bbbhltz reviewed Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #4)
Excellent
5 stars
Unsurprisingly, this was excellent. I am happy that I took the time to digest this one instead of binging my way through it. Truly epic.
1088 pages
English language
Published Feb. 25, 2020 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.
The Stormlight Archive saga continues in Rhythm of War, the eagerly awaited sequel to Brandon Sanderson's #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from an epic fantasy writer at the top of his game.
After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar’s crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.
Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin’s scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.
At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips …
The Stormlight Archive saga continues in Rhythm of War, the eagerly awaited sequel to Brandon Sanderson's #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from an epic fantasy writer at the top of his game.
After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar’s crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.
Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin’s scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.
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.
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Unsurprisingly, this was excellent. I am happy that I took the time to digest this one instead of binging my way through it. Truly epic.
This series just keeps outdoing itself. Over a thousand pages, and it doesn't feel bloated or plodding. There is just a ton of stuff going on, and I'll be reeling from it all for a good while. Staggeringly good, and a fine way to end the year.
Look I think this is a very solid book, and I might like it better than book 3, but honestly it's one exhausting read and Sanderson could do with some brevity. This is the first Stormlight book that I feel has too many moving and scattered pieces for its own good, and it makes me feel like I'm outside the cool kids circle by not having the context of the wider cosmere or the patience to peruse through the wiki to feel like I'm getting more than half of what's happening on the page. The core plot is very solid, I really enjoyed the places the main characters went (despite Lift's very small role which is an actual crime) and I appreciate the series placing the characters' interiority as a key piece to surpassing the challenges they face, but it's a core wrapped in so many tangential threads (I really …
Look I think this is a very solid book, and I might like it better than book 3, but honestly it's one exhausting read and Sanderson could do with some brevity. This is the first Stormlight book that I feel has too many moving and scattered pieces for its own good, and it makes me feel like I'm outside the cool kids circle by not having the context of the wider cosmere or the patience to peruse through the wiki to feel like I'm getting more than half of what's happening on the page. The core plot is very solid, I really enjoyed the places the main characters went (despite Lift's very small role which is an actual crime) and I appreciate the series placing the characters' interiority as a key piece to surpassing the challenges they face, but it's a core wrapped in so many tangential threads (I really wonder how much of this is just references to other works and future Stormlight material post-book 5) I felt like I was constantly digging for that next bit of development rather than enjoying the journey as with previous books. As predicted, I enjoyed Dawnshard way more.