
Six years ago, the Assassin in White, a hireling of the inscrutable Parshendi, assassinated the Alethi King on the very night a treaty between men and Parshendi was being celebrated. The eagerly awaited sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Way of Kings. Sanderson said that the book in hardcover would be 1088 pages the maximum printable size of a book for his publisher, Tor. However, the name was changed after the editor commented "Uh, are you sure you want to name a very long, very thick fantasy book The Book of Endless Pages?"

Initially, Sanderson planned that this volume would be named after the tome Shallan is given at the end of the first volume (i.e., The Book of Endless Pages). Additionally, Interludes from the points of view of Ym and Lift are included herein. Interludes from the points of view of Taln, Taravangian, Eshonai and Rysn were confirmed by Sanderson prior to the novel's release. However, in this volume, the focal character is Shallan.

With this volume, the epic continues the story of Kaladin from the first volume, The Way of Kings. Words of Radiance is the second volume in The Stormlight Archive, an epic fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson expected to consist of ten volumes. Edgedancer, Oathbringer, Dawnshard, Rhythm of War
