Book 2 of the Stormlight Archive
Note: This may include spoilers to previous books in series
Summary
In this epic sequel, stories begin to collide with one another. Kaladin Stormblessed has now been appointed as Dalinar Kholin's Captain of Guard and he and his men are entrusted with protecting Dalinar and the rest of the Kholin family. He's honored with the position but still nervous about entrusting the lives of his men to another lighteyed nobleman, but for some reason, he can't help but trust this Dalinar Kholin, despite Kaladin's rocky history with lighteyes. With that and trying to figure out how to use his mysterious new powers, Kaladin has his hands full...
Shallan Davar, the ward of Jasnah Kholin, is on her way to the Shattered Plains, where the rest of the Kholin family and the majority of the kingdom of Alethkar is located. Shallan is to be betrothed to Adolin Kholin, Dalinar's son, and she's not exactly sure what to expect from it. After her theft attempt against Jasnah was discovered, and they both revealed to each other their baffling abilities, the two have surprisingly grown closer to each other with their intellectual endeavors and are on their way to see what they can discover on the Shattered Plains. What many people don't know is that their discoveries may save the whole world!
Dalinar Kholin doesn't know what to do now. After being betrayed by his old friend Sadeas and then saved by a group of former slaves, he's at a loss at how to proceed with saving his nephew's kingdom. He knows he needs to use his authority to make changes but how does he do that without making his brother's son look weak? One thing he knows for sure is that he needs to reform the Knight's Radiant. The mythical warriors that kept justice and peace in the world. He needed to look for those with abilities. Even if it means making himself look mad and slightly heretic to the rest of the kingdom. Everyone needs to make sacrifices and this may be his.
Now that these stories are intersecting with one another, we begin to see the real story start. How will the characters affect each other's journey, how will they change the world? Will the work together, or alone, not trusting anyone? Will they even succeed in saving all those they love, or the world itself?
Opinion
Scale of 1-10:
10
I had to really sit and reflect on this book before I gave it a review. It's a VERY long book so you need to understand that there's a lot of world-building and detail that eventually builds up to the end of the book and even contributes to the end of the series! While I struggled sitting down and reading, it was mostly because of the busy schedule that I procrastinated so much. It didn't help that I've read this book before, either, and know what's going to happen. Once I actually had myself sit down and read, though, I definitely just got drawn into this vast world. I love this universe that Brandon Sanderson has created and I honestly feel like I know it just as much (if not more) as this world!
One thing I really loved about this book, is that you finally get to see the stories that were introduced in the first book come together and start the real story. My favorite thing was watching Shallan and Kaladin interact. From their very first real interaction, I knew that they were gonna be a friendship (maybe even more) that I loved. They are both different types of witty and the two types complement each other and make for some excellent banter! I'm really excited to see where their relationship goes in this series and what it develops into.
Another thing I enjoyed was some of the characters introduced into the series. Many of the characters that were really introduced and developed were two of the best comic relief characters in the world! Sebarial is a character that Shallan mostly interacts with and when you get to know him, you LOVE him and his personality. I won't give anything away but I promise it's amazing! Lopen is another adorable character and some of the stuff he says, you can imagine his tone and facial expression as he's saying the dumbest stuff. It's hilarious!
Anyway, I really loved this book and if you've read the first book then you will be utterly satisfied with this book. Not many people like long books like this but if you liked the first book then you'll be fine when reading this book!
Age Rating
14+
I feel that appropriate-wise, there was a little bit more innuendo than the first book, but it's not super bad. There's also a little bit more romance involved in this book too now that the main characters are meeting one another. Language is still fairly mild though. There is quite a bit of violence.
Language:
Words like "ass", "bastard", and "damn" are used throughout. The word for their hell is "Damnation" so that's where you hear the word "damn" for the most part in the book.
Sexual Content:
There is quite a bit of reference and jokes in this book. While they aren't obvious at all, they're still there. Young readers may not understand them but I almost guarantee that kids 14+ will get them. They aren't terrible, graphic ones but they are sexual references. The Parshendi, the main antagonists, can change forms based on what tasks they need to do. One of these forms is called mateform and that is, as the name implies, is meant for conceiving and bearing children. This is the best way to describe how the forms work but you'd get it if you read the book.
Violence:
There is A LOT of violence in this book that it's practically a theme. There are many brutal and bloody fighting scenes. A lot of characters get injured and there are graphic details about blood and gore. especially from Shallan's POV, surprisingly. It's not sickening to me, but if you are the type of person that get's queasy, then just be forewarned. All I'm saying is that it could be worse but it also could be better!
Here's the link to the book on Goodreads:
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