The biggest release for me this week is Brandon Sanderson’s Words of Radiance. This is the second in the Stormlight Archive, Sanderson’s proposed 10 book epic fantasy series. That was my biggest issue with The Way of Kings – Sanderson has planned it to be an epic tale right from the beginning so the large scope is readily apparent. I’ve much preferred tales which have “grown in the telling” as the saying goes. The Wheel of Time, for example, starts off focussed on our heroes from the Two Rivers and it’s not until later on in the series that we have epic battles and world changing consequences.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy The Way of Kings, although in all fairness I used Tor.com’s excellent Way of Kings Reread and Where We Left Our Heroes article to catch up with it. I am enjoying Words of Radiance which I am listening to in audiobook format rather than reading. I do enjoy Kate Reading’s and Michael Kramer’s narration. However, this audiobook weighs in at a hefty 48 hours and 15 minutes. I don’t expect to read much else in the next couple of weeks, so please don’t expect many other reviews over the next few weeks.
I understand that as Way of Kings was Kaladin’s book, this second entry focusses more on Shallan. I look forward to hearing more about her and Jasnah. Given the title I also imagine the Knights Radiant will play a large part in this book. I shall, of course, give you a review of Words of Radiance once I’ve completed it.
In other news, Tor.com has started a reread of the Harry Potter books. Check it out here. These rereads are always excellent. Generally, these are written by people who are already familiar with the books, who are rereading it for the umpteenth time. They are usually expert at highlighting the key themes and foreshadowings of the specific chapters and I’ve often picked up a lot of nuances I’d missed on my own readings. A notably different kettle of fish is the read of A Song of Ice and Fire by Leigh Butler. This is Leigh’s first time reading Martin’s opus and so we get to experience her reactions to such significant events such as The Red Wedding. It’s also fun to see which of her predictions are correct and where she is a little wider off the mark. If you’ve not checked out these rereads I encourage you to do so.
Added to my library this week
In addition to Words of Radiance in Kindle and Audible format mentioned above, I also picked up Grave Assassin, the first in the His Fair Assassin series by Robin Lafevers. I had been keeping an eye on this – assassin nuns sound intriguing – and this week it was on special offer on Kindle and with the special Whispersync for Voice deal, I was able to pick up the Audible format for a couple of dollars too. Bargain!
Well, that’s all for this week folks. You’ll hear from me again at some point once I have absorbed the Words of Radiance.
Scottish Bookworm in Quebec 