I’m apparently on a Sanderson kick lately watching his class, rereading The Final Empire. Which kind of pains me, because I’d love to be reading BIPOC and women authors rather then yet another white guy, but here we are. Because he is just that good.
I loved all of the characters – honestly more than I loved Mistborn’s characters. Kaladin’s struggle with depression was incredibly real. I missed the non-Kaladin characters during the sections that didn’t include their POV. I want more Shallan especially.
The ending like, the last 90 minutes of the audiobook? because yes, your girl listened to all 45 hours of the audiobook in two weeks felt ever so slightly rushed, after the pacing of the rest of the book. Maybe a little bit more time spent with Shallan and Jasnah would have signposted it better? But that’s such a nitpicky thing.
Sanderson also isn’t necessarily the prettiest writer, but his writing immerses you in the action and characters (perhaps less so the setting, but I found it easier to picture the world in this book than in Mistborn, perhaps because of its incredibly unique flora, fauna, and weather patterns). I was also glad to be out of the YA fantasy space for a little while.
This experience has also reminded me of my love of audiobooks. I’m someone who likes to do things with my hands (knitting, sewing, chores) and being able to read because yes, listening to audiobooks is reading – fight me made me far more likely to actually complete this book. If I had been reading it as an ebook or hard copy – no way would I have been able to complete it so quickly/at all. It helps that I’m in the middle of Sock Madness (yearly international speed sock knitting competition, for the uninitiated). I also found that I chose listening to the book over mindlessly surfing the internet – a great thing to discover as I try to spend at least some time away from screens while also trying to read more.
Anyway, Sanderson’s great. I’m seriously considering grabbing a physical copy of the next book from the library tomorrow when I’m at work – and I’m to the point where I almost never read physical copies oh, Libby how I love you. Five cups of tea.
