Rhythm of War Statistical Analysis

[Jofwu he/him]

Posted this to my "blog" for easier reference in the future, but wanted to toss it out into the forum as well. This is basically just a dozen or so graphs about word count statistics in Rhythm of War. Character word counts for the full series as a teaser:

[+Bliev she/her]

That's one beautiful curve right there. Thanks for posting. 

(BTW, a couple of your images are broken for me, but that might just be my browser.)

[Jofwu he/him]

8 hours ago, Bliev said:

That's one beautiful curve right there. Thanks for posting. 

(BTW, a couple of your images are broken for me, but that might just be my browser.)

Whoops, thanks for pointing that out. All fixed.

[ggscv]

Really interesting and useful to see the RoW word count by character laid out in a graph format, thanks for doing this!

Navani having more words than Venli was a bit of a shocker. In hindsight RoW felt more like a Navani book than a Venli book, both in length and in terms of the impact each character had on the story. I mean what did Venli even do that was significant in the grand scheme of things, apart from rescue Lift? Didn't feel to me like Kaladin had as many words as he did but it makes sense since he is basically THE main character of the Stormlight series (books 1-5 at least).

Also more people should check out your blog, it is awesome.

[kaellok he/him]

@ggscv I'm honestly shocked that Navani didn't have more, and that Venli didn't have less.  I'd completely forgotten that this was supposed to be a Venli book until I'd finished it and come to the forums to discuss, because Navani's plot is the only one absolutely and fundamentally critical to the novel.  You can take away any other single plot and in the end not much changes, but if you remove Navani it collapses on itself.  (Which is really weird, since she was mostly isolated from everyone else for most of it, except for occasional contact with Kaladin via the Sibling.) 

Venli, on the other hand, had a number of scenes where she was there to be a camera for us to see what is going on in the Odium camp.  There were plenty where she was acting and preparing and had her own plans and things going on, but overall she was (admittedly, with great reason) a lot more passive than most protagonists tend to be.

[IcaroRibeiro he/him]

I thought Adolin would have a bigger word count, he always get many chapters in all books

[+Child of Hodor]

Lol Szeth is a “main” character in this series. He’s mentioned on the back blurrb by the Sleepless in multiple books.

I wonder if we should take the Lift, Renarin, Ash, Taln, Jasnah back 5 with a big grain of salt given there are really only 3 of the 6 front 5 flashbacks characters are really main characters.

 

[LuckyJim]

22 hours ago, Child of Hodor said:

Lol Szeth is a “main” character in this series. He’s mentioned on the back blurrb by the Sleepless in multiple books.

I wonder if we should take the Lift, Renarin, Ash, Taln, Jasnah back 5 with a big grain of salt given there are really only 3 of the 6 front 5 flashbacks characters are really main characters.

This is something I've considered in the past, especially with Bradons stating that it is possible that flashback characters will die before reaching their books. That being said, I think much of the back 5 will be major characters, Jasnah at least will be most likely on the level of Dalinar now.

I do think it's worth considering that some front characters (Kaladin and Shallan at the very least) will have largely completed their arcs in the front half, and not have as much need for development in the back half. I could easily see Kaladin settling in to a more supportive role, especially considering how RoW ended for him, while Shalan goes to fight the Ghostbloods in the background, making room for new characters. Once Szeth has cleansed the Shin, I think his major arc will be done too, unless he goes on to the fifth ideal, but I kind of expect him to die. Dalinar's a little more difficult to say, his powers are growing, and he could be a major force in the future, but he could also become a fused.

I really hope that Venli, on the other hand, will be a major character in the back five books though. I find her very interesting because she actively struggles to be a good person, not because of external obstacles, but because she's kind of selfish and cowardly. It makes her a kind of unique and interesting character, but it means her development is a bit of a slow burn, and I want to see the process she goes through to swear her next ideals. It would be nice if the listeners in general gain a greater significance.

[+Czernobog]

So basically, the Word Count by Character curve proves that Palona is the linchpin character of the series. 

Very cool work, with potential for insights going forward. Will have to chew on the data a bit. 

[Jofwu he/him]

On 11/26/2020 at 1:06 PM, Child of Hodor said:

Lol Szeth is a “main” character in this series. He’s mentioned on the back blurrb by the Sleepless in multiple books.

I wonder if we should take the Lift, Renarin, Ash, Taln, Jasnah back 5 with a big grain of salt given there are really only 3 of the 6 front 5 flashbacks characters are really main characters.

My expectation has always been that Lift, Renarin, and Jasnah will be the "big 3" of books 6-10, with Taln and Ash filling more of a Szeth/Eshonai/Venli role. Just what my gut feeling has always been. Though I guess I imagine those 3 being less standout than Kaladin/Shallan/Dalinar, relatively speaking.

We'll see.

[Truthwatcher at the Rim she/her]

2 hours ago, Jofwu said:

My expectation has always been that Lift, Renarin, and Jasnah will be the "big 3" of books 6-10, with Taln and Ash filling more of a Szeth/Eshonai/Venli role. Just what my gut feeling has always been. Though I guess I imagine those 3 being less standout than Kaladin/Shallan/Dalinar, relatively speaking.

We'll see.

That's what I've been expecting too.  I have trouble imagining a Herald as a main character.  Though with Brandon Sanderson, I suppose anything is possible.