Book notes: Words of Radiance

By Brandon Sanderson.

The second book in the Stormlight Archives series. FYI my notes on the first book..

~1300 pages is a long walk for me, but as you get to know the characters and the world the book reads faster. If you read the first book, the second book is a must-read.

Spoilers going forward.

All the main characters are finally meeting each other. My favorite non-battle moment is when Adolin, Shallan, Kaladin, and Wit are riding in the stage coach together. Hilarious!

Two more moments in this book where I felt like I was drawing in stormlight, and finished a chapter with my hands shaking… Adolin’s shorthanded duel, and the final battle.

The witty banter is my favorite part of these books. Shallan hits full stride. She could veil herself as Wit and fool anyone. The fantastic world and epic plot are amazing, but for me the banter is the secret sauce.

There are a couple of whiplash-ow-my-head-hurts twists at the end of the book. Dalinar hits up the Stormfather “come on man I want in on this stormlight business” and dude responds “sure, whatever”. What?! Well, fine. Lesson learned: Just ask nicely for stormlight power! But the worst is Sadeas’s death. Lame lame LAME. The author was thinking “Don’t need this guy for book #3 gotta kill him somehow and this book already 1300 pages. Do it fast.” Sadeas, the otherwise brilliant planner, wandering the halls alone, antagonizing Adolin. Inconceivably dumb. There had to be a cleverer way to kill him.

Words of Radiance didn’t end in a way that left me excited to read the next (third) one. Except that my son tells me it’s even better than the second, so I’ll likely get to it at some point. Lots more to know… how does Adolin adapt to being the only non-stormbinder? Why doesn’t Dalinar remember his ex? What do the Parshendi do next? Now that we have some Knights Radiant, what do they do next? Shallan ditches Adolin for Kaladin, right? Szeth still lurking around. Most importantly… what’s the deal with Wit?