Words of Radiance is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and …
Review of 'Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Original review (2014)
Way of Kings is one of my favorite fantasy books, one which I've read multiple times in skimming. This means, that the burden on Book 2 (WoR) was very heavy. And yet, it manages to maintain that spirit over from WoK.
This book manages to shock you, make you laugh or cry, taking you through an emotional roller-coaster ride. Sometimes all at the same time. This is the book of Shallan, and we watch as she changes from Jasnah's frightened ward to something else (I won't say what). Kaladin, on the other hand grows as a character, taking decisions that may cost him his life.
As for the other PoVs, the interludes were amazing, especially Lift and Eshonai's (the two interludes released before the book). I really liked Adolin's point of views, and its endearing how Sanderson has managed to give him his own life, without casting him to Dalinar's shadows.
Dalinar is more of a politician in this book than a soldier. He is brilliant in the couple of fight scenes we see him in, and watching him rule the kingdom is really amazing.
The world-building reaches the high bar that Sanderson has set for himself, and then crosses far above it. We get to see a live chamsfiend, captured sprens, real Honorblades, a duel of 5 shardbearers, an everstorm, Oathgates, and lots of other spoiler-ish things. One of my favorite moments was when 2 characters are basically talking to each other over spanreed, giving the world its own version of IM. Sanderson plays to his strength in building the amazing world he craeted in WoK.
So, should you read it? Absolutely yes; but please do read WoK before attempting this one. Even though you could read it without the first book, knowing Kaladin's backstory is important to really understand the choices he makes. Plus, Roshar is not a world to be understood in just one Book. The few shortcomings in the book are so far and few in between that I can essentially neglect them (esp in a book of this size).
Can't wait for Book 3.
## Re-read thoughts (2020)
(Spoilers for Cosmere below)
Re-read this in anticipation of Rhythm of War (comes out Nov 2020). Every bit as good as I remembered it. It is nice to catch more tidbits about the heralds, Evi, spren, and actually understand them in context of the world as we know it now. The emotional roller coaster was as good as last time. Sanderson changed a scene slightly for a character after the book was published, and if you're re-reading this - you might wanna get an updated edition, or read a summary here.
Way of Kings is one of my favorite fantasy books, one which I've read multiple times in skimming. This means, that the burden on Book 2 (WoR) was very heavy. And yet, it manages to maintain that spirit over from WoK.
This book manages to shock you, make you laugh or cry, taking you through an emotional roller-coaster ride. Sometimes all at the same time. This is the book of Shallan, and we watch as she changes from Jasnah's frightened ward to something else (I won't say what). Kaladin, on the other hand grows as a character, taking decisions that may cost him his life.
As for the other PoVs, the interludes were amazing, especially Lift and Eshonai's (the two interludes released before the book). I really liked Adolin's point of views, and its endearing how Sanderson has managed to give him his own life, without casting him to Dalinar's shadows.
Dalinar is more of a politician in this book than a soldier. He is brilliant in the couple of fight scenes we see him in, and watching him rule the kingdom is really amazing.
The world-building reaches the high bar that Sanderson has set for himself, and then crosses far above it. We get to see a live chamsfiend, captured sprens, real Honorblades, a duel of 5 shardbearers, an everstorm, Oathgates, and lots of other spoiler-ish things. One of my favorite moments was when 2 characters are basically talking to each other over spanreed, giving the world its own version of IM. Sanderson plays to his strength in building the amazing world he craeted in WoK.
So, should you read it? Absolutely yes; but please do read WoK before attempting this one. Even though you could read it without the first book, knowing Kaladin's backstory is important to really understand the choices he makes. Plus, Roshar is not a world to be understood in just one Book. The few shortcomings in the book are so far and few in between that I can essentially neglect them (esp in a book of this size).
Can't wait for Book 3.
## Re-read thoughts (2020)
(Spoilers for Cosmere below)
Re-read this in anticipation of Rhythm of War (comes out Nov 2020). Every bit as good as I remembered it. It is nice to catch more tidbits about the heralds, Evi, spren, and actually understand them in context of the world as we know it now. The emotional roller coaster was as good as last time. Sanderson changed a scene slightly for a character after the book was published, and if you're re-reading this - you might wanna get an updated edition, or read a summary here.