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The Stormlight Archive

Discussion in 'Books & Comics' started by Addi Ras, May 7, 2020.

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How much are you enjoying The Stormlight Archive Series

  1. It’s Fantastic

    3 vote(s)
    60.0%
  2. It’s Great

    1 vote(s)
    20.0%
  3. It’s Ok

    1 vote(s)
    20.0%
  4. Not Really

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  5. I Didn’t Enjoy It At All

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    Daniel Green and Merphy Napier's reviews are out! While they are spoiler free, they do mention characters who have survived up to this point, so be warned of that. If you just want to know what they feel without watching:

    Both gave the book a 7/10, stating that while this is a very solid entry, the pacing of the book was noticeably off, with characters dropping in and out of the book for large chunks of time;* and the main cast of characters were sidelined at times to make space for a new cast of characters that don't contain the emotional connection needed to care about yet.
    Characterization in this book is a big talking point, with Merphy not necessarily liking all of it while Daniel praises some of the aspects that are sure to be talked about more.

    Both felt like this book did good things for the series but wasn't as contained to a book as previous entries.

    Merphy ended by stating that however you felt about Oathbringer will no doubt be similar to how you'll feel about Rhythm of War.

    Daniel ends by stating that while there are a lot of tweaks or preferences that could have been made, Rhythm of War is still a rock solid entry.






    *Brandon was very intentional about this. In one of his first updates for the book, he talked about how he wanted Book 4 to be paced more like Book 1 than Books 2 & 3. This meant making certain character arc decisions. YMMV how well he succeeded however.
     
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  2. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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  3. MandoChip

    MandoChip Hate me later. Work now.
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    These books are definitely my cup of tea, I'm buying them ASAP.
     
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  4. Addi Ras

    Addi Ras MASTER TEA MAKER
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    Well that should keep you busy until Christmas :D
    These are one of the few books I still like to get in hard back as all the maps & drawings don’t not look as good on my kindle
     
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  5. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    DOOOO ITTTT!!
    Also, when did you become a Mod?!? Have I congratulated you yet? CONGRATS!!

    Same. They are worth the investment.

    For those who didn't participate (or know about) the kickstarter, Dawnshard is available in ebook format today! It serves as a great apetizer for Book 4's release next week, and Cosmere fans will be glad they picked this up. Hardcover copies won't be out until sometime next year, but it's still worth reading now.

    https://www.amazon.com/Dawnshard-St...ld=1&keywords=dawnshard&qid=1605026096&sr=8-2
     
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  6. MandoChip

    MandoChip Hate me later. Work now.
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    @Use the Falchion I've already ordered them :) And yes I've been a mod for a few months now, thank you!
     
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  7. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    https://www.tor.com/2020/11/12/brandon-sandersons-rhythm-of-war-a-non-spoiler-review/

    At last Tor's non-spoiler review of Rhythm of War is here! And this one is even more positive than the last one! Like the 17th Shard early review, the reviewer is a Beta Reader for Brandon. So they've seen the book at multiple stages. Think of Beta Readers like people who see the dailies or a rough cut of the film before the special effects are added in. They provide feedback on what worked, what didn't, and how they felt about nearly everything. It's an honor to be chosen, but it also means that you can lose a bit of the magic.

    Anyways, for those who want to know about the review before reading it, this one breaks down what to expect in the book in terms of worldbuilding, plot structure, epilogues, and characters. It gives no specifics, but I think it does a good job of outlining the overall shape of the book compared to the previous reviews.

    The Legendarium podcast also released their non-spoiler review in it, but it DOES have two spoilers for Part 1. One of them I more or less knew, and the other I sort of figured out, but if you're going in blind, DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST UNTIL AFTER YOU READ PART 1.

    Lastly, DO NOT GO TO THE ARCANUM ON THE 17TH SHARD. Looking up things there right now is like walking through a minefield. I was looking for interesting tidbits in what I thought was a safe space, and the first thing that popped up was a spoiler for something I had NO IDEA about. If you're curious about what Brandon has said about certain things, curb your enthusiasm until after you read Book 4.

    Lastly, Skyward 3's progress bar is at 33%.
     
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  8. Addi Ras

    Addi Ras MASTER TEA MAKER
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    So Rhythm of War is finally here my copy arrives tomorrow :).
    So I was thinking if you are going to post stuff as you read for General comments on the book or characters I don’t think you need spoiler tags but any plot detail or major character revelations should probably be behind spoiler tags if if not let me know & I can change the thread title to spoiler that way no tags will be needed & anyone enters in the full knowledge that book details will be in full view so enter at their own risk.
     
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  9. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    So, I just finished the book this morning. You may be wondering how this happened. Part of it is because I'm a fast reader. The other part of it is because I sacrificed sleep and the quality of my work (both homework and work-work) to do so. Is this advised? Not at all. Was this predictable? Absolutely. Do I have any regrets? Minimal ones at most.

    Before the review, I do have some updates on stuff. Brandon "Big Balls" Sanderson, to celebrate the release of the new book, has some interviews and whatnot all online. So if you're tired of reading for a bit or you're simply curious about the process of creating a Stormlight book, check them out. Also to celebrate the release, Brandon send out a newsletter to his subscribers. And in that newsletter was the prologue and the first chapter of Skyward 3, tentatively titled Nowhere.* Which is roughly a third of the way written. The man is a machine!












    I'll start with the TL;DR because I'm going to ramble. There won't be spoilers for characters, settings, or plot, but I do want to give my overall experience and impression of the book. If I had to rate the book right now, I'd probably give it an 8.5/10. The other Stormlight books I'd rate between 9/10 and 9.5/10.

    This book is hard to describe. In many ways, I'm reminded of The Last Jedi. In the trailer and in the movie, Luke warns Rey, and by proxy the audience, that "this is not going to go the way you think," and he's both right and wrong. TLJ follows the format that TFA set up, compressing ESB and ROTJ into one movie so that Episode IX could have done its own thing. But it was also new, fresh, and broke the chains of what Star Wars had been. There was a confusion after TLJ released, and then fracture, and lastly (and most depressingly), a war within the fandom.

    Rhythm of War reminds me of that. This book doesn't go the way you think, and not everyone will be willing to fully accept that. This book is about the tolls of war and the discoveries found within it. Like TLJ, we find that sometimes our enemies have more honor than our allies, and those we once revered are as broken as the rest of us.

    Rhythm of War also answers a LOT of questions. I mean, A. LOT. OF. QUESTIONS. This isn't new for Stormlight. Questions we've had from previous books (and in our heads for years) are usually answered quite quickly in the next one; but I think Rhythm of War takes the cake. It answers questions we've theorized for years, and then gives even more answers than what we thought, and then just drops completely different knowledge bombs on your head! It's almost dizzying how much we find out in this book. And rarely does it feel like info dumps. That being said, I'm not always a fan of how nonchalant Brandon gives away some of these answers. This is something that was pointed out to me, and that I've been feeling more and more with his books - Brandon will give out answers and drop minor developments from characters in order to speed everyone up to where he wants the story to go. This time it was intentional, but I'm worried this might be becoming a flaw and a habit.

    The pacing of the book is also something that needs to be talked about. I had absolutely no problem with the pacing. Heck, I think it was better paced than Oathbringer! This may have been the first Stormlight book where I didn't look at the book and ask myself how much farther I had to go because I was burnt out but I couldn't stop gorging. That's what I compared Oathbringer to at the time - a great feast where you couldn't stop gorging no matter how full you got.** Here, I felt none of that. But I do see why people would have a problem with the stylistic choices that shook the pacing in this book. Characters that aren't in the main group have their arcs alternating, like it was in The Way of Kings. If your favorite character isn't in that main arc, you won't be seeing a lot of them this book. But that also left a lot of room to explore other characters in new and exciting ways. That doesn't mean this book feels bloated. Not at all! Honestly, to me, Rhythm of War felt very streamlined, despite its wordcount. There are reasons for this, some of which are spoilers. But one that isn't is probably because of the interludes. Not only are there fewer interludes than before, but they're also directly related to the plot at hand. This is especially true for the Interlude Novella Character. I don't mind this, but it also makes the world feel smaller in some ways.

    That gets into a small gripe I'm starting to have with the series (which I'll also try to refute): Stormlight books are focused on a small group of people in frankly very few settings, despite how the story started or how epic it is. On one hand, this is absolutely a good thing. Series like A Song of Ice and Fire and The Wheel of Time ballooned far beyond what they probably wanted or needed because of the scope. They got into the weeds of cultures and characters, exploring great houses, backwater lands, and alleyways in-between. But when you read the books, the worlds feel so real, so lived in. There are adventures to have, people to see, places to go, and you know them all! Stormlight on the other hand...it doesn't feel empty, not at all. But it doesn't feel...as large as it used to. For example, there was a small, nomadic culture introduced in Dawnshard. They didn't do much, but their impression made me want to travel along with them for a bit; just so spend some time exploring their world and how they see it. It's little things like that we see missing.
    It's like comparing AOTC to TLJ. In AOTC you're visiting all of these old and new places, bouncing around the galaxy, and it's a great adventure. Seeing Dax's diner in Coruscant may have been unnecessary, but it was cool seeing a Jedi interact with someone outside of the Order as a friend and seeing this little slice of life that they have. But in TLJ we're focused on four core places and doing our things there. That's sort of what it feels like.

    THAT BEING SAID, when we look at the Cosmere as a whole, this is perfectly fine! Because on that scale, it's like Roshar is a culture, not a planet.

    Speaking of Cosmere, there are more Cosmere connections than ever before in this book. Fans of Mistborn will be able to pick up on some of them quite easily, and other Worldhoppers aren't as quiet as they used to be. (Some still are, but others aren't.) This doesn't bother me, but I do worry for my friends who haven't read the other Cosmere books and don't plan it (be it they tried and didn't like them, or they simply don't plan on it). Will they find the Cosmere stuff confusing? Or will it just be more lore that they can push past?

    Rhythm of War at times felt like a sci-fi book more than it did a fantasy one at times. This isn't new, as Sanderson's personal preferences in fantasy tend to blend the two. But it did create a bit of disconnect sometimes. I'm sure the main Cosmere heads will love it though.

    Ultimately, this book is good and another solid entry in the Stormlight Archive. There's an ending coming, and the twists you didn't see are terrifyingly obvious in hindsight. I liked this book, but I think it deserves a reread before I can say where it fits or how much I like/love it. Right now it's at the "bottom" of the pile, but I can honestly say that it's the one I had the best fun reading in terms of pacing. I also want to make it clear that for all of my comparisons to TLJ, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LIKE TLJ TO LIKE THIS BOOK. I WAS SIMPLY SAYING THAT THERE ARE ASPECTS OF MY EXPERIENCE WITH TLJ THAT WERE SIMILAR TO MY EXPERIENCE HERE. I do have a few personal gripes with the book, but these are nitpicks at best that more wound my pride than anything else (I shipped certain characters, but that clearly didn't happen; and now I'm not only slightly upset that I was wrong, but that I'll never hear the end of it from the people that were right. Then again, when you're right about these sorts of things, it's totally fine to brag a little, especially so close to the release. I know I would. Besides, there's a new ship and I'm fully onboard.)

    So yeah. Go read it and form your own experiences!

    Edit: Wit's story is phenomenal.



    *This was expected, more or less. Sanderson's newsletters are quite infrequent. We may see only two or three a year. This year had more than most because Sanderson did more than usual - Dark One, the Kickstarter, The Original, Dawnshard, and now Rhythm of War. Usually Sanderson gives a sneak peek at what he's writing next, and this newsletter was no exception. The next one may have some stuff from Wax & Wayne 4, which is really exciting to think about.
    **It's also how I felt for Avengers: Endgame and partially for TLJ. That feeling of the story dragging on for too long, but you also don't want it to end.
     
    #49 Use the Falchion, Nov 20, 2020
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2020
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  10. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    Just an addendum to the above post: Rhythm of War is a book about conflict, both good and bad. It shows us how sometimes conflict breaks us and tears us apart, but also how conflict can create growth. Two opposing things aren't always opposites, and if we can just learn to listen, to meld, to mix...maybe something good can come out of it, no matter how terrible. You will see people from different sides come together in this book. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. Beauty and horror, water and oil...
     
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  11. Addi Ras

    Addi Ras MASTER TEA MAKER
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    OK so I'm about 250 pages in. Now normally I read a lot lot faster then this but I'm having to read it in 30 - 45 min chunks as that's all my poor arms ca take :)

    Iso far I'm really enjoying it ill put some of my plot thoughts in a spoiler tag latter but in general this may be my favourite book the characters are very well written & all seem to have major flaws which make them much more relatable.
     
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  12. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    Not Stormlight news (although I will be buying a copy of TWOK for a person at my church who's going through some stuff and I think could really relate to Kaladin and Dalinar (and maybe even Shallan)), but Sanderson has provided us with the second official update to Skyward 3, tentatively titled Nowhere.
     
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  13. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    For those who have finished Rhythm of War, Sanderson is doing a spoiler-filled livestream tonight at his regular streaming time. DO NOT WATCH THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THE BOOK. THIS IS SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE BY DESIGN.

    But if you have finished the book, have fun peeking behind the scenes with Brandon!

    Brandon Sanderson on Twitter: "Just a reminder that I'll be doing the spoiler livestream for The Stormlight Archive this Thursday evening (MST). https://t.co/AlpPBpzIYX" / Twitter

    In other Sanderson news, Skyward 3 is 70% through it's first draft, and we should be seeing the State of the Sanderson sometime on Saturday (aka Koloss Head-Munching Day aka Brandon's birthday). I'll post a link to it when it's out.
     
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  14. Use the Falchion

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    A day early and a few hours later than expected (they said it'd drop around 9 or 12 MST...), we have our State of the Sanderson!

    State of the Sanderson 2020 | Brandon Sanderson

    After enjoying that, don't forget to watch Brandon's Spoiler-Filled Q&A from last night!



    Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to actually read this thing and protect myself from Mando spoilers.
     
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  15. Addi Ras

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    Ok so a quick update I’m now about 850 pages in ( the fact that I haven’t just blasted through this book in about a week which is what I would probably do normally is actually a really good sign of how much I’m enjoying this book ) & oh boy if I thought was good after about 200 pages this is now probably my favourite Stormlight book. There is just so much to take in & savour & a reread of the series is definitely called for after I have finished it.
     
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  16. Use the Falchion

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  17. Use the Falchion

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    This is going to be a dual post here and in the other Sanderson thread because it has both Stormlight and non-Stormlight information. For all of you Stormlight fans who have wanted an art book, now's your chance to vote on what type of art book you'd like! The book won't come out until 2025 at the earliest, but it looks like they may be planning it now. Sanderson wants it to be the "reminder" book between Arc 1 and Arc 2, since it'll we'll have roughly five years between Book 5 and Book 6.

     
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  18. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    Putting the update here instead of the other thread since it applies more here.

    After last week's poll, Sanderson and Co decided to go with Option 1 and Option 2. There's another poll this week, and it's about a Stormlight board game. Check it out!

     
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  19. Use the Falchion

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    Another dual update. The results for the type of board game came in, so enjoy!

     
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    For anyone who was curious what Brandon's first version of The Way of Kings looked like, like no farther! Last year for The Way of Kings Kickstarter, Brandon released a polished version of that first version, called The Way of Kings Prime, for free! If the Kickstarter reached a high enough goal, Brandon also promised that he'd release the audiobook for free as well. And a year later (and months after its initial recording), that has finally happened. Yesterday, the entire book - separated into chunks - went up on Brandon's YouTube channel. There are download links as well, for those who want to listen on the go. So for you audiobook fans, enjoy the adventures of Dalenar Kholin, Merin, Shinri Davar, and Jasnah Kholin.

    https://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-way-of-kings-prime/
    https://www.dragonsteelbooks.com/products/the-way-of-kings-prime-audiobook










     
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