Words of Radiance, by Brandon Sanderson
Second paragraph of third chapter: In her cabin, Shallan read by the glow of a goblet of spheres, wearing her nightgown. Her cramped chamber lacked a true porthole and had just a thin slit of a window running across the top of the outside wall. The only sound she could hear was the water lapping against the hull. Tonight, the ship did not have a port in which to shelter.
Second in the trilogy of Very Long Books by Brandon Sanderson, following on from The Way of Kings which I read earlier in the year. Our three viewpoint characters, after long journeys for two of them, end up together in a factionalised court facing existential threats from mysterious fantasy entities. Shallan is the best of the three, but the two chaps both have interesting enough character arcs as they deal with conspiracy and constant threat. Both the society and the rules of the magical world are mapped out convincingly through the protagonists’ learnings. I still felt it was way too long (at 89 chapters and 1087 pages), but if you have the patience, it’s a good read. You can get it here.
This was my top unread book acquired so far this year, and my top unread sff book. Next on those piles respectively are And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hossaini, and Grimm Tales, by Philip Pullman.
Second in the trilogy of Very Long Books by Brandon Sanderson, following on from The Way of Kings which I read earlier in the year. Our three viewpoint characters, after long journeys for two of them, end up together in a factionalised court facing existential threats from mysterious fantasy entities. Shallan is the best of the three, but the two chaps both have interesting enough character arcs as they deal with conspiracy and constant threat. Both the society and the rules of the magical world are mapped out convincingly through the protagonists’ learnings. I still felt it was way too long (at 89 chapters and 1087 pages), but if you have the patience, it’s a good read. You can get it here.
This was my top unread book acquired so far this year, and my top unread sff book. Next on those piles respectively are And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hossaini, and Grimm Tales, by Philip Pullman.
