Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson - A reading vlog

[@nosferatubr9753]

The duel, aaah, the duel. "Honor is dead, but I'll see what I can do". My favorite moment on this book.

[@christopherdoolan925]

Such a thrilling scene to read.

[@Kevin_850]

The mystery with Shallan's 10 heartbeats is a good catch. I'll leave it at that and let you RAFO.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Yes, please let me RAFO, that's most of the fun reading these books. Laying a huge puzzel.

[@LandaVarshaI]

Great video! Love your in-depth vlogs! Glad that you liked Lift's interlude. I would suggest reading Edgedancer next, it's Lift's novella, and it is meant to be read between WoR and Oathbringer. It's pretty short (for Sanderson), fun, and a bit of a break from the epic immensity of the main books. It is also somewhat important for understanding certain things in Oathbringer

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Yeah, I will start reading Edgedance today. Looking forward to that.

[@chilelli715]

End of video: “I think I’ll take a break from the Stormlight Archive for a bit” Comments: “I will start reading Edgedancer today” Only joking… I always say I’m going to take a break, but when it comes time to pick up the next book, how can I start up something that doesn’t continue this story I am so actively interested in.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

@@chilelli715 True. Stormlight Archive won't leave me alone until I've finished Wind and Truth at the end of this year. Thankfully I never make clear promises about what I will or will not do ;-)

[@SRoy-13]

I love your insigths and following along as you discover this wonderful series and the cosmere in general!

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thank you!

[@Arezoo298195]

Yey for saving the butterfly!😁

[@fahdahsulaiman]

A 1-hour video? Yes, please! I agree with your thoughts. Although I loved this book, I wasn't blown away like I expected to be. I preferred The Way of Kings. However, the third book, Oathbringer, might be my favorite of the series - It's absolutely brilliant. I'm reading Rhythm of War at the moment, almost 700 pages through, and I am enjoying it (though not as much as the previous entries). Thanks again for the great video, Ed! Looking forward to your Oathbringer reading vlog. Edit: Not sure if you caught it, but Zahel is actually Vasher from Warbreaker. He uses a lot of color-inspired imagery when he speaks, which comes from the vivid colors of Nalthis, the planet in which Warbreaker is set. Vasher is a Worldhopper, much like Hoid/Wit.

[@Onwlsi]

Yes!!!! Finally! Someone who agrees with me!!! Oathbringer is my favorite Stormlight book as well and I think Words of Radiance is a little over hyped! It seems to be an unpopular opinion in the fandom lol

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks! No, Zahel being Vasher is new to me! But, no big surprise there ;-)

[@chilelli715]

Moving forward you should try not to spoil even relatively small things like this. Over the next two books there are more and more clues about who Zahel is, until it is hard to miss. I think it is enjoyable to figure it out as more clues appear and when you do, previous things make more sense. I suppose it’ll be hard for a booktuber to not be spoiled on some things, but regardless it should be avoided as much as possible.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

@@chilelli715 I agree, and I will definitely try avoiding this.

[@chilelli715]

⁠​⁠@@DutchGreyBeardif it wasn’t clear, I was directing that at the original commenter, and not you. All I will say is that you should think about every character. You’ve probably missed some connections and there some other great ones in the future books.

[@Thomas-Alves]

Yes, I've been waiting for this video for a while now. I finished Words of Radiance maybe a week ago and loved it. I can't say that it's way better than A Way of Kings but it's definitely a 9.3/10 on my scale. (I gave A Way of Kings a 9.1/10)

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks. Are you reading Oathbringer now?

[@Thomas-Alves]

@@DutchGreyBeard I just picked it up and plan on reading it after I finish "The Will of Many" by James Islington. I like reading one book at a time, so I aim to start Oathbringer in a couple of days.

[@bjminton2698]

I'm so happy that you are enjoying this series and I love your vlogs!! Just looking at the size of the books and hearing about all the numerous characters, I think I have a case of stormlight fatigue without reading a single word - lol! I look forward to hearing about your next reads 🙂.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

LOL! yeah, the size of these books are definitely outside of your comfort zone...

[@bjminton2698]

​@DutchGreyBeard I just hope I live long enough to finish Pillars. 🙄 🙃

[@DutchGreyBeard]

@@bjminton2698 LOL! Still plowing away at that one?

[@bjminton2698]

Yes. I confess that I have not touched it in a few days. I automatically reach for the smaller ones. But, I will persevere!!

[@lonsunocook]

What I would give to be a fly on the wall... Well maybe a butterfly... To be there just enjoying the way you enjoy books. The perspective you bring with your experience and background to your reading experience, and the beautiful way you share your perspective and experience on the book is so unique and profoundly different from mine while sharing so many emotions and responses from the reveals that I feel elated and it almost feels like I am experiencing these books again for the first time. So thank you for taking the time to make these vlogs. The "Last Clap" works because most shard bearers have grown a custom to not using thier full strength when swinging a blade because there is almost no resistance to the Shard as it passes through an object. That little detail is explained by Zahel but its small enough most people miss it. Again I appreciate your critiques and how well you share them. Often people use criticism of a thing in a negative way, but it feels more like you sharing your feelings and wanting to understand why, what, and the how of writers words. Again thank you for being such a wonderful person and a positive experience for those around you. One day I would live to sit and share a meal with you and just discuss the things in the world both the books you have read and the world around us. You have such a meaningful and kind way of seeing the world! I too find Words of Radiance not quite as powerful as The way of Kings as a story but it's a beautiful book that sets up so much for later books and provides characters an opportunity to fail and succeed bringing them to a more human place in my mind.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks again for your warm and very kind words. I had noticed the detail you mentioned, but it still seemed improbable to me. This is something you have to see to understand, perhaps.

[@lonsunocook]

@@DutchGreyBeard that is fair, it's definitely a thing of difference in knowledge and perspective. And honestly that's what makes conversation about the topic intriguing and engaging. And I appreciate you always answering comments with such warmth and kindness.

[@Uwu____f]

Love these reading vlogs

[@nosferatubr9753]

Great video. If you liked Lift, then you should read Edgedancer before going into Oathbringer. The book is a 200 pages interlude before the third Stormlight Archive chunk.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Just read Shadows for Silence in the Forrests of Hell (great btw) and will now start with Edgedancer.

[@orrinscott-stewart3641]

It's not illogical that Amaram didn't realise who Kaladin was. Why would you think he would remember the name of some random soldier he robbed. He didnt recognise Kaladin as the same soldier from Hearthstone he recruited from his cousin either after Kaladin saved him he had to be reminded and that was after the dude had just saved his life. And while he might have heard of Captain Kaladin, Dalinar's head guard who is dark eyed why would he connect this to a solider he sold into slavery over a year ago? Also, Kaladin is never present at any of Amaram and Dalinar's meetings. I guess that last part seems highly coincidental but then again Kaladin does he schedules and he probably wanted to avoid Amaram like the plague😆

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks. Makes sense.

[@archon8519]

When it didn't begin with the metal theme I got worried for a second haha. Another great video, and better still because it's a little longer than normal. Even though I am less fond of Stormlight than Sanderson's other works (I am in the minority, it seems) I enjoy hearing your thoughts. Love your style, Ed, keep it up!

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Funny! No, the intro-music will be here for a while ;-) Thanks so much for your kind words.

[@Arezoo298195]

The ten heartbeats for Shallan were already mentioned in Way of Kings during the scene where she accidentally soulcast the goblet. Also even earlier in that book there were hints of Shallan having a hidden weapon. I felt so vindicated, in my first read, when she finally summoned it.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks. I suppose that in a reread these subtleties may pop-up easier. For now I am enjoying the ride as it is.

[@NoSympathyGiven]

i started Stormlight on september 10 and am trying to read all the books before Wind and Truth releases! I loved the Way of Kings but I tore through Words of Radiance in just over a week, probably the most pages per day ive ever done. Edgedancer was great too, I’m currently taking Oathbringer much slower than I did WoR. So glad to be finding people reading through and discussing the whole series for the first time, at the same time as me! It’s really hard to watch any Cosmere content on youtube because most of it is assuming you don’t care about spoilers or have already read the whole Cosmere, and I’ve only read Mistborn era 1 before Stormlight. So thank you (and Conor Reads, too!) for making these videos

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Nice, we’re on a similar journey then. Thanks for sharing.

[@chilelli715]

Loving these vlogs and hearing your thoughts. I particularly enjoy when you pull passages from the text as it draws me back into the story. You also are drawn to scenes different from my own which is nice to compare and think about. I haven’t seen anyone mention this, but I think Amaram not noticing Kaladin illustrates how little many light eyes think of dark eyes. During the prior events, Kaladin was just a no name soldier that got lucky. Amaram sent him off and tried to forget about what happened. Then he got to the shattered plains months later and saw Kaladin, but never recognized him. I think Kaladin even has a quote about how it’s crazy he isn’t noticed by Amaram. It seems unrealistic, but really I think it is just characterization what kind of person would someone have to be to not notice Kaladin in that situation. I also had to laugh that you started the last day’s vlog saying the Sanderlanche wasn’t amazing, and then spent 30 minutes mostly gushing about how great it was. I was immediately excited to see this uploaded and look forward to the next ones. I selfishly hope you don’t take a break and read through the remaining books quickly!

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks for your long and interesting comment. Your explanation on why Kaladin goes unnoticed by Amaram makes sense. Yes, the Sanderlanche was there, no doubt! At the moment I am itchy to start with Oathbringer. First Edgedancer, then I'm one week on a hike, and after that I'll no doubt continue on this amazing Stormlight Adventure.

[@ernestorodriguez5117]

57:50 I know I shouldn´t say this but I will: you´re answering yourself. If alive sprens become shardblades without ten heartbeats, and Shallan do ten heartbeats to invoke a shardblade while having Pattern, a living spren, then the answer to that mistery is...?

[@DutchGreyBeard]

I’ll figure it out, eventually😃

[@brianspengel4197]

Given some of the reveals at the end, you may want to go back and read Zahel's Interlude again. It's super short, but there are subtle clues in there that you may enjoy.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Have reread it, and things are coming nicely together. But as always, reveals come with many new questions.

[@LukeWarchol]

Great review. In my opinion the best book in the series!!

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks

[@MeanBiscuit]

So great experiencing the books again through these blogs, thanks! BTW, if you reread some of the Zahel dialogue you can figure out who he really is from the way he talks.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks! The identity of Zahel has been revealed to me by @fahdahsulaiman in the comments. I am so happy that finally the cosmere is starting to emerge from these books.

[@N1ghtb1ood]

You deserve way more subs. Your journey is fun to watch!

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks! They’re welcome

[@francislally6066]

I find Oathbringer the most thematically rich book in the series, so I'm excited to see your take on it whenever you get there! I'm glad you are enjoying yourself so far.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

This makes me all the more eager to start this next huge read.

[@Nomgoose]

I was eagerly awaiting your vlog on this one! Words of Radiance is still my favorite of all four that are published right now. I found Way of Kings to be terribly slow and boring, particularly because there is no real centralized plot until around page 600-700. Words of Radiance, on the other hand, immediately has a deadline with the Everstorm arriving and that pushes the characters to act rather than plod aimlessly forward like in Way of Kings. In WoR, we also immediately start getting answers to the magic system, Shadesmar and more within the first 100 or so pages. The drip feed of lore pulled me through the whole book, and was punctuated by some of the most memorable scenes in the series thus far. It fixed all the things that made me almost quit reading Way of Kings, and drew me in completely. Oathbringer is good, but I found it to be a tougher one to read. Parts 1 through 3 are fabulous with rising action and great character development (I'd already cried by the end of Chapter 8), but there is a huge lull in the pace in part four that I felt the book never recovered from. Part five does salvage things as you'd expect with a Sanderson novel because his endings are superb. As such, it is the lowest ranked of the four for me. However, based on what you're picking up in the story, where your interests are with the plotlines, and the character development you have expressed adoration for, I expect you'll really love Oathbringer. Also, for palate cleansing, I read Era 2 Mistborn books 1 and 2. It gave me the perfect amount of space and levity before diving back into Stormlight with Rhythm of War. I bet Tress of the Emerald Sea would fulfill a similar role, if you wanted to keep reading Sanderson but step away from Roshar for a bit.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks. Nice to hear about other’s reading experience.

[@ИванЗадорожный-ъ7ы]

Nice. I'm looking for your next vlog about Stormlight Archive. I think you will catch me up on Oathbringer, because my reading speed isn't as fast as yours. Good to go. I have really fun to listen your thoughts.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks. I will first read some other books. (Just finished On the Move by Oliver Sacks.) But then, it is time for Oathbringer.

[@ИванЗадорожный-ъ7ы]

​@@DutchGreyBeard Yeah, you said it in the video, so I estimated the time with that in mind))

[@adityajamkhindikar]

I must say you highlighted the best parts of this book

[@wizardoce4385]

Here we go!!🍿

[@Arezoo298195]

Do Edgedancer next specially if you liked Lift. Its her story and pretty important for understanding a major shift in motivations for a character going forward. (in the seperate Edgedancer novella book, the interlude from this book appears at the prologue)

[@tjom7]

"edgedancer" is in "Arcanum Unbounded" as well, together with some other nice cosmere short stories. but yes, edgedancer falls inbetween wor and oathbringer in the timeline

[@DutchGreyBeard]

I will and I am reading it right now. I have the Arcanum Unbounded collection.

[@Arezoo298195]

@@DutchGreyBeard woohoo

[@Dave3Dman]

Only the edge of a shardblade is dangerous so it still has to cut like a normal sword and so can be touched/held by the flat part of the blade. Also because of the nature of shard blades barely requiring any force to cut through something, when a wielder is making the final blow to an immobilized opponent he would have no need or inclination to swing the sword with unnecessary speed. That is what allowed Dalinar and Kaladin to catch the blades mid swing.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks for explaining.

[@ThatLibralita]

In regards to why elhokar is no longer pushing back against Dalinar. The last time he went against, it was proven that could very easily whip his butt. And he could very easily kill elhokar if he wanted to-thankfully he doesn’t. Poor Elhokar….

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Fair point!

[@ernestorodriguez5117]

If you like that much the parts of Shallan in this book, you´re going to love her parts in Oathbringer

[@nosferatubr9753]

I think in rthis book we got the term Shards. The sprens are shards, fractions of the God. There was One, then divided.

[@TechNyx0]

If you do feel like reading more Sanderson I recommend Edgedancer next which is a novella set in between WoR and Oathbringer. You could also take a small stormlight break and try Elantris, Tress of the Emerald sea or Yumi and The Nightmare painter.

[@nowimpanickin7167]

I’m loving your vlogs as you read these! I can’t wait to hear your takes on Oathbringer and Rhythm of War! Also with Amaram, him not realizing that Kaladin is who won his shards until confronted in the Arena makes total sense to me. He’s got an inflated sense of importance, so why would he bother to remember the name of a man he had branded and sold off as a slave to someone far away from the Shattered Plains? Lastly, if you’re taking a break from Stormlight, I would NOT touch any of the secret project books. Tress and the Emerald Sea, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit man will all contain little (or massive in the case of Sunlit Man) spoilers for either Mistborn Era 2, or Stormlight Archives book 4. Enjoy EdgeDancer and read other things to not fatigue yourself. I subbed and turned all notifications on, so I’ll be back to hear your thoughts on Oathbringer :) If you want another series to look into, I’d recommend The Black Prism by Brent weeks. It’s the first in another fantasy series that has a REALLY cool magic system, and I loved the audiobook.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks! I’m following the conserve reading order from @capturedinwords. So, none of the Secret Project books for now

[@henryyt1]

glad you liked it :D

[@laurac56]

I finished Words of Radiance Oct 4. I’m struggling through Edgedancer by audiobook. I started it on Oct 5 and here it is Oct. 12. 😬 It’s only 165 pages, but it’s taking as long as one of the big ones.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

That is surprising! I loved the Lift-interlude in WoR, so I'm guessing I am really going to enjoy Edgedancer. We'll see...

[@ToddsBookTube91]

Nice Vlog Dutch!

[@sergeybudarin7071]

I have already moved a little further and finished “Oathbringer” and so far my favorite book of the three I have read is “The Way of Kings”. "Words of Radiance” is still good, and I gave the first and second books 5 stars out of 5, but in the case of the second book, this is a slight stretch! You know, ”Jasnah“ is one of my favorite characters, but she ”dies“ almost at the very beginning, on the other hand, ”Shallan" becomes much bigger, but she is not my favorite character and this does not change even in the third book! Every appearance of the fool is a celebration, chapter 59. Fleet is simply magnificent! But looking ahead a little, I'll say that I didn't like the third book as much as the previous ones, but more on that another time when you get to it!

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Can’t wait to get started with Oathbringer. Am now on a small hiking outing. Coming Saturday will be my starting point, probably.

[@stone7858]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@jamesonklein9363]

Really great synopsis. I think I find words of radiance only slightly better than WOK, but find Oathbringer the best of the series, with ROW the worst, albeit still great.

[@bluerevel890]

The scene at the end is "your first time" where you see characters connecting between cosmere 😁. If I can give you a tip, try to remember that all Rosharan (people from Roshar) are very, very tall (Kaladin himself is about 230 cm tall), so pay attention when a character is described as "very short". And another big clue is the way people talk, in Roshar most people curse the storm or the heralds, so if someone curses in a "weird" way it means a lot 😛 By the way the scene at the end: “You sent him to the sky to die, assassin," Kaladin said, Stormlight puffing from his lips, "but the sky and the winds are mine. I claim them, as I now claim your life.” Absolute cinema, I loved this book, I hope you'll enjoy Oathbringer too

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thank you. I will pay more attention to how tall characters are. I am very focussed on finding out about the cosmere.

[@MAC60278]

I have a self imposed book buying ban, as I am now wandering within the realms of the ridiculous....but I have been sniffing around this series (and The Wheel of Time) like a bloodhound. 😶

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Oops, being a book-buying addict myself (and also on a ban from buying anything new) I know how extremely hard this must be. But still, Wheel of Time and Stormlight Archive, how can they NOT be in your 'ridiculously' overgrown collection?

[@alexe3700]

And for my boon!

[@Arezoo298195]

About the ten heartbeats and shallan, remember the quote you brought up where Pattern calls HER a lie. Shallan has a dissasociative disorder. She lies to herself as much as others, who she is and what she thinks are always in question. She is an unreliable narrator and you should not trust everything when you are reading her POV.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

This indeed started to dawn on me. Great instrument for an author to stage an unreliable narrator.

[@gustavolamego9913]

Yes, isnt it curious that shallan needs 10 heartbeats? ;)

[@DutchGreyBeard]

There's much more to Pattern and to Shallan than I can see at this point...

[@Grunik1618]

Booktube and the Sanderson community in general does tend to hype Words of Radiance and its Sanderlanche quite a bit. I won't say it is unearned hype -- that is subjective to us as readers. I will say, however, that Oathbringer's Sanderlache is widely considered THE Sanderlanche. I firmly believe that this one will hit you harder than WoK and WoR.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Wow! I am starting my read of Oathbringer next week. I have a feeling this will elevate my Stormlight Experience…

[@TheHi_King]

I really enjoyed Words of Radiance but ultimately decided to give up the series after finishing it. I did not like the direction Sanderson was taking it with "assembling a super hero squad to take on the bad guys" and what not. The tone felt way too similar to a marvel esque epic and it had lost a lot of the things I loved from TWOK, which had a more gritty and grounded feel. I tried to read Oathbringer but decided the series was not for me. The Way of Kings is still one of my favourite books of all time though.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

I understand what you're saying. For me it is not so much the 'marvel' super heroes vs villains part of the story. It is more the world and its underlying philosophy that keep me intrigued.

[@happyclapper7620]

Of all the critiques i hear about SLA this one is always the most odd.

[@scottseals8750]

This is a complaint people only have if they quit right where you're at, but that isn't quite the way the story unfolds. You shouldn't have assumed you knew where it was going! None of these books end up going the way we think.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

@@scottseals8750 All the more reason to keep on reading. I am not assuming anything at this point, which is exactly why I love these books. I will definitely keep on reading.

[@scottseals8750]

@DutchGreyBeard Apologies, that reply was for TheHiKing who said they quit reading! Excellent video btw, and good call saving that butterfly 🦋

[@babybalrog]

Everything about Shallan is weird.

[@kingissah7038]

Oathbringer next🫡🫡

[@DutchGreyBeard]

I will finish reading Oathbring today!