Lia Carstairs's Reviews > Rhythm of War

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Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)
by

Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)

Lia Carstairs's review

Dec 19, 2021

it was amazing

bookshelves: brando-sando, owned, fantasy, adult, i-have-an-obsession, all-time-fav, romance, he-who-has-my-heart, author-is-a-professional-torturer, want-to-reread, made-me-cry

Update: [Dec, 2024]
its been 3 years now and i previously said below "RTC" and have had pieces of my review written in like 3 different places (which have been sitting there for 3 years now...) but i just never got around to writing the full one?? this book really just left me in complete awe and devastation that i genuinely cant find the words for a proper review like i had in the previous books, but i'll at least leave my disorganized, incomplete review of ROW ↓

“This is life, and I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth.”

I honestly don't even know what to say like how will I be able to express just how much everything in this book hit me so hard? The joy, the the heartbreak, the pain--everything in here was written so beautifully, just like how every other book in this series has. But specifically in Rhythm of War I have never felt more destroyed over a character's inner conflict and watched them as they grew and faced it all. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but truly no review will ever do these books justice.

I saw people complain about how this book was much more depressing and dark for them compared to the previous books and how they want to read books to escape from reality not to deal with such emotions--which makes sense but honestly that's what made me love this book even more. Like yes we all do read to escape from the problems in this world, but it makes me so happy when I see characters struggling with real world problems too; dealing with mental health, depression, self-hatred... and then when you watch those characters overcome those feelings--and not even completely, its done in a realistic way--I don't know about you but I find that to be the most emotional and motivating thing I have ever seen. I love it so much and will forever be screaming about how beautifully realistic the mental health rep is in The Stormlight Archive. No series will ever beat the representation this has and I'll stand by these words for the rest of my life.

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW (yeah its about *that* death, im forever scarred)

I was literally paranoid this whole book about who was going to die AND STILL I NEVER EXPECTED THAT DEATH UNTIL THE SCENE BEGAN💀😭 MY HEART GENUINELY STOPPED WHEN I REALIZED WHAT WAS HAPPENING%@$#?

Moash... I genuinely LOVED YOU in The Way of Kings. Then you went a bit crazy in Words of Radiance but I understood your anger (although you almost going through with Kaladin was not cool??). And then Oathbringer just made you lose any chance of redemption... AND NOW RHYTHM OF WAR-

If I ever wanted to jump inside a book to commit murder, it would be here because you had the AUDACITY TO MURDER TEFT???? YOU BASTARD. GO DIE IN THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL. I JUST??? I don't even want you to die anymore all I want is for you to suffer in a way nobody has ever suffered before in any book I've seen. You killed the man who was among one of the first to believe in Kal back in Bridge 4. The one who was always there for Kal during his toughest moments like Kal was there for Teft. You killed Teft who went through so many struggles and pain in life--to finally have overcome them all AND BE HAPPY.. only for you to kill him?! The most beautiful and heartbreaking thing about this is that at least Teft knew how much he was loved by everyone and especially Kal😭🥺 He died with this knowledge and that's the best way to die. Teft learned how much he was worth saving with all the self hatred he had and it made him happy. He smiled more, laughed more... and I especially can't get over how he left the battle to Emul in order to be there for Kaladin like??? MY HEART IT HURTS AND ILL NEVER RECOVER.

*remembering the time when I said in my The Way of Kings review that nobody in bridge 4 better die* sobbing screaming destroyed.. the wrong bridge member died😭

Otherwise, this book truly has to be one of my favourites of all time, right up there with Words of Radiance, although I definitely think the Sanderlanche here beats them all because just wow!!! Jaw dropping moments!! Me crying my heart out!! Journey before destination, you bastard moment (so so iconic)!! fourth ideal!! ugh its all just so so amazing. brandon sanderson, i will forever be in awe of the magic you wove into these books, but especially in how you wrote these characters and their individual journeys. i cannot wait to see how everything ends and i truly fear the lives of so many favourites (haha i have trust issues especially after The Hero of Ages... but one thing for sure, it will be a conclusion like never seen before, and i cannot wait.

____________

fitting that my first book of 2021 was TPW and my last book is ROW😃 ~~painful books am i right??~~

i am completely and utterly destroyed like that has to be the most nerve-wracking cliffhanger of all the books so far in this series...and to wait until 2023- *sobbing*

RTC

The Way of Kings:: ★★★★★
Words of Radiance: ★★★★★
Oathbringer: ★★★★★
Rhythm of War: ★★★★★

____________

IM SO EXCITED AND SCARED TO FINALLY READ THIS.

but im not ready to wait until 2023 for book 5😭

ill finish ROW before 2021 ends if its the last thing i do

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Quotes Lia Liked

“This is life, and I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

326 likes

“Journey before destination, you bastard.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

248 likes

“Our weakness doesn’t make us weak. Our weakness makes us strong. For we had to carry it all these years.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

180 likes

“It will,” Wit said, “but then it will get better. Then it will get worse again. Then better. This is life, and I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth. I promise you, Kaladin: You will be warm again.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

319 likes

“No one ever accomplished anything by being content with who they were, Shallan,” Adolin said. “We accomplish great things by reaching toward who we could become.” “As long as it’s what you want to become. Not what someone else thinks you should become.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

118 likes

“Why do we fight, Kal? Why do we keep going?” “I don’t know,” Kaladin whispered. “I’ve forgotten.” “It’s so we can be with each other.” “They all die, Tien. Everyone dies.” “So they do, don’t they?” “That means it doesn’t matter,” Kaladin said. “None of it matters.” “See, that’s the wrong way of looking at it.” Tien held him tighter. “Since we all go to the same place in the end, the moments we spent with each other are the only things that do matter. The times we helped each other.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

115 likes

“Adolin is right,” Veil said. “He’s always been right about you. Tell me. Who is the strongest of mind? The woman whose emotions are always on her side? Or the woman whose own thoughts betray her? You have fought this fight every day of your life, Shallan. And you are not weak.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

49 likes

“I know what you are,” Shallan whispered. “You’re the blankness upon my memories. The part of me that looks away. The part of my mind that protects me from my past.”

“Of course I am,” Veil said. “I’m your veil, Shallan.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

39 likes

“If we can choose, we can change. If we can't change, then choice means nothing. I'm glad I feel this way, to remind me that I haven't always felt the same. Been the same.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

42 likes

“Strength before weakness. He was coming to understand that part of his first oath. He had discovered weakness in himself, but that wasn't something to be ashamed of. Because of that weakness, he could help in ways nobody could.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

tags: help-others, strength, strong, weakness

16 likes

“Our weakness doesn't make us weak. Our weakness makes us strong, for we've had to carry it all these years.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

tags: inspirational

15 likes

“A family,” he said with a grunt. “Never had one of those before.” “I knew it,” she said softly. “What? That I was lonely?” “No,” she said solemnly, “that you were the child of a couple of particularly ugly rocks.” He glared at her. “You know,” she said, “since you have no family. Must be rocks. It makes sense.” “Really? We were having a moment.” She smiled, putting her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Vathah. I appreciate your sediment.” She got up to go. “Hey,” Vathah said as she walked away. She glanced back at him. “Thanks for smiling.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

5 likes

“I’m not strong enough,” Kaladin whispered. “You’re strong enough for me.” “I’m not good enough.” “You’re good enough for me.” “I wasn’t there.” Tien smiled. “You are here for me, Kal. You’re here for all of us.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

30 likes

“It is difficult not to question your value to someone who seems to value nothing. Sincerity might not come easily for you, but when she finds it in you, she’ll value it even more for the scarcity.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

2 likes

“But perhaps most important, the change was in not merely knowing that you weren’t alone—but in feeling it. Realizing that no matter how isolated you thought you were, no matter how often your brain told you terrible things, there were others who understood. It wouldn’t fix everything. But it was a start.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

3 likes

“Some people charged toward the goal, running for all they had. Others stumbled. But it wasn't the speed that mattered. It was the direction they were going.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

108 likes

“I don’t think I’d ever realized, until that moment, that a person could be beautiful and ugly at the same time. When you’re a teenage boy, you want the beautiful people to be truly beautiful. It’s hard to see otherwise, stupid as it sounds. I guess I owe her for that.” “It’s a lesson a lot of people never learn, Adolin.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

2 likes

“I accept that there will be those I cannot protect.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

tags: emotional, inspirational, kaladin-stromblessed, windrunners

8 likes

“Honor is not dead so long as he lives in the hearts of men!”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

tags: emotional, inspirational

25 likes

“If he kills us, he’s simply dropped us off at a place we were going anyway. We shouldn’t hasten it, and it is sad. But see, he can’t take our moments, our Connection, Kaladin. And those are things that really matter.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

tags: emotional, inspirational, kaladin-stromblessed, tien

0 likes

“You don't have to smile. You don't have to talk. But if you're going to be miserable, you might as well do it with friends.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

62 likes

“Who is a better swimmer?” Veil whispered. “It’s the sailor who has swum his entire life, even if he encounters rough seas that challenge him. Who is the stronger man? It is the man who must pull himself by his arms.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

13 likes

“I'm sorry, Father," Kaladin said.
"Sorry? For... for what?"
"I thought your way might be correct," Kaladin said. "And that I'd been wrong. But I don't think it's that simple. I think we're both correct. For us.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

tags: differences, life, our-own-way

6 likes

Reading Progress

June 24, 2021 – Shelved as: to-read

June 24, 2021 – Shelved

June 24, 2021 – Shelved as: brando-sando

October 2, 2021 – Shelved as: owned

December 19, 2021 – Started Reading

December 19, 2021 – Shelved as: fantasy

December 19, 2021 – Shelved as: adult

December 19, 2021 –

page 61

4.95% "not veil being annoyed that she didnt get kidnapped yet i cannot😭

AND ADOLIN GIVING SYL FASHION ADVICE PLEASE ITS PERFECT"

December 22, 2021 –

page 279

22.65% "

"Dalinar passed by, rapping the boots with his knuckles. “Decorum,” he said. “Discipline. Dedication.”

“Detail, duel, dessert…” Adolin glanced at his father. “Oh, sorry. I thought we were saying random words that start with the same sound.”

Dalinar glowered at Shallan.

“What?” she said.

“He was never like this before you arrived,” Dalinar said.”

shallan influencing adolin😌"

December 27, 2021 –

page 922

74.84% "

"You told me it would get worse."

“It will,” [redacted] said, “but then it will get better. Then it will get worse again. Then better. This is life, and I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth. I promise you, [redacted]: You will be warm again.”

im not crying at all😭"

December 28, 2021 –

page 1117

90.67% "i was literally just thinking to myself how i cant believe sanderson hasn't killed off anyone i love yet-

and guess what happens🤡 I AM NOT OKAY, currently sobbing as i write this"

December 29, 2021 – Shelved as: i-have-an-obsession

December 29, 2021 – Shelved as: all-time-fav

December 29, 2021 – Shelved as: romance

December 29, 2021 – Shelved as: he-who-has-my-heart

December 29, 2021 – Shelved as: author-is-a-professional-torturer

December 29, 2021 – Shelved as: want-to-reread

December 29, 2021 – Finished Reading

November 28, 2024 – Shelved as: made-me-cry