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A review by beautiful_articulate
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
While I still did really enjoy it, I think this was my least favorite book of Stormlight Archive so far. I think that Words of Radiance absolutely knocked it out of the park for me and set the bar really high.
My main issues with Oathbringer, especially coming after Words of Radiance, is that it suffers from the same issues that the later seasons of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. suffered from. Now wait, hear me out. I'm going somewhere with this. What I really enjoyed most from Words of Radiance was seeing the main cast of characters all being together in one place, able to interact and bounce off of each other. I maintain that Sanderson really shines when writing interactions between unlikely allies. I liked seeing how Shallan, Kaladin, and Adolin would all interact, how Navani and Shallan might get along, what Dalinar thinks of Kaladin, etc, etc. In Oathbringer, the characters are separated and run their own, very separate plot lines (just like F.R.I.E.N.D.S. when everyone was getting married off. See? I told you I was going somewhere with that simile.).
At the start of Oathbringer, Kaladin is immediately separated from the cast of main characters to return to see his parents after an Everstorm has hit his hometown. Adolin isn't present for a whole section of the book (which is never explained beyond 'he's away on a diplomatic mission', that annoyed me to no end), during which Dalinar mainly only ever interacts with Navani and maybe a few monarchs here and there. With everyone separated, it didn't feel as satisfying to read about. It went from feeling like a Stormlight book to a section of A Song of Ice and Fire; multiple POVs that are connected but ultimately are about characters that are far apart.
What doesn't help is that the first few parts of Oathbringer are unbelievably long. I'm a pretty patient reader and I didn't mind it too much, but towards the halfway mark I told myself that if I had to read another chapter in which Dalinar tries (and fails) to convince another leader about the end of the world, I was going to run into a Highstorm myself. Like all Sanderson books however, the pace does pick up towards the end. The last two parts were definitely the most interesting and the strongest parts of the novels, but you do have to trudge through 75% of the book being pretty slow.
I liked Dalinar's flashback POVs, even though, holy fuck Brandon. They were really tough to get through due to the nature of what's being discussed, but it was honestly such a great way to expand upon Dalinar's character. I found myself hating him more and loving him more at the same time.
The last part of Oathbringer was great, and I can't deny that. Once we got Kaladin, Adolin, and Shallan all back together, I was really enjoying myself.Having them be all together in Shadesmar was really fun, and I liked that this was how Sanderson decided to expand upon the sprens' lore. Also, if anything happen to Maya, I will kill everyone and then myself. . The big epic fight scene at the end was great, as always, if a little bit disjointed at times. I'm intrigued to find out what Renarin's up to, appearing in the Diagram but also apparently being bonded to a corrupted spren.
Still forever mad that we only got a few lines aboutShallan and Adolin's wedding, rather than being given descriptions of how it unfolded, but I still have hope for their wedding to appear in Rhythm of War. C'mon, they deserve it.
My main issues with Oathbringer, especially coming after Words of Radiance, is that it suffers from the same issues that the later seasons of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. suffered from. Now wait, hear me out. I'm going somewhere with this. What I really enjoyed most from Words of Radiance was seeing the main cast of characters all being together in one place, able to interact and bounce off of each other. I maintain that Sanderson really shines when writing interactions between unlikely allies. I liked seeing how Shallan, Kaladin, and Adolin would all interact, how Navani and Shallan might get along, what Dalinar thinks of Kaladin, etc, etc. In Oathbringer, the characters are separated and run their own, very separate plot lines (just like F.R.I.E.N.D.S. when everyone was getting married off. See? I told you I was going somewhere with that simile.).
At the start of Oathbringer, Kaladin is immediately separated from the cast of main characters to return to see his parents after an Everstorm has hit his hometown. Adolin isn't present for a whole section of the book (which is never explained beyond 'he's away on a diplomatic mission', that annoyed me to no end), during which Dalinar mainly only ever interacts with Navani and maybe a few monarchs here and there. With everyone separated, it didn't feel as satisfying to read about. It went from feeling like a Stormlight book to a section of A Song of Ice and Fire; multiple POVs that are connected but ultimately are about characters that are far apart.
What doesn't help is that the first few parts of Oathbringer are unbelievably long. I'm a pretty patient reader and I didn't mind it too much, but towards the halfway mark I told myself that if I had to read another chapter in which Dalinar tries (and fails) to convince another leader about the end of the world, I was going to run into a Highstorm myself. Like all Sanderson books however, the pace does pick up towards the end. The last two parts were definitely the most interesting and the strongest parts of the novels, but you do have to trudge through 75% of the book being pretty slow.
I liked Dalinar's flashback POVs, even though, holy fuck Brandon. They were really tough to get through due to the nature of what's being discussed, but it was honestly such a great way to expand upon Dalinar's character. I found myself hating him more and loving him more at the same time.
The last part of Oathbringer was great, and I can't deny that. Once we got Kaladin, Adolin, and Shallan all back together, I was really enjoying myself.
Still forever mad that we only got a few lines about
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship