Rhythm of War (edició 2020)

Good, except for the fact that Sanderson filled hundreds of pages of fabrial "science". I read fantasy books for the storyline, not to be taught some science. I got enough of that in my day job. Worldbuilding has it's limit(IMHO) ( )

Pacing a lot worse in this one, the flashbacks don't feel like they add enough to the story or understanding of the character considering how much time they take up. Slightly growing frustrated with Sanderson's writing style, just instances of a character having a moment only for it to be over explained afterwards. It's been something present in his other books from what I remember, but I've noticed it too much now.

Still a lot of fantastic moments among it all, and what feels like more definitive character development. ( )

Way long. And broken into small pieces impeding the flow. Some twists but too many places where slot A is ready for tab A. Return on investment is low. ( )

4 Books, so far tremendous achievement for the genre, in general. ( )

There's not too much to say about the fourth book in an epic fantasy series, especially one as epic in scale as Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. I think I enjoyed it more than I did the third book a year ago (though I see I also gave it four stars). A big factor in that is one of the book's antagonists, the "Lady of Wishes," who proves a complex and entertaining foil for one of the protagonists.

The last two books combined especially have highlighted a burgeoning theme of mental illness in this fantasy series, as characters have struggled with multiple personalities, post-traumatic stress and crippling depression, all while trying to fight a war. Sanderson has also gradually expanded the scope of his story — whereas the first book focused on characters with influence on the level of at most a single country, the third book became worldwide in scope, and the fourth increasingly delves into the idea of a multiverse. (This broad multiverse is, I understand, something Sanderson's other series, which I have not read, also explore.) ( )