Rhythm of War Full Book Reactions

[Nathrangking he/him]

The answer that we sought:

Chaos

There has been a question in the fandom ever since [Rhythm of War] Part One, where we learned that the Thrill got tossed in the ocean.

Brandon Sanderson

They, at Jasnah's suggestion (which came through Hoid), locked it in an aluminum box and threw it in the ocean. The argument for this being that anywhere they could hide it, the enemy could get to. And an Unmade would be pretty easy to find in the Cognitive Realm. You can't hide an Unmade very easily. Aluminum's gonna help a ton with doing that. So, what you have to do is try to make it as inaccessible as possible. And the most inaccessible thing they could do is lock it in an aluminum box and throw it in the ocean. If they had kept it anywhere in the city or what-not, then the enemy would have been able to find it very easily, even inside an aluminum box. This method was their best guess at being able to keep it out of the enemy's hands. It is not a great solution, unfortunately. There just isn't one that they could find. As we talk about a certain other Unmade who is somewhere locked in a gemstone that might come up in the next book maybe, we'll talk more about this.

Shardcast Interview (Jan. 23, 2021)

This has implications it seems for the discovery of BAM. Will this tip the scales against any potential plan that ToDium is making? If it is found in Book 5 how might a released Nergaoul increase the pressure on the coalition especially if it's release happens near to the contest of champions that is due in short order?

Edited January 25, 2021 by Nathrangking

[Eggdogg]

Just finished. I really enjoyed RoW. There were moments in the book that took my breath away. RoW changed a lot of things for me about the history of Roshar. To be honest, RoW kinda flipped the Stormlight hourglass for me. I was only really having fun looking forward. I was accepting of the Recreance as some sort of event that was a done deal...like I felt the "mystery" of the Recreance was a result of time passing and people forgetting. Now I am super intrigued and invested in looking backward. My mind was wrapped up in our current line up of events and people (Dalinar, Kal, Shallan etc) but now my mind is wandering the Recreance and BAM and....wtf was actually going on back then.

Also the last scene with Wit and the new guy got me bad. First time Brandon has made me feel uneasy. The way things end in RoW are downright terrifying. 

[Briar King]

I’m happy to report that I did enjoy this book which had a lot riding on it if I would continue buying them in hardcover or just waiting for the paper edition. I liked the story for the most part even though I don’t like 2 of the MCs. Now I’m absolutely not happy with paying $40 for this book only to have it begin to fall apart with less than 200 pgs left on its 1st read instead of its 5th or 6th. I will not rebuy in hopes of a better copy for my shelf. I’m super happy I didn’t hate this book like bk 3 so I will certainly buy bk 5 in hardcover and hope that it won’t also fall apart in my hands before I’m even done with it.

[Frustration]

22 minutes ago, Briar King said:

I’m happy to report that I did enjoy this book which had a lot riding on it if I would continue buying them in hardcover or just waiting for the paper edition. I liked the story for the most part even though I don’t like 2 of the MCs. Now I’m absolutely not happy with paying $40 for this book only to have it begin to fall apart with less than 200 pgs left on its 1st read instead of its 5th or 6th. I will not rebuy in hopes of a better copy for my shelf. I’m super happy I didn’t hate this book like bk 3 so I will certainly buy bk 5 in hardcover and hope that it won’t also fall apart in my hands before I’m even done with it.

Brandon is definitely hitting the limit that binding can get to, mine has started falling apart.

[Briar King]

15 minutes ago, Frustration said:

Brandon is definitely hitting the limit that binding can get to, mine has started falling apart.

I said this in the reading thread but if there is something besides Part 5 that bk 3 actually got right it was the binding. I didn’t mind the $ increase there cause that book is solidly put together, and here is bk 4 at 12 pgs shorter(no biggie) and can’t hold up for 1 read by an extremely tender book handler. So I was thinking and someone else even mentioned that COVID could have very well effected the binding machine process/materials etc.

Pretty rusting aggravating as it’s my very 1st book to ever fall apart in the 30yrs I’ve been reading.

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

9 minutes ago, Briar King said:

I said this in the reading thread but if there is something besides Part 5 that bk 3 actually got right it was the binding. I didn’t mind the $ increase there cause that book is solidly put together, and here is bk 4 at 12 pgs shorter(no biggie) and can’t hold up for 1 read by an extremely tender book handler. So I was thinking and someone else even mentioned that COVID could have very well effected the binding machine process/materials etc.

Pretty rusting aggravating as it’s my very 1st book to ever fall apart in the 30yrs I’ve been reading.

Mine has been fine...? Which edition/publisher are your books from? I’d like to know which version not to buy.

[Briar King]

8 minutes ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

Mine has been fine...? Which edition/publisher are your books from? I’d like to know which version not to buy.

American Tor

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

15 minutes ago, Briar King said:

American Tor

The purple book? (Since I’m too tired to go down and check?) If yes, I wonder if there were different bindings of variable quality.

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

10 hours ago, Briar King said:

I said this in the reading thread but if there is something besides Part 5 that bk 3 actually got right it was the binding. I didn’t mind the $ increase there cause that book is solidly put together, and here is bk 4 at 12 pgs shorter(no biggie) and can’t hold up for 1 read by an extremely tender book handler. So I was thinking and someone else even mentioned that COVID could have very well effected the binding machine process/materials etc.

Pretty rusting aggravating as it’s my very 1st book to ever fall apart in the 30yrs I’ve been reading.

Mine has been fine so far, and I've carried it around in a backpack and loaned it to someone.

[Orlion Blight he/him]

10 hours ago, Briar King said:

I said this in the reading thread but if there is something besides Part 5 that bk 3 actually got right it was the binding. I didn’t mind the $ increase there cause that book is solidly put together, and here is bk 4 at 12 pgs shorter(no biggie) and can’t hold up for 1 read by an extremely tender book handler. So I was thinking and someone else even mentioned that COVID could have very well effected the binding machine process/materials etc.

Pretty rusting aggravating as it’s my very 1st book to ever fall apart in the 30yrs I’ve been reading.

I said they switched from Hobbit Snot to the ground up remains of an overworked communist horse that thought he was going to Candy Mountain! 

Get it right! 

[Honorless he/him]

I wonder why the Deadeyes were gathering outside Lasting Integrity... was something happening there on the Physical side? I don't think they were gathering for Adolin or Maya or Restares or Shallan... 

[StarrFall]

Finally hit the finish line; had to finish an epic re-read before I dove in.

Holy. Crap.

For me, this book was an amazing culmination of all things prior.  Things that stood out:

• The inclusion of tidbits from all exposed corners of the Cosmere.
• Cosmere Science ("Stience"). 
  • Applications for gems, alumninum & Raysium with other Investitures
    • 2 God-metals on Roshar still unaccounted for too
  • Tones/Rhythms as part of a potential key to reassembling Adonalsium?
    • Dual-fuel for multi-bonded?
  • White Sand as an Investiture converter?
• Thaidakar.  Oh yea.
• Nightblood.  You already knew it what Nightblood was all about, but oh yea.
• Deadeyes have more to do?
• Socially progressive: I think that the huge nod to the significance/importance of mental health, the bucking of gender norms, and even how racism (and/or species-ism?) is addressed is all fantastically handled. 
• I'm pretty sure I caught a coronavirus nod in something Lirin said at some point.  I may have been looking into things there, but the thought made me chuckle.

There is so much more...

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

1 hour ago, StarrFall said:

Finally hit the finish line; had to finish an epic re-read before I dove in.

Holy. Crap.

For me, this book was an amazing culmination of all things prior.  Things that stood out:

• The inclusion of tidbits from all exposed corners of the Cosmere.
• Cosmere Science ("Stience"). 
  • Applications for gems, alumninum & Raysium with other Investitures
    • 2 God-metals on Roshar still unaccounted for too
  • Tones/Rhythms as part of a potential key to reassembling Adonalsium?
    • Dual-fuel for multi-bonded?
  • White Sand as an Investiture converter?
• Thaidakar.  Oh yea.
• Nightblood.  You already knew it what Nightblood was all about, but oh yea.
• Deadeyes have more to do?
• Socially progressive: I think that the huge nod to the significance/importance of mental health, the bucking of gender norms, and even how racism (and/or species-ism?) is addressed is all fantastically handled. 
• I'm pretty sure I caught a coronavirus nod in something Lirin said at some point.  I may have been looking into things there, but the thought made me chuckle.

There is so much more...

The coronavirus thing was a coincidence. The Scadrian common cold has been causing issues since WoR.

[StarrFall]

22 minutes ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

The coronavirus thing was a coincidence. The Scadrian common cold has been causing issues since WoR.

I figured that was a stretch; wasn’t sure that even made sense with the production timeline. 

[Maddie The Survivor she/her]

Tbh i was like about to throw the book when Dalinar said he relieved Kaladin of duty. I was so mad!

[Shardmancer he/him]

Back after my yearly hiatus and another Stormlight book.

 

Wow! Just finished ROW - tbd I felt it a bit slower than the other Stormlight book thus far but the endings are always worth it with Sanderson. Quick thoughts - Kaladin storyline had me in tears; Another Bondsmith (implications!!), dammm those Heralds can fight, Szeth may need a chill pill, whose this El guy huhhh, Rabionel I kinda liked for a fused sad she is gone-gone, Shallan and Adolin gotta lead a charge of spren back into action, Wit and Jasnah mmmmm (And so much more). Mostly though - 10 DAYS! Man this next book is gonn a be epic. 

[+Truthwatcher_412 he/him]

I just finished it this weekend and every time I finish one of these storming books, I say it's the best one yet and ROW completely lives up to that. Now I can't wait for book 5 and more!

[Orlion Blight he/him]

7 hours ago, BalrogWing said:

I just finished it this weekend and every time I finish one of these storming books, I say it's the best one yet and ROW completely lives up to that. Now I can't wait for book 5 and more!

Well, this time you're right...it is the best one yet! 

[apepi]

Okay, here are the the two things that bother me most about the book:

Dalinar being able to relieve Kaladin does not make any sense to me. Like, why does he think he had the power? He might be the king of Urithiru(oh god, that part about what he is was a fn mess), I don't think he has earned the title to be the leader of all the Knights Radiant. Like if Kaladin would have told Dalinar to stuff it, what would Dalinar do? The Windrunners are the biggest Knight Radiant order, and the would follow Kaladin. I liked the fact that in the earlier books that the Knights Radiant had a wierd structure in terms with the Alethi 'government', and they were oddly placed in the society. But if Dalinar can just relieve Kaladin, it just throws that all off. I would love it if an order(or Kaladin) just told Dalinar to suck it, and him not being able to do anything about it. Dalinar is getting a big head, and it would be better for him if it was deflated.

Navani bonding the Sibling and her ark. I think the book would have been much better if she to terms of her not being able to be a scientist, and that being okay. Some things people are not good at, and that is okay, but she could have progressed other people to be able to get discoveries, which wouldn't have happened without you, is okay. That sometimes you don't need to be the hero, you don't need to be the person with all the glory, but you can push those along who do. I feel like this mark was missed badly here. And that would set her up to bonding with the Nightwatcher(or hell, Cultivation). Because not being the hero, but helping others grow to become one, is such a Cultivation thing to do. It would have been so great for this to happen, and I am sad that it did not.

While I understand why these two things happened narratively, I didn't like them and felt they weren't needed.

[Aldric he/him]

16 hours ago, apepi said:

Dalinar being able to relieve Kaladin does not make any sense to me. Like, why does he think he had the power? He might be the king of Urithiru(oh god, that part about what he is was a fn mess), I don't think he has earned the title to be the leader of all the Knights Radiant. Like if Kaladin would have told Dalinar to stuff it, what would Dalinar do? The Windrunners are the biggest Knight Radiant order, and the would follow Kaladin. I liked the fact that in the earlier books that the Knights Radiant had a wierd structure in terms with the Alethi 'government', and they were oddly placed in the society. But if Dalinar can just relieve Kaladin, it just throws that all off. I would love it if an order(or Kaladin) just told Dalinar to suck it, and him not being able to do anything about it. Dalinar is getting a big head, and it would be better for him if it was deflated.

 

I think historically Bondsmiths were supposed to be in charge.  Dalinar is basically in charge of the Radiants. The dustbringers don't seem to be paying much attention to what he is telling them to, nor obviously are the Skybreakers, but most everybody else seems to accept him as the Radiant leader.

Granted, I think Kaladin could have told Dalinar to stuff it, and it would have caused all kinds of issues in all directions.  The truth was, Kaladin was freezing up all the time, both in the text of the book, and we were told he had been doing so over the past year, so something had to happen.

[Frustration]

16 hours ago, apepi said:

Dalinar being able to relieve Kaladin does not make any sense to me. Like, why does he think he had the power? He might be the king of Urithiru(oh god, that part about what he is was a fn mess), I don't think he has earned the title to be the leader of all the Knights Radiant. Like if Kaladin would have told Dalinar to stuff it, what would Dalinar do? The Windrunners are the biggest Knight Radiant order, and the would follow Kaladin. I liked the fact that in the earlier books that the Knights Radiant had a wierd structure in terms with the Alethi 'government', and they were oddly placed in the society. But if Dalinar can just relieve Kaladin, it just throws that all off. I would love it if an order(or Kaladin) just told Dalinar to suck it, and him not being able to do anything about it. Dalinar is getting a big head, and it would be better for him if it was deflated.

@Aldric is correct Bondsmiths are in charge.

[apepi]

55 minutes ago, Aldric said:

 

I think historically Bondsmiths were supposed to be in charge.  Dalinar is basically in charge of the Radiants. The dustbringers don't seem to be paying much attention to what he is telling them to, nor obviously are the Skybreakers, but most everybody else seems to accept him as the Radiant leader.

Granted, I think Kaladin could have told Dalinar to stuff it, and it would have caused all kinds of issues in all directions.  The truth was, Kaladin was freezing up all the time, both in the text of the book, and we were told he had been doing so over the past year, so something had to happen.

I disgree that Bondsmioth were in charge?
 

Quote

I am Talenel'Elin, Herald of War. The time of the Return, the Desolation, is near at hand. We must prepare. You will have forgotten much, following the destruction of the times past. Kalak will teach you to cast bronze, if you have forgotten this. We will Soulcast blocks of metal directly for you. I wish we could teach you steel, but casting is so much easier than forging, and you must have something we can produce quickly. Your stone tools will not serve against what is to come. Vedel can train your surgeons, and Jezrien . . . he will teach you leadership. So much is lost between Returns . . . I will train your soldiers. We should have time. Ishar keeps talking about a way to keep information from being lost following Desolations. And you have discovered something unexpected. We will use that. Surgebinders to act as guardians . . . Knights . . . The coming days will be difficult, but with training, humanity will survive. You must bring me to your leaders. The other Heralds should join us soon.

Atleast during the Herald days, it seems to me like Jerizen was in charge, and the orders modeled their thing after the heralds, so it seems to me that the Windrunners should have more of a leadership role.

And even if that was the case, it doesn't mean that it should be the case now. Who cares what happened 1000s of years ago? Just because it happened in the past, doesn't mean that it should happen now in the story. They are refounding it in their own way, things are different now. Dalinar is just assuming that he is leading them now, I haven't heard of any actual talk between the Knight's Radiant orders. Why haven't we gotten that? That would be interesting to see. Seeing the Knight Radiant's politics and having a meating deciding what they should do, instead we just have them at the beck and call of all the leaders of the government. I want one of the orders to say no to them, they can't do X because of their oaths. I would like the orders to argue amongst themselves what they can and can not do.

We very slightly got that with the Dustbringers, but not really very apparent and upfront in the story.

[Aldric he/him]

I agree seeing various internal politics for Radiants would be cool.  Hopefully we'll get it more in the future.  It would especially be more of a forefront thing if they weren't directly at war with Odium/Fused.  So I expect to see more of it in the latter 5 books.

 

I don't really think Radiants directly followed off how Heralds did it, because you're totally right about Jeziren being in charge of them, but the Bondsmiths' were in charge in ancient times.  It's totally valid to say they don't have to follow ancient rules about this and that, but I think Dalinar will remain in charge until during/after book 5, where he'll either die and become a fused, die and get vaporized by Nightblood, ascent fully to honor/unity, or maybe just retire by the time book 6 happens. 

[Frustration]

2 hours ago, apepi said:

I disgree that Bondsmioth were in charge?
 

Atleast during the Herald days, it seems to me like Jerizen was in charge, and the orders modeled their thing after the heralds, so it seems to me that the Windrunners should have more of a leadership role.

And even if that was the case, it doesn't mean that it should be the case now. Who cares what happened 1000s of years ago? Just because it happened in the past, doesn't mean that it should happen now in the story. They are refounding it in their own way, things are different now. Dalinar is just assuming that he is leading them now, I haven't heard of any actual talk between the Knight's Radiant orders. Why haven't we gotten that? That would be interesting to see. Seeing the Knight Radiant's politics and having a meating deciding what they should do, instead we just have them at the beck and call of all the leaders of the government. I want one of the orders to say no to them, they can't do X because of their oaths. I would like the orders to argue amongst themselves what they can and can not do.

We very slightly got that with the Dustbringers, but not really very apparent and upfront in the story.

 

Spoiler

Brandon Sanderson

Bondsmith

I will unite

Bondsmith oaths are focused on unity, unification, and bringing others together. However, this is a loose theme, as there are so few Bondsmiths—and the three sources of their powers are so different in personality—that the oaths can end up taking a variety of different shapes, depending on the situation.

Anyone can become a Bondsmith, subject to persuading one of the three spren who grant Bondsmith powers. Those powers tend to work differently for one Bondsmith than another, and even those Surges they share with other Orders tend to work differently for Bondsmiths.

The Bondsmiths are unusual in that there are never more than three full members. Historically, they worked to resolve disputes and help set up functioning governments. Even though there can only be three full members, there were times that some Bondsmiths did take squires. Beyond that, many of the retinues that protected the Bondsmiths were considered members of the Order–going so far as to swear oaths, even though they didn’t have a spren and never would. Some even called this the most pure form of being a Radiant, because these were oaths sworn not in the name of gaining powers, but simply for the good of the oaths themselves.

Bondsmiths are generally the heart and soul of the Radiants, the most protected and highly regarded of the Orders, capable of doing incredible things with the nature of oaths, bonds, and power. The Order, including the aforementioned squires and attendants, tends to attract the peacemakers of the world, those who want to bring people together rather than divide them.

The Ten Orders of Knights Radiant (June 9, 2020)

 

Spoiler

Brandon Sanderson

Windrunner

I will protect

Windrunner oaths are themed toward protection, particularly defending innocents or those who are unable to protect themselves.

The Windrunners tend to attract “big sibling” types, who seek to protect the defenseless, but also enjoy action and fighting for what they believe in. They’re primarily scouts, though they often work as special forces groups, able to deliver teams of Radiants behind enemy lines for secret missions. They tend to be the most like conventional soldiers, believing in structures of command, team dynamics, and the importance of a squad of brothers and sisters. They often have larger numbers of squires than other Orders and focus more than any other Order on mastering their weapons.

The Ten Orders of Knights Radiant (June 9, 2020)

 

It seems pretty concrete that Bondsmiths were in charge.

[+CallsignZen she/her]

On 11/17/2020 at 0:40 AM, Eternal Khol said:

Omg!!! 
that’s literally what i just came to discuss!!!!

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Nightblood kills Rayse and Taravangian Ascends as Odium!!!!!!

But plottwist..... everyone else thinks Taravangian is dead and Rayse is still holding Odium

I just cant believe it.

honestly i think that's the end for dalinar. taravangian hurts me because sometimes I'm like i love you give this poor man a break but other times I'm like NO DO NOT BECOME ODIUM I'm very scared for book 5. at least i have 3 years to sit on this book and cry