Earlier this month, author Brandon Sanderson released Wind and Truth, the highly-anticipated fifth volume in his magnum opus fantasy series The Stormlight Archive. Sanderson has a reputation for churning out excellent books, but even by his own lofty standards, Wind and Truth is special. The Stormlight Archive is a massive series, Sanderson's own attempt at writing a wildly ambitious, door-stopping fantasy series in the vein of Malazan Book of the Fallen or The Wheel of Time — the latter of which he wrote the final three volumes for after original author Robert Jordan's untimely death in 2007. Sanderson has been open with fans for years now that The Stormlight Archive will be split into two distinct "arcs," with a time jump in the middle to act as a sort of soft reset for the series.
Wind and Truth is the conclusion of the first of those arcs, and is brings lots of major plotlines to a head. After more than 6,000 pages, we'll finally find out how the brutal war between the forces of Odium and the Knights Radiant will play out — and what fate has in store for beloved characters like Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin Stormblessed.
With Wind and Truth out, it's the perfect time to look back on The Stormlight Archive so far and recall all its highs and lows. Every Stormlight Archive novel is good, but even still, we can rank them.
But first, a note: this article will only be covering the main Stormlight Archive novels, not any of the novellas. It's not fair to compare smaller stories like Edgedancer and Dawnshard to the sprawling main Stormlight books, since they're not really designed to stand on the same level. Those are supplementary novellas (and very much worth reading). Today, we're concerned only with the big chonky tomes that comprise the main series.
Now, let's get to the ranking. There will be SPOILERS APLENTY for The Stormlight Archive below, so beware:
5. Oathbringer
If I have to put one Stormlight book at the bottom of the heap, it's going to be Oathbringer, the third novel of the series. Oathbringer lands right smack in the middle of The Stormlight Archive's first story arc, transitioning from the more traditional epic fantasy style of the first two books to the densely packed lore fests of the back half of the arc.
Oathbringer has plenty of great material in it, especially Dalinar Kholin's flashbacks, which show how he changed from the ruthless warlord known as the Blackthorn into the honorable man we meet in The Way of Kings. It also introduces readers to Urithiru, the tower city which goes on to become one of the most important locations in The Stormlight Archive. This is the book where the Knights Radiant really step into the forefront, establishing orders and consolidating their power under Dalinar as they contend with the forces of Odium. And of course, the final battle at Thaylen Field and fall of Kholinar are two of the biggest, wildest sequences in the entire series.
The main thing that brings Oathbringer down a notch for me is the writing itself. The Stormlight Archive books are Brandon Sanderson at his absolute best, using every ounce of his considerable craft as a writer to weave tales that can stand alongside the other greats of the genre. As such, they tend to be very well-written books, where the writing leaps off the page and has been polished to a mirror sheen. Oathbringer has the most hiccups in that regard; it feels just the tiniest bit more rushed, and the prose isn't quite as flawless as in the rest of the series. That, combined with the fact that it's a transitional middle book surrounded by even better material, means Oathbringer takes last place on our rankings.
4. Rhythm of War
Rhythm of War is the fourth book in The Stormlight Archive, which leads directly into the climactic events of Wind and Truth. Rhythm of War takes the most chances of any Stormlight novel aside from Wind and Truth; this is just a very different sort of book than the others. It's where The Stormlight Archive begins to abandon some of its traditional fantasy elements in favor of digging deeply into Roshar's emergent technologies, mental health, and the community-focused building of the Knights Radiant. There are no Chosen Ones in The Stormlight Archive, and Rhythm of War drives that home in a big way by allowing Kaladin Stormblessed, the fiercest warrior on Roshar, to retire from battle following years of trauma and terror brought on by unending bloodshed.
Or at least, Kaladin thinks he's retiring. The bulk of Rhythm of War is centered around the occupation of Urithiru. After the Parshendi forces fighting for Odium take the tower city, beloved characters like Kaladin become fugitives who are forced to resist from the shadows, while others like Navani Kholin are taken captive. This is a big book for Navani in particular, who grows from a supporting character into one of the most important in the entire series through her dealings with the Parshendi leader Raboniel, and her subsequent unraveling of the mystery of Urithiru.
Rhythm of War also features the most unique flashbacks of the entire series: they focus on Eshonai and Venli, two Parshendi sisters. Eshonai meets her untimely end in Words of Radiance; in Rhythm of War, we discover how the relationship between the sisters changed in the days leading up to those events, and how Venli has grappled with the fallout. That, combined with hugely emotional stories for Kaladin and Shallan, make Rhythm of War a standout book that feels profoundly different than any other Stormlight novel. Sanderson revealed just how deep the hidden depths of the series are in this book, and its focus on the mental health of its characters elevates the series in a way that sets it apart from many other epic fantasy books.
3. Wind and Truth
The fifth and most recent book in the series, Wind and Truth brings this massive fantasy journey to a close — at least in some regards. In others, it opens up the world of The Stormlight Archive and brings it into the wider story of the Cosmere. Wind and Truth may be an ending, but it’s also a beginning.
Wind and Truth is probably the most experimental of any Stormlight Archive novel. Unlike the first four novels, which are split into five “parts,” each with a fairly predictable flow, Wind and Truth is split into 10 smaller sections, one for each day leading up to a contest of champions between Dalinar Kholin and Odium. After becoming so entrenched in his methods, it’s nice to see Brandon Sanderson experiment in some daring ways with this fifth book.
There is a lot of incredible material in Wind and Truth. Some highlights for me included the cleansing of Shinovar, Dalinar and Shallan’s journey through the Spiritual Realm, and Adolin Kholin’s desperate defense of the city of Azimir. There’s a feeling that Stormlight is speeding toward a conclusion for the moment here, and it has massive repercussions for many of the characters as well as the world of Roshar. This is an earth-shatteringly huge book, and I devoured it.
Wind and Truth also contains a lot of huge reveals. At last, we learn the history between Odium and Tanavast, the god known as Honor. How did humans first come to Roshar? What truly caused this Desolation, with the Fused returning to wreak havoc on the world? And what effect has Odium had on the wider Cosmere? All these questions and more are answered, and for longtime fans of Sanderson’s work, it’s thrilling.
Ironically, that’s also something that works against Wind and Truth. Yes, the connections to the wider Cosmere are amazing, but it makes this the least accessible book in the series by far. This interconnectively also means that the book is slightly less focused on Roshar itself. The dangers in this book have ramifications for Roshar, but also for worlds beyond. It’s hard to fully grasp the breadth of it all unless you’ve read a bunch of other Brandon Sanderson books.
Combine that with the condensed timeframe, which works well but also prevents the novel from feeling quite as sprawling as some of the preceding books, and Wind and Truth lands firmly on the middle of the list.
2. The Way of Kings
The Way of Kings is where it all began. The first book in The Stormlight Archive's biggest weakness is its pacing, which tends to drag in places as Kaladin Stormblessed is put through trauma after trauma during his time in a Bridge team on the war-ravaged Shattered Plains. But any pacing issues are far overshadowed by the strengths of this novel.
The Way of Kings is, fittingly, the most accessible book of the series. The extensive lore which ties into the wider Cosmere is still there, but it takes a backseat to the powerful story of Kaladin's fall and rise, Dalinar's navigation of the viper's nest of Alethi politics, and Shallan's journey to become Jasnah Kholin's apprentice.
The thing that makes The Way of Kings a book apart for me is its focus on theme, and how well Sanderson drills down on his ideas. Leading nobly can be difficult under the best of circumstances, but how about when the world is stacked against you and there's every reason to give in, to take the underhanded approach and screw everyone over? Each novel of The Stormlight Archive features an in-world book that gives the novel its title, and each of those in-world books has relevant ideas and themes which resonate throughout the story. But The Way of Kings might be the one which has the most resonance outside of The Stormlight Archive; the themes it deals with are clearer and less bogged down by the vast mythos of the series, which lets them really shine. It is just a beautiful book, with a transcendent ending and arguably the most heartwrenching flashbacks of the series as we discover why Kaladin first joined the army before being unjustly stripped of command and enslaved.
The Way of Kings is my personal favorite entry in the series, and were it not for the pacing issues I mentioned above, it would be at the top of this list. But there is another, even more perfect Stormlight Archive novel out there...
1. Words of Radiance
Words of Radiance is the second book in The Stormlight Archive, and to this day it still stands as the most pitch-perfect entry in the series. The Way of Kings set up a lot of mysteries before solving a couple and bringing together characters like Kaladin and Dalinar. We get even more answers in Words of Radiance, which ends with an epic battle on the Shattered Plains that leads to our beloved main characters discovering the lost tower of Urithiru.
When The Stormlight Archive began, a terrible world-ending event called the Everstorm was foreshadowed to be on the horizon. In most fantasy series, that Everstorm wouldn't have hit until the very end. Sanderson totally upended expectations in Words of Radiance by having the Everstorm begin during this second book, and then turning it into a recurring event which periodically sweeps Roshar. But that initial burst of Everstorm chaos remains a massive highlight of the series, infused with tons of important moments for every main character introduced up until that point.
In the early days of The Stormlight Archive, Szeth-son-son-Vallano was a deadly assassin whose sights were eventually set on Dalinar Kholin; by the end of Words of Radiance, Szeth has dueled Kaladin and lost, irrevocably changing his life. Kaladin rises to command Dalinar's elite bodyguards in Bridge Four in this book, and the battle between humans and Parshendi on the Shattered Plains reached its climax. So did the various political schemes of the Alethi. Yes, there's more after this, but Words of Radiance tied up so many plot threads that it would have felt like a series-ender for any other book series. It massively shifts the status quo for The Stormlight Archive and contains a bunch of its best scenes to date. If you didn't fist pump at "Honor is dead, but I'll see what I can do," you have no soul. And if you didn't then subsequently throw your book across the room when Kaladin impulsively botches the following triumphant moment, then I admire your self-restraint.
Words of Radiance is a towering achievement and I genuinely can't think of a single bad thing to say about it. This was the promise of just how good Sanderson's magnum opus could be, and while each of the subsequent books have lived up to it in their own way, none have quite hit the same thrilling heights. There's a reason this book is still the highest-rated in the series on Goodreads — as well as the highest-rated book on all of Goodreads, period.
While Wind and Truth gave Words of Radiance a good run for its money, it still didn't manage to dethrone this peak for the series in my opinion. But overall, the journey has led to an amazing destination. Sanderson has now wrapped up the first arc of The Stormlight Archive. After this, there will be a time jump as Sanderson takes a hiatus from Stormlight to write the third era of his Mistborn series, a White Sand novel, and two sequels to his very first published novel, Elantris.
We've been reveling in the Cosmere goodness all month. If you've enjoyed this list and are still reeling from Wind and Truth, here are a bunch of other recent Sanderson-related articles you may want to check out:
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