Brandon Sanderson's magnum opus continues with Words of Radiance (Book 2 of The StormLight Archive) clocking in at 1088 pages which makes it the biggest book ever printed by Tor Books. I only wish it were bigger - it's that good. The world is rich and deep, the characters are complex, and the magic systems are true Brandon Sanderson - well defined, unique, and interesting. All of the main characters are back and the story just gets bigger and bigger. For most authors the end of this book would be a satisfying conclusion to any series but it is obvious that this one is just getting started. Sanderson set the bar so awfully high with the Mistborn series that I am truly impressed he was able to surpass himself with the Stormlight Archive.

Kaladin and Dalinar stand out as tremendous characters as everything about the story elevates to another level. The initial story as laid out in The Way of Kings was epic in size and scope and this book reveals that it was merely scratching the surface of what is in store for the future. Even the tiniest of details takes on meaning as everything comes together to reveal the big picture. Kaladin remains a broken man with an unwavering conviction to what he believes in. His new role as the head of Dalinar's bodyguard seems like a natural fit but his innate distrust of light eyed men makes him forever skeptical and wary. Dalinar continues to be the true strength behind the King but his doomsday visions make him vulnerable to his enemies. These visions also inspire him to prepare for the worst and he is the only hope the world has now that the Knight Radiant are no more.

Shallan for me was the least interesting of the three main protagonists in the first book but her character grows significantly in this book. When she eventually meets up with Kaladin things really started to come together. for her and much is revealed about why she is a significant character. Her character development really helps to moves the story forward and puts all the pieces to elevate this story to the next level. Often the second book of a series is just a bridge volume that advances a story but otherwise falls flat because it is neither the beginning nor the conclusion. None of that is true here as this book is exciting from start to finish and feels epic in nature.

Veteran narrators Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are back and once again to breathe life into all of the great characters for the audiobook version. These two know epic fantasy and combine with Sanderson to form a perfect highstorm of epic proportions. When I wrote my (too) short review of the first book in this series on Audible I ended it with this sentence: "This book is so good I will gladly listen to it again as a refresher when book two comes out!" That was a bold statement since book 1 clocks in at over 45 hours of listening time. Well I followed through on that promise and it was worth every second of it as it was a much needed refresher before tackling book 2. The Stormlight Archive is epic fantasy at it's best and Sanderson shows why he is at the top of my must read/listen list. When I was fresh off of investing close to 94 hours of my life listening to first two books back to back I was ready for more and I still am!