Spoiler free reviewIm still lost for words about how to review this book. So Ill just write anything that comes to my mind. This book was incredible, the world building, character development, writing style has lots of improvement from the first book and finally the amazing plot. I totally get why people love this book this much but Im still torn between this and Mistborn, still dont know which I love more, its a good thing I have a big heart to contain it all then. There is politics,religion,diversity,racism,sexism and the lots in this book. I really love the politics and their games. As usual not one person get to carry the load of saving everyone but a group of individuals with really awesome powers. The magic system is one of a kind and I really love the idea of stormlight and spren. I'm so loving the ship,glad that its sailing,so hoping it doesn't sink.World building and WritingThis is something Mr Sanderson is yet to disappoint me cause he always delivers. The world building is incredible with perfect depictions. The different parts of Roshar perfectly potrayed. The writing is easily comprehensible and there is no overuse of metaphors or any figures of speech. The story is told in multiple POVs of the MCs and other characters like Eshonai in the interludes.Kaladin frowned. Wait. Are you wearing cologne? In prison?Well, there was no need to be barbaric, just because I was incarcerated.Storms, youre spoiled, Kaladin said, smiling.Im refined, you insolent farmer, Adolin said. Then he grinned. Besides, Ill have you know that I had to use cold water for my baths while here.Poor boy.I know. Adolin hesitated, then held out a hand.CharactersKaladin My favourite in this book, he is brooding and smouldering also kind and selfless, what more could we ask for? I love his relationship with everyone around him especially Syl, you just cant mention Kaladin without Syl.I really like that he got to learn from his mistakes.He is also super handsome.That was very nicely done, she said. Perhaps Ill keep you around this time.Thank you.You almost killed me, you realize.I realize. I thought I had.And?And . . . um . . . you are intelligent and articulate?You forgot the compliment.But I just saidThose were simple statements of fact.Youre wonderful, he said. Truly, Syl. You are.Also a fact, she said, grinning. But Ill let it slide so long as youre willing to present me with a sufficiently sincere smile.He did.And it felt very, very good.Dalinar Kholin Also known as the Blackthorn. Warlord turned politician. I like how dedicated he is to what he believes in to matter how it made him look,even though people called him insane he still went along with it, thankfully he came through.Shallan really improved, her character development is just the best here and her back story made me understand her more, I barely tolerated her in the first book now I really like her.Adolin Kholin is just wow, I really love his personality, even though he is spoilt and a major flirt, not to mention cocky,arrogant and hot headed he still cares for people around him, I like how him and Kaladin became friends despite the rocky start of how they met.Szeth I felt bad for him at first but now I just dont know, he is a great character but with lots of issues. I dont hate him neither do I like him, but I gotta admire his amazing fighting skills.PlotThe search for the radiance continues and the return of the voidbringers is super close. Dalinar is still trying to unite them, Kaladin is trying to keep Dalinar and his family alive while trying to embrace his powers completely. Shallan is searching for Urithiru the land of the radiants which is supposedly located at the shattered plains. There still have to overcome court politics, Szeth,Parshendis and a whole lot of other things.

For Oliver Sanderson, Who was born during the middle of the writing of this book, and was walking by the time it was done.Aww, I have never started a review with the book's dedication before, dedications are usually read it and forget it affairs, nice for the dedicatee, nothing to do with me. However, this one is charming and noteworthy in that I seldom consider how long it must take authors to write lengthy books. This dedication makes me appreciate the time and effort Brandon Sanderson puts into the creation of this book. The world building and attention to details in this book is mind boggling, the beautiful artworks scattered inside the book and the complex (but easy to follow) structure makes the book seems like a huge undertaking involving not just Sanderson but also the illustrator and probably a book designer, not to mention the publishing and marketing side of it. It seems almost unfair that I read this book in about three weeks but it took Sanderson over a year to write it. At 1328 pages for about 9 US Dollars the book is incredible value for money per page. That is if you place value in great epic fantasy books; I do, and this book is a bargain.Words of Radiance is volume 2 of Sandersons ambitious Stormlight Archive series, which is projected to span ten similarly gigantic volumes. The main story arc concerns humanitys struggle against a nonhuman* race called Parshendi who seek to destroy them for their own survival. The Parshendi are not evil per se, but there are forces at work which prevent the two races from living in peaceful coexistence.As with most epics, the story is told from the perspective of several main characters in multiple plot strands. These main characters are the movers and shakers of Roshar, the world of this series. So we follow the adventures of Kaladin the Radiant knight with wind riding abilities, Shallan the scholar with eidetic memory and the ability to create illusions, High Prince Dalinar who receives visions from the gods and will do anything to save his people from destruction, and several others.ShallanIn spite of being a very long book, the narrative just flows and flows, it never grinds to a halt. This is not to say that it is relentlessly fast-paced the pace varies according to the needs of the scene being depicted; discussions, battles, ruminations, romance, bantering etc. all require different pacing to make the scenes work. Each plot strand has something of interest going on, there are no long dry passages of expositions, yet the world is complex and richly imagined. I only have one very minor complaint in that Sanderson's jokes seldom land for me, they are just generally too bland, and too safe; but at least some of them make did make me smile, and I appreciate the author for including some humour (even if it is too tame) to balance the more intense parts of the book.Characterization is very important for this kind of book because we have to spend such a long time with the main characters and be invested in what they are doing. Sanderson spends a lot of time developing the characters, their strengths, and foibles. We get to know them very well by the end of the book and look forward to seeing them again. Kaladin still spends a little too much time moping and doubting himself, but there is much less of this than in the previous book, The Way of Kings. Magic system is now a popular term among the modern fantasy fans. Nowadays the old school Abracadabra! conjuring trope just does not cut it anymore for many readers. Magic should have some kind of logical basis, cause and effect, it is equally impossible regardless of whether it is systematic, but the internal logic has to make sense for its application to be believable. Sanderson is probably the king of magic systems, if you read his Mistborn series you will know exactly what I mean. For the Stormlight Archive series magic is fueled by stormlight from the high storms that infuses gems and is used almost like electricity, for lighting and various purposes. The word technology even appears a few times, unusual for books in this genre.Roshar is full of numerous bizarre life forms, quite a few of which are beautifully illustrated in the book. My favorites are the sprens which are like elemental spirits. A few of them are also very entertaining as characters. One is a Tinker Bell-like creature called Syl that follows Kaladin, and the other is called Pattern and is literally a living pattern that acts as Shallans very strange sidekick.There is so much depth and details in this book that it is hard to write a readable, comprehensive review. The best I can do is ramble on as I have and make a strong recommendation to fantasy fans not to miss this mighty series. The third volume of this series is scheduled to be published around November. I'm on board for all ten books, providing the author does not jump the shark somewhere down the line. * They are not aliens because they are just as indigenous to the world of Roshar as the humans. Opinions differ on this issue but, the way I see it, there is no need to firmly commit to reading all ten volumes, especially as the series will probably not be finished for another decade at least. As readers, we should just enjoy the journey and not worry too much about the destination. Each book so far wraps up quite nicely at the end, some major questions are answered, leading to intriguing new ones to be explored in the next installment. The fight scenes in this book are extremely well done, vividly depicted and pulse pounding. The paintings in the book (two of them shown above) are by the great Michael Whelan, the gray scale art by Dan dos Santos, there are also some amazingly detailed drawings by Ben McSweeney (not shown here).On an individual basis, in most interactions, this thing we call powerauthorityexists only as it is perceived.Its not that you arent witty, Shallan. I just feel like you try too hard. The world is not a sunny place, and frantically trying to turn everything into a joke is not going to change that.Using a fetching face to make men do as you wish is no different from a man using muscle to force a woman to his will, shed said. Both are base, and both will fail a person as they age.I like to learn to use the local weapons, Mraize said. It is a quirk, though I feel it is justified. If you want to understand a people, learn their weapons. The way men kill one another says far more about a culture than any scholars ethnography.Kaladin vs. Szeth

Full review now posted!I have a new favorite book, and its this one! Words of Radiance was powerful and moving and epic in both size and scope. There is absolutely no negative feedback I could give this book. I know I had some friends that were disappointed in how long it took me to read this, and the fact that I paused and read a few other books. But theres a reason for that! When I truly love a story with all of my heart, I dont want to the book Im reading to end. So Ill put it down and read something else for a while, giving myself a reason to stretch out my stay in the world I dont want to leave. And thats what I did here. This book is huge, even bigger than The Way of Kings. My little mass-marked paperback is 1310 pages long. Its basically a colorful brick. But it never felt like it dragged; in fact, I wouldve been completely happy with another thousand pages. Since I was young, I have loved the fantasy genre with all of my heart. It transports you in a way nothing else does, in my opinion. And no series has ever transported me and enthralled me quite as much as the Stormlight Archive. The world Sanderson has built here is the most unique I have ever read. The flora and fauna are completely unique from our world. The magic system (like all of Sandersons magic systems) is vast and varied and well fleshed-out while still retaining an air of mystery, and the religion of the land ties into that remarkably well. All of the world-building is beyond compare, but what makes this series truly shine are Sandersons characters. Some of my very favorite fantasies have focused mainly on the lives of single individuals. Harry Potter, Kvothe, Ender Wiggins, Locke Lamora, Percy Jackson, Thomas Hunter, Errol Stone, Karou, Meg Corbyn, Mercy Thompson, Bilbo Baggins, and many more (though fewer female characters than Id like, since I cant make myself include Katniss or Tris) have been the nearly complete focus of their stories, and I love that. But a lot of fantasies now are choosing to focus on more and more perspectives. Which is completely fine, I just end up picking favorites. In A Song of Ice and Fire, I prefer reading about Tyrion and Danaerys and Arya and Bran than I do Cersei or Jaime or the other Starks. Picking favorites just happens. But so far, that is most definitely not the case with the Stormlight Archive. Every perspective is fantastic, and every character carries their weight in the story. I never caught myself counting the pages until I got back to one of my favorite characters, because theyre all my favorites! And each character has grown so much since being introduced in the first book (which was amazing in its own right, but this one blew it out of the water) that I couldnt wait to see what new decisions they made and how they changed. Ive grown really attached to just about every character in the vast cast Sanderson has assembled. Theres determination, despair, romance, hatred, philosophy, stupidity, and humor. A lot of humor!Another thing I love about Sanderson is that the man knows how to write an ending. The last two hundred pages or so were intense. There was an insane amount of action, character breakthroughs, discoveries, plot twists, new appearances and reappearances. Also, this book begins tying threads of the Cosmere together, which was SO MUCH FUN to read! There were threads in The Way of Kings, but Words of Radiance brought those a bit more to the readers attention and built on them further. Sandersons creation of the Cosmere is incredibly ambitious, and I cant wait to see how everything comes together. Which is more than likely going to take decades. But with his work ethic and imagination, Im excited about the future of the Cosmere instead of despairing of the long road ahead. And good news; the third volume of the Stormlight Archive, Oathbringer, is set to release this November, so we have another installment to look forward to soon!A buddy read with my friend Chris.Read all of my reviews, along with my fiction and thoughts on life, at my blog, Celestial Musings.