Words of Radiance
I had wanted to get this review written before I went into labor. But that didn't quite happen. So now I'm here, over a month later, trying to remember what I did and didn't like about this book so I can write about it. At least I managed to finish reading it before I had my kid.
Words of Radiance is the second in Sanderson's epic Stormlight Archive, which is supposed to be ten books long. As such, it's a bit hard to judge on it's own. More stuff happens than in the first book, and in some ways the plot advances a lot farther than I expected it to. But it's still mostly about setting things up.
This book focuses on Shallan for it's flashbacks, which made me really happy. She's probably my favorite character, at least of the main characters, and her flashbacks do a lot to make her more complex and to explain why she is that way. Although Sanderson holds back his big reveal, which is actually the very beginning of her arc, forever, which had me wondering if I missed something a few times. But no, he was just being coy with some information that was mostly obvious, and it left me confused.
The best part about this book is that it brings all of the characters together. Usually these epic fantasies start with the group together and then have them split off. But here they were all separate in the first book and by midway through the second one everyone is working together in the same camp. They aren't necessarily friends yet, but it's nice to have them together. The downside is that it really narrows the focus of the book, which is a shame with so many interesting characters and places. I hope they start working on their own projects again in the next book so we aren't relying on the interludes for information about the world outside Dalinar's camp.
Words of Radiance is the second in Sanderson's epic Stormlight Archive, which is supposed to be ten books long. As such, it's a bit hard to judge on it's own. More stuff happens than in the first book, and in some ways the plot advances a lot farther than I expected it to. But it's still mostly about setting things up.
This book focuses on Shallan for it's flashbacks, which made me really happy. She's probably my favorite character, at least of the main characters, and her flashbacks do a lot to make her more complex and to explain why she is that way. Although Sanderson holds back his big reveal, which is actually the very beginning of her arc, forever, which had me wondering if I missed something a few times. But no, he was just being coy with some information that was mostly obvious, and it left me confused.
The best part about this book is that it brings all of the characters together. Usually these epic fantasies start with the group together and then have them split off. But here they were all separate in the first book and by midway through the second one everyone is working together in the same camp. They aren't necessarily friends yet, but it's nice to have them together. The downside is that it really narrows the focus of the book, which is a shame with so many interesting characters and places. I hope they start working on their own projects again in the next book so we aren't relying on the interludes for information about the world outside Dalinar's camp.
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