Wow! That was incredible! I am so excited to read the next book. SPOILERS! I was so excited to see lots of Warbreaker references AND that I finally found out how people traveled from world to world. This makes me so excited to keep reading more. 10/10 - March 24, 2024 ( )

Stormfather!

Let the next few weeks go by fast so I can read the series again! Nothing happened like I thought it would--it was so much better. ( )

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. ( )

This is just a petty low-star review because some of my faves died and another was-not-morally-evil-but-essentially-evil in a boring way, not a cool way. Seriously, though, the author's pets in this series have literal plot armor and can be forgiven for anything, while the other characters get redemption doorslams and have their character arcs given away. Oh, well. *swats away emotion spren* ( )

I'm currently counting the days til November after finishing this book. SO MUCH HAPPENED.
I recently read a reddit thread claiming that Dalinar had one of the greatest character arcs in modern fantasy, and after finishing this book I'm pretty sure I agree.



Adolin deserves the world. Kal is my very moody son. Bridge Four must be protected at all costs. ( )