I was excited to receive an advance copy of the third book in Brandon Sanderson’s the Stormlight Archive in the mail—Oathbringer. This review will hide any outright spoilers, but if you consider any knowledge about the content of this volume spoilers, then there are spoilers ahead.

To begin, I had more patience in the first two books for the awkward concept of an enslaved race who are not human and who are now rising as part of a demon-like enemy horde. Part of what took some of my patience away in this edition was the introduction of some truly uncomfortable white-savior-esque moments where our heroes guide and teach some parshmen. There’s a real struggle here between the concept of a slave rebellion and the fact that this slave rebellion is led by literal demons. While that’s meant to mirror the same issues our main characters have to contend with, it’s still hard to ignore the fact that the “good side” of this battle is clearly portrayed as the humans, the non-slaves, led by the Radiants, who may feel guilty, but who are still the heroes of the Stormlight Archive. I know that the Radiant characters themselves are dealing with that issue, but it’s hard to ignore that any sympathetic characters we find on the enemy lines seem to eventually rise as Radiants, and that any unsympathetic characters on our lines seem to eventually end up with the Voidbringers.

I would die for Shallan Davar. She’s half of why I’m so dedicated to this series, and her storyline throughout this volume is superbly and complexly done. Shallan has to try and come to terms with her traumas, which she can’t yet do. Instead, her split, illusory identities flourish, by by using them to avoid the past and keep her strong, she introduces new confusion into her life and into who she is. She develops a relationship with Wit—who I love—and there are a couple storytelling scenes with one or both of them that knocked my socks off (whenever a fairytale shows up in a fantasy novel, you know shit is about to great real prophetic in all the right ways).

The only thing that bothered me about Sanderson’s treatment of Shallan in this volume was the continuation of that god-awful sad excuse for a love triangle between Adolin, Shallan, and Kaladin. It stays just big enough of a plot point to be annoying, and just small enough of a plot point to not matter. There’s no room for Shallan and Kaladin to have any real connection, so it consists of Shallan liking Kaladin’s face and Kaladin thinking women who are witty are confusing. If there was time to set the two of them up, it might have been intriguing, but it was like the interesting bits of their connection were cut for time. As a result, Shallan and Adolin are clearly adorable together, and Kaladin in both the story and for the reader is just a boring and annoying distraction from that. Sanderson’s attempt to connect the crush to Shallan’s other identities is underdeveloped and the most boring part by far of her multifaceted faces.

The expanded view into the minds of Bridge Four is fantastic. They have always been a wonderful group of varied characters who provide a lot of heart and entertainment for the series, and in particular the dives into the minds of Rock and Teft lend an extra helping of soul and friendship into this volume of the Archive. Dalinar’s flashbacks are done very, very well. They meld into the story and his character arc perfectly. The depths of his seeming inability to hear his wife’s name rises to the forefront as Dalinar confronts the man he has been and the man he has become. Journey over destination, am I right? There are some excellent (although rushed) plot twists in this volume. Sanderson struggles often in this volume with over-exposition that I call his “cut for time” problem—since he can’t possibly make this novel longer, he has to resort to over-explaining or showing things that are either unnecessary to explain or that would be better shown. All of that said, of course this book overall continues to be well-written and a masterwork of world-building. New revelations about the world are waiting in this 1,200 tome of a book to shock you. Shockers about your favorite characters are waiting in the wings. Fans of the Stormlight Archive will not be disappointed. Oathbringer is out today.