Words of Radiance Part One: The Stormlight Archive Book Two
By (Author) Brandon Sanderson
Orion Publishing Co
Gollancz
30th August 2022
14th April 2022
United Kingdom
Hardback
672
Width 134mm, Height 200mm, Spine 52mm
674g
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.The story continues in Words of Radiance: Part Two.The Way of Kings Part 1 manages to grip you from the very first page and doesn't let go, it's a powerful and somewhat mesmerising start to a very promising series and one which I intend to follow very closely indeed. * SFBOOK.COM *
Brandon Sanderson grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska and now lives and works in Utah with his family. A #1 New York Times bestseller, a Sunday Times bestseller, and a Hugo Award winner, his novels have sold more than 20 million copies around the world. He is most famous for his epic fantasy series The Stormlight Archive and The Mistborn Saga, but his work includes the sensational Skyward science fiction series, the Legion spy sequence, and The Reckoners superhero novels. In addition to creating his own landmark series, he was chosen by Robert Jordan's estate to complete The Wheel of Time sequence, now an internationally successful series on Amazon Prime.