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reviewed Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (author) (The Stormlight Archive, #4)

Brandon Sanderson (author): Rhythm of War (2020, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom) 5 stars

The Stormlight Archive saga continues in Rhythm of War, the eagerly awaited sequel to …

Review of 'Rhythm of War' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

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.