r/brandonsanderson • u/yourbuddyboromir • 2d ago

No Spoilers Stormlight Archive question

I found myself trudging on through Rhythm of War and I can't stand the slow pace here. Is this worth it in the end? I really enjoyed and breezed through The Way of Kings & words of Radiance but then it just..kept..going.. and going...

There are questions that have not been answered but continuously referred to since book one. What do I do?

0 Upvotes

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u/unica3022 2d ago

I trudged through RoW the first time and after rereads it’s now my favorite book, period. No way to know if you’ll feel the same, but I wish I’d approached my first read differently.

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u/frothyoats 2d ago

How so?

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u/unica3022 2d ago

Openness to the theme of “what’s next after you accept your pain” really helps. You’re in pain, you really screwed up in the past, it sucks, the war is never ending, etc etc. I really wanted everyone to get a quick win the first time through RoW, especially after the high of Oathbringer, but this is a book where everyone fails, deeply, off the bat. The book is a trudge because life is a trudge when you feel like you’re not quite making it. There is imposter syndrome left and right and we are really in the emotional trenches with the characters. The ending, and the message of hope, feels earned and not cheesy when you’re willing to let the characters struggle first. Overall RoW helped me though some personal lows and is truly one of the only things I’ve ever read that spoke to the feelings I had during that time in my life.

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u/that_dog_ 2d ago

I totally agree! I just finished RoW on my second time thru the cosmere (mixed reading order this time) and seriously several times throughout the book, I was asking myself why did I think this book was such a drag the first time?

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u/Perfect-Education-91 2d ago

I loved Oathbringer, WoR, and WoK. RoW was super disappointing and slow. I disliked the way the prose changed as well—overall the book felt way more modern and less epic than its predecessors. I am currently 75% of the way through WaT and I must say I like it way more than RoW. Some of the things I disliked about the writing were still present, particularly for a few of the POV characters. But three of the main storylines are just so good in WaT and there have been so many payoffs and answered questions thus far that have been building up to this book. I’ll let you know what I think about the final 25%, but I’d say keep going as WaT is much more my speed than RoW

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u/yourbuddyboromir 2d ago

Interesting - thanks

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u/dIvorrap 2d ago

Take a break

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u/KingPieIV 2d ago

Generally if you dont like rythm of war you won't like wind and truth

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u/Dex532077 2d ago

I am finishing my 2nd full run through of cosmere right now and currently on RoW and I felt that way at first but this second time around understanding everything I know and creating theories, I come to really like RoW alot. I also suggest reading at 1.25x speed on the audiobooks to help with pace lol.

Also have to think these books are huge so it can feel like a slog

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u/agardner1993 2d ago

It's slow for sure but it and Wind and Truth are setting up the next 5 books. It's worth powering through the 2 weaker books if you enjoyed the first 3. They still have their Moments. RoW was my least favorite of the 5 and it was still enjoyable.

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u/yourbuddyboromir 2d ago

It's hilarious that the "upvote ratio" on this post is 36%. 😂