Wind and Truth – Day Four Review

Wind and Truth spoilers up to the end of Day 4.

This might be my favourite day so far, which is a relief after my rather short Wind and Truth Day 3 review. The return of Navani and Shallan definitely helped!

But more importantly… Has anyone seen Gav?!

WHERE IS GAV!?!?

The Cycle of Trauma in Day 4

Stormlight is a great series for its various little callbacks and reveals (which would have been more effective if I’d reread any of the predecessors before diving into this one) and Wind and Truth is no different. One of my first notes on Day 4 is a brief insight into Dalinar and Adolin’s feud over Adolin’s love of fashion.

Adolin’s lavish wardrobe bothers Dalinar, which bothers Adolin. During Dalinar’s tumble through his memories as he acclimatises in the realm of the gods, there’s a brief flash where he remembers being mocked by well-dressed men—and there we have it, the seed of a weighty discomfort that he has pushed onto his own son.

It’s possible that Dalinar himself has failed to see the connection, but the Adolin chapter directly next to it has a comment from Adolin’s perspective about how Dalinar would have disliked his current cloak. I think it’s intentional that these points are noted so closely.

Millennial Trauma in Wind and Truth

It wouldn’t be a Day 4 review without spending a moment to coo over Kaladin and Syl’s beautiful dance. It really shows that a man can never love his spear too much.

Jokes aside, this was a very moving scene. I felt that this scene was the true narrative climax for all of Kaladin’s troubles across the last four and a half books. Finally, finally, he’s found true joy, and he can choose to pursue it.

(Y’know, unless you think that slowly falling in love with a fairy-weapon is a different kind of madness that might need some more healing.)

It was wonderfully written—I felt as if I could feel Syl’s weight in my own arms, the wind in my hair, and the springy earth beneath my feet, even though in the real world I was in immense pain and trying to recover from a mediocre bout of stomach flu.

But one line in particular stood out to me as a millennial:

Kaladin: “How do I find what I need if the world is constantly in crisis?” P.495

It’s the mantra of my depressed generation. Beleaguered by rising costs, backwards reforms, housing crises, climate change, and war—joy is hard to come by and my generation are statistically unhappy.

Finding the motivation to get up and dance—or sit down and write my novel, in my case—is hard, but it is possible… and notably easier for the Syls in my life.

Other Traumas in Day 4

Other traumas that won’t get their own focus paragraph but do deserve a mention include my favourite Szeth flashback so far—his first day at military camp—and Wit’s absolute breakdown because his vision-self realised he wasn’t real and started melting. Of note, I found it very odd that the word ‘homunculus’ was chosen to refer to Wit here. I can’t tell if that is an insight into Wit specifically, or more of an insight towards to pseudo-science behind these visions.

Lastly, it’s fun to see that Formless is back, as terrifying as those descriptions are.

Adolin in Day 4 – Honour’s Chosen?

Finally, I return to my theory from my Day 2 review! Dalinar is not destined for Honour’s power, and he never was, but Adolin might be!

In Dalinar and Navani’s vision, they comment on how the Heralds required no oaths to access their powers. In Adolin’s chapters, he comments on how the real reason he hasn’t joined the radiants is his dislike of the oaths. Adolin is a man who believes in growth, and growth requires change, which is made more difficult by restrictive oaths.

Adolin’s growing bond with Maya shows that something else is possible.. and for him, could it be the full weight of Honour? Could this be his true destiny, after denying himself the Kholinar throne?

Lastly, I am finding Adolin’s chapters overall to be rather repetitive. The breadth of their existence feels as if they stand to tell us that he is of importance, rather than generally telling us much that is new about the situation in Azimir.

Summary

We’re approaching the halfway mark, but there’s still nearly a thousand pages left to go—surely Gav is in there somewhere! Make sure to subscribe to the blog for an email notification about when I realise my Day 5 Review of Wind and Truth!