Way of Kings – Brandon Sanderson

I have one thing to say.

What a long book.

The only reason I was able to stick with this book is because of how excited my dad is about the series. He’s listening to it. He’s actually on his second listen. This is the same man that recommended my favorite book of all time, Mistborn, to me, so I knew sticking around for the series would be good.

Way of Kings is the first book in a ten book epic fantasy series. The series will be split into two arcs, with the first one ending with book five. There are currently four books out. All of them are over a thousand pages long. This series is quite the dedication. It’s so worth it.

The first book is divided into five parts: prologue, prelude, chapters, interludes, and an epilogue. It utilizes alternating point’s of view to establish the worldbuilding and the basic seeds of the overarching plot. It follows three main POVs.

Kaladin, the bridgeman who tries his best to save everyone around him, but can’t seem to stop failing.

Shallan Davar, a young woman fighting desperately to become ward to Jasnah Kholin, a renowned scholar, so she can redeem her family and rid them of their debts.

Dalinar Kholin, an Alethi Highprince and soldier who is finds himself with strange visions and a waning thirst for battle in the wake of his brother’s, the king’s, death.

An epic fantasy of this proportion requires a tremendous amount of exposition. While there were things that happened throughout the book–particularly in the last two hundred pages–this book felt like walking a straight line. While I could see tiny seeds being planted, it was challenging at times to pick up the book and keep reading.

The utilization of several points of views, even beyond the three main characters, helped break the monotony. In fact, most of what drove me to keep reading was because I wanted to see these different plot lines converge. I came to care for these characters deeply, a feeling that snuck up on me, and I wanted to see them meet.

Sanderson did employ the use of flashbacks in this book. Normally, I believe flashbacks are annoying. They take away from the narrative rather than adding to it. However, reading about Kaladin’s past enriched the book. I knew what was going to happen, and I still felt gutted and devastated when it did. In fact, I cried. A lot. The intensity of my own emotional reaction was unexpected.

I was also surprised by the amount of information I knew. The world is complex and beautiful, but Sanderson does a good job not overwhelming you with it. He introduces concepts slowly, allows you to acclimate, before introducing more. I didn’t realize this was what was happening until someone asked me how the chapter I read was, and I spent ten minutes explaining Bridgecrews, the Highprince politics, and the Parshendi. I wasn’t aware of how complex it all was. This is a hallmark of great writing.

In addition to this, the worldbuilding was nothing short of immersive. He created entire ecosystems, a storm system, plants, and animals to keep the reader in his world. Nothing broke the immersion. In fact, I found it clever that sometimes he would use fingers as a unit of measurement rather than saying feet and inches. He would use feet and inches sometimes (there’s no way around that. It’s what the reader comprehends. It’s easier to say a hundred feet than twelve hundred fingers.) but when referring to the height of a person, he would use fingers. Dozens of things such as this keep the reader immersed and solidifies Roshar and the books position within the Cosmere.

The characters are well written and dynamic. Kaladin was my favorite in this book. Sanderson started him low, as low as he could go, and then built him back up. What does his path up look like? Will he ever shake his bitter grief? In addition to this, Kaladin earned respect. If the crew respects Kaladin and it doesn’t feel forced, if they’re given adequate reason to trust him, then the reader will also respect Kaladin.

Shallan’s growth was also impeccable. She starts off incredibly shy and sheltered, yet she’s forced to do something outside of her comfort zone. Growth in this instance is inevitable and its handled well. She found passion and pieces of herself on her journey and it was incredible to read about. I also felt blindsided by the way her POV ended in this book, but in the best way possible.

Dalinar lives by the Alethi codes. He has a lot of internal and external struggle. He recognizes that he’s old and he may be going crazy, but he also wants to trust himself and his visions. How can he when his own sons think he’s losing it? The development along this plot line was a little slower and it wasn’t my favorite, but it was still fun to get insight into the Alethi government.

Also, Wit. He’s an icon. I’ll leave it there.

The side characters are given unique quirks or backstories that keep them from being flat characters. Rock and Shen, for example, are not Alethi. This raises questions within the reader.

I’m giving this book a 4/5 for the excessive exposition. I know it was necessary, but that doesn’t make it any less challenging to read. Part of the reason I stuck with it is because I know Sanderson starts small in scale and then gradually expands as the universe grows and the story progresses. He did this in Mistborn, in Skyward, and he’ll do it again here.

The end of the book was fast-paced and engaging. I was on my way back home. I was on some back road in South Carolina at two in the morning. I wasn’t driving. I was exhausted. I should’ve been asleep. Instead, I chose to finish the book because I couldn’t put it down, even in the face of all the tiredness.

4/5. I’m halfway through Words of Radiance, the second book, already.

If you can stomach the over a thousand page read, then I highly recommend this.

“This world, it is a tempest sometimes. But remember, the sun always rises again.”

Brandon Sanderson, Way of Kings