Continuing the Journey: The Words of Radiance Part 2

 

Continuing the Journey: The Words of Radiance Part 2



Greetings Dear Readers, 

Welcome back, and my my do I have a lot to say about the Words of Radiance Part 2. First of all I am very disappointed in you, Branden Sanderson. My one hope was that Shallan does not spend the whole book traipsing through the continent trying to reach the Shattered Plains. Spoiler alert that is exactly what happens.  

Well, I might be over exaggerating but she does spend the entire of part two traveling to the Plains. However this journey does offer very valuable information and develops her character thoroughly. During her trek she masters one of her abilities, Lightweaving or creating illusions. This I assume will be her primary ability as Jasnah has not taught her Soulcasting (reality warping) and as we have seen she is terrible at it illustrated by the stick. Furthermore after she meets Tyn and learns the art of con and deception this will, I assume, heavily influence her Lightweaving capabilities and spying skills. 


In complete contrast Kaladin does not do much, at all. We are obviously introduced to the tension between him and Amaram, his betrayer. Zahel, a swords master, trains him in the way of the Shardblade most probably heavily foreshadowing Kaladin gaining one for himself. And finally Kaladin’s most memorable scene is the assassination. The scene starts with Kaladin noticing red lightning, creating suspense for the arrival of the Voidbringers and the Parshendi. After the infamous assassin who killed the Alethi King, Szeth, arrives an epic battle takes place ending with Szeth realizing he is not the only man with powers and            Kaladin falling into a trance where he is told he is destined to kill Syl.


And finally the characters who have no real importance in this part. Dalinar is trying to find the secrets of the Knights Radiants and reform them. Little does he know that both Kaladin and his son’s betrothed are indeed Knights Radiants. Speaking of which, Adolin son of Dalinar is betrothed to Shallan. He however is tasked with winning Shardblades in duels as they will heavily influence the war. Lastly we discover that Shallan herself has a Shardblade and this is probably the cause of her mothers death.

To conclude, Part 2 is definitely classified as rising action, the plot behind the arrival of the Voidbringers and the threat of the Parshendi are inevitable. Although if this book mirrors Book 1 the climax will only towards the very end leaving the majority of the book as build up. So far I am really enjoying the book and how the characters interact with each other and the world around. I find it interesting how each character has a past trauma that dictates their actions now for better or worse and I can’t wait to see how Kaladin deals with his hypocrisy of his judgment of the bourgeoisie as the bourgeoisie judge members of that form the proletariats such as Kaladin himself. And I am sensing a love triangle might form between Adolin, Shallan and Kaladin or maybe even a polyamorous relationship between the three.




With that spicy ending and much desired future prediction, goodbye and I’ll let you, dear reader, know more in the near future.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Interludes of the Words of Radiance.

Image
 The Great Interludes of the Words of Radiance:   Greetings Dear Readers,   As you know between each Part within the Stormlight Archives there are Interludes spanning roughly 80 pages each. In each Interlude we experience many different, supporting, character’s points of view. These small ‘chapters’ give us, the readers, a completely different understanding of the plot, the world and there are even some easter eggs referencing other books within the Cosmere universe. And my my, are these Interludes good at doing just that!   First let's talk about one of the most important characters portrayed in the I nterludes: Eshonai. Eshonai is the main Parshendi leader that our protagonists fight. She, in the eyes of the Kaladin and Dalinar, is the main villain as not only is she the enemy since she is Parshendi but she is also a Shardbearer. She is so cool. She is the only character that is carried over throughout each Interlude and so we learn lots about her and ...
Read more

The End of the Journey

Image
  Greetings Dear Readers   Welcome to the end! To summarize the army set out on the shattered plains with Adolin, Dalinar and Shallan leading the army. Kaladin has to stay at the war camps due to his injury when he fought the Chasmfiend whilst falling into a chasm. Once the army arrives at the center of the plains they meet the Parshendi army who have acquired Stormform. This allows them to summon red lightning as well as a new devastating Highstorm known as the Everstorm. The battle commences and once the Alethi discover these new abilities Shallan is tasked to discover the Oathgate  and transport the entire army in retreat in case they can not defeat the Parshendi and do not become decimated by the Everstorm.    Kaladin finally reunites with Syl and acquires his abilities again, healing himself. With that he joins the battle where he meets with his ‘nemesis’ Szeth and an epic battle commences between the two, a battle of the skies. After defeating Szet...
Read more

Progressing through: The Words of Radiance Part 3

Image
Greetings Dear Readers,    Welcome back readers, and do we have some stuff to discuss! The banter and flirtatious energy between Adolin, Kaldain and Shallan is undeniable. Knowing Brandon Sanderson it is unlikely he incorporates a three-way relationship into his novels let alone any romance at all, however, he is definitely writing these three characters in a very specific way, if you know what I mean (*wink* *wink*). Shallan has finally restarted her research and is trying to find the secrets of Urithiru and its hidden location. She sets this plan out by trying to locate Urithiru or an Oathgate (a gate that is somehow connected to Urithiru) in the Shattered Plains. She does this by using her Lightweaving and Patterns new lockpicking abilities to spy on Amaram's estate. There she finds a detailed map of the Shattered Plains. Personally I am really starting to love Shallan’s character, she encompasses so many different aspects of this fantasy world. She is of privilege ...
Read more