Synopsis:
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:
I am once again stuck trying to figure out the words to review a 1000 page book without turning it into a multiple page affair; but that being said, this book was brilliant! I absolutely love the world that Sanderson has built for this series, the way the magic works, the mythology, everything. There were some shocking revelations about voidbringers that I certainly hadn’t seriously considered. I absolutely love the double entendre of the title; it is talking about the sword but also, the oaths people keep swearing.

There were some very sweet moments between Kaladin and Syl, moreso than we see between any of the other Radiants and their spren. While Syl has become very personified, it also seems that the Stormfather has changed and evolved from his human connection as well. Beyond the power of the spren and how the sprens change people and vice versa, each main character has some sort of big problem/trauma they are working through, and I think that level of detail and depth is part of what makes this series so wonderful. Shallan clearly is working through having too many sides of herself, and the trouble it causes when you can’t be you but only one part of you. Kaladin has always had some sort of seasonal depression, but that seems to seep into regular depression at times as the book goes on; always feeling like he should have done more and he’s never enough. While Dalinar’s issues could be explained away by the external factors at play, he doesn’t believe that’s the case, and it’s very clear that he has what we would now call PTSD. Adolin is full of imposter syndrome: he doesn’t know if he’s enough, or if all he is comes solely from being his father’s son. Renarin feels much the same way in that he isn’t used to being considered a possibility/real person because he had always been ill. Jasnah’s main issue, it seems, is that because she’s been so outspoken her whole life, she’s often overlooked. Navani is such a gem–a true partner to Dalinar and you can see the scholar in her, as well as someone who is deeply passionate, willing to teach, and help others reconcile with their past and make a better future. She is one of my favourite and I feel somewhat overlooked characters.

I tried to come up with a quote or a few that I thought really resonated with me and/or represented this book well, but when I compiled all the highlights I made on my kindle through reading it totaled 6 pages of typed notes in Microsoft Word, so what I’m saying is, this book is great and I highly recommend it, and I know I’ll soon find myself continuing on in this world (though I may wait until closer to when book 5 will come out…)

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯