Anyone else struggling with reading the slow start of Oathbringer

[randalthor]

As in the title says. I am really struggling reading the first 1/4 part of the book. I am most interested in finding out what is in store for Kaladin. I hope he get his epic moment like in previous books. I really want him to meet Jasnah. I really think they would get along together. I don't find Dalinar's past that interesting.

[Windrunner]

I'm not sure how worried you are about spoilers, so I'll tag this for Oathbringer. There's nothing plot related in here, but if you're sensitive to knowing too much about how much screentime a character gets or who the book is focused on, don't open the tag.

Spoiler

Without getting into any spoilers, I'd say that if you're primarily into Stormlight for Kaladin, you might need to lower your expectations for the amount of screentime he's going to get. Kaladin is still a very important character, but the primary plot arcs and character development is going to be focused on other characters in the future. This book being Dalinar's, he's got the spotlight here, with Shallan also playing an important role, much as Kaladin did in WoR. There is still a ton of Kaladin content, but not everything is from his POV (and sometimes I find that most interesting.) Kaladin is my favorite Stormlight Archive character as well, but I hope you find other characters (like Jasnah!) interesting as well, because this story isn't going to have as much of him as you'd probably prefer.

Also, if you want to get more specific on what you're struggling with in OB, I'll have to move the topic to the spoilers board, although we can add a note that it's just through part one or something to the title of the topic.

[Chinsukolo]

Not struggling at all!  I had to wait a week to start and i'm about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through already.  I read lots of comments (non-spoiler ones) from Beta readers and others talking about crazy highs and crazy lows, but I haven't felt that yet.  I have yelled at the characters a few times telling them they were stupid or "how could you know see that"   That's a good thing for me because it usually indicates I'm invested in the character and their story.  

I'm happy with it, no issue and not struggling.

[ggscv]

I was one of those people following the Tor.com early release chapters religiously and I would literally count down the hours until the next set of chapters were released, so no, I definitely did not find the start to Oathbringer slow. My advice is stick to it because things definitely pick up. 

Compared to some of Brandon's older books, where nothing happens until right at the end, the Stormlight Archive books are like a rollercoaster. 

[Ammanas]

I find all of the Stormlight books to be extremely slow...so to answer your question yes but no more than the others. As I mentioned in another thread one must approach Stormlight with the proper mindset; these are books that move at a almost glacial pace at times, that strengths are worldbuilding, character development, and cosmere easter eggs. I will tell you that this may be the most intense  "Sanderson avalanche" yet!

Edited November 30, 2017 by Ammanas

[+Wax]

Things pick up in part 

Spoiler

3 and onwards

 

[StormingTexan]

I read part one as the released chapters on Tor so it seemed slow 

I completely agree with @Ammanas that the first two books started off pretty slow especially tWoK and this one somewhat follows suit. I will say that the ends of the parts do pick up the pace a bit and boy almost all of part 5 is full throttle. There are for sure some peaks and valleys but as a whole I didn't feel like the book seemed slow and in fact felt like I needed to sorta catch my breath a few times which the slower pacing helped with. I think you will like part 2 so keep trucking! Oh and one more note going in to this I was not really thrilled about it being Dalinar's book but wow by the end...

[IndigoAjah]

No, mostly because I don't think Oathbreaker has a slow start, even for Brandon who I don't think has ever written a book with a start that is slower than average 

[CarolaDavar]

For me, I never even thought how it was paced,  because I was so excited to be reading it, that I absorbed every detail and loved it

[Drag0nR3born]

I read the pre-release chapters on Tor.com and while I do not find it slow, I do find the almost the entire book to be slower than WoK and WoR.  That being said, I am on my second read-through now so I obviously still love it.

[silenthill27]

yeah man i'm with you. i'm not a rabid foaming at the mouth fanboy like most people here seem to be, but i enjoy the series enough to have read all the cosmere books. In fact I'd say the only thing better I've ever read were Frank Herberts 6 Dune books. But this had a slower start.

i groaned every single time i saw a dalinar flashback chapter, just honestly didn't care. to me, kaladin is the star of the show

however i will say from the 2nd half (roughly) of the book and on i had trouble putting the book down. it got damnation good

[LordMoose]

Nope, when I read it I was on too much of a hype-train to even care!  

[carlsin81]

Yeah, this one has been a bit of a struggle for me. Stormlight books are slower going (I usually burn through all his other books) but this one has been hard for me to read. I got it day of release, and have been reading some every day and just hit 50%. I like it, but I have found it a very slow burn.