Reviews - Le livre des radieux, vol. 1

15.2k reviews for:

Le livre des radieux, vol. 1

Brandon Sanderson

4.74 AVERAGE

bibilicious's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jarom's review against another edition

2.75

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A significant step down from the first book. While Way of Kings felt like a leisurely but fresh introduction to a new world that ended with a pivotal shift into the heart of a burgeoning story, Words of Radiance felt like a stalling of that story, more obsessed with easter eggs and secrets than with engaging the reader, and ending with a single step forward that left me worried the next book might be just as exhausting.

It was frustrating the amount of time we spent with characters trying to keep secrets from each other that the audience already knows, and just wishing that they would be revealed so we could move on to the consequences of the information. Kaladin and Shallan are so thematically interesting but their internal monologues and self-growth in this story feels far too plodding and mundane, no matter how good the prose is along the way.

The good news is that the world is so intriguing and the characters so colorful, I almost can't help wanting to try the next book anyway; much like I did at the end of the first book. Surely with the huge status quo shift that the whole second book built up to, the third one can't spend another 800 pages setting up for something important to happen, right? Right?

maddiess's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring tense slow-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

I cannot wait for Oathbringer. I feel like that is where things will finally come together and get moving in the way I want. While book one is basically a character and world introduction, this book felt like the setup for a chessboard, and the game is now starting in Oathbringer, and on.

The first half (especially Shallan's POVS) was slow. I feel like Sanderson dragged her journey out too much, not for her own character development, but because he wouldn't know what to do with her in the Shattered Plains if she arrived too early. Also, my other issue (same with WOK) is the freaking interludes. They are way too long. For my edition, one set of interludes was nearly 70 pages long. While after the halfway mark (and Shallan arrives at the Plains) it's great and the ending is phenomenal, I have to lower it from a five for the slowness of the beginning. Finally, I wish there was a little more Dalinar. I felt him missing a bit. I may bump it up to a 4.75, but unfortunately (unless a reread proves otherwise), it is not a full five-star.