Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)

Very good again, but felt a little slower than [b:The Way of Kings|7235533|The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659905828l/7235533.SY75.jpg|8134945]. I liked having Shallan be the backstory character this time. And her frontstory was pretty good too. Kaladin was a little less interesting this time, I thought, probably because he starts out as less of an underdog this time. Also after about 2/3 of the way through, his arc was pretty clear.
A few fun and exciting twists, and some typically Sandersonian fight/cool power scenes.
The interludes were great! I'm looking forward to a few of the featured characters and settings to get bigger roles in future books. I can only hope it's so.
I was a little let down by a few of the things that happened at the very end. Sanderson generally has a plan though, so I'm hopeful.

Oh! There was a duel that I enjoyed. I was a little surprised.

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Update: 2024-03-14, on my second reread. Last week I kind of thought that I remembered enjoying WoR more than TWoK on the first reread. I think confirmed. This is the better book. Were I reading it now, it'd get the 5. Criticisms: rushed at the end (but it was exciting). Weird bonus italicization of some words (again at the end).