I won’t get into the specifics, but there are some authors who can create a story that flows naturally, and others that have to force their characters into unlikely and unrealistic situations so as to reach particular story points. I will say, however, that I found some of his contrivances particularly forced. It’s all been said a hundred times over, and there is nothing I can say that will add or take away from those particular attributes. I won’t force a lengthy review just to be the forty-eighth reviewer to tell you how well Sanderson writes characters, builds worlds, writes action scenes, etc. It was a wonderfully satisfying feeling to finish reading and find myself at ease, relaxed, with the resolutions and the unresolved storylines. Instead of perpetuating the torture of certain characters and leaving us unresolved on a myriad of time-sensitive cliff-hangers, Sanderson actually wrapped the story up, while leaving the overarching plot to draw us on. Most enjoyable, however, was the way the book concluded. Words of Radiance is (almost) everything you want out of a fantasy book, and everything we have come to expect from Brandon Sanderson. I didn’t think I could handle it, but finally, after Ryan teased me with hints and my desire to read fiction came back from the dead, I finally picked it back up.

Such a long book, and one that would no doubt leave me on another year-long (or more) cliff-hanger. When Words of Radiance finally rocked up on my doorstep those few months ago, I looked at it with fear. I know I’m late to this particular party, but as the man who beat me to it said, I “just had to get words on a page to decompress” after finally finishing reading ‘Words of Radiance’ by Brandon Sanderson.

Stormlight book 2