Review: Rhythm of War (Stormlight Archive book 4), by Brandon Sanderson.

This one took me a while to read because it’s quite hefty at over 1,200 pages. Returning to the world of Roshar, there are spoilers aplenty for preceding books in this review. So, beyond the cover below this paragraph, be aware of that.

 

We find war ongoing between the coalition of countries/leaders, led by Dalinar (master of the ancient tower of Urithiru), and the immortal (but also partly insane) Fused, led by the domineering god Odium.

The enemy is no fool, and has a number of intelligent leaders who aim to use a combination of treachery and sly, bold manoeuvres to rob the Urithiru alliance of their single greatest asset.

Advancing technology in a fictional world, particularly one with a developed magic system, is an interesting part of the story, and from the flying ship to certain other innovations, they add to the plot in a credible way, mingling magic and science.

There’s quite a lot in the way of mental health as a major theme, with addiction (Teft), being ground down (Kaladin), and what feels to me like the dulled, almost drug-like state of functional existence of Moash (we spend a lot less time with him). Perhaps most of all, the multiple personalities of Shallan. By and large it does fit in with the world and story, although there are parts where it feels Kaladin’s situation gets too much word count, which slows the pace.

However, I should stress this is very much not a problem in the last couple of hundred pages where there’s an excellent sense of crescendo building as the various plot points come to a head and leave them very nicely poised for the next instalment.

I also very much enjoyed (again) Taravangian, the elderly man who can vary from Machiavellian ruthless genius to eminently likeable yet pathetically ineffectual. In addition, portraying the enemy not as uniformly evil or mindless villains helps to make both the storylines more complicated and the world/plot more credible.

The Stormlight Archive is one of a few fantasy series I have on the go, and I’m looking forward to the next part.

Thaddeus