Words of Radiance – Brandon Sanderson
I know, I know.. I finished Words of Radiance some time ago, and I’ve yet to write a review. I imagine most of you have been shaking with anticipation for the follow to The Way of Kings. At long last, it’s here.
Right off the bat, let’s just get this out of the way up front, Words of Radiance is good. Really good. All of the writing and character development that I ranted and raved about in the first novel is equally as good in the second. It’s an enthralling and captivating 1000+ page experience that takes you on a roller coaster of emotions, and I’m not really one for emotions to begin with.
It’s really hard to figure out how much to say in this review. I don’t want to rob anyone the experience of reading it for the first time.
To start, we get a second perspective on the moment in time that started the chain of events we find ourselves in now: the murder of the king. However, this time we’re inside the head of a much younger Jasnah. We learn a couple of new things, none of which I’ll spoil, but more importantly we get a glimpse into the mind of a child that suddenly is without a father. For much of the previous book, Jasnah appears cold and emotionless, so for this brief moment we catch a little peak into a much deeper character and her arc starts to come into focus.
And all of those thoughtful introspective ideas you have about her are immediately shattered.
I have to admit, all of the annoying aspects of Shallan (Jasnah’s student) that really bothered me in the The Way of Kings come back in full force. I have a really hard time with this character. She’s green as spring and makes terrible decisions. This is really my main criticism of Sanderson’s writing. Shallan’s plot armor is pretty thick. For all of the shit she gets herself into, you’d think that it wouldn’t always be so easy to get back out, especially since some of the other characters we follow (mainly Kaladin) is constantly under fire for his bad decisions. Or maybe it’s just me and my loathing for the character.
We get to see more of Shallan’s past, though, and it brings her character into full view, which I like, but it didn’t have as big an affect on me as it did when we were learning about Kaladin in the first novel. It all makes sense, and I feel that I understand her better, I just don’t like her anymore than I did before. What we realized with Kaladin’s backstory is that all of the “bad” decisions he made where somewhat justified by his past experiences. Explained, at least. But Shallan doesn’t seem to be learning. In fact, it quite literally tells us that she blocks out her past experiences because she doesn’t want to remember them.
Kaladin though. Man, I was all in on him in Words. His struggles as being Captain of the guard and keeping his men in line while secretly hiding his powers where really fun to read. His inner conflict between what he knows is right and his sworn duty to protect is relatable and logical and his relationship with Sil is VERY different from the first book.
The politics involved with Dalinar and his enemies is fascinating to follow along and the way each player deals in and around their goals is written in such a way that you never quite know what they’re going to do until it’s done. I particularly enjoyed these chapters. Kaladin’s part in this is unique, too.
Slight spolers ahead..
Part of the plan is to get Adolin (Dalinar’s son) to duel Shardbearers within the camp, specifically those in league with Dalinar’s enemy, to win their Shards. A variety of tactics are deployed to get people to fight, none of which are successful. Finally, Adolin messes up, over promises, and ends up in an arena against 4 other people. Man, ok, here we go.
Kaladin jumps in to help (ya, go dude, you’re a badass, what were you waiting for), but so does Adolin’s younger brother who is a dud (WTF, no, why). Kaladin fights off half the attackers while also protecting the younger brother and helping Adolin at the same time (just show your powers already!), and eventually the battle is won (hell yes) allowing Adolin to finally challenge the ultimate enemy of his family (yassssss). But guess who’s in the audience, Kaladin’s arch nemesis (uh oh), who he challenges as well and yells out in front of everyone that the dude is a bitch (oh god) and proceeds to get thrown in jail (oh christ, of course)..
The dude is cursed. He can’t seem to do anything right without then royally messing it up. Which is why I love his character. The reader can see it, but Kaladin can’t. The decisions he’s about to make, or just made, are not the right ones, but we’ve all been there. So blinded by our own ambitions that we can’t objectively step back and see them for what they really are: mistakes.
This is getting long, so without spoiling anything else, we come to the big finale.
The armies are marching, the fighting is commencing, the storm is raging… I was captured. All of the characters and plots weaving in and out of each other, all culminating onto one plateau out in the middle of the plain, had me reading the pages faster than I could turn to the next one. And just when you think the grass is finally greener, and you’re on the other side, Sanderson pulls the rug out from under you, leaving you once more wondering where you are and what you’re doing there. It’s such a wonderful feeling, and one that keeps you coming back for more.
★★★★★
