Today, we will be reviewing the fourth book in The Stormlight Archive, Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson. Keep reading to find out what we thought of the book and whether you should read it!
Rhythm of War Summary
Kaladin travels to his hometown to rescue the citizins as well as a famous Herdazian general known as The Mink. That leads to Kaladin and the Radiants facing off against the Fused. A new enemy known as the Pursuer makes his appearance as well as Moash who causes Kaladin to have traumatic experiences. He is relieved of his duties as leader of the Radiants to deal with his mental health
Shallan meanwhile, tries to infiltrate the Sons of Honor and win favor with the Ghostbloods. While on the mission, she finds a notebook that contains the secrets to other worlds. Shallan is given one more mission before she can become a full member of the Ghostbloods and have all her questions answered.
An envoy is sent to Shadesmar to reconcile relationships with the honorspren. Shallan, Adolin, and a few Radiants are given this important mission. Dalinar and Jasnah head off to battle and fight on the Emul battlefront with a new military commander leading the helm.
The fused attack Urithiru and are able to use the tower’s powers against the Radiants. It is up to Navani and Khaladin to fight off the invasion as the enemy tries to discover the secrets of Voidlight and Stormlight. Will they be able to fight off this new enemy or will the enemy take complete control of the tower?
Commentary
I put off reading this novel for over a year since I read Oathbringer, the third book in The Stormlight Archive series. If you have read any of them, then you probably know why. The writing and world building by Sanderson is amazing. But it is a lot to take in, considering how long these books are. This book took me about 20 hours to read and I couldn’t put the book down.
This novel is by far my favorite one in the series. Everything comes together and while it may not be as rewarding as the previous novels, it tackles a lot of serious issues. Sanderson deals with trauma and PTSD with care and acknowledges that his characters are human and succumb to human problems relating to war and death.
That pushes the book into a realm of realism that you don’t often get with fantasy novels. For all of Khaladin’s achievements, he is as vulnerable as the next person.
I can’t wait to read the fifth installment in the series that will be releasing on November 2024.
Conclusion
If you have been following the series, then this is going to be everything you could have asked for. Sanderson keeps things fresh and unpredictable. And if you are hesitant about reading the series, I hope this review has made you want to read it because it is a fantasy series unlike any other!
The “musical note” scenes didn’t work in my opinion. Otherwise it was great.
I honestly don’t have any comments on that. It read like sci-fi novels with their pseudo-science so I didn’t make anything of it.