Words of Radiance – Brandon Sanderson

I went into this book having just learned that it was rated higher than Harry Potter. I’m not the biggest Harry Potter fan (I still love the series. I’m not insane.) but with the cult following it has, the bar for Words of Radiance was set astronomically high.

And Sanderson still managed to reach it.

Disclaimer: This is the second book in the Stormlight Archives series. The first book is Way of Kings, which you can read my review for here. If you haven’t read Way of Kings, do not read this review. I will be spoiling that book.

Alright. Here we go.

This book is lengthy and trying to write a concise summary about it feels impossible. Out of respect of how many layers there are in this book, I will simply touch on key points. 

Kaladin is now a captain. He’s in charge of rotating guards for the entirety of Dalinar’s family, as well as the king. The Assassin in White is murdering most rulers across Roshar. Shallan develops her powers and becomes a spy. Renarin decides he wants to do more and asks to join Bridge Four. Elohkar is still a fairly useless figurehead. Dalinar and his sons are fighting to unite the high princes against the Everstorm. Sadeas is still a selfish piece of trash. 

Now into my favorite parts.

Words of Radiance was a thousand pages of nonstop plot development. When I finished the book sometime last week, I put it down, baffled. How did he manage to retain my constant attention for such a long time? I took some time. I thought on it.

Way of Kings felt like walking in a straight line. Words of Radiance felt like an uphill sprint. It was one thing after the other. Increased depth in the characters, more discoveries about Roshar, and evolving politics kept my attention.

Sanderson accomplishes this by delivering on the promises he made in book one. If he hinted that an event was going to happen in book one, such as Shallan’s arrival to the shattered plains and her betrothal to Adolin, he delivered on it. He made certain the reader got to see those interactions happen. He started small, delivering with Kaladin’s interactions with Adolin and Renarin, and gradually expanded as the book went on. Once I got a taste of the satisfaction from seeing all of the worldbuilding and character building from book one pay off, the book became impossible to put down.

The sheer scale that Brandon Sanderson is able to achieve is impressive. During the interludes, we learn more about the Parshendi, the Assassin in White, and the individuals around the world developing powers from speaking oaths. If you layer this conflict with the interpersonal conflict amongst the main cast of characters, the book takes on a very complex and interesting nature.

In Way of Kings, the flashbacks were oriented around Kaladin. We got to learn more about his childhood and how he ended up as a bridgerunner. In Words of Radiance, the flashbacks are centered around Shallan.

Shallan’s childhood was… Traumatic to say the least. She had an abusive father and negligent brothers. She, as the youngest sibling and only daughter, was doing everything in her power to hold their family together. She was functioning as a puppet master, orienting events and activities for her brothers to do so they would hurt less. Understanding these events are key to comprehending the nature of her powers.

Her newfound friend, Pattern, talks to her about lies and truths. Shallan lightweaves and can manipulate the way other people see her and other objects. It is scary, almost, how quickly she acclimates to having such a power. In fact, her interactions with the rest of the cast are some of my favorites. She went from being this shy character in Way of Kings to one that can dominate a conversation in a room full of highprinces.

Kaladin became an antihero of sorts for me in this book. His hatred of lighteyes is challenged as he watches Dalinar uphold honor and treat darkeyes with respect. His torn belief on this leads him to make more promises than he can keep, and he butts heads with Syl. I admired his development over the course of the book, but I definitely came to favor Shallan.

Dalinar is still struggling to get the respect he needs to unite the highprinces. They, of course, think he’s a madman. As a result, he has to resort to tactics other than simple persuasion to get them to join him. Adolin begins dueling other shardbearers in an attempt to take as many shards from other highprinces as possible, to tip the scales of power further in the Kholin house’s favor.

My absolute favorite part of this book, and of Sanderson’s writing, is his ability to write action and fight scenes. They are easy to follow, incredibly intense, and can be large in scale. Adolin’s duels are a great example of this. The end of the book, on their journey to the center of the plains, is another amazing example of how well Sanderson is able to write intense, engaging, and easy to follow fight scenes. Part of this is due to how well he sets up his magic systems prior to these fights. Because the concept of Lightweaving and Lashings are explained in the first book and elaborated on in this one, the scenes are vivid and easy to imagine.

Words of Radiance is the best book of Sanderson’s that I have ever read. If this is book two of this series, I am eager to see where it goes from here.

5/5. Easily.

“A woman’s strength should not be in her role, whatever she chooses to be, but in the power to choose that role.”

Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance