[OB] Full Book Reactions / Full Spoilers Thread

[StrikerEZ he/him]

On July 3, 2018 at 3:41 AM, TousenShadowForged said:

So how about those constant screw overs on the parshendi

 

Just wow they can't get a break 

Honestly though. The Singers (NOT Parshendi) have it so rough. 

What I really want to see happen is a large portion of the Singer population turn against Odium and the humans and Singers band together to beat Odium. Probably not until like book 10 though. 

[cantabile21]

Not sure if it has been said elsewhere, but when Adolin summons Maya during the final battle and expects to hear her screaming but instead gets silence... My first thought was that now that they're out of Shadesmar, the relationship between Adolin and Maya has been reverted to the usual one between a human Shardbearer and the dead spren who had been bonded to someone else. But in my second reading of OB - i'm about halfway through - i noticed that Dalinar still hears the sword Oathbringer screaming, though not as loudly as expected. And the Stormfather explains that it's because Oathbringer remembers his former bond with Dalinar and does not hate him as much as he hates other people. 

And that brings to my mind, what if Maya's silence when being summoned is not because Adolin can't hear her outside of Shadesmar, but is because she simply isn't screaming? She has already come out of her zombie state - for lack of a better term - to protect him on her own, she has tried to communicate with him even though she can't speak, and she has somehow managed to tell him her name. i would think that for a high spren looking to bond with a human, telling the human his or her name is a significant moment. 

So i'm thinking, perhaps Maya has already started the bonding process with Adolin, and therefore has no reason to scream when summoned now. After all she has already been with Adolin for several years as his Shardblade, and presumably can sense his respect for her as a being and partner in his calling as a duelist and not a tool, his dependence on her as a part of himself - he teaches Shallan that the Blade is a part of yourself - and also his attempts to look into her wellbeing even in Shadesmar and his discomfort at seeing her locked up even if it was for her own safety. She has already come to care for him, to look out for him, to partner with him.

So yup, i'm totally looking forward to watching their progress as they continue to cement their bond with each other. And perhaps Adolin reviving a 'veteran' spren who had actually fought and died and been through the Recreance would open up totally new possibilities for us to discover and explore. Whee! 

Edited July 16, 2018 by cantabile21

[PlanetReelo she/her]

I've never actually given a detailed opinion of this book, so I thought better late than never! My overall opinion of the book is that it is inferior to the other two SA books. There were times when it was so tedious to get through that I couldn't believe that I was reading something by BS. I've made two brief(ish) lists of some of the things I liked and disliked. It's just what I can remember at the moment, I'll almost certainly be adding to the lists constantly.

The Good

-Kaladin's reunion with his parents and meeting Oroden - I found this scene so emotional, and even teared up when Kaladin cried on meeting the little guy. To me, it signified his grief over the loss of Tien, intermingled with the new hope of a brother he could still protect. Happy and sad tears. Hit me right in the feels because my own little brothers are the most important people in my life.

-Every flashback scene with Evi and Dalinar - I just found their story so fascinating, and I have to say that I'm a sucker for having my heart broken. Evi was too precious for this world.

-The scene where little Renarin offers his father a drink. There aren't enough words to describe how heart-wrenchingly beautiful I found this scene to be.

-'I AM UNITY!' - Need I say more?

-The Girl Who Stood Up. This was a wonderful chapter and a step towards the right direction for Shallan. I also love the relationship that Wit and Shallan have, especially the fact that he still actively looks out for her even though he has his own far greater burdens to bear.

-Jasnah being Jasnah. Move aside Shallan.

The Bad

-Lack of consequences for Adolin killing Sadeas - I personally would love to see an 'Adolin going dark' arc, because as he is currently, I find him to be terribly boring. If not that, then I had at least hoped for some kind of tension to arise from this plotline.

-Shadesmar - The image of mystery and danger I associated with shadesmar from the previous books has forever been ruined by beaded trees and tinned food.

-Shallan's mental state in general.
To sum it up - 'Girl, what is you doing?' (but in all seriousness, her character took several steps backward IMO. I miss WoR Shallan)

-Szeth's return - I love the guy, but the impact from his demise in WoR is diminished.

-Kaladin taking a back seat - I think that his character really suffered due to this. Previously a multi-dimensional, complex character, I felt he was relegated to a flanderised version of himself to make room for other characters. P̶l̶u̶s̶ ̶I̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶.̶

-The 'twist' that the humans are the voidbringers. I more or less suspected this, but it was confirmed from Venli's passage during the Kholinar siege where she states that Kholinar rightfully belonged to them (or something to that effect).

-Shallan's decision to marry - Oh boy, do I find this problematic to say the least. In her current state, she shouldn't be marrying ANYONE. Yes, I am a shalladin shipper before anyone asks, but I would still think it was wrong even if the marriage was to Kaladin at this stage. Maybe this is my medical background talking, but it's debatable whether she even possesses the capacity to make an informed decision at present (and such an important and life-altering one at that)! More on this in the SKA thread.

-The aftermath of Elhokar' death - To put it bluntly, there wasn't one. We saw some grief on Navani's part and that was it.

-Not enough Kadolin bromance. Seriously, it was a definite step down from WoR.

-The chapter about Tarah. Yes, I understand that it was important to reiterate Kaladin's inability to let go of the dead and live for the present. But when I think that I could have got another chapter of hoid hurling insults at people, I get sad. Or even bridge 4 bants. The possibilities are endless.

Edited August 2, 2018 by PlanetReelo

[TousenShadowForged he/him]

nah sadeas was a threat aside from dalinar no one got uptight about him dying. Loved the chat when lady said good riddance. besides sadeas would have ended up like amaram but before all that constantly getting in dalinars way.

 

call me cruel but I was glad and relieved elk died him  joining the club was just too cliched. im probably the only one who doesn't hate Moash and understands him.

 

glad there will be no kaladin and laurel and wish he did more of a beatdown on roshone lol

Edited August 2, 2018 by TousenShadowForged

[DashHC he/him]

I finally managed to finish Oathbringer. After taking nearly two years to finish the first two books, it felt good to finish OB in just over a month (yes I'm a slow reader and homework takes precedence). And now I can participate in the forums without fear of spoilers. I think this is definitely the best book in the series so far. Though it was long and there were times when my head kind of hurt after hours of reading and trying to keep track of all the moving parts. I figured I'd drop some of my favorite and least favorite moments here just for giggles.

Favorite moments:

- The reveal about what happened to the Heralds (I know we saw this in the prologue of WoK but now it makes more sense). I thought this was more moving that the reveal of why the Recreance occurred. To find out that they were humans who gave themselves to the greater good in an effort to trap the Listeners souls from returning was really cool. It was even better when the human element was factored in, the human weakness that even though they were noble their souls were still tortured and the reason for each Desolation was that one after another, the Hearalds failed to uphold their Oath (even Talenel'Elin...though he held the longest). I hope we get a lot more plot from the perspective of the Heralds. Which I'm sure will happen now that Moash is apparently the new "assassin in white" with regards to the Heralds.

- Dalinar's back story was probably the most interesting of the three we've seen so far. Though I'm a Kaladin fan, getting to know Dalinar a bit better really made his ascension that much more dramatic and moving. Though a part of me wished he had become Odium's champion and then redeemed in a later book, that would have been quite the twist. But this is a Heroic Epic after all.

- Every scene with Wit...

- Moash, as much as I want to hate this guy and call him a crybaby, he is the perfect antagonist to Kaladin. Their eventual showdown is going to be epic.

- Dalinar's religious/philosophical debates with Kadash...these were very interesting and I though they were well articulated.

- Shallan's mental state is a mess...and that makes her a good character. Constantly struggling with the personalities in her head and still trying to be a good person.

 

Least favorite:

- Shallan's encounter with Re-Shephir. It felt way too easy that she "figured out" how to push her back. Though I bet we'll see more of that Unmade. 

- Szeth swearing allegiance to Dalinar and not much fuss coming of it. I do understand the lead up to Szeth choosing Dalinar, hell I'd swear allegiance to him too if I could. But, there didn't seem to be much tension on the issue. Why did Dalinar accept Szeth so easily? Szeth attempted to murder Dalinar multiple times, he killed Gavilar and Taravangian confessed that Szeth was the instrument of all the chaos going on in Roshar with respect to the succession war in Jah-Keved. It just feels too easy that Dalinar has accepted Szeth. Maybe we'll see more develop from this.

- Adolin constantly averting death just in the nick of time. I do like him as a character and I hope he develops more over the next few books but for someone that isn't Radiant, he sure manages to avoid death fairly easily. I also feel that if a main character were to die...Adolin should be it.

- The seeming reconciliation of Shallan's mental state. Adolin is real and sees her for who she is, and that's enough to deal with the voices in here head? The love conquers the demons...a little cliche...but I bet it's going to get more complex as the next books come out.

Anyway, these are just a few of the things I liked/disliked. They're just my opinions and I am in no way a professional literary critic. I loved this book as a whole and the series is so captivating. I'm excited for the 4th book as well as exploring other books in the Cosmere. 

 

 

 

[DashHC he/him]

On 3/18/2018 at 4:32 PM, IronBars said:

 

Seeking vengence against someone who killed your friends is honourable.

~ I have to disagree with this assertion. I think the point is that vengeance isn't honorable. Vengeance for the sake of vengeance has nothing to do with honor anymore. If he had killed Amaram as his friends were threatened, then that's honorable. But, since the act is already over, Kaladin is no longer protecting anyone by seeking vengeance. He may try to justify it as preventing future deaths in the same way he originally justifies that Moash and Graves are right in wanting Elhokar dead, but deep down that's just not the right thing. Killing Amrarm in combat or in the act of actively defending someone is how the Windrunners operate. They kill to defend, an active defense, not a preemptive "defense". Just my opinion. 

 

[DashHC he/him]

On 11/14/2017 at 0:38 AM, Leyrann said:

On one hand, I agree that it's nice to have a non-Radiant in there, but on the other hand I want to see him revive Maya, and I don't think that's going to happen without him becoming a Radiant (Edgedancer to be precise).

Edit: And that's my first popular post... A bit of an anti-climax...

I agree, I think it is inevitable that Adolin revives Maya (which would be the coolest way to bond with a spren). Or at least I'm really hoping it happens. I think there is plenty of foreshadowing so far for this to happen.  Since Maya is a cultivation spren that would make Adolin an Edgedancer but, I'm curious as to how Shardplate will react to him if he ascends to Radiance. Since the armor is also a manifestation of the Nahel Bond doesn't that mean that the plate is also dead spren? Also, can we be sure that the plate and sword belong together? Are they going to be two different spren or...

Anyway, good post:)

[CrazyRioter she/her]

I think he might end up having to give up his current set of Shardplate, the Iri apparently want it back because Toh and Evi stole it from the Rirans.