Words of Radiance

Book !!; no let down- "Words of Radiance" shines

In the first book, “The Way of Kings,” we were introduced to the world of Roshar. It is a world of magic and aliens where hurricane-like storms lay savage to the world every few days and all of its inhabitants must adapt their lives accordingly. It is a world at war between the human armies led by High prince Dalinar Kholin and the Parshendi, a humanoid species. We were introduced to Jasnah, who is a renowned scholar and the niece of the High Prince Dalinar Kholin, her student Shallan, and Kaladin, a slave that by the end of Way of Kings is beginning to become the world’s first Knight’s Radiance in centuries.
If you haven’t read/listened to ”The Way of Kings,” I would strongly recommend that you do before going on to this second book, “Words of Radiance.” If you have read/listened to the first book I would recommend a review of TWOK before going on since it has been over four years and the second book starts off right where “The Way of Kings,” left off.
At 48 hours and 15 minutes this is a long book, in fact Brandon Sanderson posted on his blog that he wrote the manuscript under the working title “the Book of Endless Pages.” He was referring to the endless learning set forth in his first book but it seemed appropriate given its length; but don’t let the length of this book deter you as I listened the hours seemed to fly past. This is an amazing book.
“Word of Radiance” focuses on four characters: Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, and Adolin. In TWOK Kaladin was the main character and is still very prevalent but this book reveals more about Shallan. Like “The Way of Kings,” Sanderson interlaces the present with the past, developing the background on the main characters’ while moving the plot forward.
This is only book two in a ten part series and even though I can’t wait for the next book I found the ending satisfactory.
I word about the narrators, I’ve always been a big fan of Michael Kramer and Kate Reading and I thought they gave another great performance.

125 sur 137 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

48 more hours of Sanderson goodness!

When I wrote my (too) short review of the first book in this series, The Way of Kings, I ended it with this sentence: "This book is so good I will gladly listen to it again as a refresher when book two comes out!"

Well I am back to say that I followed through on my promise and it was worth every second. The Stormlight Archive is epic fantasy at it's best and Sanderson shows why he is at the top of my must read/listen list. Here I am fresh off of investing close to 94 hours of my life listening to books 1 and 2 of the Stormlight Archive and I am ready for more.

The world is rich and deep, the characters are complex, and the magic systems are true Sanderson - well defined, unique, and interesting. All of the main characters are back and the story just gets bigger and bigger. For most authors the end of this book would be a satisfying conclusion to any series but it is obvious that this one is just getting started. Sanderson set the bar so awfully high with the Mistborn series that I am truly impressed he was able to surpass himself with the Stormlight Archive.

Veteran narrators Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are back and once again breathe life into all of the great characters. It was a pleasure to listen to them both for 90+ hours and I can't wait for book three. These two know epic fantasy and combine with Sanderson to form a perfect highstorm of epic proportions.

If you like fantasy books then you will feel like a kid in a candy store here. It is time for you to run up to the counter and plunk down your credit(s) to enjoy this wonderful experience. You won't find more hours of entertainment for so little cost anywhere else. Of course you should start with The Way of Kings but be assured that 94 listening hours later you will find yourself back at the candy store counter standing on your tip toes and holding up another credit. Of course, I will be standing right next to you. :)

115 sur 129 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Loved It!

I love the world that Sanderson has built here and I'm super excited for where this series is going. This is quite a long book but it definitely pays off in the end. We're getting more and more info regarding the Cosmere as a whole and I couldn't be more happy about that.

My one complaint about this book, as well as The Way of Kings, is Kate Reading. I've never been so unhappy when a specific POV character's chapter begins as with Shallan chapters. Throughout the first book I couldn't be sure if that was because I simply don't like Shallan but this book was able to settle that for me with a length chapter with Shallan read by Kramer. It was like she was a new, much more likable character. Suddenly I was amused by her dialogue and her interactions with Kaladin rather than rolling my eyes and looking at my watch. Kate reading has this fascinating way of making me hate every character she voices. They all sound like whiny 12 year old brats. Not only that but her pacing and intonation can completely ruin the meaning of dialogue and she has an extremely bizarre way of reading that makes random sentences sound like questions. It's so bad that at a specific moment when Kaladin jumps into a fight and it immediately switches to Shallan's perspective I literally yelled "Noooooooo!" at the top of my lungs, terrified that I'd have to listen to an action sequence as read by Reading. If she wasn't performing along side the amazing Michael Kramer this might not be such a huge deal and I might have a much easier time getting used to it. It's just so unfortunate that such amazing books are marred by this terrible reading.

9 sur 10 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Excellent book, weakened by the performance

Either of the readers would have done a wonderful job, but the use of two readers who clearly have not heard one another's take on the story is unfortunate. Different pronunciations and different accents between the readers makes portions of the performance unnecessarily messy.

38 sur 45 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Starting to lag already

I love Sanderson and will buy all of his books for his ability to give his characters life and their individual distinct voices, but I have to admit that Sanderson seems to have been distracted on this novel. Plots meandered and character development for his main hero, Kaladin, came to stop and even reverted back to his previous development from the first novel. Going to buy the next book and probably the rest in the series as I know Sanderson can pull it off and bring it together but still kind of a sophomore slump for this series. Hoping for better in Oathkeeper.

47 sur 58 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

too slow for me

it really is good but with how slow everything moves in this book I can't do it.

26 sur 32 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

By FAR, one of the best fantasy epics to date.

Where does Words of Radiance rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is, easily, the most enjoyable audiobook I've ever listened to. The narrator's are the best in the business, but the book itself stands next to it's predecessor (Way of Kings) as being one of the best fantasy epics to date. Wheel of Time had it's merits, and Sanderson has obviously been inspired by Robert Jordan's long-form fantasy series (he wrote the last few books after Jordan's death). That being said, Sanderson has fully surpassed his mentor in the epic fantasy genre. His description is perfect, and doesn't drag on like RJ's, remaining interesting as Sanderson masterfully weaves it into more pressing material. This series, the Stormlight Archive, is unforgettable. I hope to be buying every new outing in the Archive for years and years to come.

26 sur 33 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Decent story, but a bit predictable.

Female narrator's voice for Pattern gets quite irritating. Her male voices also had room for improvement

19 sur 24 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

I AM A STICK

WE HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT OR WE WILL BREAK YOUR BRAIN
I have dreaded this review more then any review I have ever written. I am a huge fan of Sanderson. I have been telling people for the last two years that Brandon Sanderson is going to be the biggest thing in Fantasy. I loved, The Way of Kings and bought copies for my grown kids, for Christmas a couple of years ago. I was excited about this book.

A BELLY THAT STRETCHED TO NEXT WEEK
I could not get into this book at all. It may have started with the talking pattern. The pattern that Sanderson could not describe. Let me get this straight BS, you think this up on your own, you are a writer and you can not describe it to the reader. Why would you not come up with something you could describe. Then this pattern starts talking. It was just lame. I got tired of the Sea of Spheres. I got tired of the Dark Eyes whining about the Light Eyes. Someone said that it picked up in the last 25%, so I have to listen to 38 hours before it starts to get good?? Someone said he is now writing like Robert Jordan. I think trying to write like Jordan, has ruined him. I like Sanderson, bring him back. Actually I think he hired a ghost writer, cause this is not Sanderson.

Narrators: I have always been a fan of Michael Kramer. His deep rich voice makes chills run up my spine. The jury is still out for me on Kate Reading. Her voice is unique and I even recognized her in the commercial she did a few years ago because of that unique voice. I put her on 1.25 speed a few times and liked the result. I don't know maybe I need them to say Aes Sedai every other line?

If I wanted to be popular I would join the crowd and say I love this, but what few followers I have depend on the truth from me. I got through ten hours and called it quits. If they offer this for free, that is 48 hours of your life you will never get back. At least my belly aching only lasts a couple of minutes.

151 sur 206 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Best Fantasy Novel of 2014

Any additional comments?

Is it even possible to say enough good things about this novel? Or, to say anything that hasn’t already been said? Sanderson is a marvel. This is a massive novel that reads like a book half its page length. The story rarely dragged, even the interlude chapters that irritated me in the first book, in Words of Radiance were fun, interesting, and whimsical. More than that, they actually started to make sense in the overall, emerging, story. The story is also tight and focused, almost exclusively following the central characters through the primary storyline. Unlike most fantasy novels of this length, there are no lingering subplots, no secondary characters to drag to the central story off in different directions in order to drag out the plot and lengthen the drama. On top of all this praise, hard as it is to be believe, but I feel like Brandon Sanderson is growing as a writer. His novels are not only becoming more complex but his writing is growing more intricate and sophisticated, no longer relying on typical descriptors or dramatic queues that so often make high fantasy stories predictable. More than this, Sanderson does not rely on graphic violence, graphic sex, or out-of-place profanity the way other working fantasy writers do. While it doesn’t bother me in other books, it is often used as a crutch to prop up weak writing. As for narration, Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are simply put, the best American fantasy narrators in the audiobook industry. This series is a must-read for any fan of high fantasy.

17 sur 23 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.