Matthew Boxall

Agreed with other reviews that it's a bit of a change of tone. But it was the book I wanted. Honestly struggled to really love the first 3 books, my first experience of Brandon Sanderson. I'm typically a non-fiction reader but find world-building fascinating. In Rhythm of War, I loved reading about the realistically flawed characters, the philosophy, the non-binaries in morality, the beautiful twists of exposition in how the world works, the sci-fi elements and de-mystifying of gods. It feels like a series reaching maturity, to me. I'm glad it doesn't feel too cohesive as a narrative, but like you're exploring this amazing 'world' through some very real characters through some absolutely huge events, each one turning your understanding upside-down, but always adding a bit more to the picture. There are sections that drag on and feel unnecessary, and even written without much thought to how they affect the flow of the reader. Perhaps some harsher editing required to turn it into a masterpiece. And more time looking for better ways of delivering the same exposition or backstory. But I found the good bits rang truer than in previous installments. And perhaps because there's not much else to do in lockdown, I didn't feel too upset at the lengthy segments. Probably helped that I came to it without any expectations.