Rhythm of War |OT| The Stormlight Archive: Book 4

ScoobsJoestar · Feb 23, 2021

My favorite POV character is Adolin. His arc feels so natural and he is so likeable, I just love the guy. Shallan is my least favorite, even though I like her plot.

Kaladin is my favorite POV only when Adolin is around because the two work so well together.

Bard · Feb 23, 2021

ScoobsJoestar said:
My favorite POV character is Adolin. His arc feels so natural and he is so likeable, I just love the guy. Shallan is my least favorite, even though I like her plot.

Kaladin is my favorite POV only when Adolin is around because the two work so well together.

I'll echo this as well. I really like Kaladin but he truly shines when he's having his buddy moments with Adolin who is just absurdly likeable. Also Kaladin's main weapon preference is a spear instead of a sword, and spears are the best so he gets bonus points for this.

FlowersisBritish · Feb 24, 2021

As someone with pretty sever depression (and the occasional lasp out of reality) I've always really enjoyed Kaladin's and Shallan's POV. LIke I get why its not appealing to read, especially over the course of such long books, but its pretty accurate to my brand of crazy and I always appreciated how I could relate to that.

Bebpo · Feb 25, 2021

So um, I'm enjoying the hell out of Part 3 including the flashbacks. The interludes were 2 out of 3 great and then it's been really cool since.

I kinda feel like Part 1/2 should've just been half the length because they feel like the intro and the actual plot of the book is starting now with Part 3. Like 550 pages in. Part 3 with its PoVs and flashbacks and mysteries and action feel like a normal Stormlight book again. Part 2, especially with the missing viewpoints just felt weird.

Also I think part 2's execution was bad in concept

One of the issues why part 2 wasn't interesting to me is because I knew what was going to happen with the tower attack since we see it planned on the listener/fused side with Venli.

Then it just feels like going through the motions watching it play out. Same with the planned trip to Lasting Integrity.

Now its back to not knowing what will happen next and that's when Sanderson books are the most interesting. Having an entire part be two plots that barring anything surprising happening we already know what will happen be the entirety of part 2 just didn't work imo.

If there wasn't the Venli side and we just see Kaladin doing his therapy stuff and starting to find a new life and then suddenly Teft goes into a seizure and the tower is under attack it would've been the same plot but much more exciting as you'd expect for the end of a section.

kVH2LpZd · Feb 28, 2021

I enjoyed reading the different points of view in this topic after finishing the book last night. Gave me some additional perspective and thought.

Anyways, I had written up a few thoughts before, so I will just add my review/rant below.

It feels like the book is 1100 pages of depression and 120 pages of the usual Sanderson awesomeness avalanche.
But somehow it is no longer the narrative that I started loving.

When I read the Way of Kings, the cool part of it was that for once, after decades of "real stories" like Game of Thrones, with constant backstabbing and "you have to kill your heroes" bullshit, the good guys really were the good guys and also the good guys won.

Now after book four, we are somehow back at the same old "everyone can die" and everyone is good and evil and nothing is really like it seems.
Maybe it is just not the book or narrative that I needed at this difficult time in real life.

But I fear that Sanderson maybe was influenced too much by the success of GoT.

One more gripe: Even though I reread the 3 other books right beforehand, I sometimes didn't understand what and who the fuck was happening right now. The creep of involved characters, parties and even planetary systems adds nothing to the enjoyment for me. It doesn't have to be a fight for the universe, Roshar would have been sufficient, but that is just me.

Maybe it is the great art/trick of the book, that you feel so similar to the main protagonist while reading it. Getting more and more depressed, feeling like treading water, not making any progress at all. But then it has the same effect like RDR2 for me, that this doesn't lead to more immersion for me because at the end of the day, I still want to enjoy the thing and not hate what I am doing/reading.

And finally: I hated the Shadesmar storyline in book 3 already, but boy does it come back with a vengeance in book 4. 900 pages of travelling and in the end not even a real resolution that is felt anywhere in the world of the book.
Yes, it will probably have a great effect on book 5, but Jesus, that is another 4 years away.

Bebpo · Feb 28, 2021

Read the part last night in Act 3

Where Jasnah kills and revives Ruthar at the war table room.

That was a great scene, but...is it just me or does Wit in this book feel written very out of character compared to every other appearance he's had in the Cosmere so far?

I mean even one book back on Roshar the stuff with him and Shallan in Kholinar and the epilogue chapter of him getting the spren from the palace walls felt his usually confident whimsical self, but suddenly in this book all his appearances at Jasnah's side have been this weird dour serious mood where he just "whisper" statements here and there.

It's very un-Wit. And I like Wit a lot as a character, so I don't like Wit like this haha.

I think I'd describe him as silent & brooding here. Which is yeah, un-Wit.

I get that there's been a year timeskip, maybe whatever happened with Wit in that year changed him, idk I guess I'll see and post more about Wit after finishing the book.

lemonade · Mar 1, 2021

Finished the book and finally caught up with most of Cosmere except White Sand and some side stories.

The Kelsier reveal was not unexpected but still very cool. Ever since reading Secret History, I knew he was gonna show up again. The fact that Ghostblood mentioned their leader having similar trouble as Kelek, it immediately tipped me off on Kelsier.

Then there's the mention of Sazed having someone represent him to help Wit. In my mind there are three candidates, Wax/Spook/Kelsier. If it's Wax, then there has to be some time travel shenanigans going on. Could be Spook since he was the last Mistborn. Now that it's revealed Kelsier is the leader of Ghostblood, he is unlikely to be chosen given Sazed already lied to him about leaving the Cognitive Realm.

Cruxist · Mar 1, 2021

lemonade said:
Finished the book and finally caught up with most of Cosmere except White Sand and some side stories.

The Kelsier reveal was not unexpected but still very cool. Ever since reading Secret History, I knew he was gonna show up again. The fact that Ghostblood mentioned their leader having similar trouble as Kelek, it immediately tipped me off on Kelsier.

Then there's the mention of Sazed having someone represent him to help Wit. In my mind there are three candidates, Wax/Spook/Kelsier. If it's Wax, then there has to be some time travel shenanigans going on. Could be Spook since he was the last Mistborn. Now that it's revealed Kelsier is the leader of Ghostblood, he is unlikely to be chosen given Sazed already lied to him about leaving the Cognitive Realm.

In response to your Cosmere timeline question:

I believe that Mistborn series 2 actually takes place concurrently with Stormlight Archive. I don't know exactly how things line up, but Wax is almost certainly alive at this time. There's also been a reference in the books to Wax being Harmony's sword or some sort of weapon, and it's pretty clear his character development is going in this direction.

The Kelsier reveal is one of my favorite things in the Cosmere so far. He's for sure my favorite character, no longer with the moral high ground and actively working against our current set of "heroes." He's taken on a more proactive role that's normally associated in fiction with villains, so I'm curious to see what the final Cosmere conflict ends up being. I could certainly see Kelsier as an agent, unwitting or otherwise, of TOdium in the future. But he also has ties to Ruin/Preservation, so perhaps he will be a third faction in the greater Cosmere conflict.

H.Cornerstone · Mar 1, 2021

Cruxist said:
In response to your Cosmere timeline question:

I believe that Mistborn series 2 actually takes place concurrently with Stormlight Archive. I don't know exactly how things line up, but Wax is almost certainly alive at this time. There's also been a reference in the books to Wax being Harmony's sword or some sort of weapon, and it's pretty clear his character development is going in this direction.

The Kelsier reveal is one of my favorite things in the Cosmere so far. He's for sure my favorite character, no longer with the moral high ground and actively working against our current set of "heroes." He's taken on a more proactive role that's normally associated in fiction with villains, so I'm curious to see what the final Cosmere conflict ends up being. I could certainly see Kelsier as an agent, unwitting or otherwise, of TOdium in the future. But he also has ties to Ruin/Preservation, so perhaps he will be a third faction in the greater Cosmere conflict.

Mistborn era 2 takes place 10 years after Stormlight archive era 1.

lemonade · Mar 1, 2021

Cruxist said:
In response to your Cosmere timeline question:

I believe that Mistborn series 2 actually takes place concurrently with Stormlight Archive. I don't know exactly how things line up, but Wax is almost certainly alive at this time. There's also been a reference in the books to Wax being Harmony's sword or some sort of weapon, and it's pretty clear his character development is going in this direction.

The Kelsier reveal is one of my favorite things in the Cosmere so far. He's for sure my favorite character, no longer with the moral high ground and actively working against our current set of "heroes." He's taken on a more proactive role that's normally associated in fiction with villains, so I'm curious to see what the final Cosmere conflict ends up being. I could certainly see Kelsier as an agent, unwitting or otherwise, of TOdium in the future. But he also has ties to Ruin/Preservation, so perhaps he will be a third faction in the greater Cosmere conflict.

Yeah, like H.Cornerstone said, Mistborn Era 2 is supposed to be after Stormlight part 1.

I especially remember in one of the Era 2 book's Ars Arcanum section, it talked about "events that happened on Roshar". I think that was definitely a reference to whatever ended up happening in first 5 books of Stormlight Archive.

I'm really interested to see what Harmony's plan for Wax is and how Wit fits into this. Also considering Wit pointed Wax to Kelsier by giving him that coin.

Also crazy to think Wit is a lightweaver, has breaths stored up and a Mistborn.

Adnor · Mar 1, 2021

If I remember correctly one of things Harmony wrote in one of the Stormlight Archives books is that he's working on having his "sword", so Wax should still be in the Roughs.

Cruxist · Mar 1, 2021

lemonade said:
Yeah, like H.Cornerstone said, Mistborn Era 2 is supposed to be after Stormlight part 1.

I especially remember in one of the Era 2 book's Ars Arcanum section, it talked about "events that happened on Roshar". I think that was definitely a reference to whatever ended up happening in first 5 books of Stormlight Archive.

I'm really interested to see what Harmony's plan for Wax is and how Wit fits into this. Also considering Wit pointed Wax to Kelsier by giving him that coin.

Also crazy to think Wit is a lightweaver, has breaths stored up and a Mistborn.

It's always felt to me like Wit/Hoid was working on re-combining all of the forms of investiture to reconstitute/rebuild Adonalsium. Either to act as a perfectly balanced Vessel once the Shardholders are all dead, or for a purpose that we don't understand just yet. We know that he's unable to harm anyone, so it's not like he could use all of his powers offensively, but he's still obviously a force to be reckoned with.

It just feels like a natural progression for him to ascend and become Adonalsium, but as like a non-interventionist version. We know Hoid was at the shattering and elected to not Ascend, but why? I thought it would be interesting if he joined the plan for the shattering not because he actively disliked Adonalsium, but because he just disagreed with how the powers were being utilized. Power corrupts etc etc... And now that he has restrictions on how he can act, he would be a "better" vessel, at least in his own perception.

There's obviously a lot of speculation on my part there, but gathering all the types of investiture just screams of reforming Adonalsium to me.

Bebpo · Mar 7, 2021

Just finished part 3. Liked it a lot, just as much as WoR & Oathbringer.

But then I saw the list of PoVs at the start of part 4 and wtf

Dalinar missing again? Right when he's about to go meet the GOD EMPEROR herald? His chapters in part 3 helped fix a lot of the issues of part 2 by showing what's going on with his side and that was a good exciting place to end for his part.

Like I'm assuming they will show his meeting with Ishar on-screen and not just have it be an off-screen event, so either the book has a part 5 which will go back to Dalinar or they'll find a way to show it in part four.

Only 400 pages left so not sure if there will be a part 5 or not this book.

Also part 3 would've been better without cutting out Adolin/Shallan even if it slowed the pace having more povs. Just like part 2 would've been better with Dalinar. This whole thing where the pov cast is too large so he just cuts out characters for 200-300 pages at a time just seems like a bad way to handle it.

I hope he figures out how to handle keeping all the main pov cast alternating chapters in book #5 in a less weird & unsatisfying way.

Also part 3 was nice having Jasnah & Renarin chapters too.

Piston · Mar 7, 2021

I just finished it fully, powered through the last two hundred pages in the last day or so. Collecting my thoughts but I thought the last three acts were much better than the first two. I will post a full breakdown later at some point.

This signals me being fully caught up on the Cosmere beyond some of the smaller supplementary stuff so that is exciting. Brandon has a really good concept going on here and I hope he can manage to cobble together something satisfying for all the disparate scraps. I will be reading forthcoming books upon release.

Excited to see Part 5 here and the next Mistborn book.

Finaj · Mar 7, 2021

I just finished Rhythm of War and I feel like I'm going to be missing out on a lot if I don't read the other Brandon Sanderson books.

Is this how people who only watch the Avengers films feel? xD

H.Cornerstone · Mar 7, 2021

Finaj said:
I just finished Rhythm of War and I feel like I'm going to be missing out on a lot if I don't read the other Brandon Sanderson books.

Is this how people who only watch the Avengers films feel? xD

lol, yes. Although, I think you can get buy only reading Mistborn era 1 and warbreaker. Not too much yet from Era 2.

Bebpo · Mar 7, 2021

Looking forward to finishing the book this week/weekend as usually the last 100-150 pages are a non-stop read in these books.

Mostly so can start discussing Book #5

1. Like, at this point in Part Four of Book #4, unless Szeth like dies or is written out of the book or something, I feel like Szeth is a shoe in for the flashback character in Book #5?

I mean it feels like the Shin homeland is a big deal and will hold some major information/key in the plot, so I feel like that'll be a part of Book #5 and Szeth will be the central PoV character for that so he should have a much bigger presence.

2. Also, assuming the book 1 cover is supposed to be the back of Dalinar, for covers we have Dalinar -> Kaladin -> Jasnah -> Shallan, so book #5 cover is ??? I'd like a better Dalinar cover tbh, but maybe Adolin.

3. And I was thinking about how Odium probably can't be destroyed in this sequence. The reason is that I don't think you can have Nightblood attack Odium until we have the Nightblood book. Like writing & releasing the Nightblood book after that event in Stormlight just feels...way less interesting than the Warbreaker sequel/Nightblood backstory book building up for the big event of Nightblood vs Odium. And since the Nightblood book ain't coming out in the next year...feels like Nightblood vs. Odium is going to be in sequence 2 with the Nightblood book released beforehand.

4. Although it'll be interesting to how this sequence ends with some finality. I'm guessing the Fused/Humanity war will resolve and without an army Odium will be kinda powerless unless he gets released fully, which could also happen leading to the second sequence.

Not a book #5 thought, but a book #4 thought - So I'm really hoping in these final 300 pages we see the sleepless have a role in the tower invasion. Because I thought in Dawnshard which is 6 months prior, that a bunch of the sleepless came back to stay at Urithu to study humans, and if so, uhhh where have they been this whole book?

Also this book makes me excited for Mistborn #4, I have a feeling some of the stuff being dealt with in this book are going to be a part of that.

Bebpo · Mar 7, 2021

Also re: Wit

minor spoilers for parts 1-3

So Wit & Jasnah...they're fucking right? I'm getting the vibe in this book that they're a romantic couple since the epilogue of Words of Radiance or earlier. Which is part of the reason why Wit is sticking around with Jasnah for an extended period of time instead of just showing up for a min here and there.

I know Sanderson doesn't really do romance in his books, probably because of his conservative mormon upbringing, so he tends to leave things vague and understated, so I'm trying to figure out if Wit/Jasnah are a couple and he's just being vague about it.

Buttchin-n-Bones · Mar 8, 2021

Bebpo said:
Also re: Wit

minor spoilers for parts 1-3

So Wit & Jasnah...they're fucking right? I'm getting the vibe in this book that they're a romantic couple since the epilogue of Words of Radiance or earlier. Which is part of the reason why Wit is sticking around with Jasnah for an extended period of time instead of just showing up for a min here and there.

I know Sanderson doesn't really do romance in his books, probably because of his conservative mormon upbringing, so he tends to leave things vague and understated, so I'm trying to figure out if Wit/Jasnah are a couple and he's just being vague about it.

Jasnah is asexual. They are a couple, though.

random88 · Mar 8, 2021

She is, but it is definitely implied that they are having sex.

Cruxist · Mar 8, 2021

s_hyperion said:
She is, but it is definitely implied that they are having sex.

And in the original first draft of the Way of Kings, Jasnah has a romance with one of the heralds. I know Brandon spoke before release about not wanting to invalidate feelings towards Jasnah with the relationship. Personally, I want to see him dig into it. Both very different characters but with similar (at least on the surface) end goals. Seems like Jasnah is incredibly Cosmere aware too, I wonder just how much though.

Bebpo · Mar 9, 2021

part four

I'm literally counting down the pages left. It's weird having the pacing jump back to slow when there's not a lot of pages left. Like jumping into Adolin's trial stuff. This would've worked better more in the middle of the book, not the last 200ish pages.

It feels like so much stuff still needs to happen in this book and so few pages are left. Definitely worried about a lot of stuff cliffhanging into book #5

Gonna be a long wait.

Also I totally thought Restares was going to be Kelsier.

Bebpo · Mar 13, 2021

Think I'm gonna finish this today or tomorrow depending on how gripping the last bits are. I had a power outtage last night and was in the middle of the chapter where

Part four spoilers:

Shallan/Formless meets Kelek with the knife

And was like I can't stop! And used my phone flashlight to keep reading and read through:

That bit and the final part of Adolin's trial with Maya speaking. Was figuring that Maya's relationship with Adolin would be key to the whole Honorspren arc since it was really the only ace in the hole they had to convince them. Nice to see some of the stuff from Oathbringer continue to pay off there.

I think I'm ~page 1030 or something and I usually get through about 30-40 pages an hour, so since it's the weekend will start reading later tonight and if I can't put it down I'll probably stay up all night finishing it tonight.

Bebpo · Mar 14, 2021

Ok, on Part Five, but probably finish tomorrow.

Reading the last set of Interludes I gotta say I miss the longer world-building interludes of Stormlight that used to be more like short stories. I swear all the interlude chapters in this book are like 2-4 pages max. Nothing like the Merchant adventures in Books #1/#2, Lift's intro story in book #2, or the pirate ship story in book #3 that led to Dawnshard. Like someone said earlier in this thread, Rhythm feels more of a smaller scale vs the other books expanding the scope with the world building.

For book #5 I don't really expect any long interludes like that. Doesn't make sense to do that kind of short story world building at this point. But hopefully for Book #6 and the next sequence he goes back to those types of interludes.

Bebpo · Mar 14, 2021

Alright, finished it at 5:30am. Will write up more thoughts tomorrow, need to sleep.

But I liked the book, probably put it behind Oathbringer/Words of Radiance but above Way of Kings, but I think this had the least satisfying finale of just too much going on without enough impact even if things did come together. A lot of stuff/characters that felt built up for the book didn't end up having much of an impact. I thought Part 3 was the best section of the book and liked Part 4 a lot too. Part 1/5 were ok and I didn't care for Part 2 much.

Also it's the first point in Stormlight where I'm not really excited for the next book. I'm a bit curious how he can make a 1,200 page book out of what seems to be very little plot left, but I'm not really excited about all the possibilities.

Mistborn #4 seems more potentially interesting on a Cosmere scale at this point..., but hopefully will be surprised.

One thing I don't get though is

Why does the final flashback chapter even exist. The twist is she survived a few minutes longer and still died?

I thought, since the first time we are introduced to Timber was when Venli finds Eshonai's corpse, that the twist was that Eshonai somehow became Timber. That was what I was guessing for the last two books. Then final chapter on secret truths behind Eshonai's death and...she just dies and goes to the spiritual realm anyhow?

Also fucking over Wit in the last chapter is pretty shitty and seems like a nerfing just because he's actually being useful in this one.

Bebpo · Mar 14, 2021

Oh and one thing that annoys me is why is every shard a standard name of what it represents like Honor, Ruin, Dominion...but Odium is a non-standard word? I thought Sanderson was doing this one purpose as a misdirection that Odium could be lying about being Passion and could secretly be a different shard, but that doesn't seem the case? Why isn't he called Hatred or something.

Deleted member 9479 · Mar 14, 2021

Bebpo said:
Why does the final flashback chapter even exist. The twist is she survived a few minutes longer and still died?

I thought, since the first time we are introduced to Timber was when Venli finds Eshonai's corpse, that the twist was that Eshonai somehow became Timber. That was what I was guessing for the last two books. Then final chapter on secret truths behind Eshonai's death and...she just dies and goes to the spiritual realm anyhow?

Also fucking over Wit in the last chapter is pretty shitty and seems like a nerfing just because he's actually being useful in this one.

in a lot of ways, RoW was completing Eshonai's story. The final flashback was just part of that. When she was originally shown to be dead, her story was incomplete and unsatisfying. The flashback gave her a satisfying and beautiful conclusion.

For a moment I thought something else was going to happen, which is a spoiler for another book so I won't put that here.

Deleted member 9479 · Mar 14, 2021

Bebpo said:
Oh and one thing that annoys me is why is every shard a standard name of what it represents like Honor, Ruin, Dominion...but Odium is a non-standard word? I thought Sanderson was doing this one purpose as a misdirection that Odium could be lying about being Passion and could secretly be a different shard, but that doesn't seem the case? Why isn't he called Hatred or something.

im not sure what you mean by non-standard?

Bebpo · Mar 14, 2021

Faiz said:
im not sure what you mean by non-standard?

Well, I mean as in a standard use term. I literally had never heard the term Odium before this series and I wasn't even sure it was a real word until I looked it up in the dictionary. All the other shard names are standard terms in every day use that clearly state what they are. I mean this book even talks about

Whimsy lol

I guess he just thought Odium sounded cool/better/more interesting. Whereas in my mind since I didn't even know Odium was a real word I thought Odium was the only shard without a defining name and that was something Sanderson was doing on purpose to leave it a mystery what shard Odium actually was.

Anyhow, just a misunderstanding on my part. But it is a bit odd he uses such a non-everyday term only for Odium, but again it's probably just because it sounded cooler than a bad guy of a big fantasy series being called Hatred or something.

Bebpo · Mar 14, 2021

Faiz said:
in a lot of ways, RoW was completing Eshonai's story. The final flashback was just part of that. When she was originally shown to be dead, her story was incomplete and unsatisfying. The flashback gave her a satisfying and beautiful conclusion.

For a moment I thought something else was going to happen, which is a spoiler for another book so I won't put that here.

Yeah, I'll re-read the chapter today.

The problem is that usually the final chapter of these flashbacks and end of book post-climax chapters are all about twists and turns and teases for future books. So Eshonai getting that chapter set expectations that there would be some twist and she's really not dead.

I still don't know though, I agree her death and conclusion was unsatisfying originally, but the fact that she became herself again and radiant for a few minutes and got a nice vision of Roshar on the winds and then....still died a few minutes later....doesn't really change that much for me. So it just seemed like a really odd chapter to throw in the book at that point.

I get the intention of giving Eshonai a better sendoff, but at least for me I don't think he nailed the execution.

Bebpo · Mar 14, 2021

Was debating where to write up my post-book finish thoughts on this one, but since it's kinda intertwine with some heavy Cosmere spoiler stuff I posted it in the Cosmere thread instead of this one.

Conkerkid11 · Mar 20, 2021

Conkerkid11 said:
Started rereading the first 3 books in anticipation for this, and nearly finished with the 1st, so I won't exactly be able to start this once it comes out.

Already bought it though, and incredibly hyped to read it.

Oh shit, and I didn't even know about Dawnshard.

I did it. I read all the books, including Warbreaker, Edgedancer, and Dawnshard.

Now I don't know what to do.

I really like Wit and I'm worried about whatever Taravangian did to him. I'm hoping all he did was fuck with his memory of that event so Wit wouldn't realize Rayse was dead and nothing more.

ScoobsJoestar said:
My favorite POV character is Adolin. His arc feels so natural and he is so likeable, I just love the guy. Shallan is my least favorite, even though I like her plot.

Kaladin is my favorite POV only when Adolin is around because the two work so well together.

Yuuuup. I was really attached to the Adolin arc in this book.

Aiii · Mar 20, 2021

Conkerkid11 said:
I did it. I read all the books, including Warbreaker, Edgedancer, and Dawnshard.

Now I don't know what to do.

Read skyward

Bebpo · Mar 20, 2021

Aiii said:
Read skyward

Yeah, I picked this up and started on Defending Elysium.

Been re-reading Part Five in Rhythm since I blew through the entire part in one sitting in the AM at a breakneck pace and wanted to try re-reading it at a normal 2-3 chapters a night pace and see if I enjoy it more.

Avis · Mar 29, 2021

Just finished it today. Will think about full thoughts later but my immediate one is

Thank the almighty they found a way to make the main villain more interesting. Half way through this book I couldn't take Odium seriously any more, dude was reaching I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME GADGET" tier.

iamcool388 · Mar 30, 2021

I am genuinely scared of Todium, it was a great decision imo to show his interaction with Wit at the end, gave us a teaser of how Odiums power combined with Taravangians intelligence would be like, filled me with a sense of dread!

Bebpo · Mar 30, 2021

Rhythm ending spoilers

I see what you're saying (and others here have said the same thing as well) about Odium taking too many Ls to be a serious main antagonist.

But in the cosmere I feel like Sanderson kind of only has that option if he's pitting mortals against Shards with any hope to win. The shards are so insanely OP compared to mortals, that the shards have to be dumb and overly confident to give any opening for mortals to beat them.

Like Taravangian Odium...seems like he'd pretty much win by default.

The other options are having the internal struggles between the mind & power of the shard create a way for mortals to win,

Or to have a story where an actual living full power shard is backing the mortals vs another shard to make things even.

Mistborn series spoilers

I mean, we've seen Sanderson now pull this "good shard is dead/dying, bad shard is alive but bound" thing twice so far,

which feels like a limitation/struggle of figure out how to write stories about shards and mortals since shards are OP to heck and back.

but yeah (back to Rhythm spoilers):

Taravangian Odium changes everything. No idea how Dalinar and crew will outsmart him.

Bard · Mar 30, 2021

Bebpo said:
Oh and one thing that annoys me is why is every shard a standard name of what it represents like Honor, Ruin, Dominion...but Odium is a non-standard word? I thought Sanderson was doing this one purpose as a misdirection that Odium could be lying about being Passion and could secretly be a different shard, but that doesn't seem the case? Why isn't he called Hatred or something.

Several times to me it seems like his shard is supposed to be Passion but it was somehow corrupted, especially with that old religion "The Passions" that people mention at times in Stormlight and how apparently humans used to worship Odium.

Poodlestrike · Mar 30, 2021

I think it's just that Passion makes you volatile, and in a mortal mind it's easy to fall into only the bad vibes.

random88 · Mar 30, 2021

I don't think that Odium was ever corrupted, but there is some wiggle room with how a person who holds a shards interprets it's meaning.

Big Mistborn spoilers:

Sanderson said that if someone else picked up Ruin and Preservation instead of Sazed, a combined shard's name could have easily been Discord.

Bard · Mar 30, 2021

That's fair. It makes sense for it to be passion anyway since it's such an intense sensation that could be overbearing, and like you said the volatility of it can easily lead it to something more violent or even maleficent.

phaze · Apr 15, 2021

Reading, or rather trying to read this for the third month. Sanderson managed to finally match his idol. He wrote 300 pages of prologue almost as dull as those of WoT. Oathbringer was already a middling book, so despite loving WoR, I'm starting to fear for my future with the series. Why the series did well with thisproblem in the two first books, i feel that just like wot or asoiaf, the number of players&povs involved, the scope of the story is starting to inexorably strangle the momentum.

The coalition leaving Herdaz to fight alone for months/year during the time skip feels like such a artificially induced event.

Spectromixer · Apr 17, 2021

Finally started reading RoW so I can post here! I just got into Part 3 ~600 pages in.

I think I am starting to understand why I saw someone describe this as a Die Hard novel..

Midnight Lunch · Jun 18, 2021

Hello, I just wanted to say I'm reading this series for the first time, and I am struggling so hard to get through Lift's first chapter in WoR. It's like all the worst parts of Sanderson's Mat from WoT.
That's all, thank you for listening.

Aiii · Jun 19, 2021

Midnight Lunch said:
Hello, I just wanted to say I'm reading this series for the first time, and I am struggling so hard to get through Lift's first chapter in WoR. It's like all the worst parts of Sanderson's Mat from WoT.
That's all, thank you for listening.

Yeah she's rough, but good news, she gets better.

also better on page than through audiobook. Kate Reading definitely hams it up a bit too much for me.

Yonafunu · Jun 21, 2021

So I finally bought Rhythm of War and getting ready to start reading but I just realized I barely remember what happened in Oathbringer, let alone the finer details of WoR. Strangely enough I'm still pretty fresh on WoK tho. I haven't reread any of the books since I first read them on release, so it wasn't completely unexpected, but still kinda annoying. Does anyone know about some good summaries to go through and refresh? It's not necessarily about the broad storylines but mostly the character-specific stuff and a who's who.

Otherwise I think I might just reread WoR and Oathbringer.

Spectromixer · Jun 21, 2021

Yonafunu said:
So I finally bought Rhythm of War and getting ready to start reading but I just realized I barely remember what happened in Oathbringer, let alone the finer details of WoR. Strangely enough I'm still pretty fresh on WoK tho. I haven't reread any of the books since I first read them on release, so it wasn't completely unexpected, but still kinda annoying. Does anyone know about some good summaries to go through and refresh? It's not necessarily about the broad storylines but mostly the character-specific stuff and a who's who.

Otherwise I think I might just reread WoR and Oathbringer.

The TOR.com recap of Stormlight is pretty good. There's also the summaries on Coppermind.

Before Rhythm of War: A Quick and Dirty Recap of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive - Reactor

Before we get to the much-anticipated goodness that is Rhythm of War, the fourth book in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series, here’s a handy overview of the series to date—a chance to check in on the status of all the major players, courtesy of Sanderson beta reader Paige Vest! This...

www.tor.com

Yonafunu · Jun 21, 2021

Spectromixer said:
The TOR.com recap of Stormlight is pretty good. There's also the summaries on Coppermind.

Before Rhythm of War: A Quick and Dirty Recap of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive - Reactor

Before we get to the much-anticipated goodness that is Rhythm of War, the fourth book in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series, here’s a handy overview of the series to date—a chance to check in on the status of all the major players, courtesy of Sanderson beta reader Paige Vest! This...

www.tor.com

I did look through the Tor recap but it isn't really what I'm looking for. It does help catch up on the ongoing storylines, but I guess I'm looking for more of a glossary/encyclopedia to freshen up on the different characters, allegiances, Knights Radiant lore, etc. I would go through the Wiki but that's usually a last resort for me. Like I said, I might just reread the books, it'll take a while but at least I'll be completely caught up. Thanks tho, and I'll definitely look for the Coppermind summaries.

H.Cornerstone · Jun 21, 2021

Yonafunu said:
I did look through the Tor recap but it isn't really what I'm looking for. It does help catch up on the ongoing storylines, but I guess I'm looking for more of a glossary/encyclopedia to freshen up on the different characters, allegiances, Knights Radiant lore, etc. I would go through the Wiki but that's usually a last resort for me. Like I said, I might just reread the books, it'll take a while but at least I'll be completely caught up. Thanks tho, and I'll definitely look for the Coppermind summaries.

the 17th shard is great for that and i believe you can even select the book you are on to avoid spoilers.

B.K. · Jun 21, 2021

I need to get back to reading the book. I read the first two parts back in November when the book released, but haven't read any since then.

Rhythm of War |OT| The Stormlight Archive: Book 4

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