Review: Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson

Another "out take" of sorts. I assume we will be seeing a lot more of Rysn.

Sanderson does a good job of writing a disabled MC (and explaining why magic can't heal her). There's no cure narrative, her disability is an obstacle but doesn't render her harmless, and the magical assistive technology is well done.

And he managed to come up with a way to include dragons that bond people in a world that doesn't have reptiles, which was entertaining. I love the larkin and yes, I'd take a larkin. They're adorable and dragon-y. Although I wouldn't fancy being Rysn - nooope. That's a bit too much power.

The sailing stuff is also done pretty well, although without going into a lot of detail - I suspect an author making sure he didn't get chased down by a bunch of sailors by just glossing over the stuff he wasn't confident of ;).

Now, I want to know what happens next...

At least book four isn't longer than book three. 

Review: Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

Book four is about PTSD. Oh, and depression. I should have seen that coming, but everyone has some combination of the two...okay, that's an exaggeration.

Mental illness is not often dealt with in fantasy. When it is, it is not often dealt with well.

There is no cure narrative, but rather a recovery narrative. The acknowledgment that it can take a long time to get better, if you ever do, and the parallel with what happens with the dead eyes...

This wasn't quite what I expected, but the overall plot also goes into some dark places. To death. To destruction. To hope. To what people are willing to sacrifice for peace.

I'm not sure I like all of Sanderson's decisions here, but I also respect the sheer number of threads he's holding together. A whole bunch of guns get fired in this volume, some of which I'd forgotten were ever on the mantlepiece in the first place.

And that's when reading them back to back. All respect there.

I only have one more book...which ends the first half and the first arc. I have a feeling we may go beyond Roshar after this...

It seems inevitable. And perhaps we'll get more about the nature of this reality...and of souls.

I received copies of these books free for award consideration purposes.