Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive: Book 2)

10/10

I know I’m late to this particular party, but as the man who beat me to it said, I “just had to get words on a page to decompress” after finally finishing reading ‘Words of Radiance’ by Brandon Sanderson.

When Words of Radiance finally rocked up on my doorstep those few months ago, I looked at it with fear. Such a long book, and one that would no doubt leave me on another year-long (or more) cliff-hanger. I didn’t think I could handle it, but finally, after Ryan teased me with hints and my desire to read fiction came back from the dead, I finally picked it back up.

I’m so glad that I did. Words of Radiance is (almost) everything you want out of a fantasy book, and everything we have come to expect from Brandon Sanderson.

Most enjoyable, however, was the way the book concluded. Instead of perpetuating the torture of certain characters and leaving us unresolved on a myriad of time-sensitive cliff-hangers, Sanderson actually wrapped the story up, while leaving the overarching plot to draw us on. It was a wonderfully satisfying feeling to finish reading and find myself at ease, relaxed, with the resolutions and the unresolved storylines.

I won’t force a lengthy review just to be the forty-eighth reviewer to tell you how well Sanderson writes characters, builds worlds, writes action scenes, etc. It’s all been said a hundred times over, and there is nothing I can say that will add or take away from those particular attributes.

I will say, however, that I found some of his contrivances particularly forced. I won’t get into the specifics, but there are some authors who can create a story that flows naturally, and others that have to force their characters into unlikely and unrealistic situations so as to reach particular story points. There weren’t many of them, but the ones that existed were blatant and centred on major plotlines that needn’t have been so blatantly stretched out – especially in light of how the book finishes.

Brandon Sanderson has written a book that seals his spot as one of the greatest fantasy writers. No timeframe can be placed on his accolades, he’s just turning out to be that good. Words of Radiance is a high watermark of storytelling, and as the second book of a ten-book series, one wonders at the heights that Sanderson will reach by the time he is done.
Joshua S Hill, 9/10

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Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson is the second volume of The Stormlight Archive, the hardcover clocking in at a colossal 1087 pages! This is a monster book, the story is appropriately epic, and I felt exhausted after finally finishing that last page. So what do I do now? I try to decompress and unwind, in the form of a review.

CAUTION: This review may spoil some stuff from The Way of Kings

The story picks up immediately after the events of The Way of Kings, with Shallan and Jasnah stuck in Shadesmar, Kaladin and Bridge Four in charge of Dalinar's guard, and Szeth murdering his way around the world. It is hard to make a short summary of the events that happen in this book, so I will try to highlight the key points - the war between the Alethi kingdom and the Parshendi comes to a head, Shallan begins working as spy and her very interesting backstory is provided, the Assassin in White confronts Dalinar, Adolin and Kaladin all at the same time, and people around the world are speaking the oaths of the Knights Radiant, manifesting strange powers that have been missing for hundreds of years. There is so much going on that it is hard to keep track of everything that happened, so I'm pretty sure I will be rereading this book at least once before the third book comes out.

With Words of Radiance, Sanderson addresses all of the issues I had with The Way of Kings, along with improving on everything that I loved about that first book. Shallan is a hugely improved character with a clearly defined purpose and tragic past that she is no longer able to outrun. The wonder with which she views the world of Roshar is still there, but now we get even more wonder as she starts to experiment with her new powers. Another improvement is the amount of screentime our heroes share with each other, with Kaladin, Dalinar, Shallan, Adolin, Renarin, Navani, Jasnah, Szeth, Wit, Sadeas, Amaram, and others all spending a lot of time together. Shallan excels in these shared scenes, often getting the better of her counterparts with liberal doses of wit and humour.

The one thing that Sanderson absolutely masters in this book, the reason why so many people are raving about it, is the epic magic-aided action sequences. From duelling shardbearers fighting for glory and shardblades, to hundreds of Knights Radiant trying to put down a Godzilla-like Thunderclast, Sanderson is effortlessly able to convey a sense of scale that few other authors have been able to achieve. The crowning glory is a climactic battle between the assassin Szeth and the spearman Kaladin, with both men powered up with tons of Stormlight, and both men pulling off crazy manoeuvres that even Hollywood would struggle to keep up with. It is as if Sanderson designed his magic system just so he could bring this one battle to life. And I'm okay with that.

With Words of Radiance, Sanderson clearly stamps his authority as the master of the "Hollywood" style of epic fantasy. It is hard to comprehend just how much stuff is going on this book, not to mention how this book impacts the wider Cosmere (the universe that ties all of Sanderson's books together). Big action set pieces of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things is exactly what I want from my epic fantasy, and Sanderson delivered beyond what I could have hoped for. I'm tired, I can barely keep my eyes open, but I can't stop smiling. That's my endorsement for this book.
Ryan Lawler, 9.9/10