Words of Radiance

Development

The book's release was delayed because Sanderson was committed to writing the final volume of The Wheel of Time. Sanderson initially planned to title the volume The Book of Endless Pages, after the tome Shallan receives at the end of the first book, but changed the name after his editor questioned naming a very long, very thick fantasy book The Book of Endless Pages. At 1088 pages, Words of Radiance was the maximum printable size for Tor Books and became the largest book the company had printed up to that point.

Sanderson announced on his official Twitter account on July 1, 2013, that he had finished the first draft. Two days later, Tor Books released an early excerpt containing the beginning of an interlude starring Taravangian, the King of Kharbranth. On December 10, 2013, Tor announced that Sanderson had turned in the manuscript and that production could begin; the same day a second excerpt was released featuring an interlude with the new character Lift.

The endpapers, painted by American artist Michael Whelan, were revealed on December 30, 2013; they depict Shallan painting at the Shattered Plains. Whelan stated that when Irene Gallo proposed a second painting for the book, he immediately knew it would be Shallan, as the story had become as much Shallan's as Kaladin's.

Plot

Jasnah Kholin's first trip into Shadesmar happens during a peace conference between the Alethi and the Parshendi. There, she learns how to Soulcast. Right after, she sees Szeth kill her father, King Gavilar. The Parshendi admit they ordered the murder because they were afraid of what Gavilar was planning.

This pushes Jasnah to look into the Parshendi's past, her own experience in Shadesmar, and the Last Desolation. She and Shallan Davar take a ship toward the Shattered Plains. Jasnah talks her mother Navani into arranging a betrothal between Shallan and Adolin. Shallan meets a spren, calls it Pattern, and starts showing her own powers.

Assassins attack the ship, and Jasnah appears to die. Shallan gets away, grabs Jasnah's research notes, and decides to keep going to the Shattered Plains after figuring out that the Parshendi and the Voidbringers are the same thing. After saving Dalinar Kholin, Kaladin and the Bridgemen become royal bodyguards for House Kholin, including King Elhokar. Kaladin fights his anger toward lighteyes and starts learning Windrunner powers while strengthening his bond with his Honorspren, Syl.

Even though he is a darkeyes, Kaladin sits in on many of Dalinar's strategy meetings. Things get more complicated when Brightlord Amaram shows up to back Dalinar's plan to unite the Highprinces. Dalinar finds strange messages in his rooms counting down to something called the Everstorm. He decides to bring back the Knights Radiant and lets his son Adolin fight other lighteyes in duels to win their Shards, hoping to weaken his rivals.

In the Parshendi village of Narak, the researcher Venli finds a new form that can call up powerful storms as weapons. Even though some worry that using Stormform will bring Voidspren, the council allows testing. Venli's sister Eshonai, the last Parshendi Shardbearer and war leader, steps up to become the first Stormform. In a duel, Adolin beats an opponent and starts winning Shards for Dalinar.

Reception

Words of Radiance hit number one on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller list during its debut week, also topping the combined print/ebook list and the Kobo Bestseller list. It placed third on the National Indie Bestseller list and sixth on the Southern California Independent Bookseller Association hardcover fiction list. In the UK, Gollancz released it at number two on the Sunday Times of London Bestseller list. Rob Bricken of io9 called it an old-school, 90s fantasy-style behemoth with a single overarching plot that drives relentlessly toward an epic conclusion. The Lincoln Journal Star praised it as an extremely satisfying read, exemplifying how an epic fantasy series should begin.