I don’t quite know where to even start with Wind and Truth. If there is anything that is not a secret, it’s my love for all things Brandon Sanderson, and my favourite series by this master of epic fantasy is definitely the Stormlight Archives, which is quite frankly up there as one of my favourite series’ all together at this point. So where did Wind and Truth come in on my high expectations for it? Let’s get in to my thoughts and feelings.
In a few words? It. Was. Everything. After finishing this beast of a novel, I am honestly wrecked. The emotions I feel now, and that I felt well reading it are just one of the many reasons that these books are unparalleled in how amazing they are and in what makes Brandon Sanderson a genius fantasy writer. Wind and Truth had me distraught, anxious, happy, thrilled, in awe, laughing, crying, essentially it had me running through the gamut of emotions. Books that can do this to me are, as far as I’m concerned, top tier, as they sit with me for so long afterwards and keep me obsessively thinking about the world and the characters time and again.
What makes it so great? I’ll start with the world-building as this is what makes Brandon Sanderson such a strong epic fantasy author. I am honestly beside myself when considering how incredible his world-building is time and again. The Stormlight Archives is rife with history, unique world creation and everything that makes me fall in love with a fantasy world. The intricate history of the world is one of the things that stood out the most for me in Wind and Truth in particular, as we get a deep dive into past events, which is something I have long desperately wished for to flesh out major events that are so relevant to the current time of the story taking place. I absolutely was enthralled with the peek into the past history of Roshar we get in this book, and it was so well executed, and truly filled in gaps in knowledge that readers have long been awaiting answers on throughout this story.
Another great strength to this book, and the others in the series is, of course, the characters. And these characters have come so far and been through so much. I loved seeing how far my favourite, and even some less main characters have come from the beginning of the series. I have my favourites of course (coughADOLINcough) who I would jump in front of a Shardblade for, and Wind and Truth only cemented this for me. Perhaps most notable about a multitude of the characters is the growth they’ve seen. From the, at times questionable decisions and pasts of certain characters, to the beings that have fought so hard to overcome said pasts and truly change themselves, my love has just grown so exponentially for characters that, in some cases, were just kind of there. Perhaps the most shocking part of Wind and Truth is the characters whose stories I actually found myself fully invested in when I had very little interest in them in the beginning. I don’t always love every point of view that is included in any book, and very clearly usually have my favourites out of multiple point of view characters. This has been true throughout this series, it’s even true of this book that I had my clear favourites I would be waiting for with greater anticipation when their stories weren’t part of the current chapter I was reading. What distinguishes Wind and Truth, is that characters I never would have thought I would be interested in reading large portions of the story from, ended up being points of view that I wholly enjoyed. Much to my surprise, in reading this book, I didn’t even feel like there was a point of view that I dreaded. I was so invested in the story, and seeing how each different character’s story arc brought together the greater story, that I was completely invested in every moment. That isn’t to say that I didn’t have my favourite characters to follow the story of, or even that I deeply loved every character’s point of view, but I never felt like any particular part of the story was a slog.
I don’t want to go into too much detail on any one storyline because I want to avoid spoilers, but I’m honestly beside myself with the end of Wind and Truth, and the first full arc of the Stormlight Archives. I have so much anxiety for these characters I love going into the end, and I honestly have no idea how I’m going to wait through the long gap now facing Brandon Sanderson readers as it’s expected to be a number of years before he gets back to this series. When I say my anxiety reading this book was outrageously high, and continues to be even after finishing, I wish I was kidding. I think knowing how long it could be before I find out the fates of these characters again has heightened my emotions in reading and finishing this book. This book has me a mess and I’m now faced with a crushing reading hangover. Wind and Truth set up so much for the next arc that I cannot wait to see what will come off multiple storylines, and also wrapped up a lot of what has been set up for the current arc, which made it satisfying, anxiety inducing, and also built up the excitement successfully.
Have I mentioned how much I love Adolin? I am the biggest Adolin fan, and Wind and Truth only cemented my overwhelming love for this character. DEAR LORD the anxiety I felt for him (and quite frankly all of the other characters) throughout the course of the novel. Adolin with his sunshine-y golden retriever energy must be protected at all costs. I also completely adore his relationship with Shallan.
Now that I’ve gotten my Adolin obsessed tangent out of the way, suffice it to say I loved this book with every bit of my being. And I’m absolutely beside myself with the idea of waiting an extended period for the second arc of the Stormlight Archives. Excuse me while I find a way to hibernate until then because I’m unprepared to wait the years until the next book arrives with how invested in the characters and story I am. As many answers as we got, ten times that amount were added. Excuse me while I suffer in my massive book hangover for the foreseeable future and try to overcome all the emotions I’ve been hit with upon the conclusion of arc one of the Stormlight Archives. I can’t wait (but must and will) for more!