Rhythm of War is an upcoming epic fantasynovel written by American authorBrandon Sanderson and the fourth book in The Stormlight Archive series. It will be published by Tor Books on November 17, 2020. Rhythm of War consists of one prologue, 112 chapters, multiple inderludes and an epilogue. It is preceded by Oathbringer. As with Kaladin in The Way of Kings, Shallan in Words of Radiance, and Dalinar in Oathbringer, Rhythm of War is expected to focus flashbacks on Eshonai and Venli. The book will feature illustrations of four Heralds, as well as illustrations of all the True Spren who form Nahel Bonds save for the Bondsmith spren. As with its Stormlight Archive predecessors, the unabridged audiobook will be read by narration team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading.
Development
The writing process for the book started in January 2019, with a publication date planned for 2020. Before deciding the title would be Rhythm of War, the working title for the novel was The Song of Changes, which Brandon stated was never meant to be the final title. Later it was announced that the book would be released on November 17, 2020. Originally the book was to feature flashbacks from the point of view of Eshonai, with Venli taking center stage in the present-day timeline. Eventually Sanderson decided on mixed flashbacks, with part set from Eshonai's perspective, while the other part set from Venli's. Sanderson has stated that the Wit epilogue of Rhythm of War is something he has been particularly looking forward to for a long time. He also stated there would be a time-jump between book three and four. While the title suggest greater focus on characters from the so-called 'singer culture', the remaining protagonists, including Kaladin Stormblessed, Shallan Davar, Dalinar Kholin and Szeth, also feature prominently.
Readings and previews
Sanderson has shared multiple fragments of Rhythm of War since the start of the writing process. On July 23, Tor started the publication of preview chapters on their website. Other previews include:
A very early version of an Eshonai flashback scene
A Lift interlude
A Syl interlude released in the July 2020 newsletter
Audiobook
The audiobook version of the book will be released on the same day as the hardcover version, and is read by narrator team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, who also read The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer and several other books written by Sanderson.
Publication
The book is set to be published by Tor on November 17, 2020. On July 12, 2020 Sanderson announced on his official Twitter account that he had finished the book and turned the manuscript in. At roughly 460,000 words, Rhythm of War will be slightly longer than its predecessor, Oathbringer, including a prologue, epiologue, 112 chapters and multiple interludes.
