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Jordan

Great Story thats getting strung out

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2019

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First off let me state that im a huge Sanderson Fan. However id rate this book 3.5 stars if amazon let me. Its definitely not 4 stars soo i went with 3 stars and heres why:

The bad:
- This book is simply too long. Theres no other way around it. I dont mind long books at all but it seems Sanderson is forcing these books to be long just so they can go along with his "masterpiece" narritive that he wants the stormlight archive to be. But, by adding meaningless chapters and slow dialog, he's actually hurting the series. This book could have easily been 300-400 pages shorter. I'm really OCD about not missing any information so i can be a know-it-all about any story i read but this book almost made me start skipping pages. Instead, i set it down for a couple of months and came back and powered through the rough parts. There are parts of Shallans story that are just SOOOOOO boring that it gets dreadful to read through. Shes a great character, dont get me wrong, but 75% of her story could have been cut out and summarized in this book. Thats including 90% of her flashback story.

- The dialog. Lets be honest, Sandersons dialog isnt his strong suit. This book just so happens to be filled with 100's of pages of pointless dialog of characters saying totally childish lines and simply not reacting like adults. Not to mention the "wit" of the witty characters just isnt there. There are definitely exceptions as there are pieces of dialog i do enjoy but for the most part its pretty weak.

The Good:

- Sanderson has an epic story on his hands and it seems he has it well laid out and planned. Kaladin, Dalinar and Shallan are great characters and when this book heats up, it gets REALLY good. And while there may be a lot of bloat in this book, its not all in the same place so you get interesting parts throughout the book if you make it through to couple hundred pages of filler first.

- The magic system is great which is definitely Sanderson's strong suit.

- Another strong suit of Sanderson is his ability to push these books out in a timely manner. Im all in on the Stormlight Archive as long as he doesnt pull a Rothufuss or GRRM on us.

Overall i'd give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. I wish Sanderson would look at some of the many reviews like mine and take note. I have a feeling this series doesnt need to be anywhere near 10 books. I also have a feeling that Sanderson is going to force this series into 10 books by adding tons of filler instead of letting it freely flow into however many books it needs to be.

Ninjamamaof3

A balm

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2017

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I'd given up hope. I buried my self in my text books. So many horrible, horrible writers have sprung up & the editors have disappeared. Misspelled words, bad grammar abound. Characters that get easily distracted and wander off predictably and become heroes. This is the world I thought had become ours with the rise of digital books. Then I heard a rumour... first from my father-in-law whispered over the Thanksgiving chatter.."I've found a series...no listen.. a real series, a master piece." I rolled my eyes silly old man doesn't he know that art has been dead several years now. Fast forward a year later when my dentist held me hostage, hands in mouth making statements I couldn't physically respond to... "This series I'm reading, it's amazing, refreshing, and real" I roll my eyes, it's all I can do.. "I am amazed at the authors wit, his use of transitions, I'm captivated"... I grunt "no, this is real Jessica, a real author, I feel like I've found the holy grail of books"... Still I didn't listen, fast forward more wasted time, I was stuck outside another dance practice of my daughter's, half listening to the idle chat of the other moms. Facebook couldn't hold my interest and I was between classes so no mandatory reading to do. I flipped open my kindle dusted it off and searched for this holy grail.... I am happy to report that I have just now come up for air after reading the first two books back to back. I feel the need to pause, relish in my new found friends (the amazingly well developed characters of this book) and write this review with my two thumbs on this small kindle. You have to read this book! The first book was a tiny bit slow, it had to be, it was stroking the anticipation, this book however takes that anticipation and flares it into an all consuming feeling of "need to know". I need to know what's going to happen next! Forgive my grammar and spelling on this review, I'm not going to edit, I need to buy book #3 and check in on my friends. I never know what their up to next. I. Love. It.

peditothor

Oh, to live long enough!

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2014

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I am in my seventies and hope that I live long enough to finish this great series. Ten books, please Mr. Sanderson, don't take as long to finish the series as this book did to finish. I know great books take a great deal of time to write but at my age, I don't know how much time I have left to enjoy pleasures such as these novels.

I am a voracious reader, mostly action, spy, counter terrorism etc. My daughter reads like I do and she reads these fantasy epics. Her son, my grandson, gave me a copy of the Way of Kings for Christmas 2012 saying it was his favorite book of all time, and he is a chip of the ole' block. He is a huge reader also.

I so enjoyed that book that I couldn't wait until this second in the series came out, bought it for my Kindle the day before and it was ready to read the next day.

I haven't finished it yet, but, almost. I have not been disappointed in any way except that I will soon be finished and then what? My daughter has suggested that I start on another of Mr. Sanderson's novels and I believe that is what I am going to do.

So, thanks to my grandson Victor and his mom, Stephanie, I am now a fan of fantasy fiction and especially, Brandon Sanderson.

Top reviews from other countries

Hugh

Like watching Catchphrase.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2021

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Finishing book 2 (of an eventual 10) is like being on Catchphrase. A square is being removed each time leading to the answer....but we're only at the end of book 2 so need to be patient.

It's so massive, complex and absorbing and the depth is staggering. I just wish it was slightly more accessible; there are times when it makes Gardens of the moon look like paint by numbers.

I'm still unsure about the nature of Spren, shardblades, the heralds and so on but I think I understand what's going on slightly better. People have already mentioned that Sanderson would rather have you confused than bored and no doubt about it, you will not be bored.

As with the way of kings we follow Kaladin, Dalinar, Adolin and Shallan. It's such a pleasure seeing them all interact and we find out more about the latter's past. This is actually her book and she's great.

But complexity and ambiguity aside this is just amazing, the closing stages of the book are a revelation and I was stunned at some of the reveals.

What an amazing world. enjoy it.

Alaran

Enthralling epic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 11, 2017

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The second volume of ‘The Stormlight Archive’ is just as enthralling as the first, if not more so, and continues to develop what has become a thoroughly enjoyable epic.

It concentrates on a few characters, following events from their perspectives. Whereas Kaladin was, perhaps, the more major character of ‘The Way of Kings’ there is more emphasis on Shallan in this book. Thus, we find out much more about her life and background and she becomes more instrumental in events. As in ‘The Way of Kings’ much of the content comes from the perspectives of Kaladin and Dalinar. Though Dalinar this time shares some of the limelight with his son, Adolin, who becomes more of a fully rounded character during the course of this novel.

There is also still the occasional section/chapter from other perspectives, generally through the various interludes. This includes more from the tormented and dangerous Szeth building upon his portrayal in the previous book, a touch of insight into enigmatic Wit and the introduction of Eshonai to represent Parshendi interests. There is also an interlude that opts to focus upon Taravangian where we learn a lot more about him and his objectives, gaining a slight idea of how he fits into the return of the Knights Radiant.

‘Words of Radiance’ continues the superb world building begun in ‘The Way of Kings’. The world of Roshar is further embellished by the continual expansion of its geography and history (both its recent past and ancient myths).

Much like the first book, the bulk of the story is still concentrated around the civilisation of Alethkar and its people’s campaign upon the Shattered Plains. However, there are multiple teasing insights into other areas/states of Roshar that certainly leaves the reader wanting to learn more about these fascinating places and how they might eventually work into the greater story of ‘The Stormlight Archive’.

As with ‘The Way of Kings’ this is somewhat slower in pace than the bulk of Sanderson’s work as it concentrates on creating an in depth and elaborate world. That’s not to say that ‘Words of Radiance’ doesn’t contain some fantastically written action sequences. The last hundred or so pages are particularly gripping, both in terms of action and in the revelations they provide.

The division of the novel into two physical parts in the paperback edition is done at a somewhat better juncture than it was done in ‘The Way of Kings’. Although, it is still apparent that it is a forced rather than natural division, but that can’t really be helped.

An absolutely entrancing and rewarding novel that, like its predecessor, I’m sure I’ll be re-reading once the final volume of the series is published.

Dan

Enthralling

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2019

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I will remember Words of Radiance as the book that sucked me into this series proper. The first book was very good, but I didn't feel the need to rush out and grab the next one straight away. With Words of Radiance however, I found myself reading it in half the time, immediately buying the third book after finishing it, and eagerly finding more information online about the series. After reading it, I now know there is no escaping the rest of the series for me. I've read the Mistborn series, The Reckoners and The Rithmatist and this is probably my favourite of all of Sanderson's books so far.

SGFarhan

Intriguing, Captivating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2020

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The writer is a genius. I did not realise how big the plot was until the writer started including numerous kingdoms and their side story as well. I searched a bit on google and found that the author has created his own universe and all his different books are set in different realms in that universe. That is really a massive plot and I am going to finish all of his books in those different realms, really excited to see how he combines them to give an even bigger story. I have thoroughly enjoyed this and can safely say that once you start, you won’t be able to stop yourself until you finish it and then off course buy the next one immediately. Great author, great story

Jordan Glendenning

An excellent addition to Sanderson's world

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2017

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I think there are only a few writers who manage what Brandon Sanderson has done with this novel. It's not only one of the longest books I have read this year, by a huge margin, but it was completely riveting the entire time.

Words of Radiance is the second novel in The Stormlight Archive, and I read both The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance in the space of about a week, I was obsessed. The characters are fantastic. The world-building is amazing.

Sanderson holds closely to the adage, "Better for me to be confused for 10 minutes than bored for 5 seconds". There are times that you will not know fully the implications of something in the text until much later (some things from book one are resolved in book two, many hundreds of pages later), but this is fine because you know enough to get by until then.

Not only are these two books excellent, but they fit within the larger universe of Sanderson's novels (not all, admittedly, but many). The secrets of the Cosmere are only beginning to unfurl and I cannot wait to find out more.

Can't wait for Oathbringer, later this year!

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