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A review by bluebeardswife
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
5.0
WHAT IN ROSHAR?!
(i wrote a lot, sorry in advance)
i feel like sanderson reached a new level of depth with not only the main characters but the secondary and minor povs in this book. even the ones we'd already gotten a book focused on felt and read more nuanced.
starting with dalinar: he's one of the most interesting characters to read about since book 1 and it's obvious why he's the main focus here. there's this constant theme of personal growth in sanderson's characters and how they deal with their trauma and actions on a internal and external level and i think that with dalinar we've, so far, reached a new level of development.
we see since the beginning his inner struggles with morality, values and ideal and they only get more realistic in oathbringer.
one of my favorite things in this book was experiencing his conflict when finally having to deal with his past actions and how they kept affecting the dynamics he had or wanted to have with people around him. the way his "past self" was fresh in people's minds and how it kind of didn't matter to people how much he'd changed in the present because of how memorable his (horrendous) actions had been to them.
reading his pov is always having to handle the conflicting emotions and that's what makes dalinar's arc one of the most fascinating and satisfying to read. his personal climax at the end? epic.
* "i will take responsability for what i've done"/"if i must fall, i will rise each time a better man." *
shallan: she's a very... difficult character for me to read about. i have a love-dislike (hate is too strong) relationship with her that makes me repeatedly reevaluate my feelings towards her. her own book made some things shine for me but others were just not at all what i thought should happen. in this one, however, shallan's arc is brilliant.
it's really interesting seeing how much she has grown and continues to grow. seeing her deal with so many problems and then having to confront so many - opposite and at the same time complementary - aspects about herself and the world is so beyond interesting.
my highlights from her part are her relationship with adolin (beautiful, pure, important, real) and how the both of them develop alongside each other and her chapter with wit. that chapter broke me in millions of pieces and i still haven't recovered.
(((i also have a few theories about her character in later books that make me deeply excited for what's to come!)))
* "you are not worse for your association with the world, but it is better for its association with you."/"accept the pain, but don't accept that you deserved it." *
kaladin: what to say about one of my absolute favorite characters in the cosmere... well, he's my everything. i can't really explain how much i love him and appreciate all aspects of his character here so i'll try to contain myself.
i think his arc is my personal favorite because it shows his constant need to protect those around him no matter what and how his ever-present depression is affected by it and it deeply resonates with me.
every phrase in his chapters feels intentional and the consistent idea that his mental health is not something to deal with and then forget because it's something that's always there and it's always going to need to be fought... beautiful.
his journey of self improvement isn't pretty and shows how it isn't always possible to do what he wants when he needs it because he has to grow before that.
*** QUICK KALADIN SPOILER ***
one of my favorite parts in this book about kaladin is the implication of him not being able to speak the fourth ideal and understanding that sometimes fighting by himself isn't enough, he has to learn to let people help him. understanding that it's okay to fail. and the acceptance from adolin and syl? truly perfect.
*** END OF SPOILER ***
* "maybe you don't have to save anyone, kaladin. maybe it's time for someone to save you." *
speaking of adolin and kaladin's relationship: punchy guys. KALADIN SMILES. and adolin is hands down the best boy (to talk more about them i'd get into spoilers, so maybe next time)
BRIDGE FOUR: forever my favorite thing to read, i love every single character of b4 and i'd die for any of them. found family is my favorite trope ever.
teft's storyline was hard. rlain's pov was necessary and i wanted more (ALSO WHERE WAS HE DURING THE EVENTS OF THIS BOOKS???). rock ****** kaladin was incredible. skar was really cool to read. and the lopen is the lopen, no explanations needed. we have a woman!!! we have drehy "literally courting a man"! renarin is just akwndkjdsbjs and renarin+rlain... love to see it
* “the idea of dissolving bridge four seemed to pain kaladin almost as much as the idea of losing men in the battle.”/“i know bridge four. and you, renarin kholin, are bridge four.”
bonus things i loved:
- i adopted lift after edgedancer and i have to say that my child is doing phenomenal, love her and everything she does <3 i'm curious to see how her relationship with the other characters i love will go
- i cannot wait for szeth's book!!! literally one of my favorite povs to read from, d y i n g to learn more about his past
- moash, fucking moash. loved his header (the details in this book are delightful) and his storyline with the fused, hoping to see more in row! also i thought it was really funny how 1 of every 3 sentences in his mind were about kaladin, can't wait to see what happens next since i know ~something~ does but i've blocked spoilers on my twitter so...
-wit !
- rysn is the absolute coolest, dawnshard was freaking amazing
- venli: don't know what to make of her yet but i'm really invested in her pov and the implications of some stuff i've seen so far. i'm hoping to see her interactions with jasnah, maybe? idk
- navani the scholar: she's great and i love how intelligent and passionate she is but i still don't understand what's going to happen with her as a character and in the story as a whole so i don't have strong feelings (yet)
- taravangian: i disagree with this man in basically everything but i just keep wanting more and more of him. i love his character and i'm finally going to be able to look up some stuff about the diagram after reading row without fearing spoilers, yay!
also, fuck dalinar for being a complete idiot and having to wait for taravangian himself tell him parts of his plan (how tf he doesn't question there's more than what he was told???) and continuing to trust him to the point of not even considering he's working with odium. fucking IDIOT.
anyway, the ending? epic. the world? phenomenal. the magic? unmatched.
not to be dramatic but this book changed me
“Life breaks us, Teft. Then we fill the cracks with something stronger.”
(i wrote a lot, sorry in advance)
i feel like sanderson reached a new level of depth with not only the main characters but the secondary and minor povs in this book. even the ones we'd already gotten a book focused on felt and read more nuanced.
starting with dalinar: he's one of the most interesting characters to read about since book 1 and it's obvious why he's the main focus here. there's this constant theme of personal growth in sanderson's characters and how they deal with their trauma and actions on a internal and external level and i think that with dalinar we've, so far, reached a new level of development.
we see since the beginning his inner struggles with morality, values and ideal and they only get more realistic in oathbringer.
one of my favorite things in this book was experiencing his conflict when finally having to deal with his past actions and how they kept affecting the dynamics he had or wanted to have with people around him. the way his "past self" was fresh in people's minds and how it kind of didn't matter to people how much he'd changed in the present because of how memorable his (horrendous) actions had been to them.
reading his pov is always having to handle the conflicting emotions and that's what makes dalinar's arc one of the most fascinating and satisfying to read. his personal climax at the end? epic.
* "i will take responsability for what i've done"/"if i must fall, i will rise each time a better man." *
shallan: she's a very... difficult character for me to read about. i have a love-dislike (hate is too strong) relationship with her that makes me repeatedly reevaluate my feelings towards her. her own book made some things shine for me but others were just not at all what i thought should happen. in this one, however, shallan's arc is brilliant.
it's really interesting seeing how much she has grown and continues to grow. seeing her deal with so many problems and then having to confront so many - opposite and at the same time complementary - aspects about herself and the world is so beyond interesting.
my highlights from her part are her relationship with adolin (beautiful, pure, important, real) and how the both of them develop alongside each other and her chapter with wit. that chapter broke me in millions of pieces and i still haven't recovered.
(((i also have a few theories about her character in later books that make me deeply excited for what's to come!)))
* "you are not worse for your association with the world, but it is better for its association with you."/"accept the pain, but don't accept that you deserved it." *
kaladin: what to say about one of my absolute favorite characters in the cosmere... well, he's my everything. i can't really explain how much i love him and appreciate all aspects of his character here so i'll try to contain myself.
i think his arc is my personal favorite because it shows his constant need to protect those around him no matter what and how his ever-present depression is affected by it and it deeply resonates with me.
every phrase in his chapters feels intentional and the consistent idea that his mental health is not something to deal with and then forget because it's something that's always there and it's always going to need to be fought... beautiful.
his journey of self improvement isn't pretty and shows how it isn't always possible to do what he wants when he needs it because he has to grow before that.
*** QUICK KALADIN SPOILER ***
one of my favorite parts in this book about kaladin is the implication of him not being able to speak the fourth ideal and understanding that sometimes fighting by himself isn't enough, he has to learn to let people help him. understanding that it's okay to fail. and the acceptance from adolin and syl? truly perfect.
*** END OF SPOILER ***
* "maybe you don't have to save anyone, kaladin. maybe it's time for someone to save you." *
speaking of adolin and kaladin's relationship: punchy guys. KALADIN SMILES. and adolin is hands down the best boy (to talk more about them i'd get into spoilers, so maybe next time)
BRIDGE FOUR: forever my favorite thing to read, i love every single character of b4 and i'd die for any of them. found family is my favorite trope ever.
teft's storyline was hard. rlain's pov was necessary and i wanted more (ALSO WHERE WAS HE DURING THE EVENTS OF THIS BOOKS???). rock ****** kaladin was incredible. skar was really cool to read. and the lopen is the lopen, no explanations needed. we have a woman!!! we have drehy "literally courting a man"! renarin is just akwndkjdsbjs and renarin+rlain... love to see it
* “the idea of dissolving bridge four seemed to pain kaladin almost as much as the idea of losing men in the battle.”/“i know bridge four. and you, renarin kholin, are bridge four.”
bonus things i loved:
- i adopted lift after edgedancer and i have to say that my child is doing phenomenal, love her and everything she does <3 i'm curious to see how her relationship with the other characters i love will go
- i cannot wait for szeth's book!!! literally one of my favorite povs to read from, d y i n g to learn more about his past
- moash, fucking moash. loved his header (the details in this book are delightful) and his storyline with the fused, hoping to see more in row! also i thought it was really funny how 1 of every 3 sentences in his mind were about kaladin, can't wait to see what happens next since i know ~something~ does but i've blocked spoilers on my twitter so...
-wit !
- rysn is the absolute coolest, dawnshard was freaking amazing
- venli: don't know what to make of her yet but i'm really invested in her pov and the implications of some stuff i've seen so far. i'm hoping to see her interactions with jasnah, maybe? idk
- navani the scholar: she's great and i love how intelligent and passionate she is but i still don't understand what's going to happen with her as a character and in the story as a whole so i don't have strong feelings (yet)
- taravangian: i disagree with this man in basically everything but i just keep wanting more and more of him. i love his character and i'm finally going to be able to look up some stuff about the diagram after reading row without fearing spoilers, yay!
also, fuck dalinar for being a complete idiot and having to wait for taravangian himself tell him parts of his plan (how tf he doesn't question there's more than what he was told???) and continuing to trust him to the point of not even considering he's working with odium. fucking IDIOT.
anyway, the ending? epic. the world? phenomenal. the magic? unmatched.
not to be dramatic but this book changed me
“Life breaks us, Teft. Then we fill the cracks with something stronger.”