Review by bulsy - Words of Radiance

bulsy 's review for:

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

5.0

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

Absolutely insane book.
If you read The Way of Kings and enjoyed it, please read this one, as the character development and stakes are turned way up, and WoR does a much better job in keeping you engaged with more characters at the same time.
While the ending might not be as satisfying as the catharsis experienced at the end of TWoK, it's very, very worthwhile.

Let's start with the bad:
The lack of Dalinar chapters hurts the book and the character's credibility and my trust in him, mainly in the middle of the book, when he's making actions that are not understandable without context coming from the character itself. This is made up by an okay plot twist near the end.
Renarin being a Truthwatcher is not even an asspull, because it serves no purpose when it happens. It's just a "why? why now? why without any setup?" moment. It also serves to undermine a potentially interesting arc about a disabled character who has always lived in their brother's shadow, wanting to fight and contribute like everyone else.
Lopen's arm is going to grow back... See the criticism above.
All fake deaths are trash and need to be cut from fiction. I recognize this can be a personal issue of mine, but I despise fake deaths due to how they make me view any death in a series; when it happens I automatically think that all characters are not dead until actually, fully confirmed, which sucks tension out of every scene for me.

And, because Words of Radiance is an amazing book, those are all my critiques.

The balance between Adolin, Shallan, and Kaladin's development stands out as superb. Not only did they make an uninteresting character (Shallan in TWOK) into a personal favourite, but Adolin grew a lot throughout these pages. I loved feeling his fights with Kaladin gain some deeper context, which only made it so insanely satisfying when Kaladin sees him leaving the prison cell.
Kaladin's development is comparable to that present in TWOK, and when he speaks those words... man I cried. I don't even care about the superhero landing that follows a goddamn anime scene reveal, because it's just that raw. I loved seeing his struggles with anxiety; one of my favourite themes started in the prison, where he questions whether Bridge Four truly wants to be there, with him, and coalesces into Kaladin, looking at Adolin enjoying himself with Bridge Four, and thinking that a lighteyes can't take anything from him if his own issues drive Bridge Four away from him first. It's a very honest, truthful, and real understanding of the dangers that insecurity poses in day-to-day relationships, both platonic and romantic ones.
I also enjoyed seeing Wit's story come back toward Kaladin in his moment of need. I think it's inspiring, if a little toxic, to convey the message that you can keep going and doing your best, even when you know you will either lose eventually.
I think Adolin is also very well setup for a future book in which he deals with being the only non-Radiant in his close group and family, while having always been the best at something his entire life. Although he has grown, he still is a little entitled. But he killed that ass Sadeas, so I forgive him.

Wit's final chapter is fun, as he usually is.
But man... Nightblood is here 🖤.

Content Warnings