Rhythm of War: Book Four of the Stormlight Archive

Brandon Sanderson

Nov 2020 · The Stormlight Archive Book 4 · Sold by Tor Books

About this ebook

An instant #1 New York Times Bestseller and a USA Today and Indie Bestseller!

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.

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson

The Cosmere

The Stormlight Archive
The Way of Kings
Words of Radiance
Edgedancer (Novella)
Oathbringer
Rhythm of War

The Mistborn trilogy
Mistborn: The Final Empire
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series
Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
Bands of Mourning

Collection
Arcanum Unbounded

Other Cosmere novels
Elantris
Warbreaker

The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
The Scrivener's Bones
The Knights of Crystallia
The Shattered Lens
The Dark Talent

The Rithmatist series
The Rithmatist

Other books by Brandon Sanderson

The Reckoners
Steelheart
Firefight
Calamity

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

I don't think my review or opinion on this book is very unique, but I really didn't like it very much. There were amazing moments, but due to the length of this book, they were so far apart that it felt like I was trucking through 3 or 4 books (which I guess is how this series is designed, but this is the first entry where I've really felt it). This one could have been told in 400 pages or less. The primary point of conflict felt like a tedious slog that lasted hundreds of pages. I'm trying not to spoil stuff here. A really interesting conflict was introduced, and then abandoned for most of the book, being replaced by a scenario where multiple characters are sitting in separate rooms and thinking out loud. Toward the end of the book, when we return to the interesting conflict, it turns out to be kind of a non-starter that fizzles out in a really unsatisfying way. The villains in this book invite their greatest enemies into their inner-circles and relish in the ensuing betrayal, which was interesting at first but it never really paid off. The result, in my opinion, was that I became very aware that I was reading a book that contained conflict for the sake of conflict. When I did manage to immerse myself enough to ignore that there was a crafted product in my hand, the villains just felt dumb/negligent. There was quite a lot of overexplained fantasy science, and preposterous scenarios of characters conducting these experiments under the "unwatchful" eyes of the trusting villains, and this makes up most of the book. There is a repeated process where a character in captivity has a panicked science-gasm and invents/discovers something really cool, and then acts surprised when the villain walks in EVERY TIME and goes "Hey, that's a cool ___, I'm going to use that for my nefarious purposes." Then the inventor is always like "Drat, that sucks. Anwyay, better make/discover another crazy/cool thing in a few chapters, but this time I'll be REALLY quiet!" I liked the emphasis on mental health, as overt as it was. I could see why that aspect might turn people off, though. It felt like a theme that means the whole world to some people, like me, but completely alienates people who don't understand those sorts of issues. The layman might feel that these sections come off as preachy, or that some characters come off as whiney. And again, some great moments for several characters, and a ton of great concepts. I just wasn't a fan of the execution. It felt like the author was obligated to make a book that was really long, due to the series it belongs in, but the story could have been much more effective without that requirement.

i understand every character needs an arc, but kaladin has been stuck on the same exact stage for 3 books. 1 step forward 2 steps back. as a character he hasnt grown or progressed still self concious and depressed. I dont want to read about a character being depressed for 3 books straight without any breakthrough. It's so frustrating especially since books are supposed to be an escape from real stuff hope it gets better but honestly i doubt it will. to end on a positive not sanderson is a real talented author whos crafted a very in depth world but again my god do the character some justice.

As someone who has read every book that Sanderson has written, it was almost heartbreaking to see a story that I LOVED fall apart. The first two books in the series were without question the best 1-2 start to any series I've ever read. Book 3 lost itself about halfway through and it didn't recover or right the ship in book 4. The magic that made the series so great has vanished and it hurts me to type that. The focus on "real life issues" (specifically depression, which was to me the main plot of the story, and I just couldn't enjoy the book because if it) just seems out of touch to me, as I read books to escape the real world. I am not minimizing the fact that the issues Brandon wrote about are real issues, just for me personally, I am not reading the stormlight series to experience those topics or to be informed about them. The story breaks the characters so much, you don't really have anyone left to root for. All of that said, I still love his books. Just sad about the series.

About the author

Brandon Sanderson grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He lives in Utah with his wife and children and teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. His bestsellers have sold 32 million copies worldwide and include the Mistborn saga; the Stormlight Archive novels; and other novels, including The Rithmatist, Steelheart, and Skyward. He won a Hugo Award for The Emperor's Soul, a novella set in the world of his acclaimed first novel, Elantris. Additionally, he completed Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time®. Visit his website for behind-the-scenes information on all his books.