Oathbringer

A lot happens in this volume - lots of action, battles, discoveries and a humongous amount of agonizing soul wrenching self examination. The narrative skips from one protagonist to the next, to the past of one, to the division of three of another, and frankly it doesn't have compelling quality of

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other books in this series, though it does have the, to me, unappealingly obvious calculation where it's heart should be.
It's written well and is very clever, but way to much housekeeping, not nearly enough house pride.

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Way way too long. 1300 pages is ridiculous. That's twice the number of a book that's already too long. And whilst the first one was just about passable this drags severely in several places. Entire character viewpoints should have been excised, as should the entire sub world section and all of the

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whining. There's so much whinging it's as bad as the late Harry Potter books, but without the justification of a teenager. There's no introduction or recap either, so unless you've recently read the previous 2000 pages somewhat recently you're likely to find the first few hundred pages (eg an entire normal novel length) confusing as you attempt to remember who each character is, why they're important and what they were doing. The author's habit of unjustifiably resurrecting people you'd thought safely dead doesn't help. It's certainly Epic, but sadly length isn't everything.

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Hooo boy. You think over 1300 pages is a lot, sure, but it doesn't really click until you have two hundred pages to go and you're only then starting the Sanderson avalanche, so you are basically getting a short novel's worth of avalanche.

Anyway, I've been marinating on this all morning, trying to

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sort my thoughts. I am still annoyed by the very early Dalinar flashbacks - so damn cartoonish. I literally said outloud oh, PLEASE don't let him stab a man and then finish eating his steak with the same knife right before it happened. And then, well, you know. And I know a lot of people take joy out of predicting things as they go along, but that's never been me. I want to be taken along on a glorious journey just enjoying the story as it flows. So for something to be so obvious to me, and for that thing to be so annoying to me personally really kicked me out of the story and made me resentful for a bit. I'm probably dwelling on it a bit too much, but the cartoonish characterization and then that scene in particular really impacted my enjoyment of the first chunk. This is also probably just me having supernaturally high standards for a Sanderson book as well.

But the good news is it did improve! Everything shortly after the update I wrote clicked along nicely. I'm still a bit uncertain how I feel about Shallan's development, so to speak, throughout the book. Jasnah really pissed me off initially, with her treatment of Shallan - but at the same time I do think Shallan deserved some of that. And oh my word, I cannot WAIT to see how Jasnah plays out in the future ***cackles gleefully*** I could have personally done without certain bridgemen POVs - they weren't bad exactly, but I just wasn't very interested, personally. I'm a bit concerned about the Fused - they seemed to stray too frequently towards a too-flat villain for my tastes. I like both my heroes and my villains a nicely muddy and uneven grey.

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Read this for the character development. Sanderson continues a rather complex arc and draws it to a satisfying conclusion while deconstructing and reconstructing a rather established character at the same time.

Read this for the world building and lore, as vital game changing information make their

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appearance. SLA is a totally different story now.

Read this for the moments. And there are some utterly epic moments. But also some deeply disturbing ones and a few which are quite dark. This is one of his darker, if not his darkest book.

Read this.

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I think this is my favorite of the series so far. I'm not quite sure why.. I think the first one dropped you into the world a little harshly, and the second one I went through a period of annoyance with almost all the characters. This one explored the spren more, and had more character action vs.

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brooding. Anyway, I really liked it. %)

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I've read almost all Sanderson's books now, and usually his words makes sense to me. I thought I was starting to understand the world this series is set in, too, after the 2nd book, but this 3rd book left me more confused and exhausted than it ought to have. I may reread this one later, but at over

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1200pgs that's a serious rereading commitment. I liked the fragmented character Shallen becomes in this book, but thought this element was underdeveloped. Several other characters also seemed to have cool character-development arcs in this book, but something about them and about the overall novel felt rushed, gangly, and less satisfying than I would have expected from a Sanderson epic fantasy novel. Actually I suspect that this book would have more happily been 2 novels, so that the story could have been more fully explored without pushing the 2000pg boundary.
I also suspect that rereading would help, since with so much going on, the exhaustion I was feeling by page 800 might be alleviated a bit now that I know more of what is going on overall. I am sure I missed details that I needed, without which the world in this series makes even less sense.
So, this was a good book, but so far not my favorite from this series or from this author.

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Book Three of the Stormlight archive should have been the last book, but it isn't. Unfortunately, it doesn't advance the story very far or fill in enough gaps from the previous books. A lot of pages are wasted on backstory in this book, where by now in the third book, we should be past that. In

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particular, a lot of time is spent on the backstory of Dalinar Kholin and not enough on the other characters, or other elements of the plot. I found this book very slow going. The characters are good, but not enough time is spent on the setting, plot or other basic elements of the story. After three huge books on the subject, there's still too much mystery about the central mystery of this series - the relationship between humans, parshmen and spren and how that all relates to magic, the gods, the Radiants and other really important aspects of the series that still aren't clear. This also has the unfortunate tendency of other large fantasy epics in that it saves all the key action to the end. Other things happen in between but it creates the inevitable sense that we're just being forced to read to get to the end - and a lot of what we're reading isn't important. Disappointing and over-rated.

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Finishing all 1242 pages of Oathbringer felt like such an achievement.

During the first half, I kept thinking Why is this book so long, why didn’t someone force him to edit it more?, because I found the book physically unwieldy and relatively easy to put down. It’s not uncommon for books to

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take a quarter, or even a third of the story to set everything in motion and to suck me in, but it is uncommon for that act to so storming long!

However, by the second half, I’d worked out which reading postures didn’t put as much strain on my hands, or neck, and the story had gained a lot of momentum. There are great moments, interesting - sometimes unexpected, sometimes anticipated - developments, and general epicness. And the way everything came together in the end was so satisfying.

This took longer to read than I’d anticipated; I don’t read books of over a thousand pages very often.
I think I was also reading a bit slower than I sometimes do, especially at first, because I was doing extra processing. It’s a few years since I read Words of Radiance, so - even though I’d read a recap/refresher online - there were a lot of characters and complex worldbuilding with which to re-acquaint myself. As I read, I was also trying to remember things and making connections with the previous books.

Oathbringer is Dalinar’s story. It’s about his attempts to build a coalition and it’s about his past - the things he’s forgotten and how he deals with his memories and how this all connects to his present. His narrative arc is a fascinating one about choices, consequences and changing who you are. And it was interesting seeing his struggles with addiction. He’s not the only character who continues to suffer from mental health issues in this series and I like how realistically they’re handled.
I like Dalinar - at least I like middle-aged Dalinar; his younger self is not very honorable or compassionate, and sometimes that made it hard to read about him. However, I find the younger characters, such as Shallan and Kaladin, easier to relate to - and they’re more likely to engage in banter too, either because of their own personality or that of those they’re closest to. For me, the story really picked up once those characters were sent off on a mission together.

There’s a character who turned up at a point in the story where it was bothering me how, with the exception of Shallan, the female characters were relegated to supporting, background roles. This character doesn’t change that - she’s a minor, non-POV character - but she’s introduced in such a way that other characters assume she’s a man and it was such a nice surprise to discover that they were wrong. More capable and intriguing women, please and thank you!
And then I realised who she was! Cue much gleeful flailing.
Anyway, as the story progressed, I felt like there were more female POV sections, or maybe just more opportunities for those characters to demonstrate their awesomeness.

Oathbringer takes a couple of characters I previously did not care for and made me a lot more interested in reading about them. One I was not surprised by, as after Words of Radiance, it looked like they’d be spending time with another character I find amusing. And I am here for the humour, more so than the epic worldbuilding - or rather, I’m only interested in epic worldbuilding insofar as it affects characters I care about.
But the other was definitely unexpected.

I still think this could have been a tighter story, but I don’t mind so much now. It all feels worthwhile.

But next time I need to remember to reread the previous books first.

“Funny, isn’t it, how so many of our stories start the same way, but have opposite endings? In half, the child ignores her parents, wanders out into the woods, and gets eaten. In the other half she discovers great wonders. There aren't many stories about the kids who say ‘Yes, I shall not go into the forest. I’m glad my parents explained that is where the monsters live’.”

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The Everstorm is striking Roshar and a new Desolation has begun as the once docile parshman become conscious gathering to face off against humans who’ve owned them for millennia, however nothing as it seems in the long view of history. Oathbringer, third installment of Brandon Sanderson’s The

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Stormlight Archive, immediately picks up where the story left off as the survivors from the clash on the Shattered Plains regroup in the legendary home of the Knights Radiant and attempt to bring together all the humans on Roshar but hard truths and politics stand in the way.

Dalinar Kholin’s actions in the past and those in the present dominate the book like Kaladin and Shallan’s did in the previous two installments, whether through his own eyes or those of others. Setting up base in Urithiru, Dalinar begins slowly and diplomatically piecing a coalition together though his own past is a major liability. Using his connection with the Stormfather, Dalinar has other rulers join him in his visions setting up a connection with Queen Fen of Thaylenah and slowly building a relationship. However his attempts with doing the same with the Azir Prime is complicated by Lift no trusting him initially and the bureaucracy around the young man as well. But its Dalinar’s bloody past which turns out to be his own worst enemy as we see through his flashbacks a different man who loved battle and bloodlust, two traits nurtured by Odium to create his champion for the conflict to come but which turn against the enemy when Dalinar accepts his past and uses it to defend Thaylen City.

Kaladin and Shallan continue progressing through their respective development while Adolin’s slows a bit so as to give time to his cousin Jasnah and the former Assassin in White, Szeth, time to develop into major secondary characters throughout the book. Through scouting and spying, Kaladin first assesses the actions of the newly awakened parshmen though not without gaining relationships with them, a fact that haunts him when he faces them later in battle and creating a moral crisis that prevents him from stating the Fourth Ideal and almost kills him, Adolin, and Shallan if not for Dalinar’s actions. Shallan has her own growing crisis throughout the book, multiple personality disorder, which is exacerbated through her Lightweaving and attempts to not be the “scared little girl” she’s always seen herself as. Though she does not fully overcome it by the end of the book, she has begun dealing with it especially with help from Adolin who is dealing with his own issues stemming from his killing of Sadeas in regards to his place in Alethi society now that the Knight Radiants are reforming. Though Szeth’s progresses through his Skybreaker training with “ease”, his view of the order and of the overall conflict dovetails with the revelations that nearly destroy Dalinar’s fragile coalition. These revelations also correspond with Jasnah’s development and her concern for Renarin, whose own spren bonding is a revelation in and of itself as history and expectations are quickly being subverted.

Unlike the previous two books, Oathbringer is not as action-packed but is more centered in expanding the understanding the various peoples and politics of Roshar. While the beginning of the “overall” story was a bang, Sanderson turned the focus from one main area to many which resulted in building the world he created with different peoples with different cultures and long complicated histories interacting with one another during the beginning of what might be a long conflict. Add on top of this the fact that the ancient history that many believed to be true was not and as a result some are choosing a different side than what is expected of them plus the influence of Odium on everyone, and the next seven books in the series look to be very intriguing. Though the book’s length is once again an issue, around 1250 pages, attempting to do so much in one book it was the only result. And if there were flaws, it was mostly the perceived open-ended ways some events happened that were either a mystery to be solved later either in this book or another or just to be left open for no reason.

I will not say that Oathbringer is a perfect book, but it was a different change of pace after the first two books in The Stormlight Archive which helped continue the narrative while expanding it over more of Roshar. Knowing when to “subvert” the standard grand fantasy narrative is always a challenge, doing it this early in the series right now looks like a good move on Brandon Sanderson’s part and I’m interested to see where the story develops going forward.

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In some ways, the Stormlight Archive is white supremacist. Sanderson intentionally establishes two "races" of people. Rather than focus on their common humanity, he focuses on their differences, like Nazi scientists focused on the genetic inferiority of Jews.

Additionally, Sanderson has crafted

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primary characters that are each deeply scarred. Similarly to the way that Orson Scott Card justifies unethical behavior by reassuring us of the righteousness of our protagonist, Ender, by proving to us that he has been wronged, this approach is questionable and makes for characters that are unrelatably wounded.

Sanderson is exceedingly conservative in his beliefs about relationships. The possibility of polyamory isn't broached, so some of the core interpersonal drama feels contrived.

Other than that, it was an enjoyable read. Pacing and structure is good. There continues to be much mystery.

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It's been years, decades, since I was eager for a book to come out... and I was for this one... and I wasn't disappointed! One bad habit I developed as years went by is to skip text when it's about description or such. Well, I didn't skip a single word in this book! I just couldn't, in fear of

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missing something. The story moves forward, and we get many unexpected reveal, big and small. Loved it. Dalinar backstory was, to me, a thousands time more interesting than Shallan and Kalidar. It was also pretty shocking.

As in both previous books, there are some pretty intense moments in the story. So far, I got goosebumps and sadness in every book of this series, and I didn't even think I could get those anymore after reading so much books in the genre.

The only part of the book I found almost boring was the trip in Shadesmar. At that point, the chapters revolve around the characters in Shadesmar, where not much really happens, and it's like the author completely forget that characters in the physical world. It still gave us a more detailed view of what is Shadesmar, but not that interesting all in all. Beside those few hundred pages, it was all pure gold, and part V was platinum all the way!

I still say we need a full book dedicated to Wit's travels.

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I'm sure someday the fantasy writing AI bot that goes by the name "Brandon Sanderson" will stumble and the truth will be revealed. Until then this flawless writing machine continues with yet another wonderful tome. Well worth the read.

Brandon knocks it out of the park. It's easy to rattle off the standard criticisms of his writing - the heavy exposition dumps, the told-not-shown characterisation. But increasingly I find that I just don't care, and can even spin those cons into things that I like. The worldbuilding in Roshar is

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so intricate and exciting that I crave every dump of exposition; each one gives me more to process and ponder. And while it's easy to dismiss the characters as intrinsically talented and therefore uninteresting, I no longer think that I read fantasy for relatable every-person struggles, nor do I think I should. I want to see that I'm reading characters who are exceptional, almost by necessity (spren bond them, after all), and consider what it means to be that way in the face of unimaginable circumstances.

Nor are Brandon's best features missing from Oathbringer. The pacing is continuous and non-stop, even the interludes leave us craving more. Every chapter is a revelation, or a laugh, or a development, or growth, interweaved to be continuously engrossing. I did, after all, get through the 1200 pages here in a day or so, and it was not exactly forced. If there was one thing I would nitpick at, it would be the increasing prominence of the cosmere in the book. I worry about how an inexperienced reader, or someone who didn't wait out for the book's release, will receive the continuous interjection of terms like Connection, Investiture, Splintering and others. I think more characters than ever before in Oathbringer are involved in the cosmere, and they play much bigger parts.

I am feeling like I find it harder to give praise than to nitpick these days. Still, read this book. And then again, once you've had a chance to appreciate the careful craft in this beautiful, beautiful volume.

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Still digesting this book. I may have a deeper, more insightful review upon a reread.

wow. Powerhouse of a novel, and though the size is intimidating, the final 200 pages were too compelling for me to go to bed last night.

also, hi there, Vivenna. What are the Nalthis peeps doing on Roshar?

Re: the

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book itself- there are more interior illustrations and they are great, but do yourself a favor and either pull up the art gallery or find yourself an ebook/epub version because digitally, some of the illustrations are in color and so much the better for it (the Thaylen and havah fashion folio pages in particular benefit from increased contrast). The end covers depict four of the Heralds, and other reviewers have noted the consistency of how Jezrian's sword has been depicted across official artwork... I would not be surprised if the leatherbound ten year edition has full color within, but that won't be for another decade. The pages felt pretty thin- likely one of few ways to cram so many words/pages into a book, but I did fear tearing them a few times (and/or skipping two when turning).

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The 3rd book in the series continues each of our favorite characters’ storylines. There’s a great twist on the voidbringer theme. Some people complain about the length, but I think of these books as something you just sink into and enjoy as they meander.

“The longer you live, the more you

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fail. Failure is the mark of a life well lived. In turn, the only way to live without failure is to be of no use to anyone.”

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A (Great).

A world war begins in a fantasy world. It doesn't justify it's length as well as the first two books in the series, but it has some extremely powerful moments.

(Dec. 2023)

I feel like I'm starting to figure out some of the clues and understand a little better the big picture, especially when it comes to spren and some of the other magical beings. The biggest character development comes with Dalinar. His growth over this book is so compelling and creates a lot of the

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personal tension in the storyline. There's a lot of big battling going on in this novel, especially at the end. It is also interesting to see characters really coming into their powers.

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Halfway through. Tedious. Find the details of why this book is so terrible by reading all the one star reviews on Amazon. They are more interesting than the book itself. Perhaps we just need a less than 100 page summary of This Book in order to proceed in the series
Once again the book improves

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quite a bit after 750 pages of reading but I am going to stand by my two star rating as the book is much too long and not well enough edited for the reader.

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As in previous years, I treated myself to a trip to the bookstore at Christmas, and again, among my purchases was the new paperback copy of book three in Brandon Sanderson’s STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE, OATHBRINGER. Like the first two volumes in this series, this one was a true tome, coming in at just

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under 1,300 pages, and like the other books, this one is written to appeal to the hardcore fantasy fan who passionately wants to lose themselves in the works of a master of world building, and the creation of compelling characters. In this, the author again succeeds and then some. Sanderson’s Roshar is a vaguely medieval land with various feuding kingdoms and races, cultures and religions, beset by ferocious hurricane like storms, and by an alien race (or so it seems), requiring its rancorous humans to unite against a common enemy (always a hard task in fantasy fiction). There is a system of magic with set rules, and Sanderson does not cheat at his own game, a temptation other fantasy writers sometimes can’t resist. With magic comes mystical creatures that can exist in different realms, sometimes they are allies with humans, sometimes their motives are mysterious. Of course there are angry Gods, or those who were formerly Gods, who plot and scheme and manipulate without mercy. And there are humans who have become much more than mere humans. When it comes to world building and character, Sanderson gets the job done.

In OATHBRINGER, all the fan favorites are back: Kalidan, Shallan, Adolin, Jasnah, and especially Dalinar, who is really the central character here. In previous books, his bloody and fearsome past is alluded to, in OATHBRINGER we get his full back story, and it is a grim and dark one, worthy of a fantasy epic. Because Dalinar is the central character here, Kalidan and the others are pushed to the sides at times, but I was not disappointed, each still had an arc, and managed to take center stage at one time or another. Kalidan’s return home, early in the book, brought him full circle, and also a surprising development; Shallan’s emotional turmoil gets a thorough wringing out as she is thrust into the action again and again, especially on a dangerous mission to the city of Kholinar. There are many sub plots with minor characters weaving in and out of the story during the course of the book, along with impressive monsters, and well done action scenes balanced off against moments that are deeply personal. At one point, Kalidan is separated from the rest of the main characters, then reunites with them, only to leave with Shallan and Adolin on an adventure that doesn’t go as planned, necessitating a side trip to a truly different world in order to escape the rampaging Parshendi hordes and the Fused. As this is happening, Dalinar is reckoning with his past, and a momentous revelation as to the true history of Roshar, as it seems the Voidbringers are not who they thought they were. All this leads to a final battle that resolves some plot threads (specifically between Kalidan and Amaram), while letting others dangle for the next book.

Like I said, OATHBRINGER is for the committed fantasy reader, one who has fully invested himself in the previous volumes in the series. It can get very dense at times, and feel like an uphill climb, a not unusual problem for the middle books in any fantasy series, but Sanderson never lets the pace lag for long, as he gets the pacing right with lengthy chapters at the beginning and middle, then shortening them in the action filled finale to grab the reader and create the sensation of a battle moving at a break neck speed as the fate of everyone hangs in the balance. The author is not afraid to let his story take dark turns, and show the flaws in his main characters, it’s not on George RR Martin level, but neither is this book GAME OF THRONES, as I’ve said before THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE feels more like a super hero story inside a fantasy epic. There are a lot of changes in POV, including a lot among supporting characters that may bedevil some readers, but I found many of them to be quite compelling, like Taravangian, a seemingly feeble ruler who is more than he appears. And in Odium, Sanderson has created a villain who promises to elevate the story in future books. The themes of guilt, responsibility and possible redemption are handled well, and the issue of who is right, and who is in the wrong, when it comes to a bitter war is given a most interesting twist.

I am a self published author, one who has tried their hand at writing in the fantasy genre, and I very much respect what the prolific Brandon Sanderson has pulled off with THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE. I am looking forward to the nest book in the series: RHYTHM OF WAR. It’s a beast of a book as well.

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Finally finished. Oathbringer is a long book! So far I have liked Words of Radiance best in this series. The plot seemed to drag a bit in the middle of this one, but I liked it and am interested to see where the story will go. My favorite story lines were Teravangian's and Venli's.

Halfway through. Tedious. Find the details of why this book is so terrible by reading all the one star reviews on Amazon. They are more interesting than the book itself. Perhaps we just need a less than 100 page summary of This Book in order to proceed in the series
Once again the book improves

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quite a bit after 750 pages of reading but I am going to stand by my two star rating as the book is much too long and not well enough edited for the reader.

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