Rhythm of War

This book begins about a year after the end of Oathbringer. Dalinar and Jasnah are trying to win a war that feels interminable. Navani is trying to figure out the secrets of Urithiru. Kaladin is struggling with his mental health and how to keep on fighting. Shallan and Adolin are trying to unite the spren and the humans to help win the war, while Shallan struggles with her own past.

The character building we got in Navani and Kaladin's characters is exemplary. Sanderson is a master at character. He makes characters feels so real and relatable. Navani deals with Imposter Syndrome that was worsened by her relationship with Gavilar. She doesn't consider herself a scholar, but a patron to scholars. Her faith in herself is put to the test as she is forced to work on her own to find a solution to fixing their tower. This book propelled Navani to one of my favorite characters.

Kaladin's plot line really showcased the ups and downs of living with depression. It shows that no matter your status or wealth, depression can effect anyone. His evolving relationship with Syl is always such a joy to read. I do think that every book has been a little repetitive with his story. The arc in each book feels very similar.

The pacing of the book for the most part was engaging. I do think that Sanderson can become pretty long-winded about things that aren't necessary. For example, I don't think the in depth descriptions of the science behind fabrials was necessary. A brief overview of them would've been enough. There were a few areas that felt a little dragged out, but none were long enough that I wanted to put the book down.

I think the flashback chapters of Venli and Eshonai, while adding depth to their characters, didn't really feel necessary to me. I don't feel much connection to either of them.

I think Shallan's big reveal at the end was rushed through, and I don't think the stakes were high enough. Her plot was a little disappointing to me, and she is normally one of my favorite characters to read about.

The ending. Oh my gosh, the ending. Sanderson really pulled through in making me SO ANXIOUS for the fifth book. If you know, you know.

All in all, this book was a huge success. The tie-ins to the rest of the Cosmere were so enlightening and really built this world to be so much bigger than originally perceived. I am so excited for the next book.

Het heeft wat voeten in de aarde gehad, maar ik heb Rhythm of War uiteindelijk uitgelezen. Voeten in de aarde, omdat ik begonnen was met het in audioboek te beluisteren, maar het was al zo lang geleden dat ik de vorige boeken gelezen had, dat ik geen flauw idee had wie wie was.



't Is te zeggen: ik had de vorige boeken gelezen, zoals in “met mijn ogen gelezen”, niet beluisterd. En het moet zijn dat ik de namen anders in mijn hoofd had zitten dan de meneer en de mevrouw die het boek voorlazen, of ik weet eigenlijk niet wat, want het lukte niet, in audioboek. Ik geraakte niet vooruit, met elke avond juist voor ik in slaap viel een kwartier te luisteren.
Overgestapt op Kindle en 't was direkt beter: na een paar hoofdstukken was ik weer helemaal mee, en op een paar avonden was ik er door.
Heel veel negatief commentaar op tinternet, zag ik achteraf. Boze mensen, over hoe saai het is en alles.
Ik ga niet zeggen dat het een slecht boek was. Maar ik durf ook niet te zeggen dat het een boek is dat zeer veel mensen uitstekend gaan vinden. Brandon Sanderson bouwt aan een verhaal dat bijna al zijn werk aan het omvatten is: alles speelt zich af in de Cosmere, waar quasi-goddelijke wezens (die behalve dat ze enorm machtig zijn toch nog altijd verrassend menselijk blijven van karakter en dergelijke) in verschillende zonnestelsels zitten op verschillende planeten, en waar er een soort allesomvattend systeem van magisch-achtige dinges is, dat in elk van die plaatsen zijn eigen systematiek heeft.
Het hangt allemaal in elkaar, en voor de (zeeeer) aandachtige lezer staat het vol met verwijzingen over en weer.
Daar knelt het wat, in Rhythm of War: Sanderson probeert te veel antwoorden te geven, en tegelijkertijd te veel allusies te doen naar dingen die alleen begrijpbaar zijn voor superfans en méér dan aandachtige lezers die alles gelezen hebben en/of op de hoogte gebleven zijn via bijvoorbeeld The Coppermind.
Ja, ik ben één van die mensen. En ja, voor mij was het allemaal redelijk duidelijk, eens ik er weer in was geraakt.
Een tweede probleem is dat het boek over en weer slingert tussen verschillende vertelstandpunten, en dat die helaas niet allemaal even interessant zijn. Zo is één personage, Venli, enorm interessant als het verhaal zich in het heden afspeelt, maar minder dan boeiend als het flashbacks zijn van acht jaar, zeven en een half, zeven jaar, etc. geleden. Doet een ander personage tot in de laatste paar hoofdstukken gewoon niets van belang, maar krijgt het wel om de zoveel tijd zijn eigen hoofdstuk waar niets in gebeurt. Is er nog een personage dat hoofdstuk na hoofdstuk wetenschappelijke experimenten omschrijft die vrees ik alleen maar boeiend zijn voor wie meer wil weten over het grotere beeld van de verschillende Cosmere-systemen.
Een mens krijgt het gevoel dat dit nooit zou gebeurd zijn in de eerste boeken van Stormlight Archive — daar zou een redacteur nog durven zeggen hebben dat veel van die verhalen verteld konden worden in één hoofdstuk in plaats van in tien of meer.
Het heeft er ook meer te maken, vrees ik, dat Sanderson zichzelf een redelijk vast carcan heeft opgelegd wat structuur betreft, over alle boeken boeken heen: elke titel van elke boek een verwijzing naar een echte tekst in het boek, elk boek een thema, elk boek een orde van Knights Radiant, elk boek een ongeveer gelijk aantal standpunten, elk boek één flashback-protagonist.
Maar hey, dit was boek 4 van de 10 in Stormlight Archive. Het volgende boek zal een einde zijn, om dan vele jaren later de draad opnieuw op te pakken in boek 6-10. Sanderson deed dat al eens met de Mistborn-boeken, waar het tweede deel van het verhaal zich zo'n 300 jaar na het eerste dele afspeelt. Ik ben bijzonder benieuwd te zien wat er zal gebeuren in Stormlight 5. Het laatste nieuws is dat dat voor 2023 zal zijn.
Met wat geluk is Winds of Winter tegen dan ook al uit. Alhoewel.

Executive Summary: The start of this book really dragged for me and for that reason it's the first book in the series I'm not giving 5 stars too. Once it got going though I remembered why I love this series so much.

Full Review
Done! After nearly 6 weeks. First 5 weeks: 500 pages read. Last week: 700 pages read. The last part of this book was an easy 5 star read for me. But that first part really really dragged. I'm sad that this will be the first book of the series I don't give a 5 star rating too. He was batting 1000% so far.

It's hard for me to seperate this book and 2020. My reading this year is way down. I just can't concentrate. I'd pick this up and read 1 or 2 chapters. I'd set it down to check my phone or would doze off. But that was happening with other books too.

Once I really started getting into though, I remembered why this is one of my favorite series. The same elements that made it slow in the first half remained, but the rest of the story was picking up momentum and carrying me through those parts.

I'm not sure if the payoff of those slower sections was worth it for me. Normally I love Kaladin's parts and really enjoy Shallans. Both of them were a drag early on, especially Shallan's. Kaladin's got better much faster.

I was mostly clinging to Andolin's story in the early going, so of course right at it was getting good, it stops for a few HUNDRED pages. Sigh.

I was kind of indifferent on Navani's parts for much of the book as well, but that too improved as it went on. So really the book just took awhile to get its hooks into me.

Overall this is the weakest of the series so far to me, but still an enjoyable read. Now to wait for the next one. With where this leaves off, I'll be curious to see what he's got in store for the mid-series finale.

Overall, I find this to be the

Yet another excellent monolithic tome from Sanderson. It definitely benefits from having read his other works (outside of the Stormlight Archive) beforehand, more so than the earlier SA books.

These words are accepted.

My reactions in emojis:

 Obviously you will not be reading Rhythm of War with without having read the preceding three thousand-ish pages in the series.

I feel like Sanderson's writing craft has finally caught up to his giant ideas. With every plot twist there was a feeling of “Oh! Ah”, as you cast your mind back to every hint dropped in your path. The discussion and depiction of mental illness was nuanced (from my POV, I do not claim to represent any brain except my own).

Ultimately, not a disappointing installment in a series I already greatly enjoy, raising as many questions as were answered, and now I'll wait another two (three) years for the next. 

Absolutly amazing

Another great follow up book with a nice setup of Urithuru as the centerpiece. The range of broad POVs continue to excite and all characters stay true to themselves. Navani is really well constructed. Lots gets explained and the twist towards the end makes it a bit more interesting now. Overall a tad too predictable. I was able to guess most of the character arcs midway through the book. Onwards.

Listened on Audible. Left me emotionally compromised at Target next to the drain cleaners. Sanderson is a magician.

10/10

Brandon did it again. Another masterpiece.
I need to process it before writing any meaningful review.

This was by far my most anticipated read of the year and probably my most anticipated read of the last three years since the last Stormlight book came out and it certainly lived up to expectations. Revelations abound and we're now headed full speed ahead for the ending of the first arc!

Main characters, with the exception of Kaladin (thank god he's my favourite), begin to switch out a little here. Not too much, but enough to be noticeable. Venli is a lead and her backstory, along with her sister's, makes up the spine of the book. Shallan shares much of her page-time with Adolin on a quest in Shadesmar but even she takes a backseat this time around. And despite Oathbringer being Dalinar's book, it is his wife Navani who gets the most attention in Rhythm of War, unlocking the secrets of Urithiru. This surprised me but I welcomed it greatly. My favourite aspect remains the focus on mental illness while unabashedly being some of the most creative crazy stuff in fantasy.

What can I say? I love Kaladin. I've never been so proud of a fake man. I love the world and the characters and finding the other references to the broader cosmere and then slapping my palm to my forehead whenever a reveal happens because it seems so OBVIOUS after the fact. I don't love waiting three years to find out what happens next but I suppose three years isn't that long compared to some series one could (but won't) mention.

An easy 5 stars from me. I can't wait to dig into this again!

A nice continuation to the Stormlight Archive. I think Sanderson's done the best he could do given the situation Oathbringer landed the series in.
Some great imagery and expansion throughout. I really enjoyed the structural changes he made, particularly the fast start and more balanced action throughout the book. Navani's arc was a highlight and the main narrative arc of the book didn't disappoint. The flashbacks were not instantly gratifying, but were very well constructed and fascinating in how he fleshes out his world.
I found the writing, pacing, engagement factor much improved from Oathbringer. It's a more consistent, high-quality book. And it sets up what's surely going to be a super-intense finale in three years.