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Oathbringer
- The Stormlight Archive, Book 3
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer, Kate Reading
- Length: 55 hrs and 24 mins
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Oathbringer
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Summary
From the best-selling author who completed Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series comes a new original creation that matches anything else in modern fantasy for epic scope, thrilling imagination, superb characters and sheer addictiveness.
Return to a planet swept by apocalyptic storms, a world tipping into war as aristocratic families move to control the shard blades and shard plates, ancient artefacts from a past civilisation that can win wars.
As the world tips into a war for control of the mythical artefacts of power made from Shard, characters are swept up into new dangers which will threaten their integrity and their lives.
Huge, ideas-filled, world-spanning fantasy from a master of the genre.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our desktop site.
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What listeners love about Oathbringer
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 22-11-17
Sanderson brewing up a hell of a storm!
When an author produces an audiobook of almost 50 hours in length and it's excellent from start to finish that's a hell of an achievement. When he releases a second such behemoth in the same series and it's just as good I'd label that as outstanding. Mr Sanderson of course thinks even bigger than that, he's apparently planning ten of these incredible publications! He really does put the epic into epic fantasy.
It's amazing to me that he has now produced three such excellent fantasy novels in his Stormlight Archive. If this author can complete this incredible work to such a high standard I would say he's knocking on the door of being considered one of the great authors! Maybe I'm biased but the scale of the achievement would be immense. The sheer depth of the world-builidng (geography, flora, fauna, politics etc), characters and the magic system is mind-numbing.
The narration is excellent from the usual duo with particular kudos to Michael Kramer. The sheer depth of the writing, involvement with the characters and Michael's superb delivery produced some genuinely breathtaking moments. At one point when news of a huge setback arrived I felt like I was standing next to Dalinar in that meeting chamber myself. Shivers down the spine.
Not surprisingly given the title Dalinar is a significant focus in this book and his back story is particularly effective and hard-hitting. He is a magnificent character of flawed nobility. Shallan also gets a lot of focus and I enjoyed her struggles with multiple personae.
Given all that I couldn't give this book anything but five stars but now for what feels almost like a bit of heresy. It is my least favourite of the three to date. I do love the fact that Sanderson tries to cover so many POVs in incredible depth, how he fleshes out the back stories and gives so much colour to his world. However, it does mean that the main story moves at an almost glacial pace and often just as it seemed that great things were occurring it would get sidetracked. I do actually think that this book could have done with a tighter edit, possibly around a 10 per cent trim to help it keep greater forward momentum. It just felt a little unbalanced to me especially as Kaladin my favourite character takes a step aside for much of this one. In many ways this volume feels like its purpose was to build a massive platform from which to really launch the main story line towards a spectacular conclusion over the remaining books. In that light I genuinely believe that this is on course to become one of the all-time great series.
If you are new to the Stormlight Archive please don't try and start here, there really is too much fantastic background and much of the nuance of this text will be lost to you resulting in a much drier experience.
So bravo Mr Sanderson. You truly are on track to produce one of the greatest fantasy literary achievements of all time. The challenge for me is living long enough to see the end of it!
57 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- James W.
- 08-10-18
I could not carry on. it became tedious and dull
I really wanted to like this series. It had promise, and after doubts half way through book one, the story picked up enough for me to get Book 2, which i found enjoyable enough, and that finished with enough pace that I thought book three would continue with. Half way into book 3 though and i've come to the realisation it just isn't going anywhere. I mean Brandon can really draw these things out. It is so plodding to the point of boredom. After close to 100 hours of listening, I can count on one had the amount of significant memorable things that have actually gripped me, the rest is talk of storms and rocks.
I am actually going to bale and quit this one. Something i have very rarely done with a book. I just can't see the point in continuing. The world building is complex, but not that enthralling or descriptive. There are lots of names and people, however they are not fleshed out enough to care about.
21 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Zork
- 19-11-17
Excellent
Enjoyed it so much I listened to it again immediately after, best series I've ever read. Will listen again in a couple of months.
14 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- S.Cripps
- 04-09-18
I felt betrayed by the author by the end of this
The first and second books were spent building up Kaladin as a main character, the third was spent diminishing him and his abilities. I had so much emotional investment in his story, so it was hugely frustrating that he was barely in the third book, and when he was, he failed at every turn. His abilities were made trivial by literally everyone else in the book suddenly becoming more powerful. You can say Sanderson is defying convention all you want, but it made for a truly unsatisfying experience. I trudged through the interludes and the overdone time skipping only to find there was no payoff at the end. I am not reading another book in this series, I wish I had stopped at book two.
13 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robyn
- 06-12-17
Just epic!
Wow! Another epic instalment to an epic story.
I had this on pre-order for months, and then took my time listening to it. I didn't want to miss anything....if you're a fan of the Stormlight Archive, this another instalment to savour. Sanderson at his epic best!
So much has happened since Book 1, that there is no way a newcomer to Stormlight could pick things up at this point. There are references to previous events, but this book isn't bogged down by rehashing what has gone before. At one point, I felt as if we were entering "padding it out" territory (my pet hate when it comes to books in a series), but when I stopped to consider, I realised that I was suffering instalment compression - and the action I was attributing to a previous book had actually happened in this book.....bottom line, there's a lot going on, and this book seamlessly picks up from the previous and the plots just thicken, and twist, and the characters develop even more depth etc. There might have been a few of scenes / areas which I didn't think particularly stacked, but not enough to even remotely damage my overall enjoyment of this book. (eg, I haven't quite got my head around Shadesmar and how humans and spren can be living there? A Google search shows there are better minds out there than mine who have explored this - perhaps I shall spend a few indulgent hours exploring this further)
What I always appreciate about these instalments is that each wraps itself up neatly. With Oathbringer too. Yes, there is more to come, and there are some nice hooks left open with new questions raised at the end, but I've not been left on a precipice in angst about who lives or dies. It's so clearly part of a longer story, but is completely satisfying in itself as an instalment. Thank you Mr Sanderson!!
I don't want to give too much away with this review. Besides I couldn't do it justice anyway. Instead, I will just say that if you're a Sanderson or Stormlight fan, you are unlikely to be disappointed. I am ready to put the next book on pre-order.......
(Narration also consistent with previous books which, if you're listening to them back to back, is important).
13 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Samuel Halliday
- 11-02-18
struggled to finish
there is very little sense of urgency to any of the plots and many of the characters became homogeneous and redundant. before this, I couldn't imagine setting down a Sanderson.
12 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Duguid
- 07-08-19
Chapter 5 bug - cannot progress
As mentioned by other users I cannot get past Chapter 5, where Audible thinks it is the end. I have spoken with customer services, bought the book twice and reinstalled, and redownloaded multiple times. Nothing works... really gutted as have been loving the story to date :(
11 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Demlock
- 06-08-19
Book has an error and thinks it end at chapter 5
You get to"the end of the book"mid way through chapter 5. If you forward it rewind after this point, it takes to back to chapter 5 and the end of the book. Can't finish it. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app, cleared cache and memory and redownload the book 3 times. no fixes.
11 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- David E. Rooney
- 21-09-18
Good but turns into a grind
I've found all the books in the stormlight archive hard going at first but ending really strong. This was similar except I found that I just wanted to get this book over with. the ending was epic and I loved it. but because of how the lead up felt like a huge grind I wasn't as impressed as I was with the previous book. for this was the only issue. i enjoyed exploring the world and "magic" systems as part of this book but it was just too long of a build up for me and I ended up powering through to just get the book finished. Shame really as it really effects the story rating I've given it. if I wouldn't read it again then I can't justify giving it more than 3 stars
11 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 04-01-18
bored
struggled to finish . first two books where superb. disappointed with this book . shame as was really looking forward to it
11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-11-17
Good Story
had been waiting for this story for years. now in few day I have to wait for the next book for years again.. Great sequel and awesome narration.
8 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- George
- 06-12-17
I really wanted to like it more than I did.
Any additional comments?
I liked the book, but felt it was lacking compared to the first two volumes. A lot of the story seemed 'filler' and necessarily drawn out while waiting for other things to happen. Don't get me wrong there are a lot of great things about this book, especially with developing and delving deeper into the Stormlight world.
Just felt it left me 'wanting' for things to happen that didn't. I guess we'll be seeing these things happen in future Stormlight volumes, but still.
7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leevi
- 18-11-17
A great continuation to an amazing series.
Such a great book! Brandon really outdid himself with this one. Narration performance from Michael and Kate is astounding as expected.
7 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anon
- 20-12-19
Tragically boring
It felt like a whole lot of disjointed rough ideas stitched together by a committee. The story lacks momentum and at times it feels as if nothing ever happens, and when something happens there are very few consequences. I got into a sort of equity rescue trap where I had spent so much time listening to this already that it felt a waste not to finish it, but now that I have I feel that the time could have been spent better.
Favourite quote: "The reader atuned the rhythm of boredom as he yawned and swatted lazily at the swarm of boredom spren around this book"
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PG
- 15-01-18
The best fantasy series !
Thank you Brandon Sanderson, Michael Kramer, and Kate Reading. A Stormlight book is something truly special. I was immersed, lost in this book.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jonathan
- 15-12-17
Twisted tale maybe breaks from too many twists?
I really like Brandon Sanderson's work. I don't think that this is his best work. At least it didn't quite come together for me. It is a very good story in an awesome universe but its not the awesome story I was hoping/longing for.
There are perhaps too many side stories that don't really add to the main plot or to the universe in general to warrant their place in the book resulting in some muddying of the main plot. One of the main protagonists (Kaladin) breaks in a way/through a means which seems inconsistent with the character that's been developed through the series; and the manner in which he comes back should have been with much more resolve like speaking the final oath yet that never happens.
The petty squabbling of the other rulers is overdone by making the nations one dimensional (only one has merchants, only one is good at administration, only one is good at fighting...) and the reasons for the breakdown of the coalition of nations are a bit weak given what they're fighting for.
Too many side questions are held on to for too long like "who are the void bringers?", "what is the real importance of an oath?", "who are these gods?, "what's the difference between lies and truth to shallon's cryptic sprin?", "just who is this wit character?" and the suspense dies a little from exhaustion in a book that's nearly two and a half days of listening time. And some parts of the plot don't make great sense, particularly the climax given that odium is able to foresee (some of) the future. Some parts of the plot could have been left to the readers imagination with a better result - in particular the trek through shadesmar (when you just know they're going to get to place they need to be just in the nick of time) which was little more than a side story around kaladins mental/emotional recovery.
The story seemed to be reaching its climax in the fight for the capitol but abruptly spirals down to start building up again in another twist. I think that plot construct wasted too much energy and the story was a bit tired afterwards.
As for the narrators, I wish they would spend some time together getting pronunciation identical and giving similar types of accents for the same character so its less jarring when a character speaks using a different narrator. This book isn't particularly bad but its still there so perhaps I'm overly sensitive to it from past experience.
These observations do not detract from a very good story that is well worth the price and well worth the listen, although I think its about 20% too long. They just stop it from being an awesome story. Sorry Brandon, you set the bar very very high and didn't quite get there this time. You gave me a dream that wasn't quite fulfilled in this story.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Bruce
- 17-04-18
Disappointed
The second book is the best. This one was to slow and many hours could've been cut as they didn't add much to the story.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 18-11-17
Superb
Surpassed my expectations and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment.
Expert narration by Kramer and Reading.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 25-12-19
If you're a fan of escapism, look no further.
Brando Sando, as usual, has outdone himself. Amazing book (and audiobook to boot). Hell if I can't give this book a five star then I can't give any other book a five star.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Torben
- 25-03-18
Sanderson returns but the stormlight is not with him
In most series there is a low point. I hope this is it for The Stormlight Archive series since it still holds much potential. The world building is fantastic as always but the characters and story within loose momentum in this third book.
Apart from the Blackthorn everyone seems to return to adolescence in the midst of the apocalypse. Plot points from the previous book are left largely untouched and without consequences. New developments are few and far between which holds especially true for our favorite bridge boy.
Finally the ending proved to be long and anticlimactic with disjointed heroes doing “their thing”. Unite them? Perhaps a step along the path but it did not feel like journey before destination.
1 person found this helpful