Two months late, I have finished re-reading Words of Radiance, and am finally starting Oathbringer. Once again, we follow the stories of Kaladin, Dalinar, and Shallan, among others, as they strive to rebuilt the Knights Radiant with minimal knowledge on what the Knights could actually do. As far as the overall plot goes, that’s all I have to say… go read it, it’s fabulous.
As far as individual plot lines go, I found myself drawn to Shallan Davar. All of the point of view characters are well-developed with riveting plot lines. In The Way of Kings, Shallan was introduced as a young lady forced out of her comfort zone. In Words of Radiance, she stretches past that, arriving in the Shattered Plains, meeting her betrothed, and more to her surprise than anybody else’s, develops into a leader.
Her betrothed has a history of failed romances; Shallan has a history of one, which turned out to be with an assassin who almost killed her. (In his defense, she wasn’t the target.) Shallan arrives at the Shattered Plains, establishing her own place in the mess of the war camps, seeks out the group that was responsible for the failed assassination attempt, and is generally more snarky than society allows. In other words, she’s an awesome character that clearly develops across the books. So do the other characters, I just happen to like Shallan’s snarkiness.