Book Review: Another Masterpiece Epic Fantasy from Brandon Sanderson — Words of Radiance and Why This Sequel Shines Even Brighter
Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive continues with a masterpiece second installment in Words of Radiance. I love when I can say, “Second book syndrome? We don’t know her.” Wow. A lot of people told me before reading this that it’s their favorite novel by Sanderson, and I can definitely see why. It’s non-stop action with characters you’ve grown to love, and he’s constantly got you worrying about them. And the characters I didn’t love in book one (*cough Shallan), I absolutely adored by the end of this book. Have I mentioned lately that I’d love an honorspren? There are also some fun fandom references I now understand like, “I am a stick.” Obsessed with Pattern. Overall, this is as close to perfection as you can get in a fantasy book.
P.S. You can read my review of book one, The Way of Kings here.
Things to Know:
Book Two in The Stormlight Archive
MultiPOV
Epic Fantasy
Battles, political intrigue
Amazing magic system
The second book in the Stormlight Archive picks up right where book one ended. Something that Sanderson is simply a genius at, is weaving together all of these different storylines. Yes, it’s a long book, but nothing is in excess—it’s all important. We continue with our faves, Kaladin, Shallan, and Dalinar, but also get introduced to some new faces (or maybe old, but with a different name). I LOVE how much more time we get with Hoid in this series. We also get so much more of Shallan’s backstory with flashbacks, and I loved them. Her character growth is probably one of the most in depth character arcs I’ve read. She’s so witty, and she can talk circles around all these guys. I cannot wait to see her continue to grow in book three.
Kaladin Stormblessed, I love so very much, but also wanted to strangle half the time for being so stubborn. JUST TAKE THE SWORD, MAN! But obviously, it all works out in the end… I 100% had a sore throat from screaming the last 100 pages during the Sanderlanche because I was either terrified or fist-pumping excited. Kaladin really is that guy. To all my fellow women looking for a new book boyfriend…you’ll love him, I promise. You’ll also love Adolin—even if he was an asshat to Kaladin for 60% of the book. I was pretty smitten with him and Shallan though! So cute. Can’t wait to see where that goes, especially now that he knows about her.
We even got some villainous POVs, which I also enjoyed. This world feels so vast, and the amount of culture, and history, and backstory Sanderson creates makes it really easy to immerse yourself in the story. And then of course, there’s the absolutely insane battle sequences I was loving every minute of. So stressful, and I’m pretty sure my cortisol levels were spiking, but it was worth it. I also love that all of his characters aren’t perfect. They all struggle with flaws and weaknesses, and seeing them work through these make them feel so much more relatable than an untouchable hero.
Something really unique that I haven’t seen a lot of other authors do is inbetween each “part” there are interludes, which are short chapters with side characters. Sometimes they’re characters you continue to see throughout the series, and sometimes there only in that brief chapter. I LOVE the interlude chapters, and with such a long book, it feels like a respite between the main storylines. Eshonai’s story was so heartbreaking, and I’m so upset for her (what an evil, conniving sister she has). I also love that we got more snippets with Szeth. And now I need to know who the mystery guy is…
If I had one, teeny, tiny critique, it would be a couple of instances where women’s body parts were unecessarily mentioned. Once by a 13 year old girl, that I just felt was unnecessary and added nothing to the story. Yes, it was kind of innocent, but I just didn’t like it. And shortly thereafter, there’s a stupid prostitute joke. Now, to be clear, it’s not glorifying the idea of disparaging women, it’s moreso just depressing to think this kind of convo would absolutely go down in a war camp full of men. Again, I found it unnecessary to the story though.
Aside from that, it was pretty flawless, especially for an 1100-page book. There’s so much more I could get into, and I have so many questions, but I’ll save those for my Discord community. I will absolutely continue to recommend this series widely, and I cannot wait to continue with Oathbringer!
Fave Quotes:
“I am a stick.”
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“You must learn this. Do not let your assumptions about a culture block your ability to perceive the individual, or you will fail.”
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“…you could not have a traitor who had not originally been a friend.”
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“Sorry. I’m kind of useless at anything that doesn’t involve someone getting stabbed.”
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“…weren’t you supposed to be reading?” “I…had trouble concentrating.” “So you came up on deck,” Jasnah said, “to sketch pictures of young men working without their shirts on. You expected this to help your concentration?”
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“We will see miracles before this day is out, men! We merely have to be strong enough to deserve them.”
BONUS—some spoilery thoughts:
The Parshendi being taken over by bad spren in storm form remind me so much of the Valg in Throne of Glass.
Honestly, the king was a whiny little B, and kinda deserved to have everyone hate him, but I am glad Kal chose what is right in the end.
OMG when NIGHTBLOOD appeared?! ahhhhhh so excited!
Adolin calling Kaladin Bridgeboy every chance he got…what a turd.
Obsessed with Kal and Shallan’s time in the chasms. The banter was so great and made me think…wait, is this going to be a love triangle?!
Baby brother Kholin is just precious and must be protected at all costs.
The fact that the Knights Radiant can’t touch the other swords because their spren are dead. :((((
The scream I scrumpt when Kal showed up at the end. YESSSSS.
Jasnah going to have a comeback?!!!! Thank God. I was so upset when everything on the ship went down and didn’t want to believe it.
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