**Warning** Mild spoilers thoughout the post for earlier entries of The Stormlight Archive.
Intro
About a year after the end of Oathbringer, the war against Odium and the Fused continues. The Knights Radiant have been growing their numbers, but the enemy has grown as well. Dalinar and his coalition are fighting a war on many fronts while anticipating a betrayal at any time by Taravangian.
Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, and others continue to explore their abilities and confront their internal demons. Will the coalition be able to gain ground against Odium and protect Roshar? Or will they be overwhelmed by the armies of Odium?
Rhythm of War, written by Brandon Sanderson (author’s website and Amazon page), is entry #4 of The Stormlight Archive and fits within Sanderson’s larger “Cosmere” collection of books. It was released on November 17, 2020. It is a massive book with about 1,232 pages, and the audiobook lasts around 57 hours.
Read on for a detailed breakdown, or click here to jump to the conclusion.
“Our weakness doesn’t make us weak. Our weakness makes us strong. For we had to carry it all these years.”
Plot
Describing the plot of this book is difficult since it is so large and has multiple plots going on–as is typical in many of Sanderson’s works and epic fantasy in general. It has a “battle against the odds” theme in Dalinar’s portion, it has a quest story with the quest through Shadesmar, and it has a couple different underground resistance plots. Also, like the other entries in The Stormlight Archive, it has a plot line set in the past (in this book, Eshonai and Venli are the historic highlights) to flesh out characters more. Despite being massively long, Rhythm of War does not have many parts that drag on or are difficult to get through. Atypical for a Sanderson work, not all of the threads collide at the end. Most of his books end with everything coming together in a massive showdown (or, as his fans often call it, a “Sanderlanche”). At the end of this one, the separate plot lines are mostly wrapped up individually without much interaction with each other. The plot lines surrounding Urithiru are probably most intriguing with strong character development and important worldbuilding events that promise to set the stage for future entries in the series. I would have liked to see a bit more connection between these plots and the others, but the specific circumstances in Urithiru make the seclusion understandable. The only real low point, for me, in the plot is the quest through Shadesmar. Those sections are certainly important for fleshing out the world and laying groundwork, but it seems to drag at times. I found it hard to be engaged or care about those events, though I am not sure why. Bear in mind, this impression is relative to the usual level of engagement I have with Sanderson’s plots. It is a good storyline by any measure; it simply is not “great” like I usually expect from him. The history of Eshonai and Venli was also a surprising disappointment. Honestly, that section was not too bad. It was just a bit of a letdown for me after the masterful character development of Dalinar in the previous book.Worldbuilding/Series Connection
Worldbuilding is an area where this book really shines. It does not explore many sections of Roshar that were not already familiar in previous books, but it looks more deeply into the areas that are already known and provide more depth to them. Two areas of strong development are the magic system (Surgebinding and Voidlight usage) and the culture of the Singers/Parshmen/Parshendi. Getting the perspective of Venli throughout the book really fleshed out the Singers beyond the simple characteristics pushed on them by the Alethi viewpoint characters. Rhythm of War also does a great job with connection to the larger series. Not only does it push forward the story on Roshar, but it also provides plenty of references to the larger Cosmere and teasers for the future for Sanderson super fans. The quest through Shadesmar gives more information about the importance of the Rosharan system to the entire Cosmere, and the end of the book sets the stage for even broader conflicts.Characters
Sanderson was obviously influenced by Robert Jordan with his sheer number of characters. Somehow, he makes most of them, even minor characters, feel real and distinct from each other. Though none of the character arcs in this book are as incredible as Dalinar’s redemption arc in Oathbringer, they are quite well done. He continues the themes of mental illness from previous books and gives even more depth and humanity to the characters.
One of the high points is the growth of Adolin. In this book, you really get to see his heart and care for others emerge. He is the friend to Kaladin even when Kaladin is so grouchy few want to be his friend. He treats his sword’s spren with care and empathy even when others do not see the value. Though the end of his plot line for this book was a little disappointing and felt a little abrupt, it showed Adolin’s growth from the cocky duelist we first met in The Way of Kings into a loyal friend and patient husband.
Another high point was the storyline for Navani. I cannot discuss much without giving spoilers, but, good grief, her arc was incredible! The book starts by giving more detail to her background and complicating the character of Gavilar even more. I really enjoyed seeing Navani grow from there and learn more about herself and then world around her.
Spoilers for Navani and Taravangian
Prose
As always, Sanderson’s prose is superb. He is able to paint this world so vividly that you feel like it is real. More importantly, he is able to distinguish characters simply from their speech patterns. Even the multiple personalities of Shallan are distinct enough that you can almost tell the switching of personalities without relying on the external speech markers.Conclusion
Rhythm of War is another excellent entry in The Stormlight Archive, and it gives more depth to both the world and the characters. It has very few low points which are really only low points relative to them Sanderson standard.
I am particularly excited by the implications the events have for further entries in this series. The greater connections with the rest of the Cosmere are really exciting for any Sanderson fan. I am also really intrigued by the open questions that are raised about the various forms of Light and the magic from using them.
You should read this if …
- You are already invested in The Stormlight Archive. It is an excellent addition to the series
- You like massive epic fantasies with large casts of characters (like The Wheel of Time)
- You want to explore the world of epic fantasy. Sanderson’s gentle and thorough introduction to the world combine with his relatable characters to make the series beginner-friendly for epic fantasy
