Rhythm of War (9781429952040)
“Rhythm of War” is the fourth installment in Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series, The Stormlight Archive. Set on the planet Roshar, the novel continues the conflict between Dalinar Kholin’s coalition of Knights Radiant and the forces of Odium, a malevolent god seeking dominion. The story delves deeper into the psychological and emotional struggles of key characters, including Kaladin, Shallan, and Navani, as they grapple with war, trauma, and the mysteries of ancient magics. Themes of resilience, identity, and the cost of power are explored amidst intricate world-building and high-stakes battles. The book expands the Cosmere universe, revealing new layers of lore and setting the stage for future confrontations.
99. Not Bound
bySanderson, Brandon
Jasnah Kholin reflects on the recent military victory in Emul while grappling with the weight of leadership and personal vulnerabilities. Despite the coalition’s success, she remains acutely aware of ongoing threats, particularly with Urithiru under enemy control. Her meticulously prepared safehouse—boasting fabrial traps, Stormlight reserves, and a Shadesmar escape route—reveals her paranoia and determination to avoid past mistakes. This physical security allows her to confront deeper frustrations about her life’s work as a historian, now challenged by living witnesses to history like the Heralds Ash and Taln.
The chapter explores Jasnah’s intellectual crisis as firsthand accounts from the Heralds upend her historical research. Where she once painstakingly reconstructed events from fragmented records, she can now ask direct questions—only to find her theories often wrong. This shakes her core belief that understanding the past is key to navigating the future, especially when facing an enemy like Odium, who can allegedly see what’s to come. The Heralds’ incomplete knowledge, particularly about the Sibling, adds to her unease, leaving her questioning her preparedness.
Jasnah’s relationship with Wit provides both solace and complexity. Unlike past partners, he embraces her analytical nature, though his evasiveness and ancient origins make him an enigma. Their banter reveals mutual intellectual respect, even as Jasnah remains wary of his motives. Wit’s anecdote about a gambler who lost despite rigging the game offers a cryptic counterpoint to her despair over Odium’s foresight, hinting that predictability may not guarantee victory.
The chapter culminates in Jasnah’s existential dilemma: how to fight an enemy with divine foresight. Her scholarly rigor clashes with the limitations of human knowledge, while Wit’s storytelling suggests there may be cracks in Odium’s omniscience. Jasnah’s vulnerability—rarely shown—underscores the tension between her strategic brilliance and the cosmic scale of their war, leaving her to ponder whether history, for all its lessons, can truly prepare her for what lies ahead.
FAQs
1. How does Jasnah’s approach to historical study change after meeting the Heralds, and what internal conflict does this create for her?
Answer:
Jasnah’s lifelong historical methodology—relying on piecing together fragmented manuscripts while accounting for historian biases—is fundamentally shaken by her interactions with the Heralds Ash and Taln. These living witnesses provide direct accounts of historical events (like the Challenge of Stormhold and the treaty of four nights), rendering many of her painstakingly reconstructed theories obsolete. This creates an existential crisis for Jasnah, as she questions the value of her life’s work (described as “halfway-reliable re-creations”). The chapter highlights her frustration that years of scholarship could be overturned so easily by primary sources, though she acknowledges gaps in the Heralds’ knowledge—particularly regarding the Sibling. This conflict underscores the tension between academic reconstruction and lived experience in historical study.2. Analyze Jasnah’s security preparations in her command camp residence. What do these reveal about her character development?
Answer:
Jasnah’s elaborate security measures—fabrial traps, a Shadesmar escape boat, Stormlight reserves in her dressing gown—reflect her trauma from past vulnerabilities and her meticulous, strategic mindset. The text emphasizes she will “never again be caught unaware,” referencing her previous desperate struggle in Shadesmar without resources. These preparations allow her to finally express frustration safely, indicating how control enables emotional vulnerability. The defenses also reveal her political importance (protecting against Shardbearers/Skybreakers) and her dual nature as both scholar and warrior. By prioritizing a second-floor room with no exterior walls, she demonstrates spatial awareness honed through lived danger, contrasting with Dalinar’s simpler accommodations—highlighting her calculated approach to survival.3. How does Wit’s anecdote about the gambler serve as a metaphor for confronting Odium’s foresight, and what philosophical insight does it offer?
Answer:
Wit’s story of the unbeatable gambler (whom he rigged games for, yet still lost) parallels the coalition’s struggle against Odium’s future sight. The key insight is that perfect predictive power doesn’t guarantee victory—external variables (like cheating in the gambler’s case) or unforeseen agency can disrupt deterministic outcomes. Wit implies that even with Odium’s “watchtower” view of time, their side can introduce chaos or exploit limitations in his vision. This challenges Jasnah’s despair about historical determinism, suggesting that future-sight has blind spots analogous to Wit’s own deceptive rigging. The metaphor subtly hints that unconventional strategies (perhaps Wit’s own interventions) might destabilize Odium’s plans despite his advantage.4. Examine the significance of Jasnah and Wit’s relationship dynamics in this chapter. How does their interaction develop both characters?
Answer:
Their exchange reveals a rare intellectual and emotional parity for Jasnah. Unlike past partners who found her “too cold,” Wit embraces her analytical nature—even when she interrogates his ancient origins. His physical gesture (kissing her safehand) and wordplay (“your Wit will wilt”) demonstrate their unique intimacy, blending romance with verbal sparring. For Jasnah, this relationship validates her atypical approach to romance, as Wit neither pities nor patronizes her. Meanwhile, Wit’s revelation about rigging the gambler’s games showcases how he engages her scholarly mind while concealing deeper truths (like his possible role in countering Odium). Their dynamic humanizes Jasnah through her fascination with his “statuesque” features and “sharp nose,” while hinting at Wit’s manipulative yet protective role in the larger conflict.5. How does the chapter’s epigraph from “Musings of El” thematically connect to Jasnah’s situation?
Answer:
The epigraph about having “title and rhythms stripped” for advocating repurposing rather than destruction mirrors Jasnah’s intellectual dismantling. Like El, Jasnah faces the erasure of her life’s work (historical rhythms) due to disruptive truths (Heralds’ testimonies). Both figures grapple with forced paradigm shifts—El regarding enemies, Jasnah regarding history itself. The phrase “reconditioned. Repurposed.” particularly resonates with Jasnah’s need to adapt her scholarship to living witnesses rather than discard it entirely. This parallel suggests that foundational upheavals (whether personal or cosmic in El’s case) require painful but necessary reinvention—a theme central to Jasnah’s arc in the chapter as she reevaluates history’s role in predicting futures.
Quotes
1. “I had my title and my rhythms stripped from me for daring insist they should not be killed, but should instead be reconditioned. Repurposed.”
(Epigraph from “Musings of El”)
This opening epigraph sets a tone of defiance and transformation, hinting at themes of resistance and repurposing that may echo through the chapter. The poetic phrasing makes it particularly memorable.
2. “She would never again be caught unaware. She would never again be left struggling in Shadesmar without proper resources, forced to spend weeks hunting a perpendicularity.”
This quote reveals Jasnah’s trauma and determination after past vulnerabilities. It showcases her meticulous preparedness and the psychological impact of her earlier struggles in Shadesmar.
3. “In relying on the past, Jasnah saw the future through occluded glass from within a chasm, if at all. Odium had a prime spot atop the watchtower.”
A powerful metaphor contrasting Jasnah’s historical methodology with Odium’s foresight. This encapsulates her existential crisis about whether traditional scholarship can compete with divine prescience.
4. “‘How do we beat him, Wit?’ she asked softly. ‘If he can truly see the future, then what possible chance do we have?’”
This pivotal moment distills the chapter’s central tension—Jasnah’s intellectual confrontation with an apparently insurmountable advantage held by their enemy. Her rare vulnerability makes this exchange striking.
5. “‘Ah, but you see, I was rigging the games. So I did know the future—as much as Odium does, anyway. I shouldn’t have been able to lose. Yet I did.’”
Wit’s cryptic anecdote offers a crucial counterpoint to Jasnah’s despair, suggesting that even perfect foresight can be thwarted. The paradoxical nature of his story leaves readers intrigued about possible loopholes in Odium’s power.