Board 8 > Stormlight Archive: Rhythm of War has arrived!

(+) Yeah! (+)

And there's a new novella titled Dawnshard that I only just found out about last night, gotta read that first.

These new Herald portraits are off the chain gorgeous, I recognize Nale right away but not yet sure who the other three are

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Yeah it's funny seeing a bunch of Dawnshard references in the first few chapters. <_< They're not vital or anything (so far at least), but it's a bit goofy to release a book and then release its sequel a week or whatever later haha.

Would be nice to see a collection of the Herald portraits online since they don't look that great in the eBook version.
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My physical copy arrived today, and I'm excited to start. I read Dawnshard a week or so ago - got it off the kickstarter. It is supposedly not necessary to read it first, but there is some pretty important stuff in there so I'd recommend tackling that first.

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It features the Lopen so all must read.

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I named my IRC server after this series. No regrets

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About a fifth of the way through right now - this is the first book I started on release date since the final Harry Potter

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I read Dawnshard and the preview chapters (so the first act) but since those started months ago I'm rereading those to refresh my memory. And also for those sweet illustrations!

Kind of a weird feeling going into a "new" release. It slowed my momentum but also I'm a lot more interested in how this plays out. If the quality keeps up with what has already been released it should be great!

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It got delivered to me today but I probably won't read it for a few weeks

Been re...'reading' the series via audiobook the past few months and am about halfway through Oathbringer so gonna finish that first.

Shoulda started the reread earlier I guess oh well.

oh heck

so hey how long does it usually take for an audiobook to come out on CD and then show up in libraries >_>

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It's so good

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I have 1 audible credit should I use it on book 1

RikkuAlmighty posted...

I have 1 audible credit should I use it on book 1

yes

Mistborn might be a better intro series to Sanderson but Stormlight will be better audible credit value

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I'm sad that this book came out before the busiest week of the year... I'm still reading Dawnshard

Radiant the Lopen has gotten even better and Rysn has finally grown on me, she's great. Can't remember a whole lot about her history though, completely blanking on when she encountered an enemy Lightweaver but I'm assuming it was in the Thaylen battle (I as well was halfway through my Oathbringer reread)

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So this week has sucked for me, but when things calm down for me I cannot wait to read this.

I don't even need to verbalize that I hope it's going to be good because Sanderson has not once let me down.

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ExThaNemesis posted...

So this week has sucked for me, but when things calm down for me I cannot wait to read this.

I don't even need to verbalize that I hope it's going to be good because Sanderson has not once let me down.

elantris?

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Elantris is good if you skim through all the politics

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I simply did not finish Elantris

and I also did not have expectations for it!

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CassandraCain posted...

Radiant the Lopen has gotten even better and Rysn has finally grown on me, she's great. Can't remember a whole lot about her history though, completely blanking on when she encountered an enemy Lightweaver but I'm assuming it was in the Thaylen battle (I as well was halfway through my Oathbringer reread)

Oathbringer spoilers

Yes, during the Thalyen battle. She was in charge of the audit for the Thaylen gem reserve when a disguised fused stole that perfect gemstone

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Elantris, Warbreaker, and Well of Ascension I put in the "firmly mediocre" category but they're all at least entertaining enough reads that I wouldn't say they're bad.

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CassandraCain posted...

Elantris is good if you skim through all the politics

eh. the Big Resolution was extremely obvious like 30 pages in, and most of the rest of the book until then is frustrating when in the back of your mind, you're constantly screaming THE SOLUTION IS OBVIOUS JUST SOLVE THE PROBLEM ALREADY

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oh right i need to go buy this

iv been waiting so patiently in my Way of Kings Leatherbound waiting room I forgot this was out

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Yankees posted...

Oathbringer spoilers

Ah yes I can recall a bit of that now, thank you

As for Elantris yeah I got a big laugh out of the solution being to draw a freakin line in the dirt which is beyond silly. However I mostly just enjoyed the Elantrians and their unique condition, and the main character was cool. Not arguing that it's his worst book though, I practically skipped through half of it and didn't feel like I missed anything at all.

Warbreaker I thought was pretty damn good, I need to reread it

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The glaring issue with Warbreaker is that it's structured around the twist (which is a good twist!) and Sanderson commits so hard to the bit that he uh...forgets to make the two main characters interesting outside of that twist. So the other two POVs steal the show.

And of course the characters there that cameo in other books are just way better as cameos which is pretty funny. But I have high hopes for the eventual sequel because of that. I'll note that I read Stormlight before reading Warbreaker so that absolutely contributed to the disappointment on this one

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That's why I need to reread it since the twist might have tricked me into thinking the book was really good.

I think Sanderson improves with every book, so by the time the Warbreaker sequel hits it'll put the first one to shame.

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Elantris is probably his weakest book but it does have one of his best characters in Hrathen.

It also benefits from a Cosmere aware reread where you know why the magic there is broken.

Warbreaker is great, love that book. Lightsong is my guy.

Murphiroth posted...

Elantris is probably his weakest book but it does have one of his best characters in Hrathen.

It also benefits from a Cosmere aware reread where you know why the magic there is broken.

Warbreaker is great, love that book. Lightsong is my guy.

I love the Cosmere, can you give me the spoilers on what happened there?

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ExThaNemesis posted...

I love the Cosmere, can you give me the spoilers on what happened there?

Odium killed the two shards there (Dominion and Devotion) long ago. Their power is stuck together on the cognitive realm and trying to get out, but can't. That's why magic on the planet needs very specific methods and Connections to particular nations to be used.

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ExThaNemesis posted...

I love the Cosmere, can you give me the spoilers on what happened there?

Sometime significantly before Elantris, Odium shattered the two shards on Sel, Dominion and Devotion. Then he somehow sealed most of the power of said shards in the Cognitive Realm, which is why Raoden describes it like it's yearning to be let out.

The Reod itself wasn't necessarily tied directly to Odium's actions, but word of Brandon says it wasn't a natural occurence either. My theory is it's some kind of aftershock of the shattering and sealing of Dominion and Devotion.

It's also worth noting that Brandon has implied that Odium couldn't have taken on two other shards alone and had help from another shard. Prevailing theory right now is Autonomy, IIRC. He's also shattered Ambition.

Most of this is directly from Brandon via questions at signings and cons.

Oh yeah and sometime after shattering those three Odium (or Rayse, the shardholder) was somehow trapped in the Rosharan system.

As for Autonomy, the shard's intent seems like it would be adverse to teaming up with another Shard but it specifically did so to break up a pairing of shards then ditched Odium so I kind of dig it.

definitive sanderson ranking:



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Unread stuff:



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Oh shit!

Think I know what the Dawnshard is, and why certain characters are making cameo appearances on Roshar

Now I can finally start RoW! ...tomorrow night

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I finished reading it today. Couldn't put it down, and can't wait to see where the series goes next. Spoiler filled ramblings.

It felt more like Navani's book than Venli's. Navani's arc was really satisfying, and Raboniel was a more interesting character than I first expected her to be. Bonding the Sibling and repelling Moash was a great moment.

Kaladin's fourth ideal was what I long suspected it would be. It is nice to see him get there, and develop a more mutually supportive relationship with Syl. Teft's death along with his spren was heartbreaking. I had previously been interested in a Moash redemption arc, but not anymore.

Restares is Kalak, and Thaidakar is pretty much confirmed as Kelsier. Didn't really see that coming. The Ghostbloods are potentially responsible for delivering Ulim to Venli - that woman is likely Terris and was potentially compromised by the other Terrisman who Mraize clashed with. Lift's got that chicken/Aviar now which should be fun. Adolin and Shallan have finally declared war on the Ghostbloods.

The Recreance was a joint decision between spren and the radiants. There weren't any deadeyes prior to this. Seems like the imprisonment of Ba-Ado-Mishram is intertwined with this and the Sibling's slumber. I'd like to see more on this. Kalak seems convinced it was a bad idea to imprison her, but it's hard to imagine him taking much action in his current state. The only thing he is sure about is that he wants out. We were given some hope that Jezrien may be trapped within the gem, but Kalak is certain he has faded. It's amusing that the other Heralds consider Ishar the sane one. Those experiments were twisted.

Taravangian's Ascension is terrifying. I wasn't expecting Nightblood to meet Odium in this book. Cultivation and Renarin bet on him so I assume Renarin must have seen a benefit to that path. Cultivation is harder to judge. Her vessel is heavily implied to be dragon. Harmony states that In truth, it would be a combination of a Vessels craftiness and the powers intent that we should fear most.. I'm looking forward to how he will twist the terms of the contract to his benefit.

Wit losing his memories at the end is awful. Storing memories in his Breath is how he's maintained his sanity. He appears to have lost his perfect pitch so he likely has lost a significant amount of Breath, or perhaps had them corrupted in some way.

I was hoping to see Zahel make a reappearance after his chat with Kaladin, but that was never touched on. I guess he traveled with Dalinar or hung low during the invasion. Still waiting to see more from Taln as well. The Stormfather confirmed him as the best fighter. Not a surprise, considering he is the Herald of War.

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some other points I found interesting.

Leshwi said that the spren finally forgave them once one bonded Venli. There's still a lot we don't know about the beginning of the war. I think we were previously told that singers sided with Odium after the spren chose the humans. I wonder why the spren felt betrayed by the singers.

I didn't catch much more on the whole Dalinar/Unity thing. It was great to see him connect Kaladin to Tien in the spiritual realm. It was interesting that Kaladin's fourth ideal was not accepted by the Stormfather, but by someone else who sounded familiar. Unity? Tanavast? There must be something to the Stormfather referring to Kaladin as Child of Tanavast when he refers to others as Children of Honor instead.

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Yankees posted...

I didn't catch much more on the whole Dalinar/Unity thing. It was great to see him connect Kaladin to Tien in the spiritual realm. It was interesting that Kaladin's fourth ideal was not accepted by the Stormfather, but by someone else who sounded familiar. Unity? Tanavast? There must be something to the Stormfather referring to Kaladin as Child of Tanavast when he refers to others as Children of Honor instead.

For narrative purposes this, seems unlikely, but Honor wasn't splintered like the other Shards were; Roshar wasn't fucked up due to his passing, and the Cognitive Realm is fine. Could be setting up for an eventual Ascension by Kaladin later

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I read through the first chapter and then realized Dawnshard was out so I gotta go back and do that first

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@Yankees Lord Of Scars is a name uses for Kelsier at multiple points in the Mistborn series, he's def the Ghostbloods leader.
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profDEADPOOL posted...

@Yankees Lord Of Scars is a name uses for Kelsier at multiple points in the Mistborn series, he's def the Ghostbloods leader.

that's... just not true lmao

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profDEADPOOL posted...

@Yankees Lord Of Scars is a name uses for Kelsier at multiple points in the Mistborn series, he's def the Ghostbloods leader.

I don't remember that specific name, but Lord of Scars does seem like a clear indication for him coupled with the fact that Wit threatens to kick his ass again. It's been a long time since I've read the series so I could have forgotten. Anyway, we do have this...

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/100-rbooks-ama-2015/#e3585

NFUN posted...

For narrative purposes this, seems unlikely, but Honor wasn't splintered like the other Shards were; Roshar wasn't fucked up due to his passing, and the Cognitive Realm is fine. Could be setting up for an eventual Ascension by Kaladin later

I do think someone will be taking up that shard, and it could be Kaladin. Still, not really sure where that voice is supposed to come from.

Taravangian wasn't kidding when the Diagram said he should become king of everything. It's more satisfying endgame for him than saving one city.

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NFUN posted...

that's... just not true lmao

I must have misread where Coppermind was quoting him having that nickname from then :v.

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yeah, that was only added to the Coppermind after this book was released.

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ughhh i dunno about Dawnshard

I kickstarted the Way of Kings leatherbound, so that means I have a Dawnshard hardcover coming my way (along with a Way of Kings Prime hardcover). They gave me the ebook for free but I think I'd rather read the hardcover I'll get sometime within the next few months

I'd heard that neither books are written with the expectation that you read the other, but what do you guys think who have read both? Is it a bad idea to read Rhythm of War now and Dawnshard eventually?

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Dawnshard isn't necessary to read RoW imo. There are a handful of connections to it, but I don't think they are critical. There's a year between RoW and Oathbringer so those things should fit in pretty naturally.

You will know a couple details about how Dawnshard must end if you were to read it later, but it doesn't give a lot away. Depends how you feel about that.

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It's not necessary, but it's only a few hours-long read. may as well knock it out now

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Yankees posted...

Dawnshard isn't necessary to read RoW imo. There are a handful of connections to it, but I don't think they are critical. There's a year between RoW and Oathbringer so those things should fit in pretty naturally.

You will know a couple details about how Dawnshard must end if you were to read it later. RoW doesn't spoil the most significant takewaways though. Depends how you feel about that.

alright cool then I'll wait!

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sames. just leaves a tidbit to snack on during the desolation between books!

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Reached the 70% mark today; I think this is my favorite in the series so far if it keeps up - my ranking for the previous entries would be Words of Radiance>Way of Kings>Oathbringer

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Just started reading this series a few weeks ago so this is a pleasant surprise. On book two now. Really really damn good.

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Book two is the best, not a dull moment from beginning to end.

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