u/shkrime

So far, this book (Oathbringer) has been great, though maybe a tad weaker than the previous two. The beginning was pretty slow, but from around the 50% mark onward, it really picked up. And I can tell the slower first half was necessary. Thoughts so far:

• I knew Dalinar would kill Evi. I knew it. But the way it actually happened was completely unexpected, and it still hit me like a fucking truck.
• Elhokar’s death was the only major spoiler I had before starting Stormlight, but I was told it happened in Rhythm of War. So somehow, it still caught me off guard here. And holy shit, that scene was cinematic. Elhokar becoming a Knight Radiant… imagine being that spren, seconds away from bonding your guy, and then he takes a spear to the eye from fucking Moash. AHHH. MOASH, FUCK YOU. Doing the Bridge Four salute too? Nah. Jail. Immediately.
• Elhokar’s arc hurt in a way I really wasn’t prepared for. When I first got spoiled that he was going to die, after the initial irritation of being spoiled, I didn’t feel dread or sadness. I felt almost relieved, maybe even a little satisfied, because I hated him so much and thought his death would feel deserved. But the longer the series went on, the more that spoiler stopped being something I was waiting for and started becoming this awful weight hanging over every scene he was in. I could see him trying, awkwardly and imperfectly, to become better, and I knew there wasn’t enough time left for him to fully become the person he wanted to be. And when his death finally came, watching him reach for redemption with both hands only to be cut down right before he could touch it… somehow, even though I had known it was coming the whole time, it still broke my heart a fuck ton.
• Kaladin hasn’t had a turbo-max-deluxe depression episode in a minute, so I was wondering when it would hit. Can this man, whom I unfortunately love with my whole soul, please take his own advice and save who he can? You cannot save everyone, my guy. Please learn this before I need therapy on your behalf.
• Related: the epigraph after this chapter is probably from a Windrunner, and I’m guessing the Fourth Ideal is going to be about letting go of the people you can’t save. Healthy. Also, probably something awful will lead to that. Yay.
• “The Girl Who Stood Up” is one of the best chapters in the entire series so far. Just a wonderful, wonderful chapter. And Shallan’s expected breakdown went… honestly, kind of well-ish? Progress, I guess. “Because beyond the wall was God’s light.”