“Gah!” I vented as I closed the book cover, the desire to read further and know more only relenting with the knowledge that there were no more words to read—at least, not yet. There would be, but only with the passing of time. Time I knew would be necessary for such a work, but that I resented nonetheless.
I have spent the last two months re-reading the first two books of the Stormlight Archive, the three-book (so far) series written by Brandon Sanderson that had me captivated from the first page. When the third book was published, I knew I had to buy it. I suppose it seems a bit silly, buying the third book of a series when you don’t already own the first two, but for someone who uses the public library more often than 2/3 of the population, waiting to get my hands on a copy seemed like torture.
While it was hard to let the book rest on my shelves until I finished re-reading the first two tomes, I knew that I had to get back into the story for the third book to be of any value. Interestingly enough, I found myself feeling as if I was reading the story for the first time, except for a few instances where I recalled the events. All the same, to have penned something that intrigues an audience even upon the second read is a feat in itself.
Brandon Sanderson is a master of worlds, a soothsayer to those who wish to steal away from this world of ours and escape to the impersonal—and yet strangely moving—conflicts of another. How is it that one can read a book where the characters and time are irrelevant to one’s own, and still find meaning and truth in those actions and words?
Is it possible that some things are eternally true and evident, even in fictional places?
I don’t feel as it most authors set out to teach the world a lesson or provide some sort of moral tale. I think the best authors, in the telling of their stories, do end up teaching us something, whether it’s about ourselves or the world around us. These morals aren’t the kind to be picked from the pages like a textbook lesson, but rather reach us via emotions and experience, even though we are technically living vicariously through fictional characters. Perhaps it is because the stories are removed from reality that we are able to connect with them on a deeper level. The blinders of our own realities seem to disappear.
As I read, I watched the right-hand side of pages shrink down, sometimes at a furious pace, other times page-by-page. In the end, I knew that after I’d read the last sentence, anxiously checked the last few pages for a hint, something that told me this series hadn’t ended, and closed the cover, I would only want more. Saying goodbye to those characters seemed like parting with a loved one.
At the same time, I want to share the experiences I had reading “Oathbringer,” because I know that anyone who has the time to read this series should. Start from the beginning, with “The Way of Kings,” but brace yourself for an addictive read that will keep you up into the night and have you shooing away your closest relatives as you pore over these pages.
To summarize this book, this series, seems a disservice to the intricate and incredibly complex weaving that takes place. However, there are a few memorable characters: Kaladin Stormblessed will draw out nearly every emotion you can experience with his harrowing tale. There are a few times, though, that you’ll consider his actions unwarranted or even downright wrong. I don’t think I’d consider him the (only) hero of this tale, but he is a hero nonetheless. Shallan, in many ways, felt to me to be Kaladin’s female counterpart, and her ability to cope and sketch impressed me, even as much as I found myself resonating with her situation.
Dalinar and Jasnah Kholin are two figures I had guessed would be the heroes of this tale, but they weren’t exactly heroes, at least in the way I thought they would be. Compared to them, there are a few other characters I thoroughly enjoyed seeing as they popped up in the narrative, and the subtle but striking commentary that peeks through at times is both hilarious and incredibly witty.
To say much more would have me writing pages and pages of summaries and explanations, and yet I could never summarize the vast network of plots and subplots that Sanderson develops over the course of the series. I can only recommend his work to each and every person who is looking for that next lovable set of characters.
Forget “Game of Thrones.” Move beyond the typical salacious tales that sate the masses. Find a series that seeks beyond this world, above the petty squabbles we dwell upon, to concepts that affect us all.
My desire to become a beta reader for this legendary author aside, I highly recommend Brandon Sanderson’s work. Read his Stormlight Archive series. It might take you weeks or months, but I urge you, read his books!
Rebecca Henderson holds a Master’s in German and a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing. Best expressing herself through the written word, she enjoys the smell of burning rubber and can recite the ABC’s of the automotive world upon command. Rebecca hopes to shift your world perspective through her words, because looking out the same window every day hardly makes for an interesting life.
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