FollowYourMuse: The Words of Radiance: A Work of Art

Sunday, March 9, 2014

The Words of Radiance: A Work of Art

Before I review the story I want to comment on the book itself.

The Way of Kings

Cover Art by Michael Whelan @Tor.com

Words of Radiance

Cover by Michael Whelan @Tor.com

This is more than a book it is a work of art. Tor outdid itself when they published the first book in The Stormlight Archive and like The Way of Kings (TWoK), Words of Radiance (WoR) is an elaborate beautifully embellished massive tome.

The Way of Kings stood out, with stunning cover art by Michael Whelan, and wonderful color endpapers it had the most extensive and best interior art I've ever seen in a fantasy or any novel. Whelan exceeded himself with the Cover Image for Words of Radiance.

Words of Radiance goes one step further Tor has pushed the limits both on the size of the book, (apparently the largest book they can publish) and on the scope of the interior art and of course the amazing cover and front endpapers by Whelan. Sanderson and Tor have pushed fantasy books into a new territory where the art goes far beyond the typical fantasy, gotta have a map mentality.

The interior art enhances the experience of reading both books in The Stormlight Archive. The images are not just pictures, they are in-world depictions adds a depth that flows with and is a part of the story.

The in-world sketches from Shallan and Navani's Journals are an integral part of the story and help the reader to immerse themselves in the diverse and varied world that Sanderson has created. The phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words" rings true here. One image is able to replace chapters of worldbuilding descriptions, allowing Sanderson to move the story along without losing that depth of understanding and detail.

An in-world Alethi script on some of the images in TWoK gave hardcore fans the chance to try their hand at deciphering and translating this script to find out additional information. In WoR an different version of the script was added for another language/ culture. We also see an expansion of the Glyphs, and their execution and possibilities. WoR even includes an Easter Egg Cosmere artist, (Now that is sneaky). This brilliance by Sanderson to include Easter Eggs, codes, scripts and challenges deserves its own evaluation and post!

The detailed maps, symbols, and icons throughout both books play a far deeper role than just chapter illuminations, they are part foreshadowing, part worldbuilding, and part mystery.

Well done Tor and thank you for pushing fantasy to the next level in book publishing.

For anyone that reads e-book versions, or wants to see details for the images Sanderson provides all of the interior art for the books on Sandersons website, see book art links below.

* Read Brandons words on Epic Fantasy and The Stormlight Archive books:
Words of Radiance and the Art of Creating Epic Fantasy.