If you are a fan of epic fantasy novels, surely the title Radiant Words sounds familiar to you. As well as its author.
And for a few years now, this author has been giving a lot to talk about, as well as the saga in which this book is included (which we already warned you is not the first in the saga). Do you want to know more about it? Well, he keeps reading.
Who wrote Radiant Words
The author of this epic fantasy novel is one of the big names that is standing out in the fantastic genre. We are talking about Robert Sanderson, although the truth is that he has written many other books (including one to teach writing).
Robert Sanderson is an American writer. He was born in 1975 and the saga that concerns us in this case is not the one that gave him stardom, it is the fictional universe Cosmere (which, in case you don't know, almost all of his fantastic novels are based on that universe).
He is the eldest of four siblings and from a young age he was fascinated by fantasy novels. In fact, it is known that he tried to write his own stories.
He enrolled in biochemistry at university, leaving it for about two years to be a volunteer missionary. That made him change his career to English literature upon his return. At the same time, he worked as a night auditor in a hotel and when he had time he began to write. He also did a postgraduate degree to have a Master's degree in English.
When he finished, in 2003, he had already written twelve novels, although no publisher wanted to publish them. Until He found Tor Books, who gave him the opportunity. And she began to shine.
Since that date he has published several books, most of them fantasy, although he also has some as tutorials or similar books related to literature. In 2024, she is expected to publish new books related to his latest book saga, The Stormlight Archive.
Radiant Words, the second book in The Stormlight Archive saga
As we have told you at the beginning, and in the heading of this section, Radiant Words is the second book in the Robert Sanderson saga. The first of all, and the one you should start with in case you like it, is The Road of Kings.
If we had to be very analytical about the book, we would tell you that it was published on March 4, 2014 in the United States and that it consists of a prologue, 89 chapters, an epilogue and fourteen interludes.
How many books make up the saga The Stormlight Archive
If you are one of those who do not like to start the sagas without knowing if all the books are published, then this information will interest you. And it is that The Stormlight Archive saga has raised ten books, of which there are only four currently on the market.
Well, actually there are more than four, because the author has been taking out some "intermediates" between books. Thus, the complete list of books that exist so far are the following:
- The Way of Kings (first book).
- Radiant words (second book).
- Edge dancer (interlude between the second and third).
- Juramentada (third book).
- Shard of Dawn (interlude between the third and fourth books).
- The rhythm of war (fourth book).
It is known that there is an interlude between the fourth and fifth books scheduled to come out in 2024, the same year that the fifth novel, "Knights of wind and truth", will be published (in November), translated as "Knights of the wind and the truth".
And what is Radiant Words about?
Focusing on the Radiant Words book, and warning you that there are now spoilers that you may not want to read if you are going to enjoy the entire saga, We must tell you that in it we meet several characters:
- Szeth-son-son-Vallano, known as the White Killer. Years ago he was commissioned to assassinate the Alethi king Gavilar Kholin, from which a Pact of Revenge emerged. Now, back in action, he must kill again, in this case King Gavilar's brother, Dalinar Kholin.
- Kaladin, free slave and bridge in the Broken Plains, who must protect Dalinar and his family from any danger they may face.
- Shallan Davar and Jasnah Kholin, apprentice and mentor, who try to prevent the Bringers of Void and Desolation from reigning again and destroying civilization.
- Dalinar Kholin, the high prince of Alezkar, and the target of the Assassin in White. He is known as "Black Thorn" and is characterized by having visions on stormy days. His goal is to unify Alezkar and refound the so-called Radiant Knights.
Here is the synopsis of the book:
The Knights Radiant must rise again.
The ancient oaths have finally been spoken. Men search for what was lost. I fear the search will destroy them.
It's the nature of magic. A broken soul has cracks where something else can slip through. The powers, the powers of creation itself, can embrace a broken soul, but they can also widen its fissures.
The Windrunner is lost in a broken land, balanced between revenge and honor. The Light Weaver, slowly consumed by her past, searches for the lie she must become. The Bond Forger, born of blood and death, now strives to rebuild what was destroyed. The Explorer, straddling the destinies of two towns, is forced to choose between a slow death and a terrible betrayal of everything she believes in.
It is time to wake them up, because the eternal storm lurks.
And the killer has arrived.
As a curiosity you should know that Words of Radiance is the largest printed book published by Tor Books since it consists of 1088 pages, which was the maximum for the printing press. For now, no other book from the publisher has repeated this, although knowing Robert Sanderson, it is possible that some of the books that remain to be published could reach those limit figures.
Do you dare to read Radiant Words? If you do, you should first read the first book so that there is no part of the story that is unknown to you. Have you read it? What's your opinion about it?