Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Synopsis

I long for the days before the Last Desolation.

The age before the Heralds abandoned us and the Knights Radiant turned against us. A time when there was still magic in the world and honor in the hearts of men.

The world became ours, and yet we lost it. Victory proved to be the greatest test of all. Or was that victory illusory? Did our enemies come to recognize that the harder they fought, the fiercer our resistance? Fire and hammer will forge steel into a weapon, but if you abandon your sword, it eventually rusts away.

There are four whom we watch. The first is the surgeon, forced to forsake healing to fight in the most brutal war of our time. The second is the assassin, a murderer who weeps as he kills. The third is the liar, a young woman who wears a scholar’s mantle over the heart of a thief. The last is the prince, a warlord whose eyes have opened to the ancient past as his thirst for battle wanes.

The world can change. Surgebinding and Shardwielding can return; the magics of ancient days become ours again. These four people are key.

One of them may redeem us. And one of them will destroy us.

From Brandon Sanderson-who completed Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time-comes The Stormlight Archive, an ambitious new fantasy epic in a unique, richly imagined setting. Roshar is a world relentlessly blasted by awesome tempests, where emotions take on physical form, and terrible secrets hide deep beneath the rocky landscape.

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!

What I thought

Let me start by saying that I am really happy that I enjoyed this one.  I was so worried when I finally picked this one up because I may have gone a little bit overboard.  I may have backed the Kickstarter, and I may also already own all the Stormlight books that are currently out… Yea, I was neck-deep in owning a series I haven’t even started yet.  Thankfully, I really enjoyed this one, and I hope that I continue to like the rest of the series.

This is the first book in a multi-POV epic fantasy series.  From my understanding, this series will consist of 10 novels total, but there will be two full arcs of 5 books each and a time gap in between.  

This book took me a while to get though due to its complexity, there is just so much going on in this world.  Love how he creates a religion and ties it into the lore of the world.  

There is one thing that I am really conflicted about, I really did not like one of the main characters, and I am not sure how this will affect my enjoyment down the road.  I know that she is a favorite for a lot of people, I just did not like her, I actually groaned when one of her chapters would come up.  I can not put my finger on the exact reason, but I just didn’t like her.  Maybe something will happen, and I will change my mind, well I am hoping for the best.  I really found myself invested in Kaladin’s story, and I wanted the best for him and his bridge crew the whole way through.  I also really liked Dalinar, once again I am not sure why I really liked this character, there was just something about him that spoke to me.  And Syl how can you now just love Syl.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and can not wait to pick up the next one.

“life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.” ~ ancient oath

“A story doesn’t live until it is imagined in someone’s mind.”~Hoid

My Rating: /5

Have you read this book? If so what did you think? Tell me in the comments below.