Oathbreaker – Book Review

Spoilers for Oathbreaker throughout.

Oathbreaker is the fifth book in Paver’s series, ‘The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness’.

Romantic Tensions

Torak’s jealousy of Bale was seen in the previous book, Outcast. Torak is jealous of Bale because Bale is stronger, because Bale is surer of his future, and because Bale seems to be growing closer to Renn than Torak would like.

Tensions rise to new heights when Bale tells Torak of his plan to ask Renn to be his wife, and this is the last time that Torak sees Bale as he storms off to the forest. On his return, Torak finds Bale murdered, dropping another adventure in Torak’s hands as he vows to avenge his bone kin.

Throughout the book, we discover more about the relationship between Torak’s parents, meanwhile Renn and Torak develop a somewhat romantic relationship of their own.

I say ‘somewhat’, because while Renn does give Torak a quick kiss on the cheek at the end of the book, they haven’t yet overcome the worst of their communication problems. Torak still has a habit of trying to do everything on his own which only serves to push Renn away from him.

Will they finally overcome this last hurdle in the sequel, Ghost Hunter? You’ll have to read it to find out!

The Deep Forest

We’ve only ever glimpsed this part of Torak’s world in previous entries of ‘The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness’, but in Oathbreaker we get to see it up close and personal.

Unfortunately for Torak, the Deep Forest dwellers all seem a little crazed from their isolationist practices. When Torak eventually finds the Red Deer clan, which his mother came from, he is sad to discover that they are neither as bold nor as caring as he had imagined them to be.

This disappointment is an important part of growing up. It’s about discovering that the images we keep in our heads aren’t always reality, and sometimes adults and relatives disappoint us more than we could ever imagine.

It’s a tough discovery for Torak who has already been disappointed so many times and was holding out his last hope for these people. In the end he realises that with Wolf, Renn, and Fin-Kedinn, he will be OK.

The Final Battle

The main antagonist of this book is the ominous Thiazzi the Oak Mage. He’s made more mysterious by coming from an extinct clan and is on his home grounds in the Deep Forest.

Where Seshru was psychologically traumatising, Thiazzi is violently upfront with his brutality. I would consider Thiazzi the scariest of the Soul Eaters so far partly because he is the largest and most domineering, but also because he is the least humanised.

Previously, all of the Soul Eaters have had an aspect that reminded you they were people once. Torak’s father being the most humane, Torak’s uncle in Spirit Walker was conflicted in wanting Torak’s power but also in honestly teaching him good life lessons and to question those around him. Nef the Bat Mage sacrificed herself for Torak at the end of Soul Eater, and while Seshru was utterly deplorable in Outcast, she was still Renn’s mother, and their similarities remind the reader that perhaps in a different world Seshru could have been better. Seshru didn’t even seem to want to kill Torak by the end.

Thiazzi, by contrast, has no familial relationship to Torak or Renn, he has no unfulfilled promises or debts, and no desires beyond increasing his own power. He is an animalistic villain, similar to the bear in Wolf Brother in the threat he poses with the joy he takes in violence.

One of the scariest aspects of the book one’s demonic bear was in its ability to hide and startle the protagonists out of nowhere, and Thiazzi possesses similar attributes. As a master of disguise, it’s never clear where Thiazzi is going to be. More than this, he’s shown to be better than a simple brute when he places the traps that catch out the group as they chase him down river.

Thiazzi is smart and dangerous, and it’s possible that Renn and Torak would have been unable to defeat him, had Thiazzi’s rival in magecraft not intervened to take the magical Soul Stone for herself.

Torak, Renn and Wolf have always needed some form of help when facing their world-ending threats, but never has the danger felt this close to killing one of them.

Things aren’t boding well for the ominously titled ‘Ghost Hunter’…

Final Thoughts

I’m so glad to be reading about a happier, older Torak and Renn! Although Torak has been changed forever by the events in Outcast, he’s the survivor of those sufferings in this book. He’s stronger and more emotionally honest with himself, which is nice to see. Though, if we’re honest, he still has a long way to go.

If you’d like to read more of my reviews on this series, please check out my page on author Michelle Paver where you will find the rest of my reviews.