Review: Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

Blurb:

In Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin’s Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar’s blood-soaked past and stand together―and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past―even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.

Review:

Sanderson needs no introduction. Ask for a recommendation on r/Fantasy and you’re bound to get at least one comment recommending the Cosmere. With Stormlight 5 releasing later this year, I’ve challenged myself to finish all of my remaining Cosmere books so I can truly appreciate SA 5. 

After the absolutely mad and perfect Words of Radiance, I wasn’t sure if Sanderson could outdo himself. Not that I doubt the man’s skills, but WoR was just so epic! But surprisingly, Oathbringer was equally epic and satisfying for me. And, this is of course subjective, Dalinar’s arc in the book plays a massive part in making Oathbringer the truly epic sequel that maintains the Stormlight Archive’s status as one of the best. 

Spoilers Ahead!

I’ll start with my favourite part of the book—Dalinar. His story has some parallels with Shallan, in the sense that he has done some very bad things. No, let me rephrase that so it doesn’t sound like I’m sympathising. Dalinar was a straight-up villain in his past. A tyrant, a blood-lusting warmonger who found actual pleasure in slaughtering the enemy. Of course, we had a clue about how he was a bad guy, but with the flashbacks, Sanderson truly hammers in the ‘bad’ in Dalinar’s character to the point that he seems irredeemable. I mean, a bar brawl where he beats up a guy so badly that the man is left brain-damaged? Burning down an entire city, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocents all because it’s ‘justified vengeance’? Sanderson really makes it hard to like Dalinar, and root for him, especially given that he made a magical bargain to be rid of these horrible memories so he could pretend to be a better person. 

And then, Sanderson does his magic, throwing everything into perspective in his Sander-lanche, where Dalinar—despite a cheap and clear cop-out—refuses to bend, instead accepting the responsibility for all the bad he did. “You cannot have my pain!” Dalinar will continue to suffer till the end of his days, haunted by the evils of his actions. But, Dalinar is also the only person who, understanding the actual profundity of his evil, is capable of standing up to the evil and willing to do everything he can to stop Odium. After Oathbringer, Dalinar has become the most complex character on the SA roster, and easily my favourite of the lot. 

Kaladin, Shallan, Adolin, and all the rest had their share of growth and development, with Shallan in particular really pushing her split personality to the test. The way Sanderson jumps between Shallan, Veil and Radiant, puts you right in Shallan’s shoes. Kaladin’s arc was typical Kaladin; it was enjoyable with some really epic moments. Adolin’s guilt over Sadeas was something I didn’t particularly enjoy, especially given that he doesn’t exactly face any consequences. I’m guessing this is addressed in Rhythm of War. For now, it was okay. 

Szeth comes late to the party, but his POVs take the already awesome narrative to a whole new level. Of all the characters on the roster, I’m most excited to see Szeth’s backstory. And speaking of Szeth, we get more scenes with Nightblood. I love their dynamic, which becomes even more interesting once Lift is added to the mix. The SA roster is growing non-stop, but Sanderson manages to find balance among the characters, with each playing an important role in their own way, no matter how small or big. 

Another amazing addition to the roster was Azure, who—SPOILERS—is actually Vivenna hunting for Vasher. Oathbringer was probably the most Cosmere-aware novel at the time of its release, and I only wish I had experienced it at the time. The Cosmere connections were a delight to read. Colors! Merciful Domi! And Cephandrius! Sanderson is a master world-builder, and the Cosmere connections barely even scratch the surface of how rich the world of Roshar is. 

With Oathbringer, we go deeper into Roshar. We get to see almost all of the major kingdoms and their cultures, while also exploring the newly freed parshmen who are now being rallied by their newly reawakened Fused. As the 1300-page-tome progresses, you not only get a clearer look at Roshar’s history, you get this one mind-blowing reveal which complicates the epic conflict that is the primary driving force of the first arc of SA. I won’t spoil this one, but I had my jaw hanging when I read it. 

And let’s not forget about Shadesmar. We spend a lot of Part 4 in Shadesmar, which expands on the lore of the spren, and deepens the Cosmere connections. The Shadesmar sequences are easily the most visually stunning feature of this book. We not only see a whole port of spren, but also get to see deadeyes, voidspren, and so much more! I mean, we’re only at book 3 of the Stormlight Archive. How deep and rich is this world?

Finally, the Sander-lanche. It is a Sander-lanche, and it is EPIC. You could argue that the Words of Radiance Sander-lanche was a bit more kinetic, but Oathbringer does not in any way disappoint. The scale is more massive, the stakes are higher, and the resolutions are just as satisfying. We’re still a good 2500 pages away from the ending of the first arc, and this is what Sanderson gives us? I can’t even fathom what is going to happen in Book 5. Radiants clash with Fused, Odium joins the fight, Unmade—ancient spren who are practically forces of nature—the list of what makes this Sander-lanche epic is huge. And despite the complexity, despite the scale, everything gets resolved in a satisfying conclusion, a characteristic of all Sanderson novels. 

My 1000-word review is incapable of condensing all my thoughts, because Oathbringer is just that kind of book. I absolutely loved it, and is undoubtedly going to be part of my top 10 of the year. Did I like it more than Words of Radiance? I don’t know. Maybe I like Words of Radiance 0.01% more, but it’s a tough call. 

Can’t wait to see what Rhythm of War is going to play out like.

TL;DR:

WHAT I LIKED: Dalinar’s story, world-building, lore, magic system, and pretty much everything you expect from a Stormlight novel

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Adolin’s arc, Navani’s POVs were dull, and some very minor boring parts that didn’t really impact my enjoyment too much