Book Review - "Wind and Truth" (Stormlight Archive Book 5)
date
Feb 27, 2025
slug
wind-and-truth-review
status
Published
tags
Book
summary
"Wind and Truth" (Stormlight Archive Book 5) delivers interesting character moments but focuses too heavily on mental health and contract law instead of epic fantasy action, earning it 3.5/5 stars.
type
Post
I just finished listening to the audiobook of "Wind and Truth" yesterday, and I wanted to write up my thoughts while they're still fresh in my mind. This is a massive book—the audiobook is 65 hours long—and it took me almost two months to get through it since I don't listen to audiobooks that much anymore.
My Background with the Series
Before diving into my review, I should mention that I'm a huge fan of this series. I've read all the previous books (one through four) twice, and I even watched a comprehensive three-hour-long recap video on YouTube before starting this fifth book. Suffice to say, I'm a big fan of both the Stormlight Archive and Brandon Sanderson in general, so I had high expectations going in.
The Rating: ★★★½ (3.5/5)
I'm giving this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. It's almost great—almost a 4-star book—but it's riding mostly on the coattails of the previous books in the series. This book by itself has several problems that kept it from reaching the heights of books one and two. Instead, it feels closer to book four, where Sanderson started focusing more heavily on mental health challenges and diving deeper into those themes rather than the epic fantasy action that initially drew me to the series.
The Structure and Plot
The book is structured around a "Contest of Champions" that will take place in 10 days between the god Odium and humanity under Dalinar Kholin. The narrative follows a chronological structure, with each section covering one of these ten days. A lot happens during this short timeframe—that's the whole premise, after all. Something big is coming in ten days.
However, the way the author chose to set up and advance the plot feels suboptimal. I did enjoy learning about humanity's arrival on Roshar and their interactions with the native Singers, who had a more advanced civilization. The introduction of the Unmade and their attempt to seize god-like power was interesting but a bit convoluted. After all, the Unmade were supposedly created by Odium's power—they shouldn't be able to rebel against him and make their own decisions.
Character Arcs
Kaladin and Szeth
The storyline following Szeth and Kaladin as they travel to Shadesmar to figure out what's wrong with the Heralds was, honestly, quite painful to read. It could have been much faster-paced with more action sequences. Instead, there's a lot of Kaladin trying to provide therapy to Szeth and the Heralds. It just felt odd having this therapist-like character attempting to help demigod beings who have lived for thousands of years.
Adolin
The character development for Adolin was the best part of the book. His arc features plenty of action, fighting, and progress as he confronts good and evil. The surprise ending, where Maya breaks through to help Adolin, the Emperor, and the other survivors, was genuinely fun and exciting.
Shallan
Shallan's part was okay, but not great. It didn't leave much of an impression on me.
Dalinar
Dalinar's storyline was slightly more interesting, primarily because it revealed the past of how humanity came to Roshar and how they interacted with the Singers. I felt like this part had potential but wasn't fully realized.
Wit
I would have loved to read more about Wit, but he mostly serves as a character that ties the different books together. There are mentions of Scadrial (the Mistborn planet), suggesting there might be a battle there in the future—perhaps in Mistborn Era 3. This is the kind of cosmere connection I enjoy, but it wasn't explored deeply enough.
What Didn't Work
The book focuses too much on mental health issues, sexuality, and even contract law—the very things many of us read fantasy books to escape from, as we already deal with them enough in the real world. I was hoping for more scenes of flying knights battling villains (or villains who turn out to be good guys), but this book takes a different approach.
The Ghostbloods felt pretty weak in this installment. Their presence didn't add much to the story except to advance certain plot points.
Final Thoughts
"Wind and Truth" is a decent addition to the Stormlight Archive, but it doesn't reach the heights of the first two books. The shift toward deeper psychological exploration comes at the expense of the epic fantasy action and world-building that made me fall in love with the series. While I appreciate Sanderson's commitment to developing his characters' inner lives, I found myself missing the balance of the earlier books.
I'm still invested in the series and will definitely continue reading, but I hope future installments find a better balance between character development and the grand, epic fantasy storytelling that made the Stormlight Archive special in the first place.