“Speak again the ancient oaths. Life before death. Strength before weakness, Journey before destination. And return to men the shards they once bore. The knights radiant must stand again.
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars are fought for them, and won by them.
One such war is about to swallow up a soldier, a brightlord and a young woman scholar.”
Title: The Way of Kings, Part I
Series: Stormlight Archive #1
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Page Count: 592
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Date Read: July 23rd, 2023
| This series has not only been on my radar but on my shelves for a couple of years now. I burned through the Mistborn series fairly quickly and looked into picking up the Stormlight Archive books. I opted for the beautiful Gollancz two part series to make their Mistborn versions I also own. Now to be honest I’ve been holding off on this series just because I know how thick these books are and I’ve been a bit afraid to commit to the time. But I’ve got a coworker buddy of mine that I’ve finally talked into pushing forward with Oathbringer that he’s started and keeps stalling out on. So it was my turn to finally get started and hopefully catch up to him. The pacing was smooth which is to be expected with Brandon Sanderson. The flow of The Way of Kings seemed very similar to Mistborn in my opinion. Even though the Stormlight Archive books are on the bigger side, they still seem to flow by very quickly to me. No real issues with names or writing style to trip me up. The worldbuilding is top notch as usual with this author as well. This world is painted very well into my mind. With different regions, beliefs and cultures in general. For example, it was a lot of fun to see how different this world is viewed by the various bridge crew members. The magic and weather of Roshar is very interesting and exciting as well. The character development was also done really well. I’d regret if I didn’t mention that I finally get why so many people speak of Kaladin. Already, he’s become a favorite character of mine. But there are many great characters in book one such as Dalinar and Shallan. There has already been a lot of depth with these characters. We can’t help but want some of them to succeed. Others we may not trust and others you I just find myself asking, what are they doing or thinking! My compromise on finally getting started on this series is that I’m utilizing my copies which are split into two parts each. So this was just first part of The Way of Kings. I do plan on picking it back up in just another day or two though so it should feel fairly consistent. The other compromise is that I’m listening to the unabridged audiobook as well. As I’ve listened to Michael Kramer several times before, his parts felt very comfortable. Kate Reading is new to me and I did have a bit more of a struggle in settling in with her voice and style but I think I’m good at this point. I would certainly recommend this book to any fans of Brandon Sanderson if you haven’t already gotten into this series. I’ll also say, so far it’s been well worth the time investment as well. So I wouldn’t let that hold you off as long as it has me. If you can get it started, go for it! World Building 5/5 Pacing 4.5/5 Character Development 5/5 |
2 Comments
Sanderson’s insane. His works are so complex, and yet not confusing or hard to follow. Never a surprise to see another good review
I agree. The Mistborn series was one of the first I read when I got back into reading as a hobby a couple of years ago. It helped me push forward in wanting to read more! Talking of his insanity, you’d have to mention the shear volume of material he continues to pump out as well. It’s mind boggling.