The Stormlight Archive kept
itself fairly divided between three plotlines throughout the first three
installments, but Brandon Sanderson always intended the series to be split into
two arcs of five installments each. Rhythm
of War is the penultimate installment in the first arc of the series and as
of writing this review, the final installment of the first arc has yet to be
released and is currently being written.
This means this review lacks whatever context the final installment of
the first arc will leave readers, which is integral as while Rhythm of War
is a novel that has a beginning, middle, and an ending it is also a book that keeps
the main thrust of this first sequence at the point of tension. Oathbringer ended with Odium and his
terms for a duel facing Dalinar and his forces, while Rhythm of War ends
with the selection of champions. In a lesser
author’s hands this could verily easily make this book feel like a complete
waste of time, especially when Dalinar’s perspective is actually the least seen
perspective in Rhythm of War, the book being more concerned with
exploring Shadesmar, the origin of the spren, and an invasion of Urithiru by the
Singers. These are the main thrusts of
the novel, however, as these are much larger in scope than previous
installments, despite those previous installments being just as long as Rhythm
of War, so Sanderson continues what makes The Stormlight Archive
great and focuses in on a handful of characters for different points of view. The different characters add different
flavor, keeping Dalinar off-page is also a fascinating choice as his decision
for champion and Odium setting a date for their contest is something hanging
over the head of the entire novel.
In Dalinar’s place, Navani Kholin gets quite a large
portion of the action, being reintroduced as inventing several fabrials and
devices including a Final Fantasy style airship powered by stormlight
and several of the modern technologies. Sanderson
draws on history for Navani’s plot in the book, acting as queen and driving her
people through the occupation by the singers, led by Raboniel. Navani’s self-sufficiency and her own
scheming is what guides her, beginning her plotline in the prologue, recounting
the night of Gavilar Kholin’s murder from Navani’s perspective. There is this genuine sense that the
relationship between Navani and Gavilar to this point had been incredibly
strained, Navani clearly not being okay with the many secrets her husband had
been keeping and her own interests in technology. Her reaction to his dead body is one of
Sanderson’s more emotional moments, the entirety of Rhythm of War having
a theme of reacting to the deaths of others and dealing with loss and failure. It is especially poignant knowing the novel
ends with uncertainty, that nobody knows who, if anyone, will or can be
saved. Navani and her scientific inquiry
makes several advances, but much of her struggle is convincing a spren, the Sibling,
to form a bond with her under the extreme circumstances. Sanderson lays out the ideas of scientific inquiry
also leading to vast destruction, Navani discovering the opposite of the
several aspects of light. There are
several discussions of Navani investigating Investature under Raboniel, until
the moment which she discovers the opposite of stormlight and its ability to
destroy a spren completely. This creates
the possibility of the death of Radiants and spren alike, making killing an
immortal being possible. This is something
that several parties would want, but Navani’s reaction to this only leads to
one of her darker moments at the climax of the novel where she overcomes
Raboniel.
The singers and the spren both get a considerable
amount of time devoted to them, Venli on the singer’s side of things being our main
point of view outside of Navani. Venli
was not the original candidate for the flashback sequence of Rhythm of War,
Sanderson intending Eshonai to be the primary flashback sequence, but as often
can happen when writing plans had to be adjusted and the flashbacks were split
between the sisters. Eshonai’s
development was something the reader could already understand through reading The
Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, while Rhythm of War is
concerned largely with Venli becoming disillusioned with the Singers and tether
war. Her chapters in the present day are
the most fascinating as Sanderson is allowed to write a truly alien cultural
point of view, yet still managing to create humanity in the Singers so that the
reader can truly understand the post-colonization issues that have arisen. While defeating Odium has become the primary
goal, finding a peace with the Singers and undoing the slavery and oppression
of the natives of Roshar is something that hadn’t actually been done by the
humans on Roshar.
Making amends for the horrors of the past are also the
main thrust of Adolin’s plotline in Shadesmar throughout the book. While the Shadesmar sequence is used to flesh
out the spren, it is also a very personal story for Adolin as he has a place to
find himself, not becoming a Radiant yet still having his great worth. Much of his plot is being put on trial for
the sins of the Knights Radiant of the past who killed their spren by breaking their
bonds. His Shardblade, Maya, a deadeye is
a character in her own right, although she is a character who does not speak or
show signs of sentient functioning yet is clearly and vibrantly alive. Adolin has to unravel the mystery of what
exactly happened when the bonds were broken as the deadeye spren clearly have lives
and the potential for sentience, perhaps Maya even has created a bond with
Adolin. His trickery is also fascinating
as he attempts to use the spren’s laws against them in Shadesmar, the trial
being presided over by an actual Herald in Kalak. The entire sequence also has larger Cosmere connections,
Rhythm of War clearly setting its eyes on a larger scope than just
Roshar, if only for brief moments.
The main thesis of Rhythm of War lies, however,
in the character arcs for Shallan and Kaladin, both characters who have to
learn to accept the fact that they both will fail at times, though in very
different ways. Shallan spends the novel
in Shadesmar with Adolin and company, having come to a balance with Veil and
Radiant, until it becomes clear that Mraize and the Ghostbloods have slipped a
traitor among their ranks. There is this
added pressure that builds throughout the first third of Rhythm of War
for Shallan and when it comes to a head she goes within herself, frightened by the
emergence of a potential fourth persona.
Veil and Radiant taking over for Shallan is fascinating as here more so
than in Oathbringer does Sanderson make these two stand alone as
characters in their own right (there were sensitivity readers and advisors on
the representation of dissociative identity disorder for this book, more than
previous books), both equipped with their strengths and weaknesses though not able
to guide themselves and others through Shadesmar without Shallan there. Shallan retreating into herself is also never
permanent, Adolin being the most obvious person to draw her out occasionally
and provide support, but it must be Shallan who alters her plans and allows
things to fail. She is tasked with
capturing Kalak’s soul to become a full Ghostblood, something she is hesitant
to do for many reasons, but her ability to fail and change is integral to her
character arc. It fully mirrors Kaladin
who also is suffering from his own mental health issues, having his command
taken from him due to his declining mental health. It is directly tied to his inability to speak
the Fourth Ideal, something revealed at the climax of the novel for Kaladin to
be “I accept that there will be those I cannot protect!” This is the thesis statement of Rhythm of
War, Kaladin only being able to reach the conclusion after spending time
once again as a surgeon, losing the respect of his father for being a soldier
again, and finally confronting Tien’s death from way back in The Way of
Kings. Kaladin combining his
knowledge of a soldier with his knowledge of surgery also adds to the theme of
advancement, helping to deal with some of the fallen soldiers’ post traumatic
stress disorder and suicidal ideation. It’s
also clear that Kaladin is not the champion for Dalinar against Odium, will not
forgive Moash for his betrayal and reconciles with his own family, something done
beautifully.
Overall, Rhythm of War is a novel that is more splintered
and unresolved than any previous installment in The Stormlight Archive,
but it is one with some of the most important events of the sequence as
everything is putt in place for what will be the final book published at the
end of 2024. It is the most thematically
deep installment thus far and the strongest overall as Sanderson excels at
furthering the characters, keeping one of the previous main characters off-page
for much of the novel without you knowing it.
There are also several heartbreaking but incredibly satisfying permanent
character deaths that resonate with other characters’ arcs, and some of Wit’s
best knowledge to lead our characters to where they need to be (The Dog and the
Dragon is a fascinating look at Sanderson’s view of art and outlook on
life). 10/10.
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