Aduiavas Ida
Aes Sedai
Rhythm of War Reaction Thread [No Spoilers]
- Thread starter Zashara Sho'am
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Megana Vallentin
Aes Sedai
I finally got to read this! I needed to reread the whole series first, which turned out to be very wise because I remembered almost nothing of Oathbringer, and Words of Radiance was also pretty dicey.
I wasn't really into part 1, but part 2 got me super hooked.
- I LOVED the end of the trial, which I figured the deadeyes would be pivotal to in some way. I was so invested in Adolin trying to reach Maya as she was freaking out and then when she finally managed to get those words out, I felt this surge of triumph and then immediately burst into tears. I loved it SO MUCH.
- I was pretty shook by Pattern seeming to betray Shallan in the middle there and I would never have guessed that Formless *was* Shallan or that she'd had another spren. I totally thought someone was just messing with Pattern's memory too somehow.
- I tried but I was really not interested in all the technical details about light and sound and all the things Navani and Raboniel were working on. I'm glad there's a kind of science behind the magic, but wow it was just too much detail for me.
- I enjoyed how depressed Kaladin was, in the sense that it feels like it's who he IS right now and not something that's going to be fixed in a book and then he'll be a "normal" happy person again. I like books that deal with trauma, but this just felt like an especially real depiction of something that you have to live with and you may have some good days and bad days but it's a weight that is a part of you. I REALLY loved seeing a fantasy book that looked at mental health treatments.
- All of the flashbacks with Venli and Eshonai annoyed me. I feel like I already knew as much about their history as I cared to from other books and interludes, although I did like the bits with Venli's mom.
- I agree with the other comments here, the ending with the tower didn't really surprise me. I was just waiting to see if it would be Navani, Rlain or Dabbid that ended up bonding it.
- It's been a loooong time since I read Elantris and I've only read the first three of the Mistborn series (also long long ago) so I figure I'm missing a ton of references and easter eggs in these books, but when they opened that box and were like hey it's a seon my eyes just froze and re-read that sentence over and over again. Those types of connections will never stop being exciting to me.
- If Taravangian is the new Odium, is he still bound by the old Odium's bargain? I feel like the next book is going to be wild if their big battle is ten days from the end of this book!
- I LOVED the end of the trial, which I figured the deadeyes would be pivotal to in some way. I was so invested in Adolin trying to reach Maya as she was freaking out and then when she finally managed to get those words out, I felt this surge of triumph and then immediately burst into tears. I loved it SO MUCH.
- I was pretty shook by Pattern seeming to betray Shallan in the middle there and I would never have guessed that Formless *was* Shallan or that she'd had another spren. I totally thought someone was just messing with Pattern's memory too somehow.
- I tried but I was really not interested in all the technical details about light and sound and all the things Navani and Raboniel were working on. I'm glad there's a kind of science behind the magic, but wow it was just too much detail for me.
- I enjoyed how depressed Kaladin was, in the sense that it feels like it's who he IS right now and not something that's going to be fixed in a book and then he'll be a "normal" happy person again. I like books that deal with trauma, but this just felt like an especially real depiction of something that you have to live with and you may have some good days and bad days but it's a weight that is a part of you. I REALLY loved seeing a fantasy book that looked at mental health treatments.
- All of the flashbacks with Venli and Eshonai annoyed me. I feel like I already knew as much about their history as I cared to from other books and interludes, although I did like the bits with Venli's mom.
- I agree with the other comments here, the ending with the tower didn't really surprise me. I was just waiting to see if it would be Navani, Rlain or Dabbid that ended up bonding it.
- It's been a loooong time since I read Elantris and I've only read the first three of the Mistborn series (also long long ago) so I figure I'm missing a ton of references and easter eggs in these books, but when they opened that box and were like hey it's a seon my eyes just froze and re-read that sentence over and over again. Those types of connections will never stop being exciting to me.
- If Taravangian is the new Odium, is he still bound by the old Odium's bargain? I feel like the next book is going to be wild if their big battle is ten days from the end of this book!
Elania al'Manir
Aes Sedai
I finally got to read this! I needed to reread the whole series first, which turned out to be very wise because I remembered almost nothing of Oathbringer, and Words of Radiance was also pretty dicey.
- I LOVED the end of the trial, which I figured the deadeyes would be pivotal to in some way. I was so invested in Adolin trying to reach Maya as she was freaking out and then when she finally managed to get those words out, I felt this surge of triumph and then immediately burst into tears. I loved it SO MUCH.
- It's been a loooong time since I read Elantris and I've only read the first three of the Mistborn series (also long long ago) so I figure I'm missing a ton of references and easter eggs in these books, but when they opened that box and were like hey it's a seon my eyes just froze and re-read that sentence over and over again. Those types of connections will never stop being exciting to me.
- If Taravangian is the new Odium, is he still bound by the old Odium's bargain? I feel like the next book is going to be wild if their big battle is ten days from the end of this book!
I loved the part with Maya too. It was very emotional, being the first time we really hear her say more than a word.
When I read the book, I figured out that the color-changing, energy-absorbing sand came from a different world in the cosmere. I just got the White Sand trilogy from the library. You would think that the title alone would have been a hint, but I didn't put it together until I saw it change early on in the story.
Also I forgot about the seon part, although I didn't know what those were until after the fact either.
I believe Odium is still bound regardless of the "host". In the very last chapter, he says something along the lines of not being able to harm Wit, but is glad that he can still affect his memory.
When I read the book, I figured out that the color-changing, energy-absorbing sand came from a different world in the cosmere. I just got the White Sand trilogy from the library. You would think that the title alone would have been a hint, but I didn't put it together until I saw it change early on in the story.
Also I forgot about the seon part, although I didn't know what those were until after the fact either.I believe Odium is still bound regardless of the "host". In the very last chapter, he says something along the lines of not being able to harm Wit, but is glad that he can still affect his memory.
Juliya Karisu
Aes Sedai
I LOVED it. 
joy:joy
And thought there were quite a few pandemic references.
joy:joyAnd thought there were quite a few pandemic references.
Rollyn Montagorae
Gaidin
Yeah Brandon has been adamant that all the writing was done before the pandemic became a thing, but it's certainly easy to find apt references in the book.
Juliya Karisu
Aes Sedai
Oh, I did not know that. I just assumed they were on purpose pandemic references
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I believe that Rhythm of War is my favorite of the series so far.
Xander Silverstar
Gaidin
The Way of Kings is probably my favourite so far. Though I probably need to do a re-read eventually.
I felt like this dragged for pages.
I felt like this dragged for pages.
Aduiavas Ida
Aes Sedai
Yeah, it was like nothing happened in the first part, we just catch up with what we have missed in the year that had passed.
Elania al'Manir
Aes Sedai
I read chapter summaries for the first books to refresh my mind for this one, and then plan on doing a full re-read before reading the final book.
- Moderator
- #31
Lol finally reading this.
I swear to god if Navani thinks "oh but I'm not really a scholar" one more time... Girl. Stahp.
I swear to god if Navani thinks "oh but I'm not really a scholar
" one more time... Girl. Stahp.
Dravid ter'Mand
Gaidin
"oh but I'm not really a scholar
Its the most grad school part of her arc and I love it lol. I know that feeling way too well.
Elania al'Manir
Aes Sedai
I do see why she tends to think that, even though it's wrong. She loves academics and inventing and often contributes on a high level with ideas, but she doesn't normally get into the nitty gritty of implementing those ideas because she's the high lady/queen. It's not until this book that she really gets that opportunity to dig into a project.
Raam Sho'am
Gaidin
Imposter syndrome is a thing, y'all.
- Moderator
- #35
I know I know, it just was at least once in every once of her pov chapters in part one, felt like
Aduiavas Ida
Aes Sedai
Am I the only one that felt like NOTHING of significance happened in part one? Like, even when I reread it, I just waited for the plot to start moving forward.
We spend SO MANY CHAPTERS in Heartstone, so much discussions in Urithiru, not to mention all the details about life among the Singers... Sure, much of this is interesting, but so little progress... I especially didn't need the long chapter with Kaladin fighting the new Fused.
- Moderator
- #37
Yeah so to be clear, my issue was with the writing, not Navani herself. I enjoyed her story for the most part -- what can I say, I like math 
and I definitely related to her intense, all-consuming focus on research. Sound patterns in sand etc. are also really cool! We did some experiments with that in college. I just generally really enjoy when Sanderson connects in-universe concepts to real-life ones, I loved her figuring out things like destructive/constructive interference. Although, I don't know how I feel about Navani bonding the Sibling. It made sense but also I was really hoping they would bond Rlain. Interesting to me that he's going to bond what sounded like another corrupted Truthwatcher spren? (Blanking on the type... mistspren?)
I really, really liked Raboniel. I'm pretty sad she died, tbh. I was hoping for more of her. She was complex and fascinating, to me.
I mean. Overall I liked it. But I didn't devour it like I tend to do with SA books. It felt sort of like Well of Ascension to me, in that a lot of it is setup. I thought Kaladin working on effective PTSD treatment was cool. I love Adolin, as usual. Maybe unpopular, but I have always liked Shallan's arcs, she's really fascinating to me, and learning her secrets was pretty great. Another unpopular opinion, I didn't particularly like Jasnah. Idk, the sort of "scholars are always super pragmatic and atheists and have very tight control over their emotions" isn't my favorite character archetype.
Reaaaallly don't know how I feel about Taravangian-Odium. Not meaning I feel negatively about it. I genuinely am not sure yet what I think.
Also, I do have to say, it is... slightly annoying that it seems like you have to buy the novellas to really understand everything. For me it's really just a money thing? I don't have a ton of extra income, and I don't really have access to a library that stocks a) a ton of English books and b) even a lot of American libraries don't bother with novellas. I only very recently read Arcanum Unbounded, which I am really glad I read before RoW or I wouldn't have picked up on stuff like the Aviar. But Dawnshard is the same price as a lot of full length books (not to mention the books themselves being really expensive even as ebooks -- not really complaining because of course he deserves the money, but that's why I didn't read RoW until now, I just couldn't justify the money to buy the ebook). It's really hard for me to justify spending that money for such a short amount of content, but it seems like it's going to be a continuing trend to publish a novella in between each novel?
and I definitely related to her intense, all-consuming focus on research. Sound patterns in sand etc. are also really cool! We did some experiments with that in college. I just generally really enjoy when Sanderson connects in-universe concepts to real-life ones, I loved her figuring out things like destructive/constructive interference. Although, I don't know how I feel about Navani bonding the Sibling. It made sense but also I was really hoping they would bond Rlain. Interesting to me that he's going to bond what sounded like another corrupted Truthwatcher spren? (Blanking on the type... mistspren?)I really, really liked Raboniel. I'm pretty sad she died, tbh. I was hoping for more of her. She was complex and fascinating, to me.
I mean. Overall I liked it. But I didn't devour it like I tend to do with SA books. It felt sort of like Well of Ascension to me, in that a lot of it is setup. I thought Kaladin working on effective PTSD treatment was cool. I love Adolin, as usual. Maybe unpopular, but I have always liked Shallan's arcs, she's really fascinating to me, and learning her secrets was pretty great. Another unpopular opinion, I didn't particularly like Jasnah. Idk, the sort of "scholars are always super pragmatic and atheists and have very tight control over their emotions" isn't my favorite character archetype.
Reaaaallly don't know how I feel about Taravangian-Odium. Not meaning I feel negatively about it. I genuinely am not sure yet what I think.
Also, I do have to say, it is... slightly annoying that it seems like you have to buy the novellas to really understand everything. For me it's really just a money thing? I don't have a ton of extra income, and I don't really have access to a library that stocks a) a ton of English books and b) even a lot of American libraries don't bother with novellas. I only very recently read Arcanum Unbounded, which I am really glad I read before RoW or I wouldn't have picked up on stuff like the Aviar. But Dawnshard is the same price as a lot of full length books (not to mention the books themselves being really expensive even as ebooks -- not really complaining because of course he deserves the money, but that's why I didn't read RoW until now, I just couldn't justify the money to buy the ebook). It's really hard for me to justify spending that money for such a short amount of content, but it seems like it's going to be a continuing trend to publish a novella in between each novel?
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- Moderator
- #38
this just came in TOR email
there may be spoilers in the article itself
https://www.torforgeblog.com/2021/1...22f93b2db0cae4f4d72fd071312a7af32f35010e8027b
there may be spoilers in the article itself
https://www.torforgeblog.com/2021/1...22f93b2db0cae4f4d72fd071312a7af32f35010e8027b
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This is hilarious!! Made me cackle.
Elania al'Manir
Aes Sedai
There are for sure spoilers in the article itself. :P
And that reminds me I want to go back and re-read the series now that I've read the rest of the Cosmere. I got the sense that there was a lot of other stuff peppered in, and now I gotta go find it all!
And that reminds me I want to go back and re-read the series now that I've read the rest of the Cosmere. I got the sense that there was a lot of other stuff peppered in, and now I gotta go find it all!