Oathbringer

Diminishing returns. I miss the sharp focus of Kaladin's journey, which swept me through The Way of Kings and sustained me through Words of Radiance. Sanderson is doing something grand and subversive here, to be applauded and admired, but I lost my enthusiasm along the way. ( )

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 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.” ( )

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 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. ( )

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 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. ( )

It is an epic story of epic proportions and in Oathbringer we mostly follow Dalinar Kholin's inner and outer journey and it's a fantastic and engaging story. The world is a world of forces well beyond what we experience in our normal world. There is magic. Or magics. Many different kind of magics. And there are bad people and good people. And people that do good while being bad. And people doing bad while being good.

Sanderson is really playing with the concept of "good". Who are good?

Sadly this is the last available book in the series that promises to be much longer. The idea is that there will be 10 books. The number 10 plays a big role in the world so maybe 10 thematic novels. Still, with 7 books to go, we're looking at a long time. I guess journey before destination also applies to the creation and consumption of the books.
( )