Week 1 Reviews: White Sand, Volume 2, White Sand, Volume 3

From Goodreads:

Following the loss of most of his colleagues in a violent ambush, Kenton has become Lord Mastrell of the few remaining Sand Masters, magicians who can manipulate sand to do their bidding. With the ruling council poised against him, the hot-headed Kenton must become a diplomat to have any hope of preventing the eradication of his people forever. However, there's another complication: assassins are coming for him from all directions, and Kenton's only true ally is Khriss, a visitor from the other side of the planet who has an agenda of her own to pursue.

From Goodreads:

Underpowered and overwhelmed, Kenton tries to hold the Sand Masters together as forces political and personal conspire against them. Now, in one final push, Kenton must tap the most dangerous depths of his own abilities to combat the enemies within his own guild and discover the truth behind the ambush that killed his father and almost destroyed the Sand Masters for good.

My Review:
I had a great time reading these novels! I love the world of the Cosmere, and I loved getting to see more of the White Sands world, as well as Khriss, who we know has written the Ars Arcanum in the backs of the full length books. So it was really great to read these stories! 

There was obviously a lot of politics going on, Kenton wants to keep the Sand Masters a part of the council, and that involves convincing the other members of the council to keep him on. There are quite a few mysteries abounding, and some characters who are more than they seem! But it was also really great to watch Kenton grow up, to be less selfish, as Aarik muses. 

I loved the part that Ais played in these books. She is of the religion that because of it's beliefs about the sand, further believe that the Sand Masters are desecrating their god. So on one hand, she hates them. But on the other hand, she has to protect Kenton from assassins who share her religion. Not fun! But I loved how her two parts of the story resolved! 

But there was also Khriss and her need to help her home country. I really enjoyed the twists and turns that her story told, and I'm really hoping that in future stories, we'll see her country, because it seems like there's some high stakes going on there! Plus there was that ending, and I want to see where things go from there!

This were such great reads, and I can't wait to see more of this world of the White Sand, as well as The Cosmere! 

Author: Brandon Sanderson, Rik Hoskin, and Julius Gopez, Fritz Casas 
Series: White Sand #2, 3, The Cosmere
Read: January 6th, 6th, 2021 
Source: Online
Reason Why: Love his writing and this world, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book! and White Sand, Volume 3 is a End of Series 2021 Book!
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Published: February 21st 2018, September 15th 2019

White Sand, Volume 2:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

White Sand, Volume 3:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 43 Review: White Sand, Volume 1

From Goodreads:

A brand new saga of magic and adventure by #1 New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson! On the planet of Taldain, the legendary Sand Masters harness arcane powers to manipulate sand in spectacular ways. But when they are slaughtered in a sinister conspiracy, the weakest of their number, Kenton, believes himself to be the only survivor. With enemies closing in on all sides, Kenton forges an unlikely partnership with Khriss -- a mysterious Darksider who hides secrets of her own.

My Review:
This book was such such a great read! This isn't the first time that we met Khriss-she's the one who was in Secret History, and I don't know if it's in the series yet or not, maybe it was in Arcanum Unbounded, but Khriss is the one that writes the Ars Arcanum at the back of all the Cosmere books. So it was really great to meet her on her home planet. 

I enjoyed being on another Cosmere planet, one that is unique in that it has one side that is in perpetual twilight, and other that is in perpetual daylight. And learning about the Sand Masters, no matter how little we saw in this novel, was so interesting! I can't wait to read more! There's something going on there that I really want to find out, about Kenton and his abilities! 

I was a little confused in the beginning, from where on the map they were, and where various places were references (like where the bad guys were coming from) but then we got about midway through, and the town that they were heading for was the one that Kenton wanted to go to, anyways, so I started to feel less confused. And that the other viewpoint character already resided. I really enjoyed how the different stories wove together.

There is a lot of politics in this book. From the Sand Masters (and their position on the ruling board), to Khriss and her quest, to the criminal underbelly that may or may not be connected to a bigger, overarching scheme. I can't wait to find out how it's all going to play out! 

This was a really great read, and I'm really excited to see where the story goes from here (though I would really love to read the prose version, whenever that comes along!) 

Author: Brandon Sanderson, Rik Hoskin, and Julius Gopez 
Series: White Sand #1, The Cosmere 
Read: October 18th, 2020
Source: Online
Reason Why: Love his writing and this series so much! And it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2020 Book! 
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Published: June 21st 2016

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars