Rhythm of War is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and the fourth book in The Stormlight Archive series. It was published by Tor Books on November 17, 2020.[1]Rhythm of War consists of one prologue, 117 chapters, 12 interludes and an epilogue.[2] It is preceded by Oathbringer.
As with Kaladin in The Way of Kings, Shallan in Words of Radiance, and Dalinar in Oathbringer, Rhythm of War has a sequence of flashback chapters, this time for characters Eshonai and Venli.[3]
The book features illustrations of four Heralds, as well as illustrations of all the True Spren who form Nahel Bonds save for the Bondsmith spren.[4] As with its Stormlight Archive predecessors, the unabridged audiobook is read by narration team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading.[5]
The writing process for the book started in January 2019, with a publication date planned for 2020. Before deciding the title would be Rhythm of War, the working title for the novel was The Song of Changes, which Brandon stated was never meant to be the final title.[1] It later was announced that the book would be released on November 17, 2020.[7]
Originally the book was to feature flashbacks from the point of view of Eshonai, with Venli taking center stage in the present-day timeline. Eventually Sanderson decided on mixed flashbacks, with part set from Eshonai's perspective, while the other part set from Venli's.
Sanderson has stated that the Wit epilogue of Rhythm of War is something he has been particularly looking forward to for a long time. He also stated there would be a time-jump between book three and four. While the title suggests greater focus on characters from the so-called 'singer culture', the remaining protagonists, including Kaladin Stormblessed, Shallan Davar, Dalinar Kholin, Navani, Adolin, as well as Bridge Four members also feature prominently. Narratives from the perspective of Szeth and Taravangian highlight many of the interludes.
The American cover was revealed on August 17, 2020.[8]
Seven years ago, Navani arranged the celebration of the peace treaty between the Alethkar and Parshendi. Having suffered from Gavilar's mistreatment, Navani resents him for his absence and his insults. After Gavilar's death, she recalls his involvement with strange spheres he has been researching, deciding to prove herself to continue Gavilar's research.
Part One
One year after the Battle of Thaylen Field, the Singers, previously known as the Parshmen, continue evolving and forming their society through dominance and oppression under Odium's influence as the Knight Radiants struggle to fend off Odium's force. Kaladin travels to his hometown of Hearthstone to rescue the citizens, including his family, and to pick up a famous Herdazian general known as The Mink who has fled from Herdaz after the Parshmen conquered Alethkar. Navani, Dalinar, and many Radiants arrive on a flying machine to assist Kaladin in evacuating the city. While the evacuation begins, the Radiants battle with the Fused, which ends inconclusively. Meanwhile, Kaladin is baited into a fight with his former friend Moash, who induces visions of traumatic experiences in Kaladin. With Renarin successfully distracting Moash, he helps Kaladin escape to the flying machine, and they fly away with the townspeople on board. While returning, Navani is contacted by a mysterious stranger who tells her that creating magic devices called Fabrials, which are made by imprisoning a Spren in a gemstone, is unethical.
After returning to Narak, Dalinar relieves Kaladin of duty due to his battle shock and increasing depression. Kaladin searches for a way to continue serving those around him without fighting and starts assisting his father in the infirmary. He eventually finds greater purpose in helping those with mental issues through group therapy and more progressive treatments.
In Kholinar, Venli, having grown weary with the Fused mistreatment, plans her move to depart with the Listeners to find peace. She is later summoned by the high council, known as the Nine, to discuss the situation resulting after the events at Hearthstone. The Fused Scholar, Raboniel, proposes a plan to conquer Urithiru to gain victory, which Leshwi opposes. After the meeting, Venli is traded to Raboniel, who is curious about her appearance as the last Listener.
Meanwhile, Shallan and her split personalities infiltrate the Sons of Honor to curry favor with Mraize and the Ghostbloods. This clandestine organization hints at secrets beyond the world of Roshar. Having failed to apprehend Ialai Sadeas, who has died recently from poison, Shallan discovers a hidden notebook during the mission mentioning mysterious terms (referring to other worlds in the Cosmere universe) and considers breaking free of the Ghostbloods. Mraize sends her on one final mission, promising her full Ghostblood membership and knowledge after she finds a mysterious man named Restares held captive within the Lasting Integrity, the Honorspren's capital city in Shadesmar.
After interrogating Szeth, Navani begins to understand that the sphere Gavilar secretly carried contains a Voidlight, the source of void binding. Navani joins Dalinar, Adolin, Shallan, and Jasnah to discuss a way to reclaim Alethkar. In this meeting, Mink suggests that they should avoid reclaiming Alethkar to prevent Taravangian's betrayal and instead target Emul to fend off the Singers' army and support the Skybreakers who have succumbed to extensive forces. Jasnah suggests summoning the Heralds Ash and Taln to help reforge the Oathpact to stop the Voidbringers. With Jezeren's death, the Oathpact has been diminished, but they have since learned that the Bondsmith might resolve it. Navani learns from Szeth that the Honorblades are kept hidden in Shinovar due to the Shins' distrust towards outsiders after the Last Desolation.
Determined to help Kaladin, Syl flies off to seek advice from Stormfather and Dalinar for aid. In Kholinar, Sja-Anat the Unmade sends her sprens to infiltrate the Ghostbloods while avoiding Odium's suspicion. With the Diagram disbanded and his hometown Kharbranth protected under his daughter's leadership, Taravangian chooses to stay at Urithiru and give his followers a final farewell before disposing of his Diagram book.
Part Two
Following the Mink's advice, Dalinar and Jasnah along with Taravangian set off to fight on the Emul battlefront in a strategic maneuver, leaving Navani and Kaladin behind at their home base of Urithiru to handle their path of discovery. After departing Urithiru, Shallan, Adolin, and a few Radiants head to Shadesmar as diplomatic envoys to encourage the Honorsprens to bond with humans. Along the journey, Shallan, along with her split personalities Radiant and Veil, suspects there is a spy who might sabotage her mission, and comes to believe that Pattern might have secretly leaked the information to Mraize. The group arrives at Lasting Integrity where the Honorspren refuse to welcome them. Not wanting to return to Urithiru empty-handed, Adolin persuades the Honorspren to declare a trial of himself with Shallan, Pattern, and Mayalaran by his side for defense.
At night, Raboniel leads the Fused to invade and take control of Urithiru by corrupting the Sibling, the tower Spren who secretly warned Navani about the Fabrial, causing all the Radiants in the tower except Kaladin and Lift to fall unconscious. Navani and the Sibling activate a shield before the Sibling is fully corrupted, powered by four hidden nodes. Having no choice, Navani surrenders herself and is enlisted by Raboniel to aid her research. Together, they discover that Voidlight and Stormlight can be mixed into Warlight. Refusing to remain captive by the Singers and desperate to protect his closest friend Teft, Kaladin kills a Regal and escapes with Teft, leaving his father distraught. With his closest friends departed, Kaladin is forced to fend for himself while protecting Teft.
Upon giving up his entire emotion, Moash, now known as Vyre, contacts Odium who might have the advantage of exploiting Kaladin's weakness, believing it might help. During the Singers' invasion, Lift spends her time alone in the tower fearing growing up until she finds a mysterious red bird and nurtures it to health upon discovering its owner deceased and Mraize approaching her. Taravangian supports the Emul battlefront, plotting for his troops to betray the rest of the human army on Odium's orders, though Dalinar foresees and plans for this betrayal. After the battle, Taravangian deliberately orders the Veden forces to attack and is later captured as a traitor and begins to see ways to thwart Odium through Nightblood, the black sword.
Part Three
After thwarting Taravangian's army, Dalinar begins testing his Bondsmith powers to his advantage and learn the connection of Nahel Bond when he touches Nale and his connection with Oathpact. Dalinar confronts Taravangian for interrogation. Taravangian confesses his prediction that Dalinar will succumb to his defeat and become Odium's new champion after granting his newfound intelligence from Cultivation. Disheartened by Taravangian's despair, Dalinar vows that he will succeed in defeating Odium and affirms Taravangian that he will bear witness the event before his final days.
During her time of captivity, Navani continues her research on Stormlight's connection to Voidlight and Lifelight, which before were disconnected from each other confirming that they are unmixed based on Raboniel's false hypothesis. With Raboniel's aid, they also learned that Stormlight and Voidlight are attracted through changing frequency and find anti-types of light, which can permanently kill Spren and Fused, a discovery that can end the cycle of war. Navani soon discovered that both Stormlight and Voidlight are active to frequency. Aided by Navani, the Sibling, and Dabbid, Kaladin escapes with an unconscious Teft to a hidden room in the upper levels of Urithiru to hide from Lezien the Pursuer whom Kaladin killed during his encounter at Hearthstone. As he gathers supplies for Teft, Kaladin's depression worsens, with Moash and Odium sending him visions to drive him insane, but he keeps himself busy defending the nodes under Navani's and the Sibling's instruction. His first attempt failed when Raboniel accessed the second node with Lezien's interference and Raboniel wounding him.
Navani manages to contact Kaladin using The Sibling to help protect the tower and gave him a fabrial device to help secure the node. Navani learns that the third node is hidden within the well but unaware that Raboniel has gained knowledge of the Sibling. Kaladin successfully disconnects the third node and escapes using the Highstorm to avoid capture, but is left injured in the process after his confrontation with Leshwi. Venli continues to arrange her plan to defect with the Singers, reuniting with Rlain and releasing him from captivity to protect Kaladin's family. Venli is able to master her surgebinding with Voidlight, which attracts other spren and enables her communication with the Sibling.
After Renarin's failed attempt to sway Taravangian for redemption, Szeth approaches Taravangian upon learning of the Oathstones and refuses to serve him. As Szeth departs, Taravangian pleads with him to send the sword Nightblood to Dalinar to kill Odium.
Part Four
Stranded with the nightmare created by Odium, Kaladin struggles to resist its influence until he is rescued by Wit upon requesting the story about the Dog and the Dragon. Navani and Raboniel manage to recreate an anti-voidlight after Navani calibrate the sound frequency of Honor and Odium's source. Raboniel express to Navani that she wants to end the cycle of war and conquering Urithiru is help seek answers. By testing the Anti-voildlight, Rabioniel killed her daughter and thus prevents her immortality and demand to create anti-Stormlight which left Navani distraught.
With Kaladin still unconscious from the battle, Dabbid finds Rlain who volunteers to help Kaladin's parents. Determined to seek redemption for her past transgressions, Venli decides to help Rlain and Dabbid free Lift, who was captured by Mraize during the Singers invasion. As Lift successfully heals Kaladin, Dabbid reveals that he is now able to speak clearly after his contact from The Sibling. After Kaladin recovers and Teft reawakens form his unconsciousness, the group makes plans to assist Lift, who can wake the unconscious Radiants with her healing powers. As Rlain stays to help the Radiants, Venli confesses to Rlain of her actions. Raboniel informs Venli about the remaining Listeners who are hiding within the Shattered Plain after their refusal to embrace on Everstorm.
Many years ago, Venli and Eshonai grew up on Narak with their mother who was losing most of her memory as she grew old. With Eshonai growing fond with humans following King Gavilar's expedition, Venli encounters a mysterious stranger who gave her a red gem to discover the history of her people. Venli invertedly summons Ulim, the voidspren sent by Odium, and travels to Kholinar upon learning the Heralds' insanity and Gavilar's plan. Unbeknownst to Eshonai who had received a Warform after the Highstorm, Ulim manipulates Venli to summon the Everstorm by corrupting the Stormform and giving it to Eshonai which led to the current event. Distraught from Venli's action, Rlain chooses to stay and help the Radiants.
Meanwhile, Shallan and Adolin travel through Shadesmar. Adolin undertakes a legal trial in Lasting Integrity to convince the honorspren that humans are worth bonding with again. Shallan realizes Restares, the High Judge of the trial, is actually Kalak, a Herald of the Almighty. Mraize gives her the knife that killed Jezerian and orders her to finish the job, with Veil and Radiant opposing. Upon taking her new persona Formless, she attempts to assassinate him, but in doing so, releases her repressed memory of killing her first spren, Testament. As a result, Veil is absorbed back into her to accept her identity and Radiant reveals that she killed Ialai. Shallan manages to persuade Kelek to withhold the trial by revealing the Ghostbloods plan, but the Honorspren seclude Kelek to continue the trial. As the Honorspren make their final attempt to discredit Adolin, Adolin's dead Shardblade, Mayalaran, speaks at the trial, revealing that the ancient spren chose to sacrifice themselves with the Knights Radiant during the Recreace, discrediting the anti-human leadership of the honorspren and allowing new honorspren to enter Roshar to bond new Radiants. Shallan ends her association with the Ghostbloods and sets herself firmly against them.
Part Five
Navani, Kaladin, Teft, and Lift fight to wake the Radiants and liberate Urithiru. Kaladin manages to defeat the Pursuer and label him as the Defeated One and he gains respect from Leshwi and her followers. Teft and Lift infiltrate the infirmary to rescue the radiants. However, Moash ambushes them as he injures Lift and kills Teft after severing Phendorana, then throws his corpse to Kaladin. Kaladin's father is thrown off the tower by another Fused. Consumed by grief, Kaladin jumps off the tower into the highstorm in an attempt to rescue his father, where he is saved by Dalinar and the Stormfather as they provide Tien's essence to comfort him. With his scar healed and his trauma recovered, Kaladin states the Fourth Ideal which then summons a Shardplate and saves his father, then returns to reclaim the tower.
Increasingly suspicious, Dalinar looks at Urithiru through the Stormfather and realizes the tower has been occupied by the enemy. He decides to seek out another Bondsmith, Ishar the Herald, to increase his powers and fight back. However, Ishar, driven insane through the centuries, attacks Dalinar with his reclaimed Honorblade. Defeated by Szeth who learns about his father's demise, Ishar temporarily regains his sanity and tells Dalinar to meet him in Shinovar for further instruction. Dalinar discovers Ishar has been experimenting with spren bodies in the Physical Realm.
Navani encounters Moash during her escape attempt. He tries to kill Navani, but she bonds with the Sibling, becoming a Bondsmith. She repels Moash and reverses the tower's corruption through anti-Voidlight. Blinded, Moash flees Urithiru and is later reclaimed by Odium. The remaining Fused led by Lezien attack the infirmary; Venli teams up with Rlain, Leshwi, and the humans to protect the unconscious Radiants, showing that the singers and humans can live in harmony. With the tower restored, Navani kills Raboniel with Anti-voidlight to free her from immortality.
Venli eventually reunites with an escaped group of listeners, including her mother, who is eager to bond with spren, redeeming herself and her past role in bringing about Odium. Dalinar meets with Odium in a vision, where Odium, shaken by the loss of Urithiru and the failure of so many of his plans, agrees to sign a contest of champions. With Wit's help in forging a contract, Dalinar manipulates Odium into swearing that if Dalinar's champion is victorious, Odium will cede the eastern territories of Roshar to the coalition but remain bound to the planet. Likewise, if Odium's champion is victorious, he would retain the land he had conquered and Dalinar would be forced to serve him as a Fused. Feeling distraught from Ishar's report from Shinovar, Szeth leaves Dalinar to pursue his next Ideal and visits Taravangian in his cell, intending to kill him once and for all. Before he can do so, Odium pulls Taravangian's conscious and unintentionally Nightblood into a vision, where Taravangian stabs Odium and kills his Vessel, Rayse, (the person who serves as the mind directing Odium's power), becoming Odium's new vessel. With his newfound power and faking his death, Taravangian is visited by Cultivation who assumes she can train him to control Odium's power. With only ten days left, Dalinar sends Kaladin to travel to Shinovar to help Ishar gain his sense of forging the Oathpact. Before leaving, Kaladin found the wooden horse he thought he lost it.
Eighteen months ago during the battle of Narak, Eshonai died from injury after she fell into the chasm, and her soul ascended as a Knights Radiant. Stormfather gives Eshonai his final gift as he guides her across Roshar to bear witness to her people's freedom before fading away into the Beyond.
Epilogue
Wit and his Cryptic spren Design wanders into Ehlokar's palace from the Shattered Plains. The newly born Odium (who is still bound by the old Odium's agreements) tricks Wit within a mindscape, leaving him unaware of Odium's new identity.
Viewpoint characters
The primary chapters within the book are told from the viewpoint of several major characters, while the book's interludes are told from the viewpoint of other characters (not all of which repeat).
Main
Prologue, epilogue and interludes
Pre-Publication
Sanderson shared multiple fragments of Rhythm of War before publication. On July 23, Tor started the publication of preview chapters on their website.[9] Previews include:
Two versions of a Lirin point-of-view section
A recorded reading of a Venli POV section
A fragment of the Navani prologue
A very early version of an Eshonai flashback scene
A Lift interlude
A Syl interlude released in the July 2020 newsletter
Publication
The book was published by Tor on November 17, 2020.
On July 12, 2020, Sanderson announced on his official Twitter account that he had finished the book and turned in the manuscript.[10] At roughly 460,000 words, Rhythm of War is slightly longer than its predecessor, Oathbringer, including a prologue, epilogue, 117 chapters, and multiple interludes.[2]
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