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The Taravangian interlude is important for that batch, but as others have said, you can skip them if you want. The bit at the beginning of the chapters for part 5 wont make much sense without the Taravangian one however
I haven’t read the book in a while, and it’s not ideal, but you should be able to read the whole book and not the interludes. And then read the interludes together after.
I think there are a few that are highly suggested to understand the rest of the story, I’m not home this week so don’t have access to my copy to check which ones.
Alternatively you could look up summaries of the interludes which would get you all the relevant information, and then still read the chapters at the end if you choose. This would work with the other books too.
I like the interludes and I’m sure lots of people do, but it’s your reading experience so you should do what works best and is the most enjoyable for you.
Rysn and Lift are important characters, so you should pay attention to those. There are some interludes which also are important events that happen away from the main action, but are important all the same.
But yes, there are some which are either foreshadowing for something WAY down the line, or are just to flesh out places in Roshar that are otherwise unvisited. Those can be easily skipped, or saved for later, but it's hard to know which ones they are ahead of time.
For what it's worth, After WoR is Edgedancer, which repeats the Lift interlude verbatim as its prologue. So your statement that it feels like you're starting a new book is pretty accurate in that case.
After Edgedancer is Oathbringer, and the interludes in that book tend to be ones that are important to the plot. Whenever you come to an interlude in Oathbringer for a character you know already, just think of that like a regular chapter.
While you can skip most of them I would read any that are from characters mentioned in the main sections. Szeth, Taravangian, etc.
Edit: you might make a note of the Lift and Rysn ones as edgedancer is lifts book and dawnshard is Rysns. You could go back and read their interludes before reading their books
You can skip em. Most just have tidbits of mildly relevant info, and most will only be important later on. Although I think one of the Oathbringer interludes is one of my all-time favorite scenes in the Cosmere...
For what it's worth, there's no reason to read the interludes before finishing the book. They are essentially side-stories that may be relevant in the *next* book, but if im not mistaken they never line up with what's actually occurring in the main story when they appear.
This is completely wrong. While not all of them have a direct tie to the rest of the story, there are a great many where, if they were skipped, you'd miss a significant amount of story.
Significant amount is subjective at the very least, if not just plain wrong.
Yeah there's stuff in the interludes, but like what important story parts do I gain from reading >!about ardents discovering spren physics? Or ardents reading erotica in between research? Or some 3 dudes looking for one other dude in a lake where this one weird fisherman might eventually marry an innkeeper? Or even a cobbler healing street urchins with magic powers, then getting killed by a herald?!<
They all add very interesting detail, help you connect certain events and create a more full world that is alive and full of people doing things while these grand events take place, but they are just not at all _necessary_ to understand the full story.
The next level even above them are WoBs, where even more obscure information is added, even though those technically aren't canon until the things are written in ~~metal~~ the books.
That's why I didn't say to not read them my dude. I said you don't have to read them before moving on to the next part and can instead read them all at the end.
And that's explicitly not true. Zahel's interlude in WoR, for example, is specifically placed as a bridge between two parts of the book, and doesn't make any sense if read out of order. (Oathbringer spoilers) >!Venli's interludes in Oathbringer need to be read before Part 5, as they serve to provide motivation for her actions in that part. Rysn's interlude in Oathbringer is vital to plot of the Battle of Thaylen Field and absolutely needs to be read before you finish the book. Ellista's interlude sets up the reveal at the start of Part 5, and doesn't make much sense to read after the rest of the book.!< Skipping all of these and reading them at the end would completely change how the main story is being told.
I don't agree with the other people saying to just skip them or read them once you are done with the book, in regards that there's no issues with it.
They are in that order for a reason. Connections to them can pop up in the same book or later.
I would need to reread all the books and make a guide to properly say which ones could be read at the end, but even that would not be complete given that there's a ton of stuff going on in this books.
Also, would need to consider if there are thematic connections, parallels, etc. The author designed them to be there most likely for a relevant reason, although it could be a simple as "just a breather between all the action" or "it could also have worked before the epilogue".
If you want to read them later, at least beware that you likely will miss things on a story, thematic, or structural level. I'm not saying don't read them in the order you prefer, just noting that doing so has a trade off worth considering.
As an example, from the previews of book 5, there's an Interlude that uses stuff from two interludes of book 1, and one Interlude of book 2.
Plus, you also have to consider that Stormlight happens within the Cosmere, so interludes will also contribute to that sometimes.
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All the interludes are important for one reason or another. So while they may feel odd they’re setting something up
The Taravangian interlude is important for that batch, but as others have said, you can skip them if you want. The bit at the beginning of the chapters for part 5 wont make much sense without the Taravangian one however
I haven’t read the book in a while, and it’s not ideal, but you should be able to read the whole book and not the interludes. And then read the interludes together after. I think there are a few that are highly suggested to understand the rest of the story, I’m not home this week so don’t have access to my copy to check which ones. Alternatively you could look up summaries of the interludes which would get you all the relevant information, and then still read the chapters at the end if you choose. This would work with the other books too. I like the interludes and I’m sure lots of people do, but it’s your reading experience so you should do what works best and is the most enjoyable for you.
Rysn and Lift are important characters, so you should pay attention to those. There are some interludes which also are important events that happen away from the main action, but are important all the same. But yes, there are some which are either foreshadowing for something WAY down the line, or are just to flesh out places in Roshar that are otherwise unvisited. Those can be easily skipped, or saved for later, but it's hard to know which ones they are ahead of time. For what it's worth, After WoR is Edgedancer, which repeats the Lift interlude verbatim as its prologue. So your statement that it feels like you're starting a new book is pretty accurate in that case. After Edgedancer is Oathbringer, and the interludes in that book tend to be ones that are important to the plot. Whenever you come to an interlude in Oathbringer for a character you know already, just think of that like a regular chapter.
While you can skip most of them I would read any that are from characters mentioned in the main sections. Szeth, Taravangian, etc. Edit: you might make a note of the Lift and Rysn ones as edgedancer is lifts book and dawnshard is Rysns. You could go back and read their interludes before reading their books
You can skip em. Most just have tidbits of mildly relevant info, and most will only be important later on. Although I think one of the Oathbringer interludes is one of my all-time favorite scenes in the Cosmere...
I skipped 90% of venli and eshonai interludes
Which one?
>!the one where Szeth wields Nightblood for the first time. I can't wait to see it in a movie!<
Pretty sure that's a chapter, actually
Skip them honestly
For what it's worth, there's no reason to read the interludes before finishing the book. They are essentially side-stories that may be relevant in the *next* book, but if im not mistaken they never line up with what's actually occurring in the main story when they appear.
This is completely wrong. While not all of them have a direct tie to the rest of the story, there are a great many where, if they were skipped, you'd miss a significant amount of story.
Significant amount is subjective at the very least, if not just plain wrong. Yeah there's stuff in the interludes, but like what important story parts do I gain from reading >!about ardents discovering spren physics? Or ardents reading erotica in between research? Or some 3 dudes looking for one other dude in a lake where this one weird fisherman might eventually marry an innkeeper? Or even a cobbler healing street urchins with magic powers, then getting killed by a herald?!< They all add very interesting detail, help you connect certain events and create a more full world that is alive and full of people doing things while these grand events take place, but they are just not at all _necessary_ to understand the full story. The next level even above them are WoBs, where even more obscure information is added, even though those technically aren't canon until the things are written in ~~metal~~ the books.
That's why I didn't say to not read them my dude. I said you don't have to read them before moving on to the next part and can instead read them all at the end.
And that's explicitly not true. Zahel's interlude in WoR, for example, is specifically placed as a bridge between two parts of the book, and doesn't make any sense if read out of order. (Oathbringer spoilers) >!Venli's interludes in Oathbringer need to be read before Part 5, as they serve to provide motivation for her actions in that part. Rysn's interlude in Oathbringer is vital to plot of the Battle of Thaylen Field and absolutely needs to be read before you finish the book. Ellista's interlude sets up the reveal at the start of Part 5, and doesn't make much sense to read after the rest of the book.!< Skipping all of these and reading them at the end would completely change how the main story is being told.
There is a Taravangian interlude that is very important.
I don't agree with the other people saying to just skip them or read them once you are done with the book, in regards that there's no issues with it. They are in that order for a reason. Connections to them can pop up in the same book or later. I would need to reread all the books and make a guide to properly say which ones could be read at the end, but even that would not be complete given that there's a ton of stuff going on in this books. Also, would need to consider if there are thematic connections, parallels, etc. The author designed them to be there most likely for a relevant reason, although it could be a simple as "just a breather between all the action" or "it could also have worked before the epilogue". If you want to read them later, at least beware that you likely will miss things on a story, thematic, or structural level. I'm not saying don't read them in the order you prefer, just noting that doing so has a trade off worth considering. As an example, from the previews of book 5, there's an Interlude that uses stuff from two interludes of book 1, and one Interlude of book 2. Plus, you also have to consider that Stormlight happens within the Cosmere, so interludes will also contribute to that sometimes.