Oathbringer: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive

Character: We follow Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, Jasnah, Adolin and the others as the have now reached Urithitu after the last battle on the Shattered Plains. This is Dalinar’s book. That’s very clear. Dalinar has always been a character I’ve looked forward to, even more than Kaladin, and he shines in this book. We get to see Dalinar’s past in a sequence of flashbacks and they are heartbreaking. We can now fully understand the dramatic changes in his personality from the Blackthorn consumed by bloodlust to the Bondsmith who swears by oaths and The Way of Kings. His story is truly sad, and his arc is that of change and confronting past tragedy. Kaladin has lesser page time in this book than the previous two, but still manages to develop a lot as a character since his past evils still threaten to pull him into the abyss. Shallan is a polarizing character in this book. For some people she has become insufferable and annoying, while for others, this was expected. Personally, I have to admit that I hated reading the Veil sequences. Her Dissociative Identity Disorder, which manifests as different people quite literally due to her Lightweaving, is understandable but it goes on for too long in the book. Perhaps Shallan is so broken that we cannot expect her to recover instantly. Either way, I liked the old witty and curious Shallan way more than Veil or Radiant. Jasnah surprisingly doesn’t appear much in the book. When she does appear, she steals the show. But I’d like to have seen more of her. The Bridge Four members get their own POVs. Teft’s past is revealed and his struggle with substance abuse is well portrayed. Brandon seems to have included his first LGBT character in this book. Glad to see that his Mormonism hasn’t tampered with his open mind. Adolin goes through a lot on this book, and for the first time, his reputation as the son of Dalinar and his duelling skill with a Shardblade are useless. He feels weak and exposed, but goes through with it. Setting: Perhaps the arena where Oathbringer shines over the previous two books is in its worldbuilding. Sanderson zooms out of the Shattered Plains to expose the immensely detailed world he has created. We visit Thaylenah, Azimir and Jah Keved. There is an entire part of the book that takes place in Shadesmar. A lot more is revealed about the Spren and Odium. Dalinar’s tryst with the Nightwatcher is also shown. Due to the politics that takes place, we also see the vivid cultures of the different kingdoms. As we follow Dalinar’s battles, we get a look at the princedoms before they were united under Gavilar to form Alethkar. A large part of the book takes place in Alethkar’s capital, Kholinar. The Parshendi are not the enemy any of us or the characters in the book expected. Plot: This book is tightly plotted. Though it may seem slow in the beginning, especially if you’re not a fan of politics and international relations (which is a large part of this book), they all have good reason. Dalinar’s inexperience in politics and his sudden position as the one who has to unite Roshar puts him in a difficult place. Odium’s Unmade are revealed. Re-Sephir, Sja-Anat and the others. Urithiru is a complicated structure but there’s something wrong with it. The first moment of action is with Shallan and the others at Urithitu. After that, the battle of Kholinar. It all ends with the battle of Thaylen Field, which is, in my experience, one of the longest and largest battle scenes I’ve read. It’s the length of an entire novel, and yet it has you hooked. It is epic in every sense of the word. And the climax to Oahbringer was probably better than the previous two books, in the sense of wonder and awe that it invokes. Which is saying a lot. It had many goosebump inducing plot twists and fights of epic proportions. There is a link to Warbreaker in this book, as we see a character who is clearly someone we know from Warbreaker. And Nightblood gets to DESTROY EVIL. Conflict: The main conflict in this book is that Dalinar has to get the other kindgoms to trust him and join in his coalition to become a united Roshar against Odium’s forces. This is especially difficult because of his reputation as a mass murderer and unparalleled commander as the Blackthorn. Naturally, when Dalinar goes with his treaty of alliance, nobody wants anything to do with him. Shallan faces her different personalities. Adolin feels like a fish out of water with no magical powers he can use. Kaladin finds that the oaths he swore to are not easy to uphold. Jasnah finds a disturbing truth in her research, something that threatens to end the Knights Radiant. Prose: There is nothing fancy about Sanderson’s prose. It’s straight and to the point. He however, invents swear words to fit his world, which seems a bit contrived. Final Thoughts: I backed the Stormlight Archive when I first read The Way of Kings back in 2012, and Sanderson has not let me down. This series is defining where epic fantasy can go. Though I might need a cartwheel to lug around the next book. Rating: 9/10: Storming brilliant!

Done. 2 and a half years of waiting, theory casting. Multiple rereads, millions of anticipation spren, unbelievable amounts of hype. And 24 hours of glorious, glorious reading later, I am done. Oathbringer is fantastic. Saying it is awesome is an understatement. Saying it is shocking can't quite possibly convey how shocked I was at the developments that happened, which I didn't expect at all. Quite honestly, oathbringer is scary. It's a tempest, like a high storm, with highs that threaten to get you light headed and with lows, like the chasms, that are horrifying. It has moments of pure hilarity, moments of pure badassery, and moments of pure, pure surprise. It's a storming fantastic book, something no one will expect. So I won't spoil. The developments in this book, even after years of making and reading theories, come as a complete shock, but bring great delight. Some of the Viewpoints in the book are unexpected, but amazing nevertheless.Especially the second part. That was a genius, brilliant thing bran san has done, amidst chaos of war and action, and the mystery of urithru, part 2 of the book was a great anchor, showing us how it's the people that reside roshar are that is important, not roshar it self. Parts 3 and 4 , especially part 4, are everything I wanted from a stormlight novel, but I never knew. I won't say anything more than that. Part 5, the sanderson avalance, is better than both TWOK and WOR, and that is the highest praise I can give to it. All in all, the book is amazing, it's brilliantly paced, very well written and has moments of fantastic character growth. But the thing that makes a book great are the characters, and though this is Dalinar's book, two people shine the brightest here. Shallan and Dalinar. Both their arcs are fantastic, both mirror each other in subtle ways, both showing us different sides of the same coin. I loved the moments of resolution of their arcs, the natural progression of it all, and the inevitable conclusion. Voidbringers are unexpected . Ever storm is unexpected. The destruction, the horror and all of it, come in unexpected ways. And I loved it , I loved how the voidbringers are not just another faceless, "evil", disposable army to be defeated by humans. I loved how all of them have motives, much stronger than we knew so far. And gods, the morality of it all. I won't say anything about this, it is something to be read and find out, something to cherish and find on your own. Oathbringer is a fantastic book. It is better than the way of kings by all accounts, and it is certainly better than Words of radiance everywhere it counts. The character moments strike hard when they need to, the moments of pure badassery make you cheer even if you are as stoic as a rock. The 450,000 word massive tome never feels slow, it never feels as if it's lagging and it never lets you take a break. It's not a kind of book that exhausts you, it's a kind of book that makes you crave more, makes you wish for more regardless of the fact that you have just read a monster of book. It's a fitting book, an amazing reward for years of waiting, and it's something that everyone of us wanted. Incase it was not clear already, it deserves much much more than a 5/5

Oathbringer is the third and a largely successful (ok let me not be churlish - very successful) continuation of the Stormlight Archive which on current form has the potential to be one of the greatest Fantasy series of all time. Nevertheless I completed the book with mixed feelings, there is a change of tone in the book as other reviewers have remarked and like all changes there is good and bad in it. The good is there is a lot of detail on the history of the Knight Radiants, their past battles with the Voidbringers and some revelations which change the nature of the conflict for the entire future series. There is also a greater amount of world building and a focus on the lesser characters such as Moash, the rulers of the various other kingdoms, we get a lot more of Teravangian and almost all his appearances are very good, ditto for Hoid who is fast becoming my favourite character. On the other hand, while the first two books focused on the three main characters, kaladin, Shallan & Dalinar, Oathbringer skimps on Kaladin totally here. He does not appear at all for long sections and when he does little happens, he is still wallowing alternatively between self pity, anger and his principles, not much development for his character. Shallan is worse, her character here is plain irritating, her split personality interludes are literally a pain to get through and there are hints of a totally unnecessary triangle. Thankfully there is a seeming resolution towards the end and we will hopefully not have to grit our teeth through her passages in book 4. This is Dalinar’s book though, his backstory occupies a majority of the book like Kaladin & Shallan in TWoK & WoR respectively and some of his backstory chapters are easily the best writing of the series though the backstory got a bit predictable towards the end. He is also the main guy taking the story forward since a lot of the book is all the kingdoms figuring out how to deal with the new threat and that for the large part works quite well. So the general pace is pretty slow with all the politicking and world building - but never uninteresting till the last couple of hundred pages which are all out action and great action. No overstatement to say the book ends at a high and the climax is unputdownable, was up till 3 AM. So why the mixed feelings, (minor spoilers ahead), firstly some major characters and characters and plotlines are summarily dealt with in what I felt was a very unsatisfying manner - I’m looking at what Amaram & Ekholar, the entire Saldeas saga these plotlines are dealt with in what seems (at least for now) like a pretty illogical hamfisted way. Odium makes his first impressive appearance but by the end of the book, lets just say there were some underwhelming things happening. Adolin & Renarin are still criminally underused, hopefully that will change soon. Also while this is not really a fair gripe - so much has happened in book 3 that I’m not sure what is left for 7 more books. I am having bad visions of the Half Way Curse hitting Stormlight like it hit The Wheel of Time and Song of Ice & Fire. On past form one cannot imagine Sanderson writing books where nothing happens like RJ & GRRM did. That is just not his style, the way he resurrected Wheel of Time was masterful and I will choose to believe he has a good plan for 10 books. After all I had the same misgivings after Mistborn – Well of Ascension and the Hero of Ages resolved everything that seemed like defects of the previous books (but actually weren’t) in a phenomenal mind blowing manner. I’m hoping that’s the case here too. Waiting 3 years for Book 4 and may the Stormfather be with Brendan Sanderson.

This Novel focuses on Dalinars backstory and I really like his character we finally get to see his past why he was blackthorn who was feared by everyone. Great book worth to buy but I would suggest to go for a better version bcz this one can be read 2-3 times bcz it's quality is low but still worth every Rs. you spend on this

The book arrived creased on the spine and dirty, it’s been read before. I want to read it asap tho.

I absolutely loved Oathbringer! All the foreshadowing in the previous two books finally comes to light in a brilliant, 1200 page extravaganza that pulls no punches emotionally and intellectually. Apart from the stunning magic system that we learn about and the conflicts between and within the characters, Oathbringer is very reflective and poses some philosophical questions and answers them too. It was so heart wrenching that I was reduced to a whimpering puddle and I feel Tor should seriously consider providing a box of tissues with the book! Going to count the days till the release of the next book. There's plenty enough to occupy me till then. Like re-reading to catch the small hints I missed, trying to understand Cosmere and maybe coming up with theories myself!

*SPOILER FREE*!!! The packaging was very good and even the entire dust jacket was non damaged...so kudos to Atlantic P&D and Amazon global Store... Where do I even start???...The story, the narrative, the artwork???...The artwork...now that's not something u discuss when reviewing a novel...but yet again Sanderson has commissioned all these exemplary artists like Michael Wheelan(front cover), Dan Dos Santos(Endpapers) and many more...And each one is a treat to look at...I've attached the dust jacket and 3 of the end paper pics in the review...The end papers depict one of the Heralds each...and I can go on about the other sketches throughout the book!!! Now we come to the narrative and it has improved(not that Sanderson's earlier works were anything less than exemplary).The transition between the past and the present have become even more smoother and the subtlety in the prose that Sanderson adapts is amazing. The story itself had no low point for me and the character development and their arcs is so very satisfying!!! Though there were fewer twists , the conclusion had a lot of implication on the future of Roshar and even Cosmere as a whole...The entities(gods per say)who were previously unexplored as characters were explored ... Needless to say (SPOILERY) there were a few Cosmere crossovers(some old, ...some new😉) All in all to whomever is reading this, I can only say that you don't know What an EPIC Fantasy is unless u read The Stormlight Archives!!!

Stormlight archive scratches my itch for amazing world building and lovable characters (Kaladin specifically). The books have become an integral part of my daily routine idk how I'm going to go about my day once I'm done reading them all

I’ll start this review by assuming you haven’t read the first two novels in this series. Why? Because if you have, then you don’t need me to tell you how awesome this series is and you should be either reading book three now or already have finished it. So, if you haven’t start the series the question becomes: should you invest the hundred or so hours of reading required to get through the first three in what is planned to be a ten book series? The answer is yes, yes you definitely should. The Stormlight Archives is a series with a grand vision. Written by prolific American author, Brandon Sanderson, there is so much to love about these books. The world he has created is something truly unique, which you don’t see very much of these days. The whole premise is that there are is a constant barrage of predictable storms that hammer across the world, all in the same direction. This leads the world to develop in areas protected from the buffeting winds, such as leeward sides of mountains. As well as this, the closer the land is to the storm’s origin, the more devastating the effects are. As such, most of the land is unable to support the plants and animals that we know. Instead, the author has created a new, believable, ecosystem. Trust me, this in itself is an amazing feat. But it doesn’t stop there. Fans of Brandon Sanderson will be familiar with his love of magic systems. The Stormlight Archives features its own system that, honestly, I cannot do justice to in the space of a whole article, let alone as a component of one. It involves Gods, spirits, an entire other world. And again, it works! Now, all this just covers a small part of the world building that goes into this series. There is so much depth to it all that it’s easy to immerse yourself in what is basically an incredibly alien world without thinking anything is overly strange. As if that wasn’t enough, world building isn’t even the most impressive part of this series. The absolute icing on the cake is the characters. There are a handful of POV characters, each fully fleshed out into real people. They each have their own desires, their own goals, their own character arcs. They have their own strengths and, importantly, their weaknesses. I haven’t read a book in a long time that made me care as much about the characters as this series. As a very unemotional man, even I felt my eyes getting a little watery at each character’s conflicts and actions during the climax. Personally, I believe this stems from their flaws. With a few thousand pages to work with, you get to know each character so intimately that you can relate to their desires and understand why they fail when they do. This, in turns, makes their successes so much more meaningful and emotionally satisfying. So, I realise I sound like quite the fanboy over this. It’s actually hard to pinpoint anything wrong with it but… There is one thing that really bugs me. It stems from the writing concept “show, don’t tell”, something I’ve heard Brandon Sanderson himself espouse on many podcasts. Instead of telling the reader “Sam was sad”, you show them with something like “Sam wept quietly, tears turning to mud on the dirt floor.” Yes, they both convey that the character is sad, but the second one does it in a way that includes the reader, making them associate with the feeling rather than just knowing what they’re feeling. This series kind of breaks that rule, as part of the magic system involves these spirits, called spren. There are spirits of just about everything, including emotions. So, whenever a character has a strong feeling, like pain for instance, the line “He was surrounded by painspren” appears. It just felt a little cheap to me, especially when everything else is so well written. After all that, you can probably guess that I highly recommend getting into this series. Don’t be put off by the size of the books, each one being around 1,000 pages. In fact, if you get it in ebook format you don’t even notice it. Instead, just dive in and get immersed in an amazing world filled with intriguing people.

Un 3e volume où Sanderson montre encore une fois qu'il est le maître absolu de l'Epic Fantasy. Ce 3e tome est beaucoup plus sombre que les précédents mais fait la part belle aux personnages secondaires futurs principaux des tomes à venir ( Venli et Eshonai pour le tome 4 et Szeth pour le 5, Jasnah, Renarin, Lift, Ash et Taln pour le 2e arc de 5 volumes) qui ont tous droit à leur POV. Tous les protagonistes principaux sont donc présents et ont droit à un minimum de "lignes de gloire"... ce qui signifie aussi que certains personnages prennent moins de place. C'est bien normal, c'est une saga et si l'on couvrir tous les persos proprement certains sont obligés de prendre moins de place. Kaladin notamment est relégué en 3e position... ce qui peut déplaire quand il s'agit de votre personnage préféré ( KALADIIIIIIIIIIN)... mais qui scénaristiquement se tient très bien. Pas d'inquiétude, l'histoire n'en devient que plus riche, et le fait que certains personnages soient moins mis en avant ne signifie pas pour autant qu'ils soient négligés. Le début commence avec révélations sur révélations et la dernière partie du roman est du classique Sanderson: ça virevolte de tous les côtés et il est juste impossible de reprendre son souffle avant la fin. Une petite recommandation cependant: Mieux vaux relire minimum Words of Radiance avant de se lancer. Pour ma part, j'avais relu The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance et lu Edgedancer juste avant d'entamer Oathbringer et bien m'en a pris... Car même en ayant lu The Way of Kings 3 fois, et Words of Radiance 2 fois, et bien... j'ai été surprise du nombre de sous-intrigues et de personnages que j'avais oubliés d'autant que certains personnages que nous suivons dans les interludes depuis le 1er tome se retrouve dans ce troisième tome, dans des interludes juste essentiels à la bonne compréhension de l'intrigue. Autant dire que si l'on a oublié l'existence de personnages tel que Rysn, ça diminue grandement le plaisir de la redécouvrir dans un autre interlude où l'on voit comment sa petite vie "ordinaire" se retrouve elle-même impactée par les événements sur Roshar voir quand elle même se retrouve au milieu d’événements clés à l'intrigue. Lire Edgedancer n'est pas obligatoire... mais fortement recommandé car certains personnages clés jouent des rôles importants ici... l'intrigue se comprend très bien sans, mais c'est une valeur ajoutée non négligeable... comme la lecture de Warbreaker est une forte valeur ajoutée mais pas indispensable à l'appréciation de la série ( mais alors... c'est tellement jouissif que sincèrement ce serait domage de ne pas l'avoir lu d'autant que le roman est excellent). Bref c'est E.P.I.C. Encore Bravo à l'auteur pour un volume juste flamboyant et pour sa capacité à se transcender à chaque volume.

With "Oathbringer", the beauty of the "Stormlight Archive" is in full bloom. The scope of the series is here unveiled and delivered to the reader in the most perfect way. In this thirds installment, we finally get to know more about Roshar and its different peoples, whereas the mysteries surrounding the past are deepened way more then the previous two books. Per se, maintaining the attention of the reader throughout a 1200-page book is extremely difficult, but Sanderson succeeds masterfully in doing so by capturing your interest and giving you something new every single chapter. If you read my reviews of "The Way of Kings" and "Words of Radiance", you will see that they are not enthusiastic with the warning that, maybe, I did not read them in the right moment. "Oathbringer" changed completely my perception of the series with its fantasy perfection and, now, I am really looking forward to the rest of it.

Excellent book. The story doesn't let down, the revelations, the mythology and the philosophy in Roshar and its characters keeps getting richer. Loved it.

Very good quality, delivered with prime the next day. Happy purchase