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

PART THREE! 

Here we go. I’ll note again that I’m hyped about the inclusion of Eshonai in the POV list at the start of this section. And also Renarin, obviously. He has been horribly underrepresented so far, and I’m hopeful that he’s actually a regular viewpoint rather than just once or twice. I don’t feel confident that we’ll actually get answers about Glys yet, but maybe we’ll be fortunate. 

Also, if the ketek pattern is to hold, this will have to be the section where we get our epigraphs from the eponymous Rhythm of War. I’m looking forward to that, but also a bit hesitant because the awkward cadence of the listener songs in Radiance really didn’t work for me. I’d prefer blank verse over that. I know Brandon based them on poetic forms from other languages or something, but if that’s the case he should have left out any attempts at traditional English rhyme. Anyway, let’s see what they contain.

Oh, and speaking of keteks, this one isn’t making sense yet, and may not even be one. 

Quote

Burdens
Our Calling
Songs of Home
…
...

“Songs of Home” certainly doesn’t fit the center line that you would expect.

Anyway, Chapter 44 (Tinder Waiting for the Spark)

Epigraph: Wait a minute. This is not a received wisdom or an oral tradition. This is someone writing or dictating a book. My first wild guess jumped to Khriss, but there’s no way she’s going to be suddenly prominent, and the title must necessarily be a listener or singer. Oh, Storms, it’s Raboniel isn’t it? No, I don’t actually think so--there’s not nearly enough arrogance here. I just hope we find out before the end of the book (preferably before the end of part 3).

I thought we’d jump into the Dalinar/Renarin sections first, but it’s nice to get some continuity with Kaladin. I like that he’s most bothered by what he’s leaving behind rather than what he’s up against.

Kaladin navigating the cavernous tower by his own glow is a cool image. I guess that is one advantage to leaking Stormlight all over the place.

Yes, sink into the nostalgia of the good old days, running bridges on a death march. That will cheer you right up.

What is it that gave Kaladin the sixth sense for when the Pursuer was coming, when Syl herself couldn’t sense it? The Fused seems to sense him, too.

Kaladin is really good at being the underdog, isn't’ he? He tends to get into these situations with some regularity, despite how much power he accrues.

Quote

The only way to do so [harm spren] was with a Shardblade. Even that was temporary; cut a spren with a Shardblade, even rip them to pieces, and they eventually re-formed in the Cognitive Realm.

Well, that’s me wrong again. I honestly thought the Shardblade mutilation of spren was enough to kill or maim them permanently. So much for that theory. It only took me four books to let it go.

The flashback to past slave escapes is a good reminder of the experience that Kaladin has in this kind of evasion and pursuit--which means he knows how dicey it is going to get. It doesn’t help that he’s carrying someone on his back.

Quote

Gloomspren like tattered pieces of cloth faded in, as if banners attached to the walls.

Neat image. I don’t recall if we’ve seen these before, though i think we have.

Sibling to the rescue! I didn’t think it was going to be helping much, but I guess it’s capable thanks to Navani and it is much more inclined to support Radiants that artifabrians.

It’s notable that spren make it a whole lot harder to hide when you’re scared, etc. I thought that a few times through this chapter, and it was good to have it noted directly in the text and also factor into the chase sequence.