Words of Radiance (4 of 5) [Dramatized Adaptation]

The Stormlight Archive [Dramatized Adaptation] #2, Part 4 of 5

by Brandon Sanderson, Dylan Lynch (Narrator), Robbie Gay (Narrator)

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 of Roshar, 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 the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction

Audio CD

First published March 4, 2014

About the author

I’m Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.

The release of Wind and Truth in December 2024—the fifth and final book in the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive series—marks a significant milestone for me. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it’s the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. Now is a great time to get into the Stormlight Archive since the first arc, which begins with Way of Kings, is complete.

During our crowdfunding campaign for the leatherbound edition of Words of Radiance, I announced a fifth Secret Project called Isles of the Emberdark, which came out in the summer of 2025. Coming December 2025 is Tailored Realities, my non-Cosmere short story collection featuring the new novella Moment Zero.

Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, came out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that saw the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man. These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.

November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. Now that the first arc of the Stormlight Archive is wrapped up, I’ve started writing the third era of Mistborn in 2025.

Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, four of the five Secret Projects, and various novellas, including The Emperor’s Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you’ve read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.

I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, released in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.

Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the three stories in Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. These two novellas are also featured in 2025’s Tailored Realities. There’s a lot of material to go around!

Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart, The Emperor’s Soul, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you’re already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.

I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.

Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com—and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.

Reviews

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are now up to Shallan and Kaladin in the ravine. I do love the banter of these two and cross my fingers that they will be friends and no more than that. Still it is entertaining the way they fight with one another.

“Well, at least the companionship is pleasant.” He eyed her. “For you, I mean,” she added.
“Am I going to have to listen to you prattle all the way back?”
“Of course not,” she said. “I also intend to do some blathering, a little nattering, and the occasional gibber. But not too much, lest I overdo a good thing.”
“Great.”
“I’ve been practicing my burble,” she added.
“I just can’t wait to hear.”
“Oh, well, that was it, actually.”

This is the installment that makes me want to push Kaladin off that bridge he carries sometimes. He is a bit lost and that chip on his shoulder and all the anger that goes with it is really hard to read/listen to.

BUT....no one can say he is a Gary Stu or one dimensional character.

Also my favorite interlude is in this one.....LIFT! I love that girl and her voidbringer.

[Anna [Bran. San. Stan] · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Scorn has only the bite you give it.”
“The wisest of men know that to render an insult powerless, you often need only to embrace it.”

(The following plot points will either help you recall what happens or give you an outlook while not spoiling anything.)

This amazing part includes:
⚔️ aftermath of THE duel (Ah. Injustice. How I loathe thee. Elhokar, you asshat.)
👀🥷🤺 Interludes (Lift is introduced, Szeth in a crisis of consience, Eshonai and the new form)
Kaladin on a wayward path (sigh)
💡Shallan exploring her abilities
⚡️more flashbacks to Shallan’s past
🥰 expedition into the Shattered Plains with some long-awaited Kaladin/Adolin/Shallan interactions
🦀 ⛈ two of our heroes lost in the chasms, only finding trouble
😱And yet another ending that had me in tears

The brilliance of GraphicAudio continues ❤️

[TS Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb, absolutely superb! On to more epicness in the concluding sequence.

Part 4 of 5 ended with A Thousand Scurrying Creatures.

"Now go to sleep, in chasms deep, with darkness all around you
Though rock and dread may be your bed, so sleep my baby dear
Now comes the storm, but you'll be warm
The wind will rock your basket
The crystals fine, will glow sublime
And with a song, you'll sleep, my baby dear"

[Funilesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazed at how much hints and hidden bits are there which I didn't pick up on my first read through!

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shallan’s voice actress did an incredible job. Christ.

[Milan Žila · Rating 4 out of 5]

These last parts are where the story picks up the pace and thigs are starting to happen. I really hope Sanderson will mix up his formula throughout the series. Don't get me wrong, I do like big and exciting endings where everything falls into place but having them every time in every book doesn't sound very appealing.

[whatashisreading | missing the wing leader · Rating 5 out of 5]

THERE IS NOT A SINGLE SECOND OF THIS BOOK THATS DRAGGED. God I’m so obsessed. Do I smell a blooming romance between Kaladin and Shallan???

Songs:
In the end- linkin park
TIL my heart stops- too far moon

[Marina Navarro · Rating 5 out of 5]

La millor part és el final.

[Tohfaaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐♾️

[Paras2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!!!