Before They Are Hanged vs Words of Radiance: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Guerres et batailles imaginaires, Imaginary wars and battles, Fantasy fiction, Fiction
Before They Are Hanged
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Superior Glokta has a problem. How do you defend a city surrounded by enemies and riddled with traitors, when your allies can by no means be trusted, and your predecessor vanished without a trace? It’s enough to make a…
Words of Radiance
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The eagerly awaited sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Way of Kings. Six years ago, the Assassin in White, a hireling of the inscrutable Parshendi, assassinated the Alethi king on the very night a treaty…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Words of Radiance highest: Words of Radiance 4.8 · Before They Are Hanged 4.4.
- Before They Are Hanged is the quickest read — about 10 hours vs 20 for Words of Radiance.
- Words of Radiance has the widest readership — 527911 ratings behind its score.
- Before They Are Hanged runs the darker storyline; Words of Radiance stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Before They Are Hanged | Words of Radiance | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.4 (232738) | 4.8 (527911) |
| Hardcover | 4.3 (1540) | 4.7 (3) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (4) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (942) | 5.0 (8455) |
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Reception
| Before They Are Hanged | Words of Radiance | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 232738 | 527911 |
| Editions | 19 | 23 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 67978 | 171247 |
| Reading it now | 8891 | 27142 |
| Written reviews | 12266 | 37238 |
| Wikipedia attention | 38432 | 7794 |
| Pages | 592 | 1088 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Before They Are Hanged or Words of Radiance?
Words of Radiance has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Words of Radiance 4.8/5, Before They Are Hanged 4.4/5).
Which is shorter to read: Before They Are Hanged or Words of Radiance?
Before They Are Hanged is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Before They Are Hanged (592 pages, ≈ 10 h 58 m); Words of Radiance (1088 pages, ≈ 20 h 09 m).
Which is harder to read: Before They Are Hanged or Words of Radiance?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Before They Are Hanged: Moderate; Words of Radiance: Moderate.