"That's exactly the problem. Everyone's convinced that their lives are over just because their hearts stopped beating."

As is fairly typical for Sanderson, the buildup before this story really gets going is quite long - and in fact this almost did it for me. it wasn't until the eighth chapter, almost fifteen percent of the way in, that things started to build with sufficient momentum to hold me (and had it not been Sanderson I doubt I would have held that long).

Still the story was brilliant. magic focuses through natural things in Sanderson's worlds and in this case it's Aons, a pictographic alphabet. A far cry from circular runes and wand-waving wizardry; the Aons join the exclusive ranks of the metallurgy, colour and stormlight that he's made magic through his books with such brilliance.

The characters were also quite good, bullheaded females are becoming something of a theme, though, as are corrupt religions and people becoming Gods and so forth.

To sum,An interesting take and a good standalone novel. Certainly worth a read if you like Sanderson's style.