what a way to start my reading year (yes yes i read 60% of this last year, now go away) i don't know how sanderson did it but this is better than The Way of Kings. I still don't really know, what to say to this. In typical Sanderson-Style the first around 80-85% are SLOW, even if WoR isn't as slow as WoK. But the last 20-15% are just so good. The way Sanderson lets everything come together and gathers the different characters to write a bookending like that will forever be one of my favorite things ever. There's of course more worldbuilding, more characterwork and development, more Lore we get to know. The set of characters Sanderson introduced to us in WoK gets redefined, gets more screentime and new characters to interact with. For everyone saying you should read Warbreaker before this: you CAN read Warbreaker before, it will make 2 lines (and a side character but it took me to read WoR twice till i picked that up) TOP TIER and I'm glad that i did it. But if you don't want to stray from The Stormlight Archive, you don't want to commit to 600 pages in between a series or just don't want to read warbreaker, then you won't miss much. If you read WoR and won't read Warbreaker but you want to know what 2 lines it impacts, dm me, i guess.

Der zweite Band der Stormlight Archive-Reihe ist eine absolut gelungene Fortsetzung zum ersten Band. Sanderson erschafft tiefgründige und authentische Charakterentwicklungen, ein umfassendes Worldbuilding, überraschende Wendungen und ein episches Finale. Für mich persönlich, eines der besten Bücher, die ich je gelesen habe!

German Review on GosuReviews Sanderson really brings back the Epic into Epic-Fantasy. Book two of the Stormlight Archive is equally good or even better than the Way of Kings. Too many authors in this genre lean their world on Tolkien or middle ages Earth, rarely do we get to see such a unique world as Sanderson is creating here. I think this series will be Sandersons Opus Magnum and certainly one of the best Epic-Fantasies of all time.

Der Moment, wenn man bemerkt, dass der über 1200 Seiten lange erste Band nur das Intro war. Ich weiß gar nicht, wo ich anfangen soll. Es ist einfach alles so groß und komplex geworden und ich liebe alles daran, obwohl trotzdem noch sooo viele Fragen offen sind - und das ist auch gut so! Man versteht schon, wie das alles funktioniert, aber merkt gleichzeitig, dass das große Warum noch aussteht und ich freue mich soooo sehr darauf, das mit den Charakteren zu entdecken. Momentan hab ich sas Gefühl, das Magiesystem beruht auf Schallwellen o.Ä. zumindest beruht einiges, was in der Welt passiert auf Wellen und Schwingungen ... Chladnische Klangfiguren werden erwähnt. Da Sanderson seine Magiesystem gerne auf sowas aufbaut (in Mistborn beruht es auf Metallen) kann ich mir definitiv vorstellen, dass da noch einiges kommen wird ❤️ Jeder Charakter wirkt dabei so dermaßen einzigartig, alle haben ihre Fehler und müssen sich ständig den Konsequenzen ihrer Entscheidung stellen. Jede einzelne POV macht einfach so viel Spaß und ich finds toll, wie hier die Grundlagen für tief verankerte Freundschaften gelegt wurden und ich freue mich drauf, wenn die Charaktere diese Entwicklungen auch endlich zulassen (hier stehen sich einige aufgrund gesellschaftlicher Konventionen noch im Weg, aber das wird - ich weiß es!).

I will try and keep this spoilerfree. Also I have no idea how to start. This book is nothing short of amazing. It's exactly what I wanted and I was shocked, surprised, sad, happy and just all the feels. This books let's us dive deeper into not only the characters (like Shallan) but also the magic system and some of the backstory of the Parshendi (btw I LOVED their povs - its so cool to read chapters that are from the enemies perspective). I loved getting to know more about Shallan and focusing on her development - and I think she is on her way to becoming a fave character of mine. She is so sassy and cool, but she still got a long way to grow. But her magic is super cool and even though I think Kaladins is a bit cooler. 👀 Personally I loved the dynamics in this book so much, there were so many cute moments (between people I wouldn't have expected to have cute moments 🤣), the banter is just unreal and so fun! I think this is where Sanderson thrives the most honestly, he's the king of dialogues. We got so much character growth in this book! And there where so many scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. He just writes these action scenes like some kind of blockbuster and you cant stop reading and biting your nails. 🥲 Also: the magic system is unbelievably cool and getting to know more about it, seeing how its being used, is really interesting. I can only recommend you read this book (after you've read the first one obviously). 🤍 I will say however, that one of the povs at the start of the book dragged a bit. I kinda disliked one of the last chapters and I HATED the epilogue, it almost completely ruined my reading experience. But the majority of the book was so good, that I still can't wait to continue on in my stormlight journey. I also love that I have @vera_buchwelten @eulili_liest @_lotti.reads_ and my boyfriend to nerd about theories and stuff with. 🥹 I would love to tell you more but I'm afraid that would be spoilery, so I'll leave you with a quote that lives rent free in my mind: "Honour is dead. But I'll see what I can do." (I am crying just writing this. Oh my god. That scene was UNBELIEVABLE!!)

Well, finally the story continues after several years of waiting! If you liked the first book I really recommend the second - it's a Sanderson story after all. I really liked, how the relationship between Kaladin and his men and his spren progressed and his transition from soldier, to slave, to soldier again and finally.. Well go ahead and find our for yourself.

While I think this had some slower parts than Way of Kings, it also had a more impactful, incredible ending. It would be boring to gush about all the things I love about Brandersons books again, so here is some mild criticism: These books really do not feel nor have to be that long. The events and information conveyed do not equate to the page count and if you edit down some scenes here and there, this time could have been spent on diving deeper into Shallans backstory or weaving in more every day information into the world building. Also, Dalinar is even more absent from this one than Shallan was from the one before. It makes sense, but I missed him. Nitpicks aside, while this isn't my favourite series by Brandon Sanderson, it is quite epic and I feel like I've really become familiar with the characters. While I'm lost in the interludes, I just know there is set up hidden everywhere and I'm already getting glimpses of the bigger picture. Plus, like I already alluded to: it is Branderson at his purest, so you get all of the things he's really good at. There was one romcom-esque scene that was fun but I'm afraid where it's going, however I can trust Sanderson to handle that in a way that won't be obnoxious, since playing with my expectations is what he so often does. Looking forward to reading Oathbringer sometime next year.