+Wax he/him Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 It’s almost one year and I thought about reminiscing the Oathbringer release, the anticipation leading up to it, the reading experience and feelings one year on. Words of Radiance was a real all time winner. I listened to it countless times on audio. I looked forward to the next book, but the weekly chapter release really amped up the anticipation. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to download the audio at the release time. It was a couple of hours late and so I bought the kindle version first to make sure I was straight into the unreleased chapters. As soon as the audio was downloaded I was on the audio. When I couldn’t listen any more I was straight back on to the kindle. In between, I would log on to post commentaries on each part. I don’t think I’ve annotated fiction books before this one. But some of the writing was gorgeous and some brutal. At times it dragged. But it was glorious all the way. I reread/reheard OB 2-3 times... One year on, I don’t feel the urge to reread OB or WoR. I am waiting for SA4, but it’s not the same any more. What are your guys thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onslaught he/him Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 I want to re-read from the start with my deeper cosmere knowledge. I know there is so much I missed, the valuable hidden cosmere gems. I want to re-read and take it all in but it isn't urgent on my priority list. I need to read the rest of the cosmere first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthexile Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 Overall I love Oathbringer, but I also have a lot of questions. And not the fun Cosmere Mystery type of questions, I mean straight up logic questions like "Are we really all just going to be cool with the Assassin in White being here?" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onslaught he/him Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 35 minutes ago, earthexile said: Overall I love Oathbringer, but I also have a lot of questions. And not the fun Cosmere Mystery type of questions, I mean straight up logic questions like "Are we really all just going to be cool with the Assassin in White being here?" That is a valid point. How do you respond to having your brother's murderer waltz down the hallway? The characters are so complex which is why I feel another read through is necessary for me. @Wax How good are the audio books? I am yet to try one out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toaster Retribution he/him Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 1 hour ago, earthexile said: "Are we really all just going to be cool with the Assassin in White being here?" I still think this makes sense. Szeth helped them during the battle, and at that time, thee weren’t time for questions. Afterwards, they got intel on him from Mr T, and probably from Szeth himself, off-screen. They might not trust him yet, but having him there is logical. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis he/him Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 (edited) Almost a year in, and I'm still discussing it every day. I have three groups of questions. Specific mechanics. Cosmere implications. Stormlight specific questions. The exact same things as with the other series. Hold up just fine for me. As to Szeth, as I've said elsewhere, desperation makes for strange bedfellows, and Thaylen city would have been over and done with before the Unity moment, Nergaoul wouldn't have been captured, they wouldn't know about the Skybreakers, and Taravangian wouldn't have felt the need to lie to Dalinar, so he'd still be trusted. Szeth may not be fully trusted, but he's proved himself as on their side. Edited October 26, 2018 by Calderis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toaster Retribution he/him Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 As for evaluating OB a year after... the weekly chapter releases might be my best fandom experience ever, in any fandom. That was awesome. The book itself... I like OB, but it has its issues. Some things disappointed me, some things were greater than I expected. It has some of the greatest scenes Brandon has ever written. It also wastes some great things that were set up though. I think there are at least two or three Cosmer books I like more, but OB is, at the end of the day, great. And the best things in it (Taln, Dalinars arc, Elhokars death scene, Pattern) beats the best things in most other books by a mile. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naurock Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 7 hours ago, Wax said: What are your guys thoughts? At first, I was with you. I was underwhelmed. Upon reread, I saw much more in the book. Things jumped out at me as beautiful and exciting and foreboding. I really think Oathbringer may seem a little bit of a let down now, but after book 4 and 5 we're going to look back and see Oathbringer was setting up things that are massively important. You may not feel the urge to reread them now, but I bet when SA4 is in full ramp up mode, you'll be reading them again with full voracity again. You'll feel the spark again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrikerEZ he/him Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 I basically agree with you. The first time I read OB, I felt a little disappointed. There were plenty of amazing, epic, and well-written moments, but there were also tons of things that felt lackluster to me. Then I reread the book twice, and I realized just how good all of this book is. The "bad" parts just look bad in comparison to the epicness of the really good parts. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Wax he/him Posted October 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2018 21 hours ago, Onslaught said: That is a valid point. How do you respond to having your brother's murderer waltz down the hallway? The characters are so complex which is why I feel another read through is necessary for me. @Wax How good are the audio books? I am yet to try one out. Audiobooks are great. Very good for time poor people like me who can’t sit down to read a book and soak up each word. On the negative, if your attention wanders, you can miss a few lines. But, on the positive, the emotional impact is greater due to the addition of of voice. The Tyn-Shallan confrontation in WoR set my heart racing. The call to Shallan to run away when facing the midnight darkness shocked me. 20 hours ago, Toaster Retribution said: I still think this makes sense. Szeth helped them during the battle, and at that time, thee weren’t time for questions. Afterwards, they got intel on him from Mr T, and probably from Szeth himself, off-screen. They might not trust him yet, but having him there is logical. 19 hours ago, Calderis said: Almost a year in, and I'm still discussing it every day. I have three groups of questions. Specific mechanics. Cosmere implications. Stormlight specific questions. The exact same things as with the other series. Hold up just fine for me. As to Szeth, as I've said elsewhere, desperation makes for ateange bedfellows, and Thaylen city would have been over and done with before the Unity moment, Nergaoul wouldn't have been captured, they wouldn't know about the Skybreakers, and Taravangian wouldn't have felt the need to lie to Dalinar, so he'd still be trusted. Szeth may not be fully trusted, but he's proved himself as on their side. 17 hours ago, Toaster Retribution said: As for evaluating OB a year after... the weekly chapter releases might be my best fandom experience ever, in any fandom. That was awesome. The book itself... I like OB, but it has its issues. Some things disappointed me, some things were greater than I expected. It has some of the greatest scenes Brandon has ever written. It also wastes some great things that were set up though. I think there are at least two or three Cosmer books I like more, but OB is, at the end of the day, great. And the best things in it (Taln, Dalinars arc, Elhokars death scene, Pattern) beats the best things in most other books by a mile. I am surprised that so many people are commenting on the szeth issue now. I remember being almost the sole voice in the threads complaining about Szeth. The man was instrumental in so many deaths, so many monarchs dying, et al. Hell he killed Dalinar’s brother besides attacks on him. Too easy to explain it away. I am sure BS will come out with an explanation, but it should have been done in OB or his scene guarding Dalinar could have been held off. In part, I blame the beta readers for not raising it. I did ask during the AMA for beta readers and it was confirmed that they did not point the crater sized hole called Szeth’s rehabilitation. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galendo Posted October 26, 2018 Report Share Posted October 26, 2018 My thoughts haven't changed much. I think it was a good book, but not a great book. TWoK was basically 10/10. WoR was probably 9.5/10. At the end of WoR, I would have recommended Stormlight Archive to anyone younger than Brandon Sanderson without qualm. And I do mean pretty much anyone, even if that person wasn't really a fantasy reader. (I decided not to recommend it to older people not due to quality considerations but because of the unfortunate likelihood that either that person or Brandon himself will not live to see the story completed.) Oathbringer changed all that. It was probably a 7/10 -- still a good book, still a fine series, but not an auto-recommend unless the person actively liked reading fantasy. I won't go into all the reasons I found OB lacking here -- I've covered them enough at other points on these boards -- but for comparison, I think I've read WoK something like five times, WoR I think three, and OB...I think I got most of the way through a reread at one point, up to the yawn-tastic battle of Thaylen City; and I'll probably reread it before book four comes out, but I just really can't think of any particular scene or arc in Oathbringer that would make me excited to read it again, if that makes sense. OB was I believe Brandon's most successful release to date. I honestly wonder whether book four will be similarly big, or if a number of readers will just pass. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerim Posted October 26, 2018 Report Share Posted October 26, 2018 On 10/25/2018 at 6:56 AM, Calderis said: As to Szeth, as I've said elsewhere, desperation makes for ateange bedfellows, and Thaylen city would have been over and done with before the Unity moment, Nergaoul wouldn't have been captured, they wouldn't know about the Skybreakers, and Taravangian wouldn't have felt the need to lie to Dalinar, so he'd still be trusted. Szeth may not be fully trusted, but he's proved himself as on their side. I definitely agree with you! They’re looking at the end of the world, right? You don’t just throw out the help of a radiant because his homeland named him truthless. You don’t really throw out anyone’s help at the end of the world. On a much smaller scale, I basically held my breath throughout the first half of OB waiting for Dalinar to discover that Adolin murdered Sadeas. I was so convinced Adolin was going to be banished and and that would start him down a dark path for a while, but then at the end Dalinar finds out and there is little repercussion (I suppose there still could be some it the future but I think for the most part Adolin will be fine). I can’t imagine Adolin would get off so easy if it weren’t the end of the world, right? I mean, clearly there still has to be some kind of order so that it doesn’t turn into a purge situation. I guess I don’t need an on screen explanation for why people are ok with Szeth, I feel like I know enough about our main characters personalities to convince myself. I am sure we will encounter people who are uncomfortable and even hostile toward Szeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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