Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

I am so amazed by how Sanderson writes these seriously ENORMOUS, huge, doorstop-level epic novels that feel like page-turners. My only problem with how huge these books are is that it's really hard for me to wait to find out what happens as the book goes on, and it takes so long to get on in the books. I've been reading this one for three or four weeks now--it IS 1235 pages, after all. (It should really count for four books instead of just one.) I've been dying to see where it's all going as the book progressed.

This book is the third in the Stormlight Archive, and it's the story of Dalinar and his flashbacks to what he was like as a young warlord. It's a lot darker than the other two books, about Kaladin and Shallan, because the two of them had more bad things happen to them but they overcame them, but it turns out that Dalinar did some pretty terrible things in his past, which he'd forgotten about because he'd gone to the Nightwatcher and had those memories taken away (basically). I hated reading about how harsh and horrible he was at times, but all of that really emphasized how thorough his transformation was into being a good guy, as Dalinar learns at the end as he begins to accept his past and his change.

I love how truly "epic" these books are--so focused on good vs. evil and so filled with overall messages of people choosing the good. The oaths that the Knights Radiant make are inspiring and meaningful and so important to them that they literally change and become different. "Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination." If those are true, journey before destination means that you have to take the next step. The next step is always the most important.

As always, Sanderson's world-creating is spot on in this book, along with his characterizations. I just can't get enough of how he gets you to know his characters--not with any boring obvious descriptions, but through their thoughts and conversations. There are so, so many characters in his books, and he gives so many of them the chance to be the narrator, even if just for one chapter. I feel like it is really hard to stay abreast with these books--I always feel like I'm missing something or confused about something (which I probably am), but it doesn't stop me from enjoying hugely whatever I do understand.