Oathbringer

3.0 out of 5 stars

The hype surrounding Oathbringer was deafening in the fantasy community in anticipation of its 2017 release. I've read most of Sanderson's work and am fascinated by his massive Cosmere universe. That said, Oathbringer was mostly a letdown. I enjoyed The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, but just felt a total disconnect when it came to this book.

The most frustrating part is that I can't quite put my finger on why I disliked it so much compared to the previous books. Was it too long? Was it unfocused? Was it too uneven? Did it spend the most time with the characters that I like the least? Did the scope expand too much? Do I have Sanderson fatigue? Or was I just in the wrong headspace to connect with this massive tome? Perhaps it was a combination of all of these issues. Either way, I could not become invested in this story until after the 1,000th page, and by that point, the strong ending could not salvage everything that had come before it [Although it did keep this book out of the 2-star range].

I won't abandon this series yet, as I'm still intrigued by Sanderson's world and concept, but if there isn't some sort of story/character shakeup in the near future, my reading experience of future installments will continue to be a trudge rather than a sprint.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.