Brandon Sanderson’s “The Way of Kings”!

Submitted by penguin-47284 t3_125ebaf in books

after a long, long, LONG time, I’ve finally finished the massive tome that is Brandon Sanderson’s “The Way Of Kings”! I haven’t visited any of Sanderson’s works since I read the Mistborn trilogy a few years back, which I loved immensely. This book definitely acted as a great starter to this series — it had all of the political stuff that I dig in fantasy and great characters (which is interesting, because I never thought I’d like Kaladin at the start and the tables did turn on that one). I found that it never really hit the level of stakes that something like Mistborn did, at least in terms of comparing the first book in a series, however Sanderson’s world building continues to be so rich and complex. Seeing The Shattered Plains take a central role in this story was a real treat. While there were some parts that did slow things down a bit, plus the introduction of certain characters that I honestly don’t remember much about and I wonder the true purpose of, it was a great start to a series I’m excited to continue in. For what it didn’t have in high energy and high stakes, it made up for in slow moving themes on tradition and honour, which made for a fascinating read. What did you guys think of this one if you’ve read it?

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johngeste t1_je3yzg9 wrote

I really look forward to these, I found Kaladin to be one of the most inspirational characters in a fantasy series. His interactions with Sylphrena, and dedication to his bridge crew had a profound affect on me.

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[deleted] t1_je6qhki wrote

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johngeste t1_jeabrj6 wrote

Kaladin honestly has to become a less exciting character in later books, he shouldn’t have to shoulder the whole of Roshar.

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Bob3729 t1_je41aor wrote

I'm ~1/4 of the way through, really liking it!

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DanHero91 t1_je41f3g wrote

You're about to fall down a wonderful reading hole. The general process most have is "wow Way of Kings was [okay to great], and I'm super interested about this world so I'm gonna read Words of Radia-OOOHHHHH MYYYYYYY GOOOODDDDDDD".

It took me a little to get into way of kings but then I read the next three books and the two side books in about six weeks.

Also if you haven't yet, the second Mistborn era is good to add to your pile once you've caught up with the Stormlight series as they're both within the larger "Cosmere" setting Sanderson has for the majority of his books.

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ChesterMcShitter t1_je5el2w wrote

The Way of Kings was the book that got me back into reading after a long hiatus. Even though the world feels massive, there are a ton of plot points that are being set up and characters are being introduced, I thought that the book flowed really well. It felt like a much easier read than The Silmarillion, which was the last book I had read prior to The Way of Kings.

Funnily enough, I got into Stormlight because I was looking for free writing courses on Youtube and Sanderson's lectures were the top result. I thought the lectures were really good so I decided to check out some of his works and then I was completely hooked into the series, can't wait to see the conclusion in two decades or so!

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