Published on December 6, 2024, “Wind and Truth” is the fifth installment in Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series, The Stormlight Archive. This novel concludes the first major arc of the series, bringing together complex plotlines and character developments. The story follows the Knights Radiant and the nations of Roshar as they prepare for a decisive confrontation with the malevolent god Odium, with the fate of their world hanging in the balance. Central characters, including Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, and Szeth, face personal challenges and pivotal battles that test their oaths and resolve.
Wind and Truth
My Thoughts
First off, I’m glad I read the physical book on this one for the illustrations. However, it is large enough to be used as a weapon. Just holding it was chore through the hours of reading.
Anyway, the story was good and I was really hoping for more closure only to find there will be another 5 books. This is why I like to read things from the past so I don’t have to wait for the rest of the series. Oh well! I could also do without the justification for Rlaine and Renarin for hooking up. Honestly, if the goal is to normalize homosexuality (and in this case interspecies homosexuality) then don’t spend so much time on it. It felt overdone and came off as pandering.
Recommendation
It was a good read though I was disappointed in parts.
Published in 2013, The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson is a young adult fantasy novel set in an alternate United States called the United Isles. In this world, a unique branch of magic called Rithmatics allows trained individuals to bring chalk drawings to life for both defense and combat. Joel, the “chalk-maker’s son”, is fascinated by Rithmatics but was never chosen to receive its powers. Instead, he studies the art obsessively, hoping to understand its secrets. When students at Armedius Academy begin disappearing under mysterious circumstances, Joel teams up with a struggling Rithmatist student, Melody, and Professor Fitch to investigate. As they uncover dark secrets about the nature of Rithmatics and the dangerous creatures called Chalklings, Joel finds himself at the center of a conflict that could change his world forever.
The Rithmatist
My Thoughts
This was a fun read and a new take on Sanderson’s “investiture” in the drawing of 2-dimensional images that come alive to protect or fight. Also, a fun take on what would happen if this power was given to the British government a few hundred years back. There were a lot of quasi-world references like stir fried spaghetti, St. Michelangelo, and so on.
The door was left wide for more books to be written, but there don’t seem to be any coming. Unlike the other standalone Sanderson novels, this one didn’t have anything to cross over into the greater Cosmere, or perhaps I just missed it.
Published in 2009, “Warbreaker” follows the intertwined fates of two princesses and sisters from the kingdom of Idris, Siri and Vivenna, as they become entangled in political and divine conflicts in the city of Hallandren. Siri, younger and more rebellious than her sister, is sent in place of Vivenna to marry the God King, a mysterious and seemingly all-powerful ruler. Meanwhile, Vivenna, the dutiful and trained heir, embarks on a mission to rescue her sister but finds herself drawn into a rebellion and forced to question everything she believed.
Warbreaker
My Thoughts
This really was a fun read. Sanderson has a gift to bring the reader into the story no matter what is going on in the plot. This book presents a different type of “investiture” in the form of “breath.” Treated as the soul of a person by the homeland of Siri, it is a commodity to be bought and sold in the world she comes to live in. This form is unique in the greater Sanderson Cosmere and made for some interesting plot points. Characters such as Vasher and Nightblood show up in later Sanderson works and it was fun to see their origins.
The door was left open for more books to be written, but 17 years later, I don’t know they will be coming.
Published in 2011, “Shatter Me” by Tahereh Mafi follows Juliette Ferrars, as she navigates a dystopian world ruled by the oppressive Reestablishment. Imprisoned for accidentally killing someone, Juliette grapples with her guilt and fears while discovering her powers can be both a curse and a weapon. When she’s released to become a tool for the Reestablishment’s leader, she faces emotional and moral dilemmas, alongside a complicated connection with Adam Kent, her guard and former crush.
Shatter Me
My Thoughts
This book was recommended to me by a teenaged girl of a family I’ve known for years. We were talking about dystopian books and she mentioned this one. She said she loved the book and even her younger sister popped in saying she was enjoying it. I didn’t understand it was a romance at the time. My wife pulled up the cover and said I should have known while showing me the cover with a young woman in a white dress. Makes sense, I only saw the eye you see on this page when I made the reservation.
I’m not fond of romances. I believe this one makes #4 on this blog and I doubt I had read many others throughout my life. This book was no exception. I would class it firmly with the Twilight series. A grossly overpowered female for no particular reason, who everyone thinks is amazingly beautiful, for no particular reason (we don’t know anything other than her hair is long), and who blunders through the story while whining about her anxieties. Also as a special bonus, she falls in love immediately with the male protagonist who, of course, falls in love immediately with her. It’s ok though, they went to school together years before. Irrespective that they had never spoken, they dreamt of meeting one day. Oh, also in line with the Twilight series, there is a good deal of “mature themes” and sexual wording. In short, I don’t think anyone should read it, but I recognize my bias here. This book wasn’t written for my demographic.
Published in 2006, The Hope of Elantris by Brandon Sanderson is a short story that serves as a companion piece to his novel Elantris. The story is set during the climax of Elantris and provides additional perspectives on the events from the point of view of a minor character, Ashe, a seon, who plays a critical role in aiding the protagonists. The narrative expands on the magical and political intricacies of the world, offering a deeper understanding of key moments in the main novel.
The Hope of Elantris
My Thoughts
This was a quick short story and a welcome diversion as I am wading through the Ancient Greek philosophers and their thoughts. Luckily, it hasn’t been long since I read Elantris and I could easily recall the plot points and characters to quickly come up to speed in the story. Typically, I don’t include short stories into this blog but this one seemed good enough to include.
Sanderson is a master of bringing the reader into a story and making them care about the personalities in the book. This short story was no exception. Who wouldn’t care about what happened to the children in Enlantris after they were all healed?
Recommendation
A good read but it wouldn’t stand alone. You must read Elantris first or it won’t make any sense.
Believed to date from the 8th century BCE, “The Odyssey” is attributed to the poet Homer. The Odyssey is an epic poem that follows the Greek hero Odysseus as he attempts to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Over the course of ten years, Odysseus encounters numerous obstacles, including mythical creatures like the Cyclops Polyphemus, the enchantress Circe, and the Sirens, as well as divine interventions from gods like Poseidon and Athena. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus contend with suitors vying for Penelope’s hand, believing Odysseus to be dead. The poem explores themes of loyalty, perseverance, cunning, and the human struggle against fate. Written in dactylic hexameter, The Odyssey remains a cornerstone of Western literature, reflecting the values and culture of ancient Greece.
The Odyssey
My Thoughts
I have read this before but this time I listen to it on audio book. I believe I was able to enjoy it much more this way as I wasn’t forced to sound through all the names and places. If I were to do it again, I believe the best way would be to read it while listening to the narration for the best effect.
However, I can’t really say I enjoyed it. My reading of this work is much more in line with wanting to have a familiarity with the story rather than deriving joy from the process.
Our hero ‘Odysseus’ is consistently helped along by Athena herself and given several reassurances from Zeus. Odysseus is a manly man who is the Greek ideal. Smart, cunning, and extremely strong. If this were the 1980’s, he would be lifting his sword and saying, “By the power of Greyskull!” And then give us our moral for the day. Poseidon is angry with him because he had the nerve to blind the cyclops rather than be eaten like several of his crew. (While tragic in the moment, the loss of so many didn’t seem to be truly felt.) Unfortunately, men are hanging out at Odysseus’s home and are making a play for his wife. During which, they are all eating Odysseus’s food and bullying his staff. His son, Telemachus, is a pansy who can’t manage to throw them out. (In fairness, Telemachus does eventually get the nerve to help out, but he had wait for his father to return and clean house.) Now, does Odysseus just show up and toss them out? Of course not! He shows up as a beggar, gets abused, and then shows up everyone in a test of manhood. Then he kills the suitors, the staff who didn’t seem to miss him, and leaves again to fulfill the prophecy given to him in Hades.
As a modern reader, several of the ideals seem to be very familiar. A sense of justice for one. However, I would qualify it as Disney justice though because only the main protagonists receive justice. Some of the staff continued to pray for the return of Odysseus and they were rewarded, yet this is the exception. Most characters felt the sword of justice rather than rewards.
What was striking to me was the ancient world’s view of the gods. The sacrifices at every meal, the ability to offend one by pleasing another. That must have been a very confusing time to live.
All that said, I’m sure I missed a great deal as there are entire courses on this work. I will have to look into it a bit more.
Recommendation
It is worth the read. Not only is a cornerstone of Western thought, it is a mark of education and culture to understand the names and references.
Published in 2022, “Bastille vs the Evil Librarians” co-written by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson, the focus shifts to Bastille, the fierce and pragmatic knight from the Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series. This story takes place after the events of the original series and delves into Bastille’s perspective as she takes on a mission to save Alcatraz and restore order. As Bastille grapples with her responsibilities and insecurities, she must confront the Librarians’ schemes and rally allies to prevent their plans from succeeding.
Bastille vs the Evil Librarians
My Thoughts
As the last of the “Evil Librarian” books, Sanderson and Patterson did a great job in bringing it all together in a neat bow. This series seemed like it was fun to write as again and again the text refers to writing devices, methodologies, and terms in the course of the story. It was a fun read.
Published in 2006 “World War Z” by Max Brooks is a fictional oral history that recounts a global zombie pandemic through a series of interviews conducted by the narrator, a United Nations Postwar Commission agent. The book chronicles the outbreak, from its origins in China to the collapse of societies and the eventual fight for survival. Each account offers unique perspectives, including military personnel, scientists, and civilians, highlighting humanity’s resilience and ingenuity. The narrative explores themes of geopolitics, survival, and human behavior in the face of catastrophe. Brooks creates a detailed and chillingly realistic portrayal of a worldwide crisis, presenting the events through a wide lens that captures the complexities of a global response to an unprecedented disaster.
World War Z
My Thoughts
First off, as I mentioned in my recent review of “Elantris” zombies are likely the lamest of all monsters. (Pun intended.) They don’t make any sense at all to me. I will concede there have been different versions of zombies over the years and many of them are different. Regardless, every version of the zombie (e.g. fast, shambling, radioactive, voodoo, alien, and even Rob Zombie) are beyond my understanding of why they have any appeal at all.
That said, I enjoyed the fractured perspective of the book. All of it was in the form of post-encounter first hand reports from various sources from all over the globe. This gave Brooks the ability to briefly introduce each character and look at what was unfolding from their particular point of view. The reader quickly gets use to the slang terms of “Zack” or “G” for the undead along with inferring the heroes and events that had become common knowledge in this post-apocalyptic world.
I remember the discussion when the CDC interviewed Max Brooks about the book. There was a bit of interest in it as I was involved in military training and we were writing instruction manuals about CBRN Recon and the like. I remember starting the book but I don’t know if I completed it. Honestly, there isn’t too much of an ending beyond thinking they got most of them and some speculation about how their children might live in the world after. Perhaps it just wasn’t that memorable.
One thought that’s caused me some self reflection is how people were rated as near useless because they didn’t have any tangible skills. The white collar workers in the story weren’t very much help when everyone was needed to farm, mine, or fix things. The book uses the example of a “creative executive” as a particular someone who was of no use. I enjoy working with my hands but I wonder if I have the stamina to make a living at it. I’m glad I don’t have to find out in the near future.
Published in 2016, “In The Dark Talent,” fifth book in Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series, Alcatraz Smedry grapples with the consequences of his unique abilities as he faces his most personal and dangerous mission yet. Determined to rescue his father and stop the Evil Librarians’ growing influence, Alcatraz must venture into the Highbrary, the Librarians’ central stronghold. The story explores Alcatraz’s struggle with self-doubt, his evolving understanding of his powers, and the challenges of living up to the expectations placed upon him.
The Dark Talent
My Thoughts
Most of the book was very similar to the rest of the series with the exception that it had a very abrupt end. The fifth book was repeatedly touted as the last book in the series and it just ended on a sad note somewhat like the Empire Strikes back. It left the reader wanting more. Unfortunately, for readers who read the “last” book right after it came out, the next book was 8 years in coming. Fortunately for me, that was a couple of years ago and the new last book is available at my library. 🙂
Published in 2016, “The Shattered Lens” by Brandon Sanderson is the fourth book in the Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series. Alcatraz Smedry faces a critical challenge as he works to defend the Free Kingdom city of Tuki Tuki from an impending invasion by the Librarians. With his talent for breaking things and the support of his allies, including Bastille and his extended Smedry family, Alcatraz confronts the Librarians’ advanced weaponry and their attempts to seize control. The story delves into themes of leadership, responsibility, and ingenuity as Alcatraz navigates the complexities of protecting his world while growing into his role as a leader.
The Shattered Lens
My Thoughts
This was a fun read and full of odd one offs and insider humor. I love that! As with the other books in the series, I feel like it would have been more effective if Alcatraz was older. Much of the narrative and actions of the characters feel like they are a few years older at a minimum. Regardless, I’m almost to the end of the series and I’m excited to see where it goes from here.
