Oathbringer

Oathbringer is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and the third book in The Stormlight Archive series.[1] It was published by Tor Books on November 14, 2017.[1][2] Oathbringer consists of one prologue, 122 chapters, 14 interludes and an epilogue.[3] It is preceded by Words of Radiance.

Oathbringer
First edition book cover
AuthorBrandon Sanderson
IllustratorDan dos Santos
Isaac Stewart
Howard Lyon
Cover artistMichael Whelan
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Stormlight Archive
GenreEpic fantasy
PublisherTor Books
Publication date
November 14, 2017[1]
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book
Pages1248
ISBN978-0-7653-2637-9
Preceded byWords of Radiance 
Followed byRhythm of War 

As with its Stormlight Archive predecessors, the unabridged audiobook is read by narrator team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading.[4]

Development

The third book was initially titled Stones Unhallowed with Szeth-son-son-Vallano as its focus, then Skybreaker,[5] and eventually Oathbringer with the focus on Dalinar Kholin.[6][7]

Prior to the release of Oathbringer, several chapters and interludes have been posted in blog posts, read in conventions and published in an anthology. Sanderson has provided numerous updates on Reddit about his progress on the book.[8] On December 9, 2016, three weeks after his fifth update, Tor announced that Sanderson had completed his first draft, coming in at 461,223 words.[1] On March 15, 2017, Sanderson completed the third of five planned drafts, which totaled 514,000 words.[9] On June 15, 2017, Sanderson completed the fifth and final draft and managed to cut it down to 450,000 words.[3] On June 27, 2017, Tor posted a blog post detailing the process of beta reading for Oathbringer in which beta readers give their immediate reactions to any given point in the story and look for continuity.[10] Due to the length of the book, Tor had to use a different press and bindery from the one that printed Words of Radiance.[11]

After realizing the book took more time to work on than originally planned, Sanderson wrote a novella titled Edgedancer, following Lift; first published in Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection,[12] an anthology of Cosmere short fiction, on November 22, 2016.[13]

On March 16, 2017, Tor Books revealed the cover art for Oathbringer, painted by Michael Whelan.[14] It shows Jasnah Kholin defending a city against an invasion. She reaches for a Shardblade while simultaneously soulcasting a large hole in the city wall made by a thunderclast.[2] Three days later, Tor posted a blog post that discussed details of the cover and how it may relate to the book's plot.[15] On July 14, 2017, Sanderson revealed the UK cover of Oathbringer on Twitter.[16]

The hardcover version of the novel was published with endpapers which depict 4 of the ten heralds, two created by each artist Howard Lyon and Dan dos Santos.[17] Reviewer Frannie Jackson described the art as "gorgeous."

On August 2, 2017, Tor Books revealed the dates and locations for the Oathbringer book tour.[18] Tor.com released the prologue on August 22; and the first 32 chapters, three weekly, from August 29 to November 7.[19][20]

Audiobook

The audiobook version of the book was released on the same day as the hardcover version,[3] and is read by narrator team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, who also read The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, and several other books written by Sanderson.[4]

Sequel

The fourth book in The Stormlight Archive series is titled Rhythm of War and its publication date is November 17, 2020[21]. It takes place a year after the events of Oathbringer.[22]

Reception

Reception of the series was mostly positive. The A.V. Club reviewer Samantha Nelson describes the novel as both weighed down by its ambition and less complex than its predecessors.[23] While reviews on Tor find the novel engaging, with Martin Cahill writing that "It is a triumph of a novel, and if you’ve enjoyed the first two, you’ll certainly enjoy Oathbringer." [24] Publishers Weekly also described the novel in light of its relationship to other books in the series, writing, "Sanderson successfully balances introducing new elements and satisfactorily resolving some threads, leaving fans to eagerly await the next in the series."[25] The review in Paste by Frannie Jackson compares the novel to the long-arc storytelling of Robert Jordan, describing the novel as "brimming with more than enough magic and mystery to tide readers over until the [fourth novel is published]."[17]

References
  1. "Brandon Sanderson Has Completed the First Draft of Oathbringer, Book 3 of The Stormlight Archive". Tor.com. December 9, 2016. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  2. "Revealing the Cover to Oathbringer, the Third Book in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive". Tor.com. March 16, 2017. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  3. Sanderson, Brandon (June 15, 2017). "[Oathbringer Spoilers]: Stormlight Three Update #8". Reddit. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  4. Brandon Sanderson; Michael Kramer; Kate Reading. Words of Radiance (Stormlight Archive, The). Amazon.com. ISBN 9781427233073. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  5. Sanderson, Brandon (June 16, 2015). "@_Christopher171 "Stones Unhallowed" was one, as was "Skybreaker." I didn't like either, as they sounded too much like other book titles". Twitter. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  6. Sanderson, Brandon (June 16, 2015). "I've had a lot of working titles for this book, but "Oathbringer" is the most appealing to me right now, for multiple reasons". Twitter. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  7. Sanderson, Brandon (January 19, 2016). "[Oathbringer Spoilers]: Stormlight Three Update #2". Reddit. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  8. Sanderson, Brandon (November 18, 2016). "[Oathbringer Spoilers]: Stormlight Three Update #5". Reddit. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  9. Sanderson, Brandon (March 15, 2017). "[Oathbringer Spoilers]: Stormlight Three Update #7". Reddit. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  10. Arneson, Alice (June 27, 2017). "Unity of Purpose: The Oathbringer Beta Story". Tor.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  11. Ahlstrom, Peter (September 27, 2017). "Has it been announced how Oathbringer is going to be published?". Reddit. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  12. Sanderson, Brandon (December 19, 2016). "State of the Sanderson 2016". brandonsanderson.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  13. "Announcing Brandon Sanderson's Arcanum Unbounded, Coming November 2016". Tor.com. June 21, 2016. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  14. Gartenberg, Chaim (March 16, 2017). "Look what goes into making a Michael Whelan book cover". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  15. Stubby the Rocket (March 20, 2017). "Answering the Questions Posed by That Oathbringer Cover". Tor.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  16. Sanderson, Brandon (July 14, 2017). "Without further delay, the UK cover reveal for Oathbringer. You can preorder using the link below". Twitter. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  17. "Brandon Sanderson Talks Oathbringer, the Thrilling Third Book in His Stormlight Archive Series". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  18. "Check Out Brandon Sanderson's Tour Dates for Oathbringer, Book 3 of The Stormlight Archive". Tor.com. August 2, 2017. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  19. "Read Brandon Sanderson's Oathbringer, Stormlight Archive Book 3, for Free on Tor.com!". Tor.com. August 15, 2017. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  20. Manwaring, Kurt (October 23, 2017). "Read chapters of Brandon Sanderson's latest novel online for free". Deseret News. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  21. Andrew Whalen On 12/31/19 at 10:28 AM EST (2019-12-31). "Brandon Sanderson completed "The Stormlight Archive" Book 4 in a marathon 13-hour, 19,000-word writing session". Newsweek. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  22. Sanderson, Brandon (April 28, 2017). "IAM(once again)A novelist named Brandon Sanderson. AMA!". Reddit. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  23. Nelson, Samantha. "Brandon Sanderson's series-spanning ambitions burden Oathbringer". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  24. "In the Wake of the Everstorm: A Non-Spoiler Review of Brandon Sanderson's Oathbringer". Tor.com. 2017-11-06. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  25. "Fiction Book Review: Oathbringer: The Stormlight Archive, Book 3 by Brandon Sanderson. Tor, $34.99 (1,248p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2637-9". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
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