Twenty-five hundred pages in 15 minutes! Let’s go!
Hey Internet! I'm Steve, and welcome to RAFO.
Rhythm of War, the fourth novel in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive,
is about to be released! For those of you who weren’t able to complete your bi-annual
re-read of the entire Cosmere, these two videos are a chapter by chapter recap of
what’s happened on Roshar to bring you up to speed. MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR WAY OF KINGS,
WORDS OF RADIANCE, EDGEDANCER, AND OATHBRINGER in the next one.
SO: Once upon a time the Oathpact was abandoned and Taln got screwed over for 4 and half thousand
years. Jumping ahead, King Gavilar of Alethkar just signed a peace treaty with the Parshendi.
Szeth son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, was wearing white. He storms through the palace,
kills the king, writes some words in blood, and takes a weird black sphere.
Five years later, Kaladin’s a squad leader. But then he’s a slave headed to the Shattered Plains,
with an annoying windspren following him. Shallan catches up to Jasnah and sees her
use her soulcaster, which she wants to steal! But first she’s gotta become her ward. Yeah right.
Kaladin meets a new friend named Gaz and goes on his first bridge run.
Then everyone dies. He gets real sad, but then gets happy when Syl gives him a leaf.
Demoux, Galladon, and Baon are in the Purelake looking for Hoid.
Dalinar might be going crazy. Crazy amazing! While he’s punching a chasmfiend in the face,
Elhokar falls off his horse and says someone did it on purpose.
Kaladin tries to clean up the bridge crew, but they don’t wanna. We find out he was good at
thwacking people with sticks as a kid, but his dad wanted him to sew people up instead. They
go on another bridge run and Kaladin stays in front. He starts to put those surgeoning skills
to work on the bridgemen, and notices his newly infused spheres have gone dun. Weird.
Date Adolin is not a good Adolin. (Nice to meet me) He finds out the leather strap could have been
cut, but probably not. Dalinar tells Elhokar that war is dumb, and then a highstorm hits.
All of a sudden he’s back in time fighting scary smoke bags. Knights Radiant show up and win,
then Honor tells him to “Unite them” and maybe trust
Sadeas or something. He wakes up and all the soldiers watching are like “woah.”
Sadeas gets made the Highprince of Information and everyone's like
“woah.” Then they go on a plateau run and the Thrill sucks and Dalinar is like “woah!”
Kaladin keeps fighting off depression, and finds out bridgemen who can’t run don’t get paid.
Then they go pull and milk some weeds, and Rock explains the various culinary uses of chull dung.
Chasm duty, Kaladin shows off with a spear, and Rock cooks his first stew.
Dalinar digs a latrine and decides to abdicate. Rysn gets a pot of dumb grass!
Axies destroys half a city and sees some new spren.
Szeth gets back to his nobility assassinating roots.
Back to Shallan! She’s being a good little student, but accidentally draws some weird things.
Kaladin finally gets everyone to practice carrying, and immediately suggests side-carry.
Bridge Four tries it, and ROYALLY screws things up for everyone.
Kabsal shows Shallan some pretty sand patterns. Kaladin gets tied up and rained on.
Shallan and Jasnah go for a walk and have an applied philosophy lesson.
She finally steals the soulcaster, but can’t figure out how to work it and
proceeds to be confused about that for a while. Kal remembers a dinner with Roshone and finds out
his dad isn’t quite as spotless as he thought. Syl fighting off deathspren is awesome. Teft
starts Kaladin on a steady diet of stormlight, and he starts to get better physically,
but backslides hard emotionally. We then see the aftermath of Roshone and his son fighting a
whitespine. “Some people just need to be removed.” The bridgmen get assigned to permanent chasm duty,
and Kaladin decides to train them as spearmen. Except Rock.
Remember that time Roshone was petty and vindictive and the absolute worst? Yeah,
so does Kaladin. Tien got drafted, and Kal went with. (I volunteer as tribute!)
Meanwhile, Shallan figures out that Jasnah is studying the Voidbringers,
meets Pattern, accidentally soulcasts, and covers it up with a suicide attempt.
Kaladin dreams of riding the highstorm, and Shen joins the party.
We see chapter one from Kaladin’s perspective, plus the epic fight
where he kills Shallan’s brother. Oh, SPOILERS. And then Amaram is the worst.
Shallan’s in the hospital, Jasnah’s nice for once, Kabsal brings bread and then dies. Jasnah
does some fancy bloodwork after finding out her soulcaster is broken. Bye bye wardship.
Ash busts up a statue, and we hear about the Old Magic.
Two random ardents study spren. Szeth murders a whole bunch of people.
Dalinar sees the Recreance at Feverstone Keep. Sadeas proclaims Dalinar’s innocence in
Elhokar’s “assassination attempt,” and Wit says some Gibeltish.
The Dalinar/Sadeas superfriend team-up works great until it doesn’t. Dalinar saves Sadeas’
sorry worthless, crem-covered life. Kaladin discovers his powers and
freaks out. Wit tells him the story of the Wandersail and gives him a flute. They get
assigned to permanent bridge duty with chasm duty at night, so Kaladin climbs up the wall
and ties a bag of armor under a bridge. Dalinar decides not to abdicate and has
a vision of Nohadon. Navani realizes he’s speaking the Dawnchant. Then they kiss.
Kaladin tries his armor on a bridge run and makes the Parshendi real mad, then Dalinar comes and
saves their butts. They make more armor. The Tower.
Dalinar/Sadeas team-up number three, except Sadeas is a garbage human. Bridge Four is down in numbers
so they can’t follow when crem-stain retreats. But rather than taking the chance to escape, they go
back. Dalinar and Adolin are nearly overwhelmed; Kaladin draws an entire volley of arrows into
his shield using a huge amount of stormlight, then leaps across the chasm and says the first
ideal of the Windrunners - I will protect those who cannot protect themselves - and fights the
parshendi alone, while his men place the bridge. Adolin and most of the remaining army make their
way toward the bridge. Kaladin fights his way to Dalinar who has been fighting with Eshonai,
disables her with a spear to the leg, then gets him to safety on Gallant.
Sadeas makes it back to the warcamp and Navani paints a prayer for Justice. Then Dalinar
shows up. And in one of the most impactful moments in all of fiction, Dalinar gives up
his shardblade for the bridgemen. Speaking of impactful, he then goes and beats up Elhokar,
who admits to cutting the saddle strap himself. Dalinar tells him to make him Highprince of War,
and “Oh by the way, I’m dating your mom.” Back to Shallan. She deduces that Jasnah
never had a working soulcaster, and tries to prove it by soulcasting herself. Jasnah pulls
her out of Shadesmar and decides to keep her. Together they discover that the Voidbringers
are actually the Parshmen. Ha. Szeth goes to kill Taravangian
but gets a new assignment - Dalinar. Dalinar makes Bridge Four his honor
guard, then sees Honor in a vision, who announces that he’s been killed by Odium.
Wit welcomes Taln back to Roshar. And THAT’S the Way of Kings.
Words of Radiance: We jump back to the night of
Gavilar’s assassination, this time from Jasnah’s perspective. She sees her shadow go the wrong way,
meets some inkspren, and falls in and out of Shadesmar. Surprisingly unflustered by this,
she heads to a meeting where we learn of her suspicion toward Elhokar’s wife,
she sees Nale and Kalak, and watches her dad die. Back in the present, Shallan and Jasnah are on a
boat. Pattern shows up for the first time, Shallan sees the Santhid, and finds out she’s betrothed.
Captain Kaladin and the rest of the bridgemen get matching tats and outfits,
and start training the other bridge crews. Dalinar has a vision in the purelake,
and the mysterious countdown begins. Shallan keeps studying Pattern,
but then fit hits the shan. Jasnah gets stabbed, Shallan soulcasts the ship into water,
and the Santhid nabs her. She remembers the whole “killing her mother” thing. We then meet the
most powerful entity in the Cosmere: The Stick. Shallan is no match for The Stick. After wandering
around for a bit, she joins up with Tvlakv. While Teft is training other bridge crews in
the chasms, Kaladin tests his new abilities by beating people up and sticking them together.
Eshonai shows us Narak and the Parshendi efforts to draw new spren.
Venli tells her about stormform. Ym makes some shoes, heals some feet,
and ends his experience. Rysn jumps off a cliff.
Adolin starts dueling. Amaram arrives at the Shattered Plains, Kaladin
meets Zahel who tells Renarin to jump off a roof. Shallan and company get chased by bandits, but she
recruits them to fight other more different bandits. Tyn offers to help with her “con.”
Kaladin tells Dalinar about Amaram, who tells him to chill. Elhokar almost falls
off the balcony and Kaladin has to figure out how. Also he hates horses.
Eshonai talks with Adolin, asking for a parlay. (Parlay?)
Shallan meets Kaladin and takes his boots. Szeth shows up at the palace and chops
Kaladin’s arm, then Dalinar pulls off a Last Clap and Kal tackles Szeth out the
window. He lands safely with stormlight, then oomphs his arm back. Szeth freaks outs - heck,
I did too when I read it - and runs away. Shallan finds out that Tyn was responsible
for the attack on Jasnah so she stabs her and takes her place within the Ghostbloods.
Eshonai bonds a stormspren and has a bad time. Shallan makes it to the warcamps and interrupts a
meeting about Szeth. She manipulates her way into Sebarial’s estate, and pardons all her followers.
Shallan remembers getting a necklace from her father,
and when that heterochromatic guy showed up. Kaladin and the bridgemen train in the chasms,
and we see Kal start to drift from the whole “protecting” thing he’s supposed to be doing.
Renarin joins the motley of Bridge Four. Shallan creates Veil, meets Mraize,
and gets an assignment to spy on Amaram. Kaladin trains against a shardblade with
Zahel, earning Adolin’s respect, and Moash basically admits to involvement
with the railing thing because Elhokar indirectly caused his grandparents to die.
Shallan remembers fixing her family at a fair and meeting an allomantic Wit.
Shen gets a spear, the bridgemen go drinking and Rock talks about meeting
Hoid. Kaladin and Moash meet with Graves. Adolin dressed as Dalinar meets with
stormform Eshonai, which doesn’t go well. They’re gonna attack during the Weeping.
Kaladin learns how to fly in the chasms. Shallan breaks into Amaram’s room.
Adolin duels perfectly. Then agrees to a disadvantaged fight. Dummy.
Shallan meets Mraize out in the hills and hides in a boulder.
Kaladin third-wheels on a date to a zoo, and Amaram
becomes the first refounded “Knight Radiant”. Adolin’s duel, 4 v 1. Fight! Renarin comes in.
Then “Honor is dead, but I’ll see what I can do.” Oh ho ho ho ho!
Epic fight. So good. They win, Adolin asks to duel Sadeas then
and there. “And for my boon…” (Facepalm) Lift! Infiltrates a palace, steals some food,
heals her pal, gets pardoned and escapes Nale. Busy interlude.
Eshonai basically leads a coup. Wit visits Kaladin in prison and
tells him about Fleet. If ever I get a tattoo… Kal keeps moping in his cell for a few more chapters.
Shallan teams up with our Southern Scadrian friend Iyatil to go peek at Taln. Amaram shows up,
then leaves looking for a cache of shardblades. Shallan gets fully accepted as a Ghostblood.
Kaladin finally gets released, becomes pals with Adolin, gives a set of Shards
to Moash, and decides to kill the king. Dalinar goes to a feast where everyone is
making fun of his visions, and then he owns it. Shallan and Kaladin fall into a chasm and get
chased by a chasmfiend, then wander around bonding and making a map. Chasmfiend comes
back and Shallan gives Kaladin her Shardblade, which he uses to stab it in the head. She cuts
a cubbyhole above the waterline where they shelter during the hightstorm.
We see Shallan kill her father. And “Storms, she smiled anyway.”
They make it out of the chasms with the gemheart of that chasmfiend, and Dalinar wonders if they’re
Radiant. According to Kaladin: not anymore. In other news, Kholinar descends into riots.
Ehonai’s angsty. And Taravangian becomes king of Jah Keved.
Most of the Alethi are departing for the plains. Busted up Kaladin goes down to see them off,
and Dalinar brings him to confront Amaram, who admits his jerkdom and runs away.
Kal continues his customary moping, and Moash comes and tells him the assassination plan.
Back on the plains Shallan shows Dalinar her skills, and Rlain - aka
Shen - comes back. He tells Dalinar about the new Parshendi form and chills with Bridge Four.
Elhokar comes and vents to Kaladin, making us like him a bit more.
The Parshendi on the plains start singing.The Alethi armies don’t do too well against
lightning. Sureblood gets hit. Shallan finds the Oathgate and Renarin comes along for the ride.
Kaladin collects a drunk Elhokar and they both get stabbed for
their trouble. Moash and Graves show up. Adolin cuts through an ancient building to
kill some singers, then starts to fight with Eshonai. She falls into the chasm,
while Skar and Drehy start their habit of saving nobility. Shallan and Renarin struggle with a
keyhole. Kaladin says some words and gets a sword. Then Szeth arrives on the plains. Between two
encroaching storms, Dalinar fights and gets tossed into the air. Adolin picks up the fight
and breaks his wrist. Then Dalinar floats safely to the ground, followed by a powered up Kaladin.
Szeth, again understandably, freaks out, and we get a super cool sky battle with
a Sylspear and lightning and plateaus… Shallan gets the Oathgate working with her
Patternblade and then bam! They found Urithiru! Szeth finally acknowledges that the Radiants
are back so he should never have been Truthless, then gives up and Kaladin
DOESN’T kill him, but grabs his Honorblade. Some bridgeboys bring the Oathgate back,
where Kaladin learns some of them have started glowing too. Including The Lopen.
Moash and Graves sneak out of the warcamps. Shallan meets Mraize while exploring Urithiru,
then acknowledges that she killed her mother in self-defense as a child.
Amaram smuggles out Taln. Szeth gets rescued by Nale and hears the voice
of a black bladed sword in his head: “Hello, would you like to destroy some evil today?”
Dalinar potentially dreams of the God Beyond. Adolin finds Sadeas in Urithiru and they have a…
confrontation. Daddy’s blade goes out the window. Meanwhile, Dalinar forces the Stormfather to
bond with him, and the collected Knights Radiant, including Renarin, meet together
for the first time. They’ve got work to do. Also Wit meets Jasnah on her way back.
Woo! There’s Words of Radiance! Quick jump over to Edgedancer,
and then we’ll be back with the main cast. Yeddaw is a city in Azir “cut out of the
starvin’ ground.” Lift’s there for the pancakes. Riding an avalanche of grain into the street
slots, she meets a crazy guy outside an orphanage, and gets followed by Nale,
who stabs a girl stealing fruit. She follows him for a bit and sees Szeth, then heads back to the
orphanage where a little boy who had brain damage yesterday doesn’t anymore. Then, looking for the
Radiant that Nale is looking for, she steals some clothes and heads to the library. Understandably,
the librarians don’t think she’s supposed to be there, so she texts the king of Azir who recruits
them to her cause. After a whole lot of nothing (the Stump is trading for infused spheres), she
wanders off and finds Szeth and the two Skybreaker newbies, who go off to kill the suspected Radiant,
maybe a Lightweaver? Lift speeds off to go protect the crazy guy by the orphanage. Oh gosh,
it’s a Sleepless! Back inside, Nale’s here! They make it up to the roof, where Lift says her next
ideal and gets a Wyndlerod. She points out the glowing eyes of the parshmen outside the city,
and Nale crumples in failure. Lift gives him a hug. It’s actually very sweet.
Later, she gets a pile of pancakes to eat with a shardfork, helps the Stump realize her own
radiance, but then runs away. She uses all her awesomeness healing refugees coming into the city,
and heads back to Azir. And learns that the tenth pancake was inside her
all along. And learns that the tenth pancake was the friends she made along the way. Or something.
There’s the first two books plus novella! If you need a review of Oathbringer,
click here! If not, subscribe! Otherwise, Read And Find Out!