Words of Radiance
(Stormlight Archive #2)
by Brandon Sanderson
fantasy
copyright 2014
read in December 2015
rated 7/10: well worth reading
What a lot of fun ! What a unique -- yet acceptable -- world ! What nice characters :-)
This is "book two" and I'm guessing that the hero is continuing his adventures but the heroine is new to this book. It did take me a while to decide that the heroine is "new". Then the occasional flashbacks reached a conclusion and I thought, Aha ! Very satisfactory !
It's action and adventure all the way. There are battles fought, with thousands killed... Yet very few named characters are at risk. And I like that.
The main characters are likeable. They battle their inner demons and overcome the traumas of past suffering. But the past is past, either in short flashbacks or in book one. (I wonder if book one was as gloomy as the heroes memories of it !?)
Nearly everyone is pleasant, good humoured, dependable. The villains are sneaky, their motives are acceptable, they are dealt with... adequately. Enough villains survive to make book three an interesting continuation of the story.
There is, however, a problem with that feeling that the story will continue:
The heroic ending would be deus ex machina -- if it had not been so clearly signposted ! Hero and heroine make huge steps on their path to super-being-dom. (You know, on their path to being super-beings.) Battles are won, secret troves found, all looks good. But...
There is still a feeling of incompleteness.
Amazing battles. Incredible discoveries. Thunder and lightning and the whole meteorological works. Yet it still feels a little, So what ?!
That's the problem with a continuing saga. There's a need to wrap up one adventure -- but leave enough for the next books. I just wanted a little more wrapping up.
Still, not a problem ! This book is complete, it can be read -- and enjoyed -- by itself. But I think it would be even better if I read all of books one to... N... one after the other. The adventure is great. The continuity (assuming it does, eventually, reach a solid conclusion) would be even better.
The world itself -- the people, the geography, the magic... but I really mean the flora and fauna -- is fascinating. A terrifically imaginative effort by the author.
I enjoyed the book. I think I would enjoy the complete saga, even more.
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"Why should I have to work for everything ?! It's like saying I don't deserve it !"... Calvin per Watterson
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