The second book of the Year of Sanderson is the only book that doesn’t belong to the Cosmere. A mix of science fiction and fantasy, it is difficult to describe this book in detail without revealing spoilers. What I will say is that when I talk about Sanderson, this is the book I’d recommend as an introduction to his writing and story-telling ability. As a stand-alone, non-Cosmere novel, it is the easiest for a new reader to understand why I like Sanderson and decide for themselves whether they enjoy the way he writes without devoting hundreds of hours to a story.
The novel was written on the premise of a Who Am I story. The main character has woken up in a strange world and has little recollection of who he is. As the story progresses, he must re-evaluate his identity and come to terms with the life he lived up until he ended up in this strange land.
The premise of the novel is that in the main character’s world, they’ve discovered dimensional travel. It’s not time travel, but different dimensions progressed through time at different rates. Thus, it’s possible to visit a dimension where technology was stymied, and the people are still in the Middle Ages. The company has purchased the rights to a number of these dimensions that promise a middle-age experience. For extra, you can buy things like a wizard staff, a device with modern-day technology that will allow the user to create magical effects and amaze the citizens of the new dimension they are inhabiting. Of course, you can always not purchase all the extras and use your wit and knowledge of the future to impress the locals. But nano-technology, something that is fairly commonplace in John West’s world still exists and even your average person can impress a society with technology 1,000 years behind your own.
The novel is heavily influenced by Nordic mythology. With many of the gods having names similar to the Nordic mythology of our world, it’s easy to understand their respective places in this semi-new world our protagonist is navigating. This novel was more comedic than other Sanderson novels I had read. There are definitely moments that I still remember very vividly and still bring a smile to my face. The descriptions of the environment were great and the protagonist’s journey to rediscover themselves was unpredictable. The story is really how the protagonist learns to accept his past, but also accepts that his past self does not dictate who he is now.
It was a nice departure from the Mistborn and Stormlight Archives series because it was in first person. Although I like stories from different POVs, I’ve really started to enjoy books with a singular POV lately. There is something nice about being in one character’s head for the entirety of the journey and it’s something that I hope more up-and-coming authors start to lean into more. I have grown a little tired of jumping through different characters’ heads. I’ve come to relish the experience and frustration of only having one POV. Is that character an enemy or friend? I’m trying to figure it out alongside the protagonist.