Words of Radiance (Cosmere Universe) (Stormlight Archive, #2)

by Brandon Sanderson

The eagerly awaited sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Way of Kings.

Six years ago, the Assassin in White, a hireling of the inscrutable Parshendi, assassinated the Alethi king on the very night a treaty between men and Parshendi was being celebrated. So began the Vengeance Pact among the highprinces of Alethkar and the War of Reckoning against the Parshendi.

Now the Assassin is active again, murdering rulers all over the world, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin’s master has much deeper motives.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status darkeyes.  Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and their civilization-ending Desolation. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but even arriving there proves more difficult than she imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The consequences for Parshendi and humans alike—indeed, for Roshar itself—are as dangerous as they are incalculable.

• ISBN10: 0765326361
• ISBN13: 9780765326362
• Publish Date: 4 March 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 1088
• Language: English

Reviews

[ross91]

Well, I don't know how to write a review about WoR that isn't pure gushing, crying, and screaming, so the only thing I'm going to say is that WoR is pure perfection.
This is by far the best book I've read since finishing TWoK (even though the first installment is still my favorite tbh).
Why can a book be so perfect?? Is it legal?? Why can't I marry it? Why can't I have the sequel now? Why???

Ok I'm not making any sense, so yeah, let's just say this book is EVERYTHING.
It even managed to change my opinion on Kaladin. Sorry Kal, I see your value now.
(Shallan, alas, is still boring. Let's hope book 3 will change that).

What else? Dalinar is amazing, Adolin is kind of amazing as well, I've got a ship (and an unexpected one!) and I can't honestly think of anything else because I'm still screaming internally.

I need a therapist now.
Bye.

[Mercy]

Second read: 30/09/2020

[moraa]

Honor is dead. But I'll see what I can do.

I stand by everything I said in my previous review about this book/series having been analysed better than I can and likely will do – considering my current sleep-deprived state.

This will probably be more like a rant/plea/why-did-you-do-this-to-me-? kind of thing but I’m here regardless to provide some comments (and critiques?) Some people have been doing bad, bad things.

WRITING
-this was masterfully done, I have almost no complaints
-(dyingggg)
-I swear surprises were the order of the day, my heart has not known relief since I begun reading this book (and neither has my sanity)

MAGIC SYSTEM
-congratulations! new achievement unlocked!
all. the. bloody. time.
-for like, basically... everyone
-I’m still excited though, most of it was really enjoyable to read

(sidenote: I want to be a windrunner really bad but when it comes to tactical advantage… lightweaving takes the day, just saying)

PARSHENDI
-stormfather better hold me back because I am not strong enough, if the Alethi and the Parshendi keep fighting this meaningless war I swear I will LOSE IT

*breathes deeply*

-alright, I have a few questions (not for the Alethi, I know enough about you guys) but for the Parshendi:

i) what is this business of manipulating forms? especially stormform, Eshonai was making progress, dammit! She and Dalinar were so close! I want to strangle Venli but not yet, answers first. There is a reason old gods are old gods! Don’t mess with them, child.
ii) what happened to the other Parshendi? the ones that were just relaxing back at the plains in workform or mateform or whatever? I need them to be accounted for!
iii) what does it mean that their gods are so destructive? I mean, I know most of the gods are known by different names based on culture but what does it all mean??
-I need closure

(also, can we not kill Parshendi anymore? Their histories and culture and that wonderful humming thing they do will be lost and I think it’s the coolest thing on Roshar so far).

CHARACTERS
1. Szeth-son-son-Vallano
-I kind of want to say I told (everyone) so
-I always knew there was more to him
(ugh, I can’t wait to get more from his point of view in book 3!)
-I’m highkey proud of you, Szeth – you’ve really been doing the most out there

2. Taravangian
-this guy… somebody tell me what’s going on because the creeps are all I’m getting

Lastly, I hope we’re not getting a love triangle in Oathbringer, really and truly. I will lose my mind if we do.

So. Long. Also, the plot armor is so thick... but I liked it well enough anyway. Had some genuine surprises.

[adamfortuna]

Mysterious, dangerous magic, vendettas and high stakes battles keep you on the edge for this entire book. Characters you want to succeed have moments of glory, mixed with despair.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Words of Radiance continues to immerse readers in the world of Roshar that Sanderson set up in The Way of Kings. All the best characters are back and, even better, their paths truly begin to converge. This is really just the beginning but it is clear that eventually, the most powerful people from across the world will meet and things are going to be epic–if the world doesn’t end first.

I will admit that the opening of Words of Radiance is a bit slow. Sanderson loves to describe things in exquisite detail, and while that means his world building and magical systems are incredibly well-imagined, it also means the story can get bogged down while Sanderson tries to perfectly set things up. I also found Kaladin–my favorite character from The Way of Kings (after Syl?)–to be insufferable for the first half of this novel. His determination to be perpetually disgruntled is certainly part of his character development, but it also reminded me a lot of Harry in Order of the Phoenix, lots of irrational anger and unnecessary angst. Thankfully, Kaladin eventually pulls himself together. The other characters also continue to find themselves and transform.

And, in the end, the characters are really the main draw. The overarching plot certainly progresses–but it is also difficult to judge what it is progressing toward. The Stormlight Archive is a projected ten-book series, and from what readers know now, I can really only predict the plot for two additional books. Sanderson, of course, is a master of pulling off twist endings (see the Mistborn trilogy), so I’m certain he’ll eventually pull off something wild and unexpected. For now, however, all I know is that the Voidbringers will probably come back and there is no way Dalinar and company are going to spend eight books trying to defeat them. The journey of this series is fascinating, but it’s hard to feel as if you’re really progressing if you have no idea what the end goal is.

I will, of course, continue to read the series anyway. I love the characters and the world and am dying for Sanderson to surprise me! Sanderson usually shines with the structure of his writing, and I’m sure I’ll be impressed once I figure out what the structure of the Stormlight Archive is. I can’t wait until 2016 and Book 3!

[wyvernfriend]

Dammit, it's over and I have to wait for the next one.

[KitsuneBae]

Kill me now, Brandon Sanderson! I seriously wish that you will write two Stormlight Archive books per year. I want to read the 3rd book now. I know this sounds very stereotypical but I really want Kaladin to end up with Shallan Davar. Hahahaha.

I hope that Kaladin will not go back to his broken self.