Near the end of last month my library reservation for Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson finally came through. At 1,270 pages it was a biggie, and took a while to finish. It is the fourth book in the series, and it seemed to me to be the longest.
All the characters are here – and there is suitable development to keep things interesting and to satisfy the fans. Everybody moves closer to the big showdown that will happen in the fifth and final book.
I’ve read the first three books, and while the first few started out fairly lean and fast-moving, it seems like the more recent books spend a great deal of time explaining how everything works in this world that Sanderson has created.
For me, I prefer the action, twists and turns, and companionship and discovery that is usually a big part of these novels. For some reason this one focuses a little too much on “the rules” for this world. There are chapters and chapters full of science experiments to discover these rules, and it just felt like the information was put in there to cover logical bases rather than to develop the story.
Another point that stuck out for me was that our heroes (especially Kaladin and Shallan) are on the hero’s journey once again. Each book ends with them reaching some sort of accomplishment and solving their personal problems, however the next book starts with them again having some other personal problem or challenge, and off we go again to climb the mountain. The payoff of reaching the summit is always nice, but we know there’s just going to be a taller mountain to climb next time.
It is not all bad news – I especially enjoyed the mystery of the “deadeyes”, and checking in with Lift and Rysn – two side characters that are my favorites of the series.
I recognize that it must be a colossal amount of work to put these novels together, and to make sure everything is logical and makes sense. For casual readers like me, I think this book just got caught up in catering to the hardcore fans, and lost the brisk pace and fun we usually get in Sanderson’s storytelling style. Hopefully all the pieces are in place for the final book and we’ll reach a satisfying finish.
Next, I’m starting on Lands of Lost Borders by Kate Harris.
