Rhythm of War: Brandon Sanderson (STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE)

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So good with words. Humans are like persuasionspren. I can’t speak with one of you without being changed.”

Arcanum Unbounded · Elantris · The Sunlit Man · Tress of the Emerald Sea · Warbreaker · White Sand · Yumi and the Nightmare Painter Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar’s blood-soaked past and stand together―and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past―even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization. Entering the book I was not sure of what exactly I was gonna encounter, considering the way things were going in the last book it seemed a bit difficult to really know what I was getting into, the action and emotionality from the get-go was certainly not what I had in mind.

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This was such a roller coaster of a book that became a huge comfort for me this week. I have so much to say but also don’t know where to begin and feel like I can’t say enough.

Just the level of insight that she allowed us to have into the immense history and legend of this world was worth everything. Chapters 7 and 8, which can be listened to here, regarding Kaladin and Moash, as well as new fabrials used by the Fused. At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure. The book started its life many years ago being about a young man who made a good decision. I wrote the entire book that way before realizing I’d done it wrong. So I started over from scratch and had him take the other fork, the more difficult fork. The fork that cast him into some of the worst imaginable circumstances, ground him against the stones of a world where there is no soil or sand on the ground.What I do appreciate most from the world-building, though, would have to be the increasing blend of fantasy and technology. I’ve heard from several fantasy readers who are fixed on the idea that fantasy should have as minimum technology—or maybe none—as possible in the world, and magic should have no rules at all; I disagree with this. There’s, of course, nothing wrong if a specific reader prefers that in their fantasy books, but personally speaking, I found this to be a limitation to the genre. Fantasy is a genre that’s brimming with limitless potential, and if done believably and fitting to the narrative, the combination of magic with science/technology can conjure exceptional results. And that’s what Sanderson achieved in Rhythm of War. A mind-blowingly amazing book that dishes out a constant stream of intense action, heartfelt interactions, and crazy plot development

Brandon has shared several fragments of Rhythm of War over the course of writing it, though it must be remembered that those come from the first draft, and as such are subject to change. The fact that Sanderson had to actively add a lot more comedy and look for ways to make it more palatable and a little less likely to make everyone incredibly distressed, should really tell you a lot about just how heavy and dark the book can get. Highstorms · Everstorm · Lights ( Stormlight · Voidlight) · Surgebinding · Voidbinding · Fabrials · Shardblades · Shardplate · Oathgate · Old Magic · Dawnshard Rhythm of War is amazing, as is Brandon Sanderson. His creativity and vision are unmatched. I enjoyed every minute of my trip to Roshar, and I am so sad to have returned home. For me, it was an enlightening and reliving experience that allowed me to connect and understand the characters and world in a more profound way. It was a cathartic experience and one that filled me with hope and light.

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Having said that, Rhythm of War is my least favorite book in the series. (So far.) Now, don’t get me wrong – all my fibers still loved and adored it. But it just doesn’t have quite the same oomph as the preceding novels. And here’s why: There are many, many elements and moments that I loved in Rhythm of War. I always adore reading about Bridge Four and this time we get to know more about members such as Dabbid and Rlain which was excellent. Travelling to Shadesmar again was great too, as Adolin and Shallan venture to the honorspren capital of Lasting Integrity. (I don't consider this to be a spoiler as it is mentioned on the book's summary section on Goodreads.) Also, finding out more about Adolin's "sword" was one of my favourite parts. This time, we are given further insight into some of the main Fused players such as Raboniel, the Pursuer, and Leshwi which added to the story greatly. There are some brilliant set-pieces, dream segments, witty conversations, and duels and confrontations. One section, in particular, could be referred to as a fantasy version of Die Hard. The last twenty percent of Rhythm of War features, by far, some of my favourite moments from the entire series. The finale is outstanding and by the time I got to Wit's epilogue I was completely out of breath and my emotions had been utterly bombarded. I cried quite a few times towards the end and there are a number of tragic moments that upset me to my core. I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.