Overview

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

The Assassin, Szeth, is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson

The Cosmere

The Stormlight Archive
The Way of Kings
Words of Radiance
Edgedancer (Novella)
Oathbringer

The Mistborn trilogy
Mistborn: The Final Empire
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series
Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
Bands of Mourning

Collection
Arcanum Unbounded

Other Cosmere novels
Elantris
Warbreaker

The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
The Scrivener's Bones
The Knights of Crystallia
The Shattered Lens
The Dark Talent

The Rithmatist series
The Rithmatist

Other books by Brandon Sanderson

The Reckoners
Steelheart
Firefight
Calamity

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The readers of Sanderson’s The Way of Kings (2010) may have been waiting for him to return to the Stormlight Archives from his labors in finishing the late Robert Jordan’s epic Wheel of Time. The wait is now over, and devoted followers of fantasy on the grandest imaginable scale can make themselves comfortable and start reading. The world of Roshar is still very close to being a character in its own right (one thinks of Dune), as Sanderson has used the room afforded by a book of this size to build it in loving detail, including the fierce storms that make civilized life difficult even in peacetime. But the humans and the humanoid Parshendi are still fighting, although Brightlord Kholin is leading an army deep into enemy territory. His sister, Jasnah, is with him, seeking a legendary lost city that her student, Shallan, believes may hold the key to victory. Far below the level of the high command, the rising young slave warrior, Kaladin, learns that the Parshendi have a counterstrategy in preparation, one that portends the destruction of the world unless he can become the founder of a new order of the legendary Knights Radiant. Many readers will find Shallan and Kaladin the most absorbing of the major characters because they have the most to lose, but the characterization is on the whole as meticulous as the world-building. A very impressive continuation. --Roland Green

Review

“I loved this book. What else is there to say?” ―Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind on The Way of Kings

“This is a great choice for fans of Robert Jordan and Terry Brooks.” ―Voice of Youth Advocates on The Way of Kings

“The best part…is the compelling, complex story of Dalinar, Kaladin, and Shallan as they struggle though emotional, physical, and moral challenges. Fans and lovers of epic fantasy…will eagerly await the next volume.” ―Library Journal on The Way of Kings

About the Author

Brandon Sanderson grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He lives in Utah with his wife and children and teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. He is the author of such bestsellers as the Mistborn® trilogy and its sequels, The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, and The Bands of Mourning; the Stormlight Archive novels The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance; and other novels, including The Rithmatist and Steelheart. In 2013, he won a Hugo Award for Best Novella for The Emperor's Soul, set in the world of his acclaimed first novel, Elantris. Additionally, he was chosen to complete Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time® sequence.