August is far more interesting and likable than Kate.