Rhythm of War is the 4th and latest book in The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson.The Stormlight Archive is a very good series and a very recommended read. It is an epic fantasy that takes place on a planet called Roshar. Spoilers ahead.
Need a Quick Refresher?
- Dalinar and his coalition wages war against the Fused. It has been one year since the last book.
- Kaladin and other radiants go to Hearthstone to evacuate the citizens there and pick up The Mink. Fighting with the Fused ensues, and Moash shows up and gives Kaladin more depression. Dalinar notices this and tells Kaladin to take a break from fighting. Kaladin does not agree with this decision, but he follows his orders. Kaladin helps his recently relocated father do surgeon stuff.
- Shallan visits and kills Ialai Sadeas. Mraize of the Ghostbloods sends Shallan on a mission to kill a man named Restares who lives in Lasting Integrity, a Honorspren city located in Shadesmar. Adolin and Shallan go there on a diplomatic envoy to reason with the Honorspren.
- The Fused corrupt the Sibling and take over Urithiru. Raboniel hires/forces Navani to work for her as a scientist, which has always been Navani’s dream job.
My Favorite Elements fromRhythm of War:
Navani & Raboniel
Navani had a very important part to play in this book, and got so caught up in her research and science experiments that she accidentally gave her enemy the weapon to kill spren. While that wasn’t particularly smart and Navani probably could have hid her observations from Raboniel better, I love the relationship between Navani and Raboniel. Navani and Raboniel were fellow scientists and became kind of friends and respected each other, despite being enemies. Sadly, this relationship couldn’t last forever, and so Navani stabbed Raboniel with the weak anti-voidlight dagger and trapped her. However, later, when Moash was attacking Navani, Raboniel– hurt and crawling on the floor– helped Navani by grabbing onto Moash’s leg. Raboniel’s respect went so far as to help the same enemy who led to her own demise.
Adolin & Mayalaran
I like Adolin and his dead spren’s relationship and bond. Brought to a court session predetermined to rule against them, Adolin and Mayalaran broke all expectations and cleared up a major misconception in the process. The Honorsprens’ faces must have been priceless when Mayalaran first spoke, and proved that the dead spren and surgebinders chose to break their oaths. This also begs the question if it’s possible the dead spren can be revived, and if Shallan theoretically could bring her old spren to life and dual-wield shardblades, which would be awesome.
The Spiritual Realm
This book gave us some more insight into what it’s like for spren in the Spiritual Realm, each type of spren’s culture, what it’s like for spren there, and not to mention the humanoid forms of all the spren.
Shallan, Veil, & Radiant
Rest in peace Veil, I will miss you. The persona situation and how it contributed to the story was awesome and well done. I like how as each book comes out, we start to realize just how mentally unhealthy Shallan is. For example, we first learn that Shallan’s father was abusive and that she killed him, and in the next book we learn that Shallan killed her own mother in self-defense and that her father covered for her and took the blame, and then we learn that when she was little, she had bonded with a spren and broke her oaths. Each book adds something worse to her already troubled childhood. I assume this will keep happening until Shallan doesn’t need Radiant or any of her other personas.
SANDERSON, BRANDON. Rhythm of War. TOR, 2020.