Oathbringer
Ratings960
Average rating4.5
Hey remember when I said Brandon Sanderson couldn't do better after reading words of radiance? He did it with this book. Specifically the last few chapters were just freaking incredible. #DalinarIsBae Can't wait to see what Sanderson does with Rhythm of War.
This book started out great. I was excited to see where everything went next... and then the pacing fell off a cliff. I don't know what happened, the first two books were fantastic. I lost the motivation to continue reading at some point. I made it over halfway through, but it was just missing something to keep me engaged. I will restart this series at some point, but for now, 2 stars for the DNF. This is probably my most critical review of a Sanderson book.
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 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.
Er was een cliffhanger op het einde van het vorige deel, en hopla plets, die wordt in het begin van dit boek gewoon van tafel geveegd. En dan gaat het gelijk een andere richting uit dan ik had gedacht, en begint het een beetje duidelijk te worden hoe dit nog zeven boeken kan blijven duren.
This book suffers from a lack of momentum for a lot of its length, but the character arcs for Dalinar and Shallan as well as the strong ending make it worthwile.
found it a real real slog to get through most of this, and honestly should've probably rated it 2 stars, but storms - sanderson got me with that finale.
not a fan of how characters are treated in this book though. they're pulled from scene to scene and place to place with no real rhyme or reason or personal urgency. people are killed off without satisfying arcs or any redemption, while others never seem to face consequences for choices made in previous books.
still find the shallan personality split stuff infuriating too, and i don't understand why so much time is spent on the shallan/adolin/kaladin drama when there's not even much there to devote time to.
dalinar's backstory was eye-opening and i love how it changes how we view him as a person, but i kinda wish at least some of it was left to the imagination. we've been told time and time again about the deal he's made and the things he's lost - do we really need to see the whole scene play out at this point?
in the end though, i did enjoy the journey. seeing the radiants on the field together was worth the wait, and i'm really engaged with the questions being asked about morality and right and wrong. i hope we get more of that going forward and maybe even switch back to focusing on a core few characters rather than this ever-expanding cast we don't care that much about.
Oathbringer definitely suffers from a lack of slower character moments, focusing more on big action set pieces and lore-heavy plot progression, but it’s still a solid middle (?) chapter in the epic Stormlight Archive series.
Very good but didn’t have quite the same impact for me as the second one. The amount of flashbacks and battles was just a bit too much for me at times, but there were still great moments. Also some of the characters I loved I don’t feel were quite as interesting to me this time.
what a book. i know the general consensus is that Words of Radiance is everyone's favorite installment in the Stormlight Archive, but (not having read Rhythm of War) this is mine.
potential spoilies ahead.
the most compelling characters ive ever encountered are in this series, and they have the chance to shine in Oathbringer. Dalinar's struggles with his past and the kind of man they make him today feel so authentic and relatable. Shallan trying to separate her identities and figure out who she truly is resonates with those who struggle with imposter syndrome. Kaladin just, well... being Kaladin... is a journey you don't want to miss. Adolin went from a character that is there to a character i'm glad is there.
also, just wanna highlight the most goosebump inducing quote i think i've ever read:
“Ten spears go to battle,” he whispered, “and nine shatter. Did that war forge the one that remained? No, Amaram. All the war did was identify the spear that would not break.”
oooooooo baby. had to put the book down and do a lap around my room after reading that line.
the further i get into this series, the more confident i am that i'll be rereading it all not too far off in the future. dont wait. read the Stormlight Archive.
Every fight, death and power up was meaningful. The final battle was very well executed, shifting from different perspectives. There was an arc from one main character that was built up slightly then left aside(the focus not being on them this book)and I hope to see it continued in the next book. As has been the trend we spent alot of time with a particular character's history and it was both heartbreaking and enlightening. More than usual, moral conundrums are presented that are worth considering and they are not shied away from. The world building continues to be phenomenal and while many questions were answered, many new ones were raised. There's a particular love triangle that seemed unnecessary. Overall, good read
Livro muito bom. Até agora stormlight archive tá sendo um acerto de 100%.
Nesse livro a gente explora o passado do Dalinar, agora que já vimos o passado do kaladin e Shallan nos primeiros outros 2.
Os personagens principais tão excelentes. Porém por alguma razão a Shallan nesse livro mais do que os outros 2 está muito mais focada nas suas múltiplas personalidade que de vez em quando chega até ser confuso mas eu acho que é esse o intuito mas sei lá.
Kaladin continua crescendo como personagem mas ainda é o kaladin então fazer o quê. Mas nesse livro eles deram uma ótima explorada no grupo dele, como o teft, rock e outros. Porém eu ainda tô me perguntando o que o Brandon, pretende fazer com o Moash que depois do livro 2 está sendo tacado como uma bola de ping pong por aí, tipo ele matou o Elhokar do nada.
Ver o passado do Dalinar, e como ele ficou conhecido como blackthorn, também ver sobre sua esposa e como a morte do Gavilar afetou ele foi um bom adendo. O casamento com a Navani também foi muito bom.
A Venli teve um bom desenvolvimento na história mas eu ainda prefiria a visão da sua irmã Eshonai.
Também não posso deixar de mencionar o Szeth que teve um ótimo desenvolvimento, sem contar nas referências as outros livros como o Vasher, nightblood e sem contar na Vivenna que agora de chama Azure. Jasnah agora também virou a rainha.
Por último, mostrar mais do Shadesmar foi incrível saber mais daquele mundo e dos outros spren e da espada do Adolin foi incrível.
What can I say about Oathbringer? This might be my favourite of the series so far. It has just so many things: connections, compassion, love, sorrow, sadness, hope, happiness, forgiveness and so much action. The depth of the worldbuilding and character development is unreal.
It's no secret I think Sanderson is a genius and that I'm thoroughly impressed with his imagination and what he's aiming with Cosmere. However, and though the worlds he is developing are incredible, I think he really shines with the characters development.
The fact that his characters are dealing with severe mental health issues is already worth praising, but they are wonderfully well written and researched, and this is mesmerizing to read. Their story, their sorrows, their healing journey and ultimately acceptance of their flaws is just beautiful and fills me with hope.
I feel completely drained, but this was beautiful!
“Yes, I began my journey alone, and I ended it alone. But that does not mean that I walked alone.”
There are many paths your journey can take but you must choose a path. I can safely say that this is my favorite entry in the Stormlight Archive so far. I was pulled into every page in Oathbringer and I felt compelled to give it my full attention. I was surprised by how much this book got to me emotionally but so many moments hit me.
“What is the most important step a man can take?”
What. A. Fuckin. Ride.
Stormlight Archive is proving itself over and over again to be a must read for anyone who loves world-building fantasy. If you ever loved any long fantasy series as a kid, like Eragon or Pendragon, I can't recommend this enough.
I really loved Words of Radiance. Moving from it to Oathbringer was not fun. It took me a while to read this whole book because I kept stopping/starting.
The issues:
1. Parts 1-4 are extremely slow. Looking back there are a lot of needed character building moments, but maybe it could have been done in less than 1,000 pages. I would say the first 4 parts of this book are 2 stars.
2. I'm guessing the Ghostbloods are important later on, but every part involving them in this book I think is just a waste of time. I just don't care. I'm probably wrong for that, but it is what it is.
But, then you get to Part 5... Wow! Incredible! 5 stars! Part 5 is my favorite section of the Stormlight Archive so far. This book ends with a bang and Sanderson's writing style paints a perfect depiction. Your heart will be racing at the climax of the story when Dalinar says the thing.
In summary, Part 5 makes this book worth reading. But be warned, most of this book is very slow.
A bit messier than the first two with more fanservice-y scenes. The first book out of the three that I genuinely thought “Oh this is for sure a boy-book” lmao. I still enjoyed it as I do like a good boy-book. Glad that that love-triangle was short-lived, always hated that trope. Looking forward to reading the next book next month ✌
Bit of an endurance match cause this book is long, but wow does it stick the landing. Final act reminded me of the Last Battle from Wheel of Time with its scope and varying points of view.
4.00/5.00
“I am Unity”
Oathbringer is a beautiful rendition of Dalinar Kholin's character development. The book packs an explosive plot with with some big reveals. The exploration of severe mental health issues is done masterfully. As promised, the book delivers on the famous Sanderlanche of a conclusion. The worldbuilding takes a big step in this book, bringing the Stromlight Archive to the grand scale epic that it is. However, Oathbringer suffers from a lack of a solid structure. The book tried to do too many things, develop too many characters, opened too many unexplored boxes, making it seem like a half a story that is way too long. Pacing also takes a major in the middle of the book, but I enjoyed slower pacing as much as the rest of the book.
SPOILERS!!
“The most important step a man can take, is the next one”, “The most important words a man can say is “I will do better””.
Plot-> Dalinar's history is my favorite part of the book. It had some jaw dropping moments ending with the great conclusion of Dalinar meeting Cultivation. Taravangian-Dalinar-Fen plot was also very interesting. I thought Shallan plotline was very good, but seemed boring at times. Kaladin seemed to take a back seat in this book, with really no significant plot line around him, which is fine, but dissapointing. I don't know what was going on with Odium.. his plot line is interesting. The ending was good but the shifting PoVs irritated me.
Worldbuilding -> Very impressive here, with the exploration of the Cognitive Realm and the history of the recreance. Lightweaving develops in the book, Dalinar's powers are developed and we an explosive ending, but it seems poorly executed compared to Windrunning. I am giving the worldbuilding a perfect score, even if I didn't enjoy the book as much as WoR. The history of Roshar, the political intricacy of the Diagram, the Cognitive relam and the perpendicularity! The cosmere easter eggs sprout more in this book more than other books... lots of connections to Warbreaker...
Character Development -> Dalinar's character development is done with perfection. The man faces so many challenges! Very satisfying. Kaladin takes a back seat, and Shallan's character turns into a stunning representation of multiple-personality disorder... just wow.
Prose -> Nothing new to say here, good as usual, not great. I though the stromfather's voice was done really well. The last three chapters were jumping from POV to POV so much! why! why! it was so irritating.
Emotional Impact -> I loved Dalinar's character development. I really liked the overall plot. I LOVED the beginning with Kaladin's homecoming and his friendship with the singers. I think the pacing and the book trying to do too many things spoiled Dalinar's glory moment at the end. The worldbuilding takes a better role in the book, but the book is too long! Several characters and plot lines could have been cut to make the book more enjoyable.. seriously! Still a really good book. I never thought I would tire of a long book, but I was tired here! There was just too many POV shifting.. which is the problem.
