A review by theguildwriter
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book built on everything laid out by the first and then surpassed it. It gave a lot of things I was waiting for and had even more surprises than I could have expected. It reflects on some of the darkest corners of being human and shows that love is never simple. Progress is rarely a straight line, and people slip more than once as they move forward and grow. I think what this book did -- more than anything -- that I loved the most was show that people are not one-dimensional. Characters I met in the previous book and spent all those pages despising were given new light in Words of Radiance. If they were not redeemed, they were, at the very least, understood. Brandon Sanderson showed, once again, the strength every person is capable of, especially those we expect it from the least. I was blown away by this sequel and cannot wait to see what Oathbringer has in store. Another 5/5 from Brandon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism and Slavery

I was more than satisfied with all of Shallan's flashbacks in this story. Not only did it explain her coming to be a Radiant as well as her family situation back home, but by the end it provided the explanation for Shallan's constant love for her father. By her final flashback, the whole story of the Davar house becomes a tragedy. The chapters slowly brought me to love and care for her brothers that, in the previous book, I couldn't quite bring myself to like. And then, with the revelation that her father had taken the blame for Shallan's mother's death after Shallan was forced to kill her in self-defense, you understand his anger, his abuse, his complete mental break from the trauma of all of it. Kaladin's persisting prejudice and his struggle to overcome it despite several characters putting him in his place was frustrating but completely realistic. He had a lifetime of being mistreated by lighteyes, of having some of the worst parts of his life handed to him by them playing their games, that his interactions with Dalinar (and eventually Adolin and Shallan) were not just going to undo. Only by being shown goodness from them time and time again did he eventually see his own prejudice and fully overcome it. Adolin being so good at his core is why I think he was the one to do what he did to Sadeas. He saw, in that moment, that Sadeas was never going to stop being Sadeas even in the face of the world ending. Adolin knew they needed his father to lead them through it all, and that Sadeas would find away to take all the honor and faith Dalinar had earned that day and turn it against him. And, with the world ending, they did not have time to play the politics game anymore. They didn't have time to do things the honorable way. Sadeas had to go. And I think it was Adolin's good heart that pushed him to do something so drastic. He saw past the games, past the codes, past the honor, and he thought about what needed to be done for everyone to survive.