Words of Radiance [The Stormlight Archive, #2] by Brandon Sanderson

This review contains spoilers for The Way of Kings. To read my review of The Way of Kings, please follow the link here.

Words of Radiance [The Stormlight Archive, #2]
by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

Shallan Davar is finally coming to terms with her strange new abilities, but soon, events are set in motion that will force her ingenuity to the limit.

Kaladin has accepted his role as Captain of Dalinar Kholin's guard, but his task may prove harder than he ever anticipated, and keeping his powers hidden is becoming more and more difficult. 

Dalinar himself has stepped into his role as Highprince of War, but his plan to unite the highprinces is met by resistance... and even outright defiance. 

The threat of the Everstorm looms ever closer. And for some, that may not even matter. For the Assassin is coming. 

Overall Thoughts

These books are so hard to describe without giving away spoilers, so apologies for that awful book description. 

But. Let me tell you about Words of Radiance, because it was amazing! The characters are complicated and real, and I loved seeing their development between the two volumes. The plot was well paced and interesting without being too fast. And the worldbuilding is, of course, phenomenal.

The Stormlight Archive is probably my favorite epic fantasy series I've ever read. And I've read some really great epic fantasy.

The Characters

Words of Radiance continues the story begun in The Way of Kings, but this time focuses on Shallan's story (and backstory!) alongside Kaladin's, Dalinar's, and Adolin's.

I have grown so attached to all of these characters, it makes it really hard to pick just one favorite. There were some new characters introduced in this book as well that I have grown to love. I like how none of the characters in the book feel flat. They're all real people, even if we never necessarily get to see inside of their heads or know their full backstory. They still act like human beings, and I really like that about this series. I actually have a few favorite characters (*cough* Renarin *cough*) who never get POVs, but they're still amazing. 

Kaladin's character arc continues into this book, and I liked how it develops as he takes on his new role and position. His reactions to and struggles with his new position felt very real and convincing. 

We get to see some backstory for Shallan, which (without going into spoilers) is heart-wrenching. 

And of course, Dalinar continues to be his awesome self, though I do have to admit that I was frustrated with him after... ehem... certain events. 

Also, I loved the character interactions in this book, especially the ones between Kaladin and Shallan, and the ones between Kaladin and Adolin (because oh man, some of those were really funny.)

Plot/Pacing

I also love how complex the story is. We have so many pieces of worldbuilding, backstory, and plot coming together already, and new elements keep getting introduced. I have no idea how all of the plot threads will eventually tie together, but the plot right now, while complicated, is also not confusing. And oh man, the plot twists. I'm really horrible at predicting plot twists, so maybe it's only me that's constantly being shocked by the new directions the plot is taking? My brother says he called every plot twist in this book, which makes me wonder if a) I'm really clueless or b) he's just really smart. Maybe both, who knows? Anyway, I loved the reveals in this book, and I was genuinely surprised several times, especially near the end. 

Of course, most of what I can rave about this book is just falling into the same categories (worldbuilding, character development) that I already raved about when I reviewed The Way of Kings. So I'll leave my review relatively short, as opposed to being a broken record about how awesome these books are. If you've read them, you already know. If you haven't... well, I strongly suggest picking these books up!  

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

Similar levels of violence to the violence in The Way of Kings. Some disturbing descriptions of dead bodies. Descriptions of domestic abuse (both physical and emotional abuse.) Descriptions of characters being killed in disturbing ways, including strangulation. A person is poisoned. Descriptions of blood. An implication that a character intended to commit suicide. 

A few sexual references, as well as references to prostitution. A few crude jokes, etc. Mentions of an adulterous affair.

A few instances of real world swearing, moderately offensive language. Mostly, however, the swearing is made up.

Characters drink alcohol; at one point, a character becomes drunk.