2017 novel by Brandon Sanderson
Oathbringer is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and the third book in The Stormlight Archive series.[1] It was published by Tor Books on November 14, 2017.[1][2] Oathbringer consists of one prologue, 122 chapters, 14 interludes and an epilogue.[3] It is preceded by Words of Radiance and followed by Rhythm of War.
As with its Stormlight Archive predecessors, the unabridged audiobook is read by narrator team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading.[4]
Plot
Prologue
Six years ago, Eshonai and the Listeners visited Kholinar for the celebration of the peace treaty. She wanders alone in the palace and visits King Gavilar Kholin. Gavilar invited Eshonai for a private conversation and uncovered a Fabrial device that can trap a Spren in the Gemhearts. Much to Eshonai's horror, Gavilar reveals his plan to revive the Gods who deserted her people many years ago and gave her the dark Gemheart as a gift while instructing her to send a message to the council. Eshonai informs the five Listeners about the King's plans and decides to send an assassin to prevent Gavilar's actions. In the evening, Eshonai continues to perform her drum before fleeing the scene in tears.
Part One
Six days after arriving at Urithiru, Dalinar Kholin, with his Bondsmith ability, revisits the vision he experienced earlier with Stormfather's aid. He discovered that the Almighty, whom Odium killed, was the Shard Honor who had warned him about the upcoming Everstorm that would decimate Roshar. As Dalinar explores the ruins of Kholinar and experiences the Everstorm, he catches a glimpse of Odium summoning the nine corrupted shadowed Sprens known as the Unmade. Now awakened from his vision, Dalinar plans to continue his move on reuniting Roshar against Odium's actions. Having expressed his feelings over the loss of his first wife and his memory, Dalinar proposes a marriage with Navani where Stormfather declares his consent to them.
Kaladin arrives at his hometown Hearthstone after his four-day journey from the Shattered Plain while reconciling his past life. Upon his arrival, Kaladin reunites with his parent and meets his youngest brother before revealing himself as the Knight Radiant. Upon investigating the devastating effects of the Everstorm, Kaladin decided to venture out to several Alethi towns in ruins to find out more about the Parshendis' escape from captivity. Kaladin manages to track the escaped Parshmen and turns himself in to avoid conflict. Kaladin learned from Syl that the Everstorm had restored the Parshendi's physiques and intelligence allowing them to rebound with the Voidsprens. Right now, the Voidsprens are guiding the Parshendi to declare war against humanity for their enslavement. Upon arriving at Revolver, Kaladin exposes his surgebinding to the Parshmen and flees upon learning about the Highstorm. As Kaladin help the citizen to shelter from the storm, the two empowered Parshmen known as the Fused attack him and interrupt his aid. With the Highstorm approached, Kaladin quickly escape from the Fused and flew back to Urithiru following to Syl's direction.
Shallan, having recovered her memory, visits the Kholin family to further discussion on uniting Roshar. As Dalinar attempts to lose hope, Shallan unknowingly summons the illusion of Roshar as she touches the map with her Lightweaving combined with Dalinar's Bondsmith, thus revealing the location of Ten Oathgates. Intrigued, Dalinar decided to focus on Jed Keved, Thaylenah, and Azir to negotiate as political allies. Tension begins to run high following Torol Sadeas' murder, his followers from Sadeas' war camp grow distrustful towards the Kholin family, by which Sadeas' wife Ialai promotes Amaram as the new Highprince. In response, Shallan began investigating several repetitive incidents with Adolin, to whom Dalinar entrusted. Despite this, Shallan felt traumatized by wielding a Shardblade for training with Adolin and decided to take an altered persona as Brightness Radiant to help accomplish her task. Upon meeting Sadeas' wife Ialai, Shallan confronts Mraize, who offers her information about her brother after she finishes her task of protecting Urithiru. Mraize reveals to Shallan that the dark force threatens society and encourages her to investigate. As she explored the city, Shallan spotted the shadowed Spren and lost track of it. Shallan devised her plan of tracking a Spren and followed it right toward an unexplored area. Joining with Adolin, Renarin, and Bridge Four members, the group discovered an abandoned library in ruins where it was settled by an Unmade named Re-Shephir, also known as the Midnight Mother. The group began fighting against the Unmade's influence. Upon discovering its vulnerability to Lightweaving, Shallan manages to repel Re-Shephir causing it to retreat. Following the incident, Shallan met an unexpected reunion of Jasnah Kholin.
As Dalinar begins his negotiation, he questions the Knight Radiants' betrayal through the Stormfather's refusal. Despite the emperor of Azir's and Queen Fen Rnamndi's refusal of Alethi's aid, Dalinar and his followers manage to gain contact with Taravangian who agree on Dalinar's plan. King Elhokar, having recovered from an assassination attempt, grew despondent of his kingship and planned to abdicate the throne to Dalinar. Instead, they agree to let Dalinar be the king of Urithiru and the Shattered Plains, forfeiting his Alethkar lands to his heir. Upon learning about the riot in Khonlinar, Dalinar advises his nephew to send scouts to investigate the riot and Elhokar's wife's behavior while sending Kaladin there to activate the Oathgate which encourages Elhokar to restore the city. Dalinar learned from Stormfather that the only chance to stop Odium is to accept a challenge that Odium himself cannot deny. As Dalinar attends his meeting with the Irali queen, he challenges the ardent Kadesh to a duel while arguing about their religious faith in the Almighty. Dalinar ends the duel revealing himself as the Knights Radiant and Navani reports that the queen demands Adolin's armoured Shardplate due to her begrudging towards the Kholin family since arranged marriage. At that moment, Dalinar's memories of his former wife Evi are restored. At that time, Dalinar manage to recover Oathbringer and return it to Ialai Sadeas, despite her disapproval. Taravangian arrived at Urithiru for a visit and introduced Dalinar to a Dustbringer named Malata, the new member of Knights Radiant. During that time, Taravangian observed Dalinar's approach and questioned his moral views from The Way of Kings. As Dalinar and Stormfather discuss their situation, Stormfather reveals that he can send visions to anyone he chooses which gives Dalinar a persuasive idea.
Meanwhile in the Shattered Plains, Venli and her followers, with their new forms, were sent to recover Eshonai's Shardplate under the command of Odium's Voidspren, Ulim. While departing Eshonai's body, a grieving Venli encountered a spren and ignore it.
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Epilogue
Development
The third book was initially titled Stones Unhallowed with Szeth-son-son-Vallano as its focus, then Skybreaker,[5] and eventually Oathbringer with the focus on Dalinar Kholin.[6][7]
Prior to the release of Oathbringer, several chapters and interludes had been posted in blog posts, read in conventions and published in an anthology. Sanderson provided numerous updates on Reddit about his progress on the book.[8] On December 9, 2016, three weeks after his fifth update, Tor announced that Sanderson had completed his first draft, coming in at 461,223 words.[1] On March 15, 2017, Sanderson completed the third of five planned drafts, which totaled 514,000 words.[9] On June 15, 2017, Sanderson completed the fifth and final draft and managed to cut it down to 450,000 words.[3] On June 27, 2017, Tor posted a blog post detailing the process of beta reading for Oathbringer in which beta readers give their immediate reactions to any given point in the story and look for continuity.[10] Due to the length of the book, Tor had to use a different press and bindery from the one that printed Words of Radiance.[11]
After realizing the book took more time to work on than originally planned, Sanderson wrote a novella titled Edgedancer, following Lift; first published in Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection,[12] an anthology of Cosmere short fiction, on November 22, 2016.[13]
On March 16, 2017, Tor Books revealed the cover art for Oathbringer, painted by Michael Whelan.[14] It shows Jasnah Kholin defending a city against an invasion. She reaches for a Shardblade while simultaneously soulcasting a large hole in the city wall made by a thunderclast.[2] Three days later, Tor posted a blog post that discussed details of the cover and how it may relate to the book's plot.[15] On July 14, 2017, Sanderson revealed the UK cover of Oathbringer on Twitter.[16]
The hardcover version of the novel was published with endpapers which depict 4 of the ten heralds, two created by each artist Howard Lyon and Dan dos Santos.[17] Reviewer Frannie Jackson described the art as "gorgeous."
On August 2, 2017, Tor Books revealed the dates and locations for the Oathbringer book tour.[18] Tor.com released the prologue on August 22; and the first 32 chapters, three weekly, from August 29 to November 7.[19][20]
Audiobook
The audiobook version of the book was released on the same day as the hardcover version,[3] and is read by narrator team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, who also read The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, and several other books written by Sanderson.[4]
Sequel
The fourth book in The Stormlight Archive series is titled Rhythm of War and its publication date was November 17, 2020.[21] It takes place a year after the events of Oathbringer.[22]
Reception
Reception of the series was mostly positive. The A.V. Club reviewer Samantha Nelson describes the novel as both weighed down by its ambition and less complex than its predecessors.[23] While reviews on Tor find the novel engaging, with Martin Cahill writing that "It is a triumph of a novel, and if you’ve enjoyed the first two, you’ll certainly enjoy Oathbringer."[24] Publishers Weekly also described the novel in light of its relationship to other books in the series, writing, "Sanderson successfully balances introducing new elements and satisfactorily resolving some threads, leaving fans to eagerly await the next in the series."[25] The review in Paste by Frannie Jackson compares the novel to the long-arc storytelling of Robert Jordan, describing the novel as "brimming with more than enough magic and mystery to tide readers over until the [fourth novel is published]."[17]
