I read RoW for the first time and I'm excited! [support]

[Lilien Kholin]

Hello! *waves excitedly*

As the title suggests, I am reading Rhythm of War for the first time! I finished Oathbringer on Monday and decided it wasn't a good idea to continue reading without talking about the books with other readers. (My father would say the same, he was extremely confused when I was trying to explain him well, everything. Or when I started crying while reading.)

So here I am, hoping to share my reading experiences and feelings, which hopefully won't overwhelm me anymore as a result.  It's really hard to read things... like the Dalinar flashbacks and not have anyone to talk to about it right away.

I started yesterday and read the first ninety pages before I went to sleep. The prologue was fantastic. I already had the feeling that the relationship between Navani and Gavilar wasn't.... well, that good, but reading it hit my feelings exactly. I really like Navani. Also, I like to return to that scene with every new book, and learn more details from different povs.

The first chapter was from Lirin's point of view, and I must admit I was a little confused as to what was going on. A year has passed and the Parshers have taken Herdstein??? Alethkar has fallen completely?? Storms!

I'm also afraid of the Parshers and the… “Verschmolzene” (Fused...?), I don't know the English word, maybe someone can help me out?

Then came Kaladin, which I really enjoyed. He was fighting one of those... I'll call them “super-Parshendi” for the moment. There seem to be different forms of them, each associated with one of the orders of the Radiant Knights, I suppose? That would be interesting, at least. 

I don't know what to make of the Parshers/Listeners in general. They're not really the bad guys, are they? But the "Super-Parshendi" seem to be evil, since they are commanded by Odium, who is indeed evil. I don't know how this will all play out, but I'm eager to read on.  

I hope this post doesn't bother anyone, but I saw a similar post for WoK, so I thought I might do one for myself too! Maybe you could share your own reading experience, I'm really interested in how others feel while reading (RoW isn't that old yet, so maybe one or two of you remember reading it for the first time)! Oh, but please no spoilers. 

 

[StormingTexan]

Lucky you to be reading it for the first time! RoW has my favorite Sanderson surprise twist so far. It is truly mind blowing. Do not spend too much time on here until you finish  

[The Bookwyrm]

You're correct in your assumption that the "super-parshendi" are called Fused. That's the word we use in English.

And RoW is an incredible book. It's now my favorite of all Brandon Sanderson's works, mostly because you learn so much about the magic of the world, and also learn a ton of other secrets. Many questions get answered, but the book also raises a whole lot of new questions, which is part of why it's so great.

I don't know how familiar you are with Brandon Sanderson's connected Cosmere universe, but (not to get too spoilery) there are a few scenes that open your eyes a little and make you realize "wait, there's a lot more out there." I really enjoyed those parts.

My Dad recently started reading RoW, and I had a ton of fun talking to him about all the stuff that happens. I'm sure you'll have a great time too, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts once you're finished!

[Lilien Kholin]

Oh, I love plot twists!

I‘m really careful to not stumble over spoilers, thanks! 

[Lilien Kholin]

3 minutes ago, The Bookwyrm said:

 

I don't know how familiar you are with Brandon Sanderson's connected Cosmere universe, but (not to get too spoilery) there are a few scenes that open your eyes a little and make you realize "wait, there's a lot more out there." I really enjoyed those parts.

The Stormlight Archive are my first Sanderson books! But I’m really excited to dive into the whole Cosmere! (Although I don’t know where to start after I finishing RoW)

It‘s amazing that your dad reads fantasy, I wish mine did too! Dalinar reminds me of him, so I‘m telling him all about Dalinar though  

[StormingTexan]

1 minute ago, Lilien Kholin said:

The Stormlight Archive are my first Sanderson books! But I’m really excited to dive into the whole Cosmere! (Although I don’t know where to start after I finishing RoW)

I'd read Warbreaker next so everything from SA is fresh on your mind (I do not think it is too spoilery to say there are some tie-ins that are interesting). Then start in with Mistborn (as amazing as SA is Mistborn is actually my favorite Sanderson series). The next and final book of Mistborn Era 2 will be out in November so this should work nicely. You can then finish up with Elantris and the shorter books (some of these are amazing btw). Obviously just my suggestions there is not really a right or wrong order. 

[Shining Silhouette]

7 minutes ago, Lilien Kholin said:

The Stormlight Archive are my first Sanderson books! But I’m really excited to dive into the whole Cosmere! (Although I don’t know where to start after I finishing RoW)

It‘s amazing that your dad reads fantasy, I wish mine did too! Dalinar reminds me of him, so I‘m telling him all about Dalinar though  

That's actually really impressive! I keep trying to get my friends to read Sanderson but they refuse to crack open the massive Stormlight books. The most common starting point is the Mistborn books, which are actually amazing as well! You should read those next (especially since there's one from the sequel series coming out this year). As @StormingTexan added, Warbreaker has some nice tie-ins to Stormlight, and probably is good to read while it's fresh in your mind.  

My dad also reads fantasy and I read ROW as soon as it came out then listened to the audiobook with him. There is quite an insane twist in this book, and the whole time I was squirming in my seat waiting for it to happen

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Shining Silhouette

[offer]

8 minutes ago, Lilien Kholin said:

The Stormlight Archive are my first Sanderson books! But I’m really excited to dive into the whole Cosmere! (Although I don’t know where to start after I finishing RoW)

It‘s amazing that your dad reads fantasy, I wish mine did too! Dalinar reminds me of him, so I‘m telling him all about Dalinar though  

 The SA was also my first Sanderson books (I started about half a year ago) and I really liked them and had to read all the rest of the cosmere. Now I finished all the cosmere (expect white sand) and am rereading the SA.

RoW is still my favorite Sanderson book, by far

 

I just got my brother to read the cosmere and we read Elantris together and talked about it meanwhile and it was a great experience.

[Lilien Kholin]

25 minutes ago, Shining Silhouette said:

That's actually really impressive! I keep trying to get my friends to read Sanderson but they refuse to crack open the massive Stormlight books. 

My best friend started WoK eventually! I just didn’t stop to annoy her with it until she picked it up. She loves it so far and is already talking about writing fanfictions with me  

also, it’s really cool that you have a dad that reads SA too! He really is a Vorin man when he listens to the audiobook instead of reading it, isn’t he  

18 minutes ago, offer said:

RoW is still my favorite Sanderson book, by far

I hear that from a lot of people, makes me even more excited!

Great that you got your brother into the Cosmere! I’m also planning on rereading SA but in English next time.

@StormingTexan thanks for the recommendation! I already have Mistborn 1 on my shelf, the book is waiting for me  

[solarcat]

I won't read this full thread since Oathbringer is coming in the mail for me today (hence the spoilers), though I'll gladly share my thoughts on it once I am finished. I have been reading other books and went to camp, so hopefully I didn't forget too many small details. 

[Lilien Kholin]

That‘s great, share everything that you want! When you feel the need to talk about Oathbringer (a lot going on there, I definitely would have needed someone) feel free to send me a message! I would love to hear your thoughts and react to them (without any spoilers of course)!

[Treamayne]

12 minutes ago, solarcat93 said:

I won't read this full thread since Oathbringer is coming in the mail for me today (hence the spoilers), though I'll gladly share my thoughts on it once I am finished. I have been reading other books and went to camp, so hopefully I didn't forget too many small details. 

1 minute ago, Lilien Kholin said:

That‘s great, share everything that you want! When you feel the need to talk about Oathbringer (a lot going on there, I definitely would have needed someone) feel free to send me a message! I would love to hear your thoughts and react to them (without any spoilers of course)!

Congrats to both of you. I'll note that it's fairly important to be careful on the Coppermind if you are avoiding spoilers - however if you bookmark/favorite the summary pages  it's an easy way to refresh yourself on content when continueing a series that you have been away from for a while.

For example, the Summary for The Way of Kings is here

When searching the wiki, use "Summary:<title>" to find the summaries if you need them - just be careful using any links on the page as they may lead to spoilers for things you have not read yet. Spoiler policies can be found here. For example, the Coppermind Page for a certain swordmaster from Words of Radiance will have spoilers for things outside of the Stormlight Archive.

 

[Lego Mistborn]

2 hours ago, Lilien Kholin said:

It‘s amazing that your dad reads fantasy, I wish mine did too! Dalinar reminds me of him, so I‘m telling him all about Dalinar though  

You have a war criminal for a dad? Interesting. 

Honestly though, you've got a good dad if he's like bondsmith Dalinar.

[Lilien Kholin]

 

37 minutes ago, Ta'veren Kaladin said:

You have a war criminal for a dad? Interesting. 

Who knows?  

But yes, he’s in fact a great dad. That reminds me, I need to convince him to take the Knight Radiants Quiz, even though it’s more than obvious that he’s a bondsmith.

[solarcat]

The weather delayed my book for 2 days, but Oathbringer is finally here! I'll keep you posted. 

[Lilien Kholin]

Sooo, after being sick and not being able to read, I've finally been reading again. 

I have some comments on the last few chapters, so here we go.  

Firstly, I spent too much time reading the women's script about the flying boats of Navani. But anyway, Navani is such an amazing person, I love that she is finally able to build (or let built) her own stuff. That's such a difference from what I read in the prologue, where she's being held back by Gavilar. I am genuinely happy for her! I also love her relationship with Dalinar. And I'm sorry she lost her son (I too cried when he died, and I liked him a lot for some reasons).

I laughed a lot at Kaladin's parents when they first met Dalinar. Lirin is just as stubborn and kind of arrogant as his son  

Oooh, I'm very worried about Kal's mental health! And maybe for mine too, because his feelings are somehow so relateable. I hope he will get better eventually.... I almost cried when Dalinar "promoted" him. And I actually cried when Adolin took him out of his room. I feel like a lot of people don't like Adolin, and I honestly can't understand that. He's so adorable and kind of understanding too. I wish we saw more of his struggles, which are certainly there, I mean, he found out that his father killed his mother.... And his father had a drinking problem when Adolin was a teenager. 

I also have to admit that I don't like Venli. I'm not sure why, but I just don't like her chapters. Maybe they will get better and I will change my mind, I don't know. I didn't like Eschonai's point of view either. 

But I think the Schallan chapters will get better again with time and I'm probably one of the few people in the world who likes them, although sometimes I get annoyed with her too. I still don't know how I feel about the whole three-person thing, but I find her family dynamics and past really interesting. I can empathise with them well too (although thankfully I don't have three or more separate thinking personalities and I certainly didn't kill my parents). 

Other times I cried when Fels left and I don't dare think about his future. 

Right now I'm a bit stuck in a very, very long Venli chapter, but I'll push through it. I mean, it's not uninteresting, but I rather want to read about the others... I always find myself easily distracted when I read the Venli chapters, which is a bit sad. For exemple, I really wonder how Shadesmar would feel like in this world. If every object is a sphere in Shadesmar and if someone tries to find a certain object, wouldn't it be a lot harder because we have so much more objects around us? Don't know if this makes sense but I feel like Shadesmar would be even more overwhelming on our earth than it is in Roshar.

Ok, last thought for now: I wonder if there will be flashbacks and who the pov character will be. Maybe Schallan again?

[Bnaya]

5 hours ago, Lilien Kholin said:

Ok, last thought for now: I wonder if there will be flashbacks and who the pov character will be. Maybe Schallan again?

Mmm, I think its safe to tell you they are venli's and Eshonai's... but Venli chapters become better! They are more interesting and have more action.