Wow. Just wow. I was enjoying the character development and stories throughout the book, but those last 200 pages were AMAZING! I swear, I couldn’t put the book down. The pacing picked up so quickly that I’m still sitting here wondering what the hell just happened! The war scenes were incredible, the world-building was out of this world, and the reveals were mind-blowing—I mean, I’m perplexed. 

It's difficult to articulate words for a review on this because of how much I want to say. 
I loved it, and will continue following the series from now on.

When it says "High Fantasy," it means it. If you are not a full on fantasy nerd yet, you might struggle with this book. It constantly switches in POVs, timelines, flashbacks, with 5 main POVs and 18 total. Insanely large scale worldbuilding with several detailed cultures, languages, and life styles. Thousands of years of histories, multiple magic and political systems. It's a lot to handle at once, but never once I felt like the book is info-dumping. The page count is totally justified. 

It starts slow, REALLY slow. I can see many people unable to get through it due to the sheer amount characters and information it tries to present. You either love it or hate it.
It is the first book in a massive 10 book series, and it sure does settle the ground for your entry to this whole new world. The "payoff" really only starts at the last 100 pages, the ending is a rapid fire of resolutions that felt so satisfying, yet still leaving for more to be desired on the next book. I read the book across a month, but read the last part in one day. That says something.

Favorite highlights: Leadership. Justice. Trust. Overcoming mental health and grief. Exploring real world problems in a fictional world. And, of course:
"Journey Before Destination."

If you are planning to step into this series, be ready for your brain to be rewired. Now everything you see will be a Stormlight reference!

Extremely well written and creative. Hard to put down even though the pace is slow at times. A lot of very intriguing elements that are still not completely resolved by the end of the first book, so this is not a stand alone volume in the series. 

Listened to this on audiobook during our work commutes, so it was a long slow read with that restriction. But it was fun to have something to look forward to and get sucked into during LA traffic. 

I'm honestly not even sure where to start. This was a solid 5/5 read for me and my first ever Brandon Sanderson novel (woohoo!)

I found it really easy to get  used to Sanderson's prose, it felt perfectly descriptive enough while not sounding too technical. Even though it is always daunting to get into a new fantasy series, especially one with a universe as complex as the Cosmere. 

The characters had me hooked really easily, and the entire time i was reading I found myself genuinely caring about their well-being and their goals. 

The highlight of this book for me was closer to the ending, with the

Battle of the tower. Brandon Sanderson really excels with writing tense and emotional battle scenes. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and forced myself to finish it within one setting.

GOATED

What a ride. I loved all of the build up between the cast of characters. Some people might label it as slow or drawn out but to me it was worth it for the epic payoff in the final 100 pages. I’m so impressed with how much I grew to love and care for these complex characters and get lost in this world. This is my first Sanderson book and I guess the cliche is true, I’m about to do nothing but read his books for a long time coming. 

this was the best (fantasy) book i've ever read!!!!!

i literally could not put this down. i spend EVERY SECOND of my freetime reading this book. i forgot to eat, drink, sleep, live, because all that mattered was what happened next!!! i thought all of the people praising Brandon Sanderson must be exaggerating, but somehow he made me read over 1000 pages in just a few days and then immediately jump into another 1000 pages. i fear this might be my next hyperfixation...

6/5 stars honestly

recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/l-hQi0XISXU?si=2-hy8f0szQ4eRFRq