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Cover and Prologue


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Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Intro post here. Beware of spoilers.

COVER

We have cover art! Michael Whelan does it again and the release on tor.com of the new cover art for Rhythm of War means I have the impetus to go ahead and start this live blog.  I know that multiple chapters have already been released, but I've been busy with other things and haven't made time to enjoy the hype.  In addition I have tried to keep myself spoiler-free.

It's worth noting that the artwork for the chapters that are being released as preview material will not be available prior to the release of the book, and that's disappointing to me. I'm looking forward to going in and deciphering text and enjoying the amazing artwork that Isaac and others have contributed. Once the book actually comes out you can expect that to be my first stop. Probably not the chapter headings though I don't usually get into how the Herald's contribute to or foreshadowing chapter. At least not until afterwards. 

So let's take a look at the art now. Obviously the sun in the sky and the highways of light make it very clear that we are in shadesmar now. The bismuth crystal type of patterning behind Shallan is very different than what I expected, and it makes me wonder if Shallan is attracting the cryptic’s cousinspren, whatever they are. I’m referring of course to the theory that windspren and honor spren are related in a realmatically significant way, and that other Radiant spren have similarly important lesser spren that (may or may not) contribute to shardplate. 

In addition, the surroundings are much more alive and verdant than I expected. It's reminiscent more of what I would expect in the chasms with vines and rockbuds and similar life. It's interesting that that aesthetic or ecological imprint is reflected in shadesmar.

The person behind her on the back cover is obviously not Kaladin because he's not holding a spear. I'm presuming that’s Adolin, except that he's holding a sword and it's not Maya. It's possible that it's Renarin, which might make more sense if you're sending your Radiants into shadesmar, but I'm actually a Shadolin shipper, so I'm hoping that this is reflective of scenes in the book involving Shallan and her new husband. Plus, cover art is only representative, so Maya doesn’t have to be part of Whelan’s painting. Maybe she’s off to the side and he brought a mundane sword with him just in case.

Moving on. That Tower in the background is very geometrically uniform, in stark contrast everything else in the area. I suspect that it's something to do with the high spren or spren society and is a construct of shadesmar rather than a reflection of something in the real world. It is on dry land which should correspond to an oceanic or watery area in the Physical Realm. The only candidate for a real world location that I can think of would be the origin which in my mind is distant enough that there's no reasonable expectation that they could see it from an easily accessible location on continental roshar.

I think that’s as much analysis as I will give of the cover for now, other than to say it’s very pretty, I’m thrilled that we get a Shadesmar scene, and I’m glad that highstorms aren’t the only visual trademark of the series.

 

Prologue
Before jumping in, I think I did hear that this was going to be a Navani chapter. I'm eager to see how much she knew about Gavilar's actions and intentions. Not that I actually expect this chapter to reveal much. 

Okay, Navani. Let's see what you were up to the night your first husband died.

WAIT, STOP! WHAT AM I THINKING?! I can't just start with the prologue. I saw the cover art, but not the back cover copy. 

In case you don't know, the blurbs on the back covers are written as in-world text from the perspective of the Sleepless (a.k.a Dysian Aimians, a.k.a. creepy bug swarm gestalt consciousnesses that have been on screen as every suspicious cremling in the series). So, has the cover copy for RoW been released yet? Let's go find out.

Amazon: nope.
B&N: nope
Tor: don't see it
BrandonSanderson.com: sadly, not even here.
I have put in a request to the 17S discord, but unless they come through for me I'm going to have to assume it's out of my reach for the time being.

I guess that's okay. I mean, I'm already skipping straight past Dawnshard, the Rysn novella that is supposed to come out right before RoW releases and will obviously involve the Aimians and (unless Brandon is even more of a massive troll than we already know him to be) the Dawnshards. So, I guess I can skip more vague interpretation of ambiguous cremling speak for now.

Very well, on to the actual prologue.

(I hear you. You’re saying “It's been how many paragraphs, and this guy still hasn't read any actual words from the book?” Sorry friends, this is the stream of consciousness and hype that you get. :-) Still, it’s probably about time to move on, don’t you think? )

 

PROLOGUE (for real this time)

Title: “To pretend” There are a lot of things that could mean. I'm going to guess initially that it has to do with her relationship with Gavilar. But obviously I have to actually read the chapter to find out. 

First impressions bear that out. She’s peeved at not being consulted about things.

Maratham. That’s a new name. Pretty sure we haven’t met her before.

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making a show of force? Gavilar could always be counted on to do that.
For everything else, he had Navani.

Ooo, burn! I’m starting to get a picture here.

Hm, that bit about Navani requisitioning grain from Amaram. Or more accurately she “had been able to pry them from his grip.” It makes me wonder how much Navani was involved in trying to arrange his pairing with Jasnah and how much of that was just Gavilar.

Aesudan is outside by the fountains, clearly up to something. Do we get to find out why Jasnah was about to assassinate her? (Or why she might have held off?) I like that she has no sense of style, just gaudy wealth (at least in Navani’s eyes.) 

Aesudan is chatting with ardents. Is that a diagram connection? A stormwarden connection? There are conspiracies everywhere, so we have plenty of options for our suspicions. (Yes, I know the diagram isn’t a thing yet, but they could still be allies of Taravangian, pointing at a future diagram connection. But, yeah, that one is a bit less likely.)

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“Storms bright and brash”

Oh look! A new swear! In case you don't know, I curate a list of compiled profanity from Roshar in a thread here on 17S. I will be paying particular attention to any of those that crop up and making note of them as I go. This one is just an intensified version of the ubiquitous “Storms” but it’s got a great feel to it.

Hm. Aesudan meeting with a master artifabrian… and apparently she’s not upset by Navani’s appearance. This might simply be a genuine meeting rather than something covert.

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it was the prerogative of every woman to feel threatened by her mother-inlaw. Particularly when the girl was so obviously lacking in talents.

That’s right, Navani. It is totally her inadequacies that are ruining your relationship, nothing to do with your judgemental attitude. Nope, not your fault at all.

Bahahaha! Aesudan can’t escape the science talk fast enough. 

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“He was talking about…”
“Gemstones. And other gemstones. And spren and boxes of spren, and storms! You’d think he would understand. I have important people to meet. 

*snerk* I can see how Navani would lose patience with this woman. 
As vapid as she is, how was she enough of a threat for Jasnah to send Liss after her?

So, Gavilar invited the master artifabrians to discuss spren capture. Definitely not suspicious. He couldn’t possibly be doing something nefarious with that.

Sad day! Navani didn’t get to talk to Ardent Kris, and after tonight she probably never will :-(

Drunk Dalinar strikes again! I have to say that’s pretty impressive that he would manage to drink everything set aside for this massive banquet.

Gavilar’s associates are “uncommon figures,” arriving without warning, going unnamed, and (probably) looking ethnically ambiguous. You have nine guesses who might be involved.

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“Vev’s golden keys!”

This is a repeat, but nice to see again, especially the golden keys association being confirmed. (Previous instance had the longer form Vedeledev). As the patron herald of the Truthwatchers, that’s got to be significant somehow, but for now we only have speculation.

Hmm. Navani has it bad for Dalinar. She doesn’t seem conflicted in the slightest. She is pining and can’t stop herself. Glad we know it works out for them eventually.

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“…Being able to bring them back and forth from Braize doesn’t mean anything,” one said. “It’s too close to be a relevant distance.”

“It was impossible only a few short years ago,” said a deep, powerful voice. Gavilar. “This is proof. The Connection is not severed, and the box allows for travel. Not yet as far as you’d like, but we must start the journey somewhere.”

Jaw drop. WHAT? This isn’t just some random worldhopper casually talking about planetary travel through the cognitive realm, this is Gavilar demonstrating that he is very much In The Know. (And yet he is still wrong enough to want to cause the final desolation. Sheesh). 

Importantly, he’s talking about trying to go farther than Braize. His ambitions aren’t limited to the local system, and he has a glimpse at the wider cosmere, not just the underpinnings of Greater Roshar. Wow. I’m not sure how much there is to pull out of the wording in this little exchange, but I’m sure we’ll be coming back to pick it apart over and over.

Oh. Smooth move, Gavilar, appropriating your wife’s personal space for your conspiracy meetings. That will make her happy with you.

Oh, it’s these two dudes. Nale and (iirc) Kalak, yes? Clearly this conspiracy is a lot more involved than I thought. I got the impression from prior books that they were not working directly with Gavilar. Hmm. What are the heralds’ motivations here? Are they looking for ways to sever their oathpact more completely? Make a permanent escape from Greater Roshar? That’s the only thing that immediately springs to mind.

I wonder what Gavilar knew about them?

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“Plus, you need to know that another of us is here tonight. I spotted her handiwork earlier.”

Yep, he definitely knows they are heralds, with that reference to Ash. How is it that the conspiracies just keep getting deeper? The layer-upon-layer of reveals is something I love, but after three books you would think that we’d have at least an idea of the goals of the obvious players. I’m not asking for a treatise on Ghostblood politics and planning, here, just an idea of who knows the big secrets. Especially since until we found out about the Skybreakers I thought the answer was “nobody.”

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“No,” the Makabaki man said, his voice sharp. “I doubt we shall.”

“There’s more here, Nale!” the Vorin man said, though he followed as his friend left. “This is important! I want out. This is the only way…”

Well, that’s interesting. Looks like I’m right about Kelek’s motivation at least. More to the point, Nale already knows that Gavilar is gonna die tonight, and I still don’t know if he’s causing it or simply permitting it. That whole business with the Listeners conveniently happening upon Szeth just in time to send him after Gavilar is pointing some serious suspicion at one or more of the heralds, but which? I don’t know.

Yeah, the lack of trust Gavilar is showing here for Navani is such a stark contrast to where we left Dalinar in the previous book. All three books, really, but especially after their marriage Dalinar relied on Navani a great deal, sharing his fears and ambitions with her. This is an important narrative foil to that, and I’m expecting the next chapter (or at least the first one featuring the Kholin family) to hammer that point in even harder, since not everyone comes into these books invested enough to notice the comparison without at least having it shown in the same book.

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“Speak to your daughter,” Gavilar said, turning toward the door. “I believe I have managed to soothe Amaram’s pride. He might take her back, and her time is running out. 

I was just about to comment on how slimy Gavilar seems, when he pulls this. I guess that answers my earlier question about who supported the match with Meridas. Glad to see that Jasnah has her mother on side.

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“You aren’t worthy, Navani. You claim to be a scholar, but where are your discoveries? [...] You are merely a woman who likes trinkets. You have no fame, accomplishment, or capacity of your own. Everything distinctive about you came from someone else.”

Low blow, Gavilar. Low blow. That kind of abusive relationship is not surprising in Alethi culture or in the marriage of a king, but I think you just got onto my list. I’m cheering for Szeth tonight. You have a chance to redeem yourself in book 5 when we get your perspective on the night, but I’m not expecting you to do anything but dig yourself deeper.

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I have discovered the entrance to the realm of gods and legends, and once I join them, my kingdom will never end. I will never end.

Ominous. Does that mean he’s trying to take the place of a herald? What type of immortality has he discovered?

WOW. Navani painted a prayer for Death Gift Death. She will have some complicated feelings when her prayer is answered in the most literal way possible.

This whole passage with Navani’s shock and processing her feelings is very well written. 

Oh, smooth. Give him your jewelry to cover up the fact you just tried to rob his corpse. I like it :)

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