Rhythm of War

This is my second time reading through this book. It is still my favorite of the Stormlight Archive that I've read so far.

I am once again deeply impressed with the narrative choices made in this book. In a fantasy book especially, it is refreshing to acknowledge the mental health toll of constant fighting, and to portray a very real trend in which veterans retire to serve other veterans as they navigate their trauma. I also find that the relationship between the queen and her captor develops with nuance and believably.

I am also blown away by the world building. It is quite something for a magic system to have enough depth that a novel could reasonably portray the scientific process in discovering its (not entirely real world) mechanisms. The blend of real world and fantasy physics makes for a balance of believably and novelty.

Overall, an excellent book.