Words of Radiance
ISBN: 9780575099043
Description
The Knights Radiant must stand again.
The ancient oaths have at last been spoken; the spren return. Men seek that which was lost. I fear the struggle will destroy them.
It is the nature of the magic. A broken soul has cracks into which something else can be fit. Surgebindings, the powers of creation themselves. They can brace a broken soul; but they can also widen its fissures.
The Windrunner, lost in a shattered land, balanced upon the boundary between vengeance and honor. The Lightweaver, slowly being consumed by her past, searching for the lie that she must become. The Bondsmith, born in blood and death, striving to rebuild what was destroyed. The Explorer, straddling the fates of two peoples, forced to choose between slow death and a terrible betrayal of all she believes.
It is past time for them to awaken, for the Everstorm looms.
And the Assassin has arrived.
Reviewed on 22nd June 2019
Book two of Sanderson’s mega epic The Starlight Archives is individually epic in itself - I’ve got the full hardback edition and carrying it around on my commute every day made for one rather full rucksack.
The story follows the lives of several ordinary citizens of a fantasy world with a rich cultural memory of past magical wars, and a rich present of military wars and political infighting - but those characters seem to be gradually drawn out and together by events, and discover that they seem to have interesting and useful abilities.
Sanderson’s ability to create cultures and worlds is amazing. I have not found a better author for creating such a multitude of compelling settings and stories to tell in them. Other authors will have a balance of compelling characters and characters whose viewpoints you just want to get over and done with, but Sanderson manages to make every character feel like you could spend an eternity seeing the world from their perspective.
This is great. I can’t wait to read book three, Oathbringer, but don’t want to rush myself as then I’ll have a long wait until book four.
