Words of Radiance
The Way of Kings. Six years ago, the Assassin in White, a hireling of the inscrutable Parshendi, assassinated the Alethi king on the very night a treaty between men and Parshendi was being celebrated. So began the Vengeance Pact among the highprinces of Alethkar and the War of Reckoning against the Parshendi. Now the Assassin is active again, murdering rulers all over the world, 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. 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. 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 their civilization-ending Desolation. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but even arriving there proves more difficult than she imagined.
Stats for nerds
5recommend
9mentions
8people
2015–2025years
56% recommend44% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Brilliant response by Sanderson. I'm new to his work, in the middle of the second book in a series called "Words of Radiance". I find his response to be authentic and reflective of what I get out of his work.
- I've also read nearly every other Sanderson book after Stormlight. While they're still quite good, none of them quite compare to the depth or significance of the Stormlight Archive.
I'm not Christian and as such am not familiar with Biblical stores, but I would be inclined to agree that the messages Sanderson conveys in Stormlight could perhaps be derived from those stories. However, something that strikes me is that Sanderson mentions faith and religious conflict in all his novels, but seems to transcend a singular true faith (eg. in portraying Jasnah's atheism, I've seen people mention her reasons for rejecting God are surprisingly accurate to what real people believe, and Sanderson attributed that to spending time on atheist forums to understand their beliefs better).
> the book definitely has me feeling inspired and motivated thus far.
I found Rhythm of War to be the most (read: exceptionally) inspirational and motivational of the four novels (followed by Words of Radiance) , so I would wager that there will be much more in terms of inspiration in the following novels. And good luck with your reading journey! The Stormlight Archive was truly a wonderful experience to read (and I've re-read it since then) and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
"Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination."
- Seen these kind of threads from time to time, and I've got some great recommendations from them.
I'll start:
* Re-reading Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. I had forgotten the story leading up to Rhythm of War. I had forgotten how fun Sanderson's world is.
* Just finishing up Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Great book. I didn't read Artemis, but The Martian was awesome.
* Grit by Angela Duckworth. Really speaks to me and has me re-examining my own loss of focus and tenacity in pursuits, and my expectations of how long achievement takes.
I'll probably pick a few more once I'm done with these.
- Shogun by James Clavelle is one of the best "culture shock" historical epics available. You will learn some japanese too.
Pillars of Earth, read by John Lee, is another one, simply about building a cathedral in medieval europe. Great characters, a villain you love to hate.
If you haven't, you cannot claim to be a fan of science if you haven't listen to Foundation by Issac Asimov.
The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss, read by Nick Podehl. It's Harry Potter but for grownups. Fantastic story.
Edit - I'm adding this because I doubt anyone will mention it - there is an audio production company called Graphic Audio, their tagline is "a movie in your mind."
The absolute BEST story I have ever heard, in my entire life, is the Stormlight Archives Series - Way of Kings & Words of Radiance books. These are written by Brandon Sanderson. I don't actually read much fantasy when I read fiction it tends to be scifi or historically based. But this series, with the voice actors and the properly timed music/sfx, is absolutely fantastic. I know OP mentioned audible and Graphic Audio isn't available there, and they are very expensive. But if you can afford it, you won't get a better experience. There are some "jump out of your chair and fist pump" moments in these books.
- Was light year for me:
Confessions of a D-List Supervillain - Jim Bernheimer
Origins of a D-List Supervillain - Jim Bernheimer
The second is a prequel of the first. I haven't read the third in the series. Light reading about a guy's descent into villainy.
Yes Please - Amy Poehler: I love memoirs. I just didn't love this one. It read a lot like Leslie Knope was the author, but there was an obscene amount of name dropping that kept interrupting the flow of the book for me.
Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir - Eddie Huang: Like I said, I'm a sucker for these things. Picked it up, because the series reminded me of a 90s Asian version of Everybody Hates Chris. The absurdity and random profanity was a little off-putting at first. Remembering how I felt as a black boy doing some of the same dumb things in the 90s really put it into perspective though.
The Serpent of Venice: A Novel - Christopher Moore: The follow up to Fool. It's a different take on Shakespearian story-telling. I can't recommend his novels enough.
Quantum Lens - Douglas E. Richards: I read this solely because I liked Wired and Amped. No-frills action with a sci-fi element. You probably won't get engrossed, but you will be entertained.
Spell or High Water & An Unwelcome Quest - Scott Meyer: Books 2 & 3 in a series about a group of guys who can manipulate reality through writing scripts. Good, but not my favorite.
Armada: A Novel - Ernest Cline: Ah yes. The long awaited sophomore effort from the author of Ready Player One. This book fell harder than it deserved to, because people where expecting it to be analogous to Ready Player One. Spoiler: it's not. The novel does have its short-comings. Repetitive dialogue, shoe-horned classic pop-culture references and shallow writing plague this book. If you've got time for a short novel, give it a whirl, but don't expect anything amazing.
Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson: Book 2 of the Stormlight Archives. If it's an epic by Sanderson, do yourself a favor and board the hype train. You won't be disappointed. It's everything you want in a long fantasy novel without being bogged down with side-plots and details.
Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson: This is a standalone novel with a tie-on to Words of Radiance. I'm only halfway through it. Would recommend so far, especially since it's free from the author.
- sharing a few books I recommended in my annual list (recommend reading!) https://rohitjha.com/blog/reading-highlights-2025/
Non Fiction:
- Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang (2025)
- How to Live an Extraordinary Life by Anthony Pompliano (2024)
Fiction:
- The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)
- Consider Phlebas (Culture Series #1) by Iain M. Banks (1987)
- The Way of Kings (2010, Stormlight #1) & Words of Radiance (2014, Stormlight #2) by Brandon Sanderson
