Oathbringer

Strong Storytelling, will upset Kaladin fans

Oathbringer is book three of five. The first five books in the Stormlight Archive tell their own story. Later, another set of five will tell another story. Sometimes all the heroes win in the middle, sometimes they fail. In this book, we have both wins and losses. In one book, you have three small novels going on, with important points of view from many people.

Sanderson dives deeper into the cultures of Roshar and the conflicts that have nothing to do with the “bad guys.” Instead many of the conflicts are inside different characters own heads and hearts. This aspect of the story will be hard for many fans. This aspect of the story is important. Awareness of bias and of mental health issues is important. It’s rare to see them addressed so directly in an adventure fantasy.

But in this book, Kaladin, the hero of book one and book two – is not the star. He has growth, but not the awesome growth of power leveling up I think many fans were hoping to read. Instead, Bridge 4 as a whole, is given more points of view and room to grow. Sometime these are painful in heart wrenching ways, but in beautiful character development ways.

Dalinar’s flashbacks will make you look at him differently. It will be hard to see a hero in such a different light. Journey before destination everyone. His journey is a strong one.

The ladies of the Stormlight Archive are given more room to grow here. But at times it is a backward growth. At others it is wonderful to see them breaking the molds of Voirn culture.

Once you turn the page on Part 5, get ready for a rush of a ride. You will not want to put the book down for the final act.

Many important magical questions are answered in this volume of the Stormlight Archive, but it raises more questions. Some of the questions answered, were not the ones many fans were hoping to see addressed, including myself. I hope readers will appreciate the story that was written, for what was written. Not criticizes it because it was not the story they were expecting. I know I love the book, even if there are a few bits I wish were different. But the characters are not perfect people. They would be less interesting if they were.

I love that that the art is included even for the audio book. That is an extra special treat. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading do their typically awesome job narrating the books. I’m glad they kept the voices of the characters the same from the first two volumes of the books.

116 of 145 people found this review helpful

Another Sanderson Masterpiece

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was interesting to witness the surprising development of the characters and plot. Being unable to accurately predict drew me in even more intensely. Waiting for the next book will be challenging!

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Excellent. Well written and performed.

Well written and very enjoyable. Can be a tiny but wordy at times but during and action scenes or intense moments its welcome. I have enjoyed this series a lot. Thanks for keeping it clean also.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A long slog through a decent but not great book.

Any additional comments?

If your a fan of the first two books, it goes without saying that you have to read this one as well. It is worth the time but I agree with others that Sanderson tried to hard on this book and it just wasn’t as good as the first two. Kaladin was reduced to a minor role in the book which was disappointing and again, I agree with another reviewer who pointed out his character actually went backward in development. Delinar’s character was the main focus of the book but his character is just not that endearing and is kind of meh. The 3 main hero’s of the series, Shallon, Kaladin, and Delinar all continually suffered debilitating bouts of depression and self doubt at times of crisis. Instead of the tough get going, it was get the mentally weak a box of tissues. This was so consistant and similar between the characters it got old and tired. I might be a bit overly critical as over all it was a good book that was mostly entertaining but so much was left on the table. Still it helped me get through the commute and it was worth the credits.

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

A mixed bag of brilliance, marred by missteps

Brandon Sanderson is one of the greatest story tellers writing today; and this series is his magnum opus. Book 3 is not the strongest of the series. But it still soars in many places, despite some missteps throughout.
Parts of this book left me cheering out loud! Parts of this book are truly awe inspiring.

Other parts had me shaking my head, as long established characters suddenly behaved in ways that contradicted everything the author has told us about them in the past.
For such an immense book, it surprised me how many times an obvious shortcut was taken in order to setup the next scene.

There was one long scene involving a female lead that had no purpose other than comic relief. This bungling, slapstick detour was so jarring, it was hard to return to the rhythm of the story. Worst of all, it felt amateurish, and just wasn't funny.

Almost every competent character had a moment of incompetence so glaring that it became obvious this was a deliberate gimmick. Possibly a recommendation from an editor, but taken too far?

But still, with all of that said, this is still a mostly brilliant story. The action scenes top any blockbuster movie put out this year.
It was filled with many pay-offs from the previous books, some of them setup so expertly that they still surprised me, despite the clues revealed before.

Like all of his books, this was also a vehicle for the author's social, political, and moral view of the world. Presented nicely as part of the story with not-too-much outright preaching.

69 of 95 people found this review helpful

Perfection in literature.

If you have read the first two books in this series, then you already know Brandon Sanderson is the greatest storyteller of our generation, and, one of the best to ever put pen to page. That is not grandiose hyperbole. It is understatement. So, now that my opinion on the author is clear, the book. The book is excellent! The pacing is great and the story progressed just the right amount for me. In my opinion, what Sanderson does the best of any writer I have ever read, is the tear-down and rebuilding of characters. I will say, that this book seems to spend more time making everything seem like it's getting worse and worse before finally we see positive change and victories for the main characters. Not really a negative for me but it does feel like there is no hope till nearly the end of the book. I am so glad Sanderson doesn't suffer from whatever George R.R Martin and Patrick Rothfuss have been afflicted with. I think we can reasonably expect the next book in 2-3 years, which is amazing considering he will also be churning out other incredible books and stories along the way.

51 of 72 people found this review helpful

Not the best he has written.

I loved the first two books in this series but I had a hard time keeping my attention on the story. I went back many times and listened to parts again and again. There are great parts but there are more that just lag. This isn’t the best he has written.

23 of 33 people found this review helpful

Wow.

Brandon Sanderson strikes again. One of the most deeply interesting fantasy books (and series) I have picked up.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I bloody fing love this series!

I couldn't recommend the stormlight archive any higher! The author creates an immersive world that keep you coming back for more!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good stuff

enjoying the series can't wait for the next book. g o o d to go

1 of 1 people found this review helpful