Oathbringer

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer

Length: 55 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The eagerly awaited sequel to the New York Times best-selling Words of Radiance, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson at the top of his game.

In Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times best-selling 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Character development is at the heart of the book, and it is here that Kramer and Reading shine, with remarkably consistent and multifaceted characters that fuel the action of the story.... Adept pacing highlights both the intensity of hand-to-hand combat and quieter moments of sorrow and grief, fully realizing the intricate world that Sanderson has created." (AudioFile Magazine)

What a great ending to a lackluster book

So I'll freely admit, the first 30 or so hours were bland and hard to really get invested in. I don't know if I've just had too much time away from the shattered plains but the majority of this book was subpar in comparison to the others. The ending however was that grand Sanderson writing that we all come back for and what a way to end a series. Had a few elements that seemed rushed with the final edit but the over arching story was so compelling at the end and even had a few instances that were hard to gleam from the foreshadowing prior in the book. Over all this is certainly not the best book in this series but for a bridge boom that connected and progressed so much of the story it was pretty darn good. This wasn't no wheel of time Bridge book where you find yourself lost in the bland between very small bits of greatness, this was a storm light book that happened to need to set up a ton of information and plot lines for future books that somehow ended so well and neat.

Another great book from Sanderson but like all Sanderson books I'd like to see more of the dark side of human nature and id like to really feel like I can connect to the main characters with thee dark elements of life.

Journey before destination

Sandman delivers an amazing addition to the Stormlight archive! This one has it all, AMAZING!!

Magnificent

Yet another fantastic story by our wonderful wordsmith Brandon Sanderson! The man truly knows how to write a book!

Dalinar Fu*king Kholin.

Somehow it keeps getting better. I was so damn excited for this one because I knew it would be Dalinar-focused and I had to know what happened to make this man who he is now. Boy was I not disappointed, 12/10. The character work alone in this one was phenomenal, nearly every single character has caught my attention at this point, but damn is Dalinar good. I don't mean righteous (although he definitely is that also) but his arc has had such and dynamic and enthralling roller coaster of a tale that I would probably throw him up as either my #1 or #2 favorite fantasy character at this point in my library. I kept feeling for him at every juncture in the previous books but since this one with his backstory, I just wanted to give him a hug he felt so real.

I could go on for paragraphs about the things I enjoyed about this book but in brief summary; the other characters' arcs still very much hold my interest, Shallan has grown on me. Kaladin is depressed as ever but I've really enjoyed most all of this screentime and probably enjoy him 40% better because of Sly (on that note, the spren intrigue me more each book and I really appreciated the more screen time with them) Kaladin's journey with the bridgecrew was also one of my favorite elements from this one (Michael Kramer uses the same voice for Lopen as he does for Wayne from Mistborn so now Lopen will always have a place in my heart). Adolin's whole story this time around was awesome, from the very beginning I was just on my seat waiting for the other shoe to drop, and the whole investigation arc was really fun. Im glad to see work with the bridge crew and excited to get more.

The political machinations of this one were good, hope we see more of these inter-kingdom shenanigans as the war and other disasters start to play out more. The overall story was great and the pacing was good, but there were a few slower parts in this one than in either of the previous books (that being said its 1200+ pages, so that was to be expected). The only part that really hasn't hooked me is Venli (and formerly Eshonai) and their whole arcs, while I understand their obvious importance to the whole story, their individual scenes just didn't hold my interest, hoping this changes later on or on a reread.

Overall, excellent execution. Taking a break before jumping into Rhythm of War (which will hopefully get me closer to W&W4 and Stormlight 5) but excited to pick it up from the momentum of this installment. 10/10, 12/10 for Dalinar

Book 3

Thanks again to Brandon Sanderson, we have a masterpiece of intrigue. What a stressful adventure, and yet with so many hidden gems and slices of wisdom! thank you Brandon Sanderson and crew!

Fantastic

Loved it. Brandon Sanderson delivers again. The book has great lows and highs. You never really know what's going to happen next.

On a roll now

Having been underwhelmed by Words of Radiance, I was becoming skeptical of this series - but Oathbringer delivers an action-and-lore packed adventure with satisfying storylines which feel like they could go anywhere. This longest-yet tome felt shorter than any of its predecessors - it takes full advantage of the world's new connectedness to allow storylines to cross nations and cultures freely.

As always, the narration is a stellar performance.

Brandon Sanderson did it again

So far the best in the series kept me up late listening now I can't wait for book four hopefully is sooner then later can't wait !

First Stormlight Archive Book that Felt Long

This was the first Stormlight book that felt long. They’re all thousand-pagers, but this one dragged at times. It was also the first that didn’t end with something big & positive. Instead it felt dark, like when The Goblet of Fire changed the tone for Harry Potter books. The second book is my favorite so far. I liked all the new wrenches thrown in, like how his wife died. I have no clue what will happen next. Get here, 2019!

Awesome book !

Great book! Wish I could get the next one. Chuckle Anyway I don't give review's much as most books are just so so. This is another awesome book to add to the series.