Der Pfad der Winde: Roman

The Stormlight Archive #1, Part 2

by Brandon Sanderson

Für jeden Krieger kommt ein Moment der Entscheidung. Entweder er folgt dem Pfad des Kampfes oder dem Pfad der Ehre. Der eine führt in den Abgrund, der andere in das Herz des Sturms ..

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Adult, Audiobook, Magic

783 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

I’m Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.

The release of Wind and Truth in December 2024—the fifth and final book in the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive series—marks a significant milestone for me. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it’s the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. Now is a great time to get into the Stormlight Archive since the first arc, which begins with Way of Kings, is complete.

During our crowdfunding campaign for the leatherbound edition of Words of Radiance, I announced a fifth Secret Project called Isles of the Emberdark, which came out in the summer of 2025. Coming December 2025 is Tailored Realities, my non-Cosmere short story collection featuring the new novella Moment Zero.

Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, came out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that saw the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man. These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.

November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. Now that the first arc of the Stormlight Archive is wrapped up, I’ve started writing the third era of Mistborn in 2025.

Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, four of the five Secret Projects, and various novellas, including The Emperor’s Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you’ve read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.

I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, released in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.

Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the three stories in Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. These two novellas are also featured in 2025’s Tailored Realities. There’s a lot of material to go around!

Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart, The Emperor’s Soul, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you’re already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.

I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.

Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com—and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.

Reviews

[ELLIAS (elliasreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me purchase the series in its entirety byeeee!!!!!

5 STARS
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[Warda · Rating 5 out of 5]

2nd reread.
Sanderson will forever continue to impress me.

————————————

I'm going to try and attempt to review this book.

The scope of this series is too massive for me to provide you with an adequate synopsis. It's going to become a 10 book series, and we've probably just about scratched the surface with 2 books released so far out of 10.

This story follows a set of characters, coming from all different walks of life. A soldier turned slave, a lord that commands armies and protects the king, as well as an aspiring female scholar. However, there are many more relevant side characters that add to the story as well as the bigger plot line. As the story progresses, the characters become more fleshed out and their lives begin to crossover in the best way possible.

The character growth were insanely good! Complete individuals, their worldview and psyche shaped by their upbringing, you can't help but love and be invested in these characters. The development is drawn out, slow, pieces about them are put together, layer by layer. There's so many facets to them. And this 1000+ book doesn't even cover most of their lives! They're all struggling and trying to overcome something. They very much feel alive.

The foundation of Sanderson's world building in this first instalment is solid as always and wonderfully rich. I was fully transported into this world that I couldn't get enough of. I was worried it was going to be overwhelming and too dense but Sanderson builds the world up in a steady manner. You get to a certain point where everything, or I should say majority of the world, will start making sense and it becomes more familiar as one reads on. I adored his attention to every little detail. It all added something valuable to the overall story arc. There's so much groundwork that he's laid bare in order for it to be built upon and I cannot, cannot wait to see where he goes with it.

It wouldn't be a Sanderson novel without the avalanche that hits you towards the end of the book. Secrets were revealed. Deception. Lies. Plot twists. You name it.

This book was consuming to say the least. I was so engrossed in the storyline and the characters, that I didn't want to do anything else but read this book.

[Jonathan O'Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐

‘The Way of Kings – Part 1 and 2’

A gripping and immersive introduction to the vast world of Roshar and a stunning masterclass on the Art of Worldbuilding. A typically spellbinding final sequence as well as the prospect of what this world could become has had me dancing around the house like Van Damme from that bar scene in ‘Kickboxer’ for the best part of an hour (If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour).

Browsing through Goodreads, it has come to my attention that there aren’t nearly enough reviews of this underrated book for people to make an informed decision on whether to read it or not. So here it is, lucky review number 20,428… Seriously though, I’ll keep this as brief as possible.


“Oh, and Elhokar? Your mother and I are now courting. You’ll want to start growing accustomed to that.” - Dalinar, The Ruthless


The worldbuilding here is as immense as you could expect in the first book of a 10-part series. If Sanderson were a sculptor, I feel like ‘Way of Kings’ would be him just performing the initial “roughing-out”, just creating a general shape of what this series will become. Though we are only exposed to a “small” amount of the magic, lore, races, animals, plant-life, cities and environments in this world, we are given a glimpse behind the curtain at what to expect in coming novels and honestly, it’s game-changing. The world is alive!

The different races all have unique quirks whether with regards to their physical appearance, their speech or their culture and philosophies. The animals and plant-life have evolved to suit the harsh, rocky, desolate landscape of Roshar which is regularly consumed by devastating highstorms. Most animals have rough carapace exteriors which they can envelope themselves within while plants and bushes can retreat back into the ground or retract their leaves and branches when in danger.

There is a shamed religion, Vorinism, that we learn once tried to exact power on the Alethi people and is paying for it to this day. We learn of Heralds (Warriors and Servants of the Almighty) who rose from damnation once a millenia to fight in the ‘Desolation’ only to return to another Millenia of torture as well as the 10 Orders of the Knights Radiant who once fought an evil known as the Voidbringers but are believed, in this age, to have betrayed mankind on the ‘Day of Recreance’. We know little of this so far but if Epic Fantasy is your thing, I don’t think it gets more epic than this.

There is both civil and interracial conflict on multiple levels, including the inevitable discrimination that comes with multicultural societies. In Alethi society, Bright eyes vie for power against other bright eyes, using the lesser dark-eyed Alethi along with individuals of other races such as the Parshmen as slave power to achieve their goal. Achieving power and glory within their own society sees them warring with the Parshendi, a race they know little about but who seem to be a distant relative of their docile slave Parshmen and at least partially seem to operate within some type of hive-mind. There is evidence to suggest that the Parshendi are highly intelligent beings but upon their land are highly coveted assets known as gemhearts and so the Alethi portray them as barbaric monsters in order to discredit their claim on land or possessions. Much like our own precious Europeans did to… Um, pretty much all indigenous people worldwide. I include all these details in order to show just a minute amount of the dynamic, vibrant and living world that Sanderson has created and hopefully give a sense of the general flavour of the novel.


The magic system, SO FAR, doesn’t hold a candle to that of the ‘Mistborn’ Trilogy. It seems ridiculous to mention that, being the first book in such a large series this is bound to improve exponentially. In fact, Mistborn’s magic system is still expanding and evolving even in Era 2. The other factor is that this book already had so much to introduce, so much ground to cover that it would probably have been impossible to delve too deep into what I’m sure will be a very complex system. What we have seen so far has been pretty cool. Magical equipment such as shardblades/shardplates and purpose built fabrials as well as wind-running, lashings and soulcasting have so much potential. I really don’t even feel worthy of commenting on Sanderson’s magic systems to be honest (We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy) … *Ahem*, moving on.


This tale is told from an abundance of perspectives but we are, more often than not, seeing things from the perspective of Kaladin Stormblessed, Dalinar Kholin or Shallan Davar. I said I’d keep this brief so I won’t go into their individual arcs but they are all fantastic. I didn’t really have a favourite but by the same token didn’t have a least favourite.
If anything, I was probably drawn to Dalinar for his unyielding moral integrity in the face of so much resistance.
But then, Kaladin’s sense of responsibility/duty to protect those around him and his battle and consequent rise from depression and self-doubt were admirable too.
And Shallan’s perspective has Jasnah, whom I’d give my left nut to stand in the same room as, so you know, tough choices. I found the inclusion of a scholar’s perspective to be a really smart move by Sanderson as he could potentially flood us with info-dumps here if he wanted and be like, “Well, they are scholars!”. Thankfully, it never feels that way.


I do have a couple of negatives to include, believe it or not.

The first is a run of abysmally shit humour from Sanderson. Mainly from both Shallan and Wit during the first third of the book but also some real boooo inducing moments from Kal as well. I understand Sando’s not a comedian but wow, there were some real tumbleweed moments!

“Each man has his place. Mine is to make insults. Yours is to be in-sluts.” - Wit (What??)

Unfortunately, I felt like the large majority of the big revelatory moments in the final chapters were too obvious. Sanderson gives a lot of hints throughout the book and I just found that I was guessing most of what was going to happen with only a couple of exceptions. He still executes those moments well so it’s not a major issue.

The character Kabsal. He said some real weirdo type shit when he was creepily trying to get in Shallan’s pants and I thought, “Hmm, that’s not like Sando, he’s probably being a creep for a reason, but it’s weird that Shallan is digging it”, but no, I genuinely think Sanderson thought the lines that he gave Kabsal were smooth pick up material… Well, fucking no my man! It was slimy and gross and I got the impression that Kabsal probably had some sort of wank altar decorated with pictures of Shallan so please… Work on that!

There is a scene near the end of Part 1 where Lopen calls Dabbid a “Moolie”. I 100% expect that Sanderson is unaware of it being an old derogatory Sicilian word used to describe black people and he doesn’t use it in that way (Lopen says it’s because Dabbid doesn’t talk much) but how in the world does that get past all of the beta-reads and editing without being picked up.


Finally, if anyone is discouraged by the length of this book, there is absolutely no need! I read this 1000+ page monster in about the same time I’d read a 500-600 page book and was really never bored. Strangely, the last 10 pages or so was hard to read as I was having some intense flashbacks of all the characters arcs going through my head, putting everything together which was making it hard to concentrate. But I think that’s just a symptom of the revelatory final sequence. It finishes with so many unanswered questions that I would’ve hated to have been one of the many people who had to wait for the next book. Luckily, I don’t have to! Happy reading.

[William Gwynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now have a YouTube channel that I run with my brother, called 'The Brothers Gwynne'. Check it out - The Brothers Gwynne


My expanded review of The Way of Kings is now on Booknest.eu. http://booknest.eu/component/k2/william/1576-the-way-of-kings-the-stormlight-archive-1-by-brandon-sanderson

“It is the journey that shapes us. Our callused feet, our backs strong from carrying the weight of our travels, our eyes open with the fresh delight of experience lived.”

Way of Kings Part 2 continued the first addition of The Way of Kings in a fantastic manner, developing the plot at a quicker pace and becoming more and more tense as the story evolved.

There are three main PoV’s in this book, and I loved two of them. Brightlord Dalinar with his honourable to a fault nature, always abiding to his promises. And Kaladin, the warrior that has been made a slave, with his conflicting emotions and overwhelming care for others. These two were my favourite aspects of the story as they were such unique characters.

“At that moment, Kaladin knew he could kill, if he needed to. Some people - like a festering finger or a leg shattered beyond repair - just needed to be removed.”

I enjoyed the scholar, Shallan, but found her plot line to be much slower, so I always just wished to be with the other characters. Her portion of the story contributed a lot to the plot with numerous revelations and a lot of world building with the history of the world being explained, so was still an enjoyable part of the novel.

“Sometimes the prize is not worth the costs. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.”

There were twists and turns and surprises at every corner that had me reeling in surprise and willing the protagonists to push through and somehow survive their dangerous encounters. These unexpected events immersed me into the story of these characters and constantly worry for their lives.

The battles were large scale with high stakes and comprehensible tactics. It was vividly described in a realistic and gritty way. This was one of my favourite elements of the writing.

“What you saw belongs to you. A story doesn’t live until it is imagined in someones mind.”

So The Way of Kings was a great opening to the Starlight Archive and I look forward to continuing this complex and interesting story with Words of Radiance.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

BRUH this book went from 0 to 100 so fucking quick. I thought there was a lot of stuff happening and I was really enjoying it and then near the end all the different plots went crazy and it was amazing. Loved it so much and can't wait to continue the series!

[❄️BooksofRadiance❄️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

PURE. PERFECTION. In every way.
I don’t know what else can be said...

[Dannii Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second part of the first instalment in The Stormlight Archive series.

Despite regarding this book an absolute masterpiece, I can understand the hesitancy of others to revere it in quite the same way. Sanderson spends large portions of this book informing the reader about the convoluted magical system, the geographical disparities, the social hierarchy and ruling classes, the non-human entities, the politics of war, the history that this war has ravaged upon the lands, and so, so much more. I found none of this information ‘dumped’ upon the reader but it was overwhelming to know that there was consistently some more facet about this world to learn, on every single page. I found this utterly fascinating and it only made me more immersed in this epic creation, rather than alienating me from the concurrent scenes of action.

As well as this abundance of information imparted about the kingdom, this also delivered the same amount for the three individuals who provided their perspectives into it. Interludes and flashbacks interrupted the chronological order of events to deliver the reader a slowly drip-fed understanding for who these people were and what made them the individuals the reader is initially introduced to. The characters themselves also delivered facts about their previous selves throughout their interaction with others, which meant that every area of this masterpiece was continually growing on every line, not just on every page, as I stated above!

And for all this knowledge, the action still was allowed to dominate. Scenes of battle or scenes of learning were provided the same detailed focus and despite the intricacies of both, Sanderson never left his readers feeling a step behind the events unfurling.

[Andrei(Drusca) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastică

[Semjon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abbruch mit Roman, Serie und Autor nach rund 40 %, bzw. bezogen auf das Original bei rund 70 %.

Sanderson hat seine starke Fangemeinde und daher muss etwas an seinen Romanen dran sein, dass es die Leute zu großer Begeisterung hinreißen läßt. Es gibt Dinge, die kann er richtig gut (auch in Bezug auf Band 1 der Nebelgeborenen-Reihe):
- er erschafft eindrückliche Welten
- er denkt sich in beiden Serien raffinierte magische Systeme aus und
- er liefert beständig ab (im Gegensatz zu den Schreibblockierten Martin und Rothfuss).

Aber das reicht für meinen Geschmack nicht aus. Ich will nicht nur tollen Zauber, ich will verzaubert werden, auch von den auftretenden Personen und anderen Lebewesen. Seine Charaktere sind für mich sehr flach und keine Entwicklung ist zu erkennen. Da er nicht chronologisch erzählt, treffen wir die Personen ja schon ausgereift, bzw. ausgelutscht an. Die Dialoge sind furchtbar hölzern, kommunikativ wirklich eine Katastrophe für mich. Und dann die Krux am Epochalen: er muss weit ausholen und die Dinge gemächlich voranbringen, um die Wirkung des Gewaltigen zu erzielen. Und das ist mir zu langweilig. Ich will langsam wissen, was die übergeordnete Aufgabe hier ist (Rache, Ringvernichtung, Rettung der Welt, egal, Hauptsache irgendetwas). Nicht mein Geschmack. Wenn es mit dem einen Buch abgeschlossen wäre, dann hätte ich mich durchgebissen. Tausende von Seiten in der Art würden mir aber noch bevorstehen. Dann lobe ich mir die fiesen Intrigen eines G.R.R. Martin, die humorvollen und liebenswerten Figuren eines Tad Williams oder das sprachliche Können eines Jay Kristoff oder Patrick Rothfuss.

[Jonathan Terrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note

Before reading the rest of this review I'd like to note that this is a two part review with notes from a first reading and a second reading. Like with any fantasy epic beginning this entire work starts out slowly but this second part becomes much faster and more readable. I encourage reading of this book, because as noted later it was my favourite book read in 2012 and I have been eagerly waiting for this novel almost as much as I awaited the finale of The Wheel of Time.

In short I wanted to clarify that on a first reading of any novel I can be very eager and excited about the novel if it thrills me. It is the second (and potentially third and so on) readings that inform one as to whether the book is one which has stuck with me as a great work of fiction. And my re-read of The Way of Kings (both parts) left me with such an impression. This is a fine fantasy novel, one that starts off slowly perhaps, but one with plenty of twists and turns. As mentioned elsewhere, Brandon Sanderson is easily now my favourite fantasy author for his ideas, pace, energy and all round readability. His prose is not the purple prose of other authors but he continues to improve and his ideas and themes shine through strongly no matter what.

Review The First

One of the positives of being a uni student is possessing the time on my hands to read books. Okay sure I have to do all the university texts and so forth but when travelling an hour to and from campus and in between lectures a remarkable amount of time is free to read. Well it certainly beats having to attend school where there was no time to read.

How does that all relate? Oh simply on the odd coincidence that I managed to finish the last two hundred pages across the three hours I had free travelling and waiting for lectures/tutorials. And I was staggered when I finally finished book one of the Stormlight Archive. This could very well be one of the best epic fantasy series ever written. Not that I want to make claims before the series is finished...

Let me break it down.

The Plot

This was superb. Revolving around three different main characters Sanderson plotted a whole course for his novel that I didn't see right at the beginning. Full of wonderful twists, turns, plots and sudden realisations Sanderson does a fine job of keeping his readers interested. I particularly loved how he would drop in a sudden bomb at the end of a chapter that left me going: "Hang on what! You mean Saldeas actually... You mean the visions are actually..." It was that kind of plot. I also loved the way in which Sanderson slowly provides a view into the background behind each of the character's motives. I feel that they were much more fleshed out in terms of providing me as a reader with a sense of how each character's morality worked than A Game of Thrones which I was unable to get into. That's not a cheap shot at A Game of Thrones which many have enjoyed but rather an indication that I really liked how Sanderson wrote his world.

The Worldbuilding

As in Mistborn the world is highly fleshed out. But this world is even deeper than the world of Mistborn. Religion again has its place alongside discussions of philosophy and morality. There are various native plants, creatures and people discussed which all fit neatly into a grand mythology of the Heralds and the Voidbringers. If you're looking for a Tolkienesque world with a grand level of attention to details then look at this for starters.

The creatures introduced by Sanderson were fascinating. You had the chasmfiends, the Parshendii and parshmen, the chull, the axehounds and the sky eels for starters. Each of which were nicely depicted through images in the book. In fact the elaborate artwork was something else to behold for a book. The most intriguing creatures however were the spren. These are spirits which appear in different forms and flock to various events. For example windspren fly on the breeze, firespren appear around fires, painspren are attracted to pain, rotspren are attracted to rot and so on.

The Magic

You have the supernatural featuring strongly as in all of Sanderson's books to date. There are three types of main magic mentioned along with another which is hinted at. The fourth I won't delve into as it is simply called Old Magic and may feature more in later novels. I'll put a spoiler here as I provide some details which some readers may find spoiling.



Stormlight Lashings

In Sanderson's world gems are powerful because they alone can collect the radiant energy of highstorms. This stormlight causes them to glow brightly. Some have the ability - like the Radiants of old - to absorb the stormlight from gems and use this to perform various lashings. These lashings bind objects together, prove gravitational pulls and change gravity. The stormlight also heals and strengthens the user

Soulcasting

Soulcasting again uses gems to change objects into other objects. For instance stone can become fog, blood can become ice, fire can become wood and so forth. The magic is done through the use of powerful objects called fabrials. Apart from that you can find out about the soulcasting more through reading.

Shardplate and Shardblades

These are weapons which turn men into unstoppable warriors. The plate strengthens a man and increases his speed and agility. The shardblade slices through any object and when it touches flesh it passes through deadening the soul. Basically if it touches your spine you will burn to death. Shardblades disappear when dropped and can be summoned by their wielder in ten heartbeats. While reading the book I kept imagining how awesome a film version would be to hear the heartbeats as the sword is summoned - and because of how much action envelopes the book.

The Characterisation

I loved the characters of this world. They each had a strong and properly explained moral centre to their being that was observable from the start. Some may become annoyed at the lack of sexuality in the book but I disagree with it being absent. In fact I think Sanderson deserves credit for fitting a clever touch of romance during a massive war where most of the women are away from the front-lines. Oh and there is that time with the crazy priest dude and Shallan.

Because what the book is about is not romance or action or war although those elements are visible. This is in essence a book about the characters and how they struggle through conflict, how they wrestle with turmoil and danger and in the end triumph. This is a book about overcoming the odds. The best kind of book in my eyes. Of course naturally each character must be brought low to rise again and you feel pity for their failing. But then when they rise you cheer for their victory.

So what now?

Well obviously I suggest you go read the novel if you love fantasy in its epic glory. This is a grand novel and world that for me was addictive. I'm left desiring more despite the thousand pages I've just finished. And that's a good sign of an awesome book for me. If I loved it enough to hungrily devour it. Because what I can see is that Sanderson is just a good storyteller telling good stories. And no book of his I've yet read has been worth less than five. (There's always Warbreaker but I'm an optimist). Anyway do I need to present another reason for you to enjoy this book?

Initial Update

I'm going to put this out here right now since it is the middle of the year and say this is probably my favourite book read all year (2012). Then you can have Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in second place. Tied third places go to The Hero of Ages and Warbreaker followed by 1984 and Brave New World.

A Further Note

Having completed my re-read for this book I am both apprehensive and excited about seeing the plot twists and turns of the second book. Almost everything I noted again in my re-read has been covered across the review for part 1 and part 2 already save for one small note.

I would like to comment on a point many, many reviewers I know have made and this is in regards to Shallan's story. Some have suggested that she was far too annoying (I would agree with that in part) and not necessary to be featured in this first book (to which I disagree). I feel that her story was important in showing all the elements of what was going on across the world of Roshar - rather than focusing on one area - as well as providing a more feminine character presence. I would further add that it is in the second half of the book where, to me, Shallan becomes a more rounded out character as well as a more necessary character (for her connection to Jasnah if nothing else).

The one other addition to this note that I can make would be to encourage you to read this book if you are into supernatural literature in any regard. There are themes of war, love, betrayal, necessary evil, honour and religion wrapped around a grand story that is fascinating. Again, it starts out slowly and the characters can at first seem unlikeable but one of the true joys about this novel is that none of the characters are really unlikeable for long in that you understand that even the villainous characters have fleshed out motives for their actions. And that is what truly makes compelling characters - not merely giving characters evil actions to undertake and calling them 'noble' despite it.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Updated review (August 2020)

What is there to say about The Way of Kings other than that it’s a masterpiece of fantasy writing? I certainly wouldn’t recommend starting your Sanderson journey with The Stormlight Archive, but once you get here you’ll understand.

This is my first time rereading The Way of Kings and I’m glad I did. I first read it three years ago and have since forgotten a lot of the details. One of the most interesting aspects I noticed during my reread was my reaction to the novel itself. The first time around, I was so invested in Kaladin and the Shattered Plains. I could not get enough of Kaladin and every chapter spent away from him and his journey was time lost. However, this time around I was screaming for more Shallan and Jasnah chapters. There are far to few of them, but they serve the larger plot of the Cosmere. Every line of each of these chapters feels as if they have been written carefully and precisely. To the people who dislike Shallan, why?

Apart from the incredible character development, intricate world building, and the spectacular pacing (did I use enough adjectives?), I think Sanderson’s best accomplishment in The Way of Kings is his foreshadowing. Every revelation and reveal feels earned. If you’re paying attention, none of this should come out of left field.

The Sanderson Avalanche is real, especially at the end of The Way of Kings. Everything is moving along at a fairly quick pace when all of a sudden the plot explodes and readers are racing to the end with not enough pages left in the best possible way. To the people who read this when it was first published in 2011 then had to wait until 2014 for the sequel, hats off to you. You’re the real MVP. I guess I know the feeling now that I’ve waited 3 years for Rhythm of War after Oathbringer.

Overall, The Way of Kings is one of the most incredible opening fantasy novels I’ve ever read. Come to think of it, the only other novel of comparable calibre is A Game of Thrones. Strap in, buckle up, and throw your hands in the air because Sanderson will bring you on the ride of your life with realistic characters and a world so vast and intricate you won’t know your way around.

______


Sanderson! Ma man! Doing it again and again. I cannot get enough of his writing. His plotting, characters, world building, and dialogue are ALWAYS on point.

The Way of Kings Part One is a phenomenal introduction with multiple characters that are multidimensional and in depth world building.

Kaladin was by far my favourite of the bunch introduced in Part One. He's inspiring and resourceful with considerable influence despite is lack of awareness of his own qualities. His journey through this first half of the story is emotionally and physically draining and I loved every second of it.
Shallan spoke to me more than any other character. She has endless wit that comes out most often at inappropriate moments. Her thirst for knowledge is unquenchable, which made reading her chapters interesting because the reader learns much about the world.
Danilar and Adolin took me a bit to warm up to. Their chapters were the most confusing at the beginning because of all of the names and relationships to each other. Once I got a handle on who everyone was, I found myself thoroughly enjoying their interactions. I cannot wait to see what happens next with Danilar.
Also, HOID!

Overall, The Way of Kings Part One is great introduction to an impressively massive world with a complicated history. The characters are all or mostly fleshed out with complex personalities and conflicting ideologies. The Way of Kings is best consumed knowing little about the story, hence my vague review.

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like every single book by Brandon Sanderson that I read is better than the previous one... How is that even possible?

[Giulia (la.perfa_) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brandon Sanderson colpisce ancora. The Way of Kings (o La Via dei Re in italiano) è il primo volume in una serie epic fantasy enorme che sarà composta da ben 10 libri. Dopo averlo concluso mi sembra di aver letto un classico del genere fantasy. Sono abbastanza certa che negli anni avvenire questa sarà una serie a cui tanti autori si ispireranno. La scala di grandezza ed epicità di questa storia è mastodontica, quello che Sanderson ha nelle sue mani è un capolavoro.
Mi auguro con tutto il cuore che i libri successivi continuino su questo livello.
E' difficile riassumere la complessità di un libro simile in una breve recensione, sappiate però che nessuno ha la capacità di creare mondi come Sanderson. L'immaginazione di quest'uomo non ha confini e tutti i piccoli dettagli che inserisce nella sua storia rendono il tutto realistico. Qui ad esempio la vita è regolata dalle tempeste che distruggono ogni cosa sul suo cammino. Per questo molti degli animali sono dotati di gusci esterni, corazze come i nostri crostacei. Anche le piante e i fiori hanno la capacità di ritirarsi o chiudersi per proteggersi dal vento e dalla forte pioggia. Tutti questi piccoli elementi migliorano di gran lunga la mia esperienza di lettura.
Personaggi incredibili, non so scegliere il mio preferito. Shallan, Adolin, Kaladin e Dalinar, tutti meravigliosi! E la maturazione fatta in un solo volume? Spettacolare!
Credo anche di aver letto la scena di battaglia migliore di sempre, è stato incredibile. Grazie alla descrizione dell'autore sembrava di guardare un film. Capitoli perfetti, nulla da dire.
E ovviamente il libro si conclude con colpi di scena incredibili, che vanno a ribaltare tutto. Dovevo aspettarmelo da Sanderson.
#fuckingepic

Recensione completa: https://bookaddictedweb.wordpress.com...

Sono curiosissima di leggere il seguito, anzi mi ci fiondo proprio ora!

[Melissa | melisthereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Overall rating 4.75*

I want to give this all the stars, but since it took so long to get into, I'm giving it a 4.75.
I just don't understand how Brandon Sanderson can create such awesome, vast worlds. Absolutely mind-boggling. I loved it, so much. The characters, the plot, the build-up. Yes to all! It was so good. So. Good.

[Emma Skapetis · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
Some spoilers.
This was so good and I can't believe I have finally finished The way of Kings. It took me a while to get through but it was worth it. This part was my favorite but the first one was really good as well.
In regards to this one I love that there was more of Kaladin's backstory, which I found really interesting. Kaladin is such a loveable and relatable character. I also love Dalinar and I clung onto his really tiny subplot of romance. I feel like I don't know Shallan yet but I didn't see that plot twist about her coming. I'm interested in seeing how her strange friendship with Jasnah develops.

[Krbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tužno, tužno.

Tužno je kad ovakva knjiga završi - tako sam je halapljivo pročitao da slobodno mogu još jednom od početka.

Da, svakako najbolji Sanderson do sada (mada me je najviše dotakla Hugom nagrađena The Emperor’s Soul)
Struktura pisanja je slična Mistbornu, imamo poglavlja s zanimljivim grafikama iza čega slijede pomalo misteriozni citati (do kraja prvog dijela slabo ćemo saznati tko nam se obraća i zašto)
Skoro svako poglavlje se bavi drugim od glavnih likova (imamo ih nekoliko) no nije dosljedno - zna biti po dva o istom.

Zajedničko svim likovima (neki će vas odmah povući, drugi malo sporije no ono što je sigurno je da su svi bitni i kad-tad će doći do interakcije) je neka od neobičnih/mističnih pozadina (ne, neće ih baš tako rano i razriješiti)

Apsolutno najbolji Sandersonov worldbuilding do sada. Roshar je prilično očaravajuć, pun zanimljivih sitnica, bića i događaja. Ilustracije koje to prate su odlične.
No ni wordbuilding ne zaostaje - knjiga je koncentrat, sirup!
Na jednom mjestu Sanderson piše kako je uradio baš sve ne bi li smanjio obim no nikako nije uspio i kao rezultat imamo knjigu bez gotovo ijedne suviše rečenice, a slobodno bi se mogla ubaciti i koja stotina stranica da se ne razvodni.

Tu su i noviteti - odvažio se na jednu intimniju scenu između muškarca i žene. Vjerujem da ga njegovo religijsko obrazovanje koči u prikazu takvih emocija ili jednostavno nije takav pisac.
Po prvi puta sam ga uhvatio i kako nam reklamira religiju, posebice mormonska vjerovanja no to nije ni najmanje nametljivo.

Bio sam kompletno usisan, mahao sam Iverom, lijepio se za strop, bježao od oluja i ratovao na Smrskanim ravnicama (genijalno smišljen teren i način ratovanja nemoguć bez premosnih mostova).
Pravi užitak i odmor za moj mozak.
Ako vam se njegov rad imalo dopada očekujte slične efekte, a ukućane unaprijed upozorite na režanje u slučaju ometanja čitanja.

Preporuka? O, da,da - pod obvezno (u stvari odmah ostavite išta drugo što čitate i ne gutajte ju - uživajte polako, neka potraje)

Čista petica.

Osobno, sad malo čitam slučajna poglavlja na engleskom kako bih usvojio originalno nazivlje i imena (što bi lako moglo rezultirati čitanjem drugog dijela na engleskom)


Za kraj imitirat ću malo Davora s par citata koji su mi zapeli za oko:

Dani sveštenika davno su prošli. Dani laganja naroda i zamračivanja njihovih umova davno su prošli. Sada svako bira svoj put, a gorljivi mu pomažu da tako ostvari bliskost sa Svevišnjim. Umesto senovitih proročanstava i lažnih moći kojima navodno vlada nekolicina ljudi, imamo stanovništvo koje razume svoja verovanja i svoj odnos sa Bogom.


Da, čovek može da bude moralan a da ne poštuje zakon i može da bude nemoralan poštujući zakon.


Samo spoj dva čoveka i oni će naći oko čega da se zavade. Okupi ih i jedna grupa će naći razlog da tlači ili da napadne drugu.


Nije bitno odredište, već je bitno kako čovek stiže do njega.


Novac je uzrok svakog rata, nastavio je Au-nak. „Vera je samo izgovor. Ili možda opravdanje.“


...mudrih ljudi ima u svakoj religiji, a dobrih ljudi u svakoj naciji. Oni koji zaista tragaju za mudrošću jesu ljudi koji će priznati kada njihovi protivnici imaju vrline i koji će učiti od onih koji ih uvere da greše

[Simona Stoica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recenzie completă: http://palarisme.ro/chef/carti/recenz...

1. OMGOMGOMG.
2. Nu m-a intrigat atât de mult primul volum, dar al doilea este ahahskdkfkflf.
3. Jasnah este magnifică. O ador.
4. Dalinar este Ned Stark. Sper să aibă o soartă diferită.
5. IUBESC Podul Patru.
6. A aparut în câteva capitole, dar Szeth e preferatul meu. Nici eu nu pot explica de ce.
7. Capitolul intitulat Turnul este incredibil. Mi-au tremurat mâinile.
8. Pe Sadeas l-am detestat de la început. Ura mea a crescut exponențial.
9. Adevărul despre Pustiitori este ahajskdlfjsldlxkfdjsldlf.
10. Am prins drag de Kaladin şi Shallan în ultimele 200 de pagini.
11. Sanderson este unul dintre cei mai talentați autori fantasy pe care i-am citit. Imaginația lui nu are limite.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I said I’d write a full review, buuuuuuuut I’m in Italy and not back until Sunday evening.

However that was incredible.

I love Kaladin.
Bridge Four are my Boys.
Dalinar and Adolin grew on me very very much
Sadeas... snip snip from my friendship group
Jasnah and Shallan. Some unexpected things!
Szeth... I need more!

Re-Read 30.08.24

Hands down I think that this is the best start to a series.

[freddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm definitely going to have a review up for it at some point, but it's late and I'm tired af.

What I will say: I think this is probably one of my new all-time favourite novels. Brandon Sanderson and his damn crafty endings, at it again.

I'd planned to read another book entirely after finishing this one, but I think I'm just gonna dive straight into Words of Radiance tbqh!!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sanderson did it AGAIN! A slow burn and then BOOM - the ending. His endings are always a surprise, but I love that it‘s never something you couldn‘t have figuered out - I always have that satisfying Aha-moment, sometimes I figure it out just a second before he explains it. Sanderson‘s endings are responsible for some of the best reading expieriences I had.
I‘m happy that I read this first installment in the Stormlight Archive in two parts - otherwise it would have been too long for me and that would‘ve reduced my enjoyment of the story. But in this format I enjoyed it immensly. I switched between audio and physical book and it was great that way.
Another thing I really like about this book is that it‘s epic fantasy and while there are quite a few characters, there‘s not that huge cast of characters you have in other epic fantasy, where you have trouble following who‘s who and what‘s going on.
My favourite thing is probably the world building. It‘s an immersive world, incredibly interesting and so well built up.
I was quite intimidated by this series and its size, but I‘m glad I picked it up and had the chance to get to know these characters and this world.

[Liviu Szoke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am intuit faptul că această primă parte a seriei Stormlight Archive este cel mai bun volum scris de Brandon Sanderson pe care l-am citit, iar acest lucru s-a adeverit când am terminat și partea a doua: Calea Regilor, volumul doi, un mamut de 800 de pagini, plus volumul unu, încă 650 de pagini, alcăutuiesc debutul uneia dintre cele mai interesante și mai ample povești fantasy aflate acum pe piață. Regi luptători, cavaleri în armuri strălucitoare care l-ar face invidios și pe Iron Man, podari super-luptători, animale monstruoase mari cât o casă, obiecte capabile să transforme materia, o planetă bântuită de furtuni înfiorătoare, războaie, intrigi, oameni mici și oameni mari, tot ce vrei. Dar se pare că am fost prea optimist când am spus că în zece ani vom avea cea mai impresionantă saga fantasy din toate timpurile, căci în ritmul de apariție actual o vom vedea gata cam în 20 sau 30 de ani. Recenzia, aici: http://wp.me/pz4D9-2kJ.

[Zeynepx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Süperdi. Süperdi. Süperdi. Son 100 sayfa tam bir fırtına gibiydi.


Kaladin Stormblessed= Tam bir aşk, depresif, bir adamın başına ne gelebilir ki dediğimiz her şey bunun başına geldi. Kıyamam.
Dalinar = Baba king. En büyük talihsizliği yeğeni, ezikoş. Oğul bakımından deli şanslı. Ayrıca o senin yengen be. Uzak dur gacıdan.
Szeth= Ne bok olduğu daha çözümlenemedi.
Akıl= Kitabın son sayfasında merakta bıraktı.
Shallan= Beni hiç ama hiç sarmadı. Çilek reçeli.

Köprü 4= Teft, Kaya, Lopen enlerim oldu. Moash bi cin göz her an her şeyi yapar gibi.

[Emina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Možda u narednih par dana uspijem skuckati nešto smisleno, sad ne ide. Genijalno, super, nevjerovatno.. je sve što mogu da sročim :D
Veći je problem što nemam pojma šta čitati sad, definitvo imam "book hangover"!

[Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.”


Note: This is a combined review of both part one and two of The Way of Kings. So if you haven’t finish both parts there might be some spoilers.

To be honest I don’t really know where to start with this one. A good place might be that as thankful as I am to the person who got me these books as a gift, I am equally annoyed by them for giving me split copies. It gave me the excuse to stop after Part one, and only picking Part two up five months later. This absolutely stole some of the magic. So, in future I will not make the same mistake.
But if I had to split the ratings it would be a 4.5 for Part One and 5 for Part Two.

So let me try my very best to articulate my feelings.


Roshar is a very large place with lots of different nations, religions, and regions with vast landscapes differing from place to place. All suffering from wat is called Highstorms, the Fauna and Flora is greatly influenced by these storms, and most have found a way to protect itself from storms.
Also, seasons here are very short, lasting only a few weeks, sometimes not even a full week.

There is, as always, a very intricate religion system called Vorinism that I haven't fully grasped yet. What I do understand so far is that there are different devotions that can be followed. When a person dies, they take on the same role that they’ve devoted themselves to during their living years. But my understanding of this is still very limited.

Then there is the ever-impressive Magic system that I’ve only ever seen created by Sanderson. I feel there might be more than one system here. Soulcasters (using Fabrials), and Raidiants (using Lashings) and something called the Old Magic. And I know we have only dipped our toes into the awesomeness of what these systems can do. I'm eager to learn more.

We have three, maybe four? main characters and several minor characters that we meet on their journey. For many different reasons, I want to personally get to know each of them.
Kaladin; is our wronged hero. Called Stormblessed and doesn’t release what he is capable of.
Shallan; the Scholler. She wants to learn, but her family held her back from knowing herself all these years.
Dalinar; the Trustworthy, dedicated Highprince. He will give anything to keep his family and land from falling. But there is a few secrets he is keeping…
Szeth-son-son-Vallano; the Assassin in White. In my opinion he plays a vital role, but it’s only in the end that we discover just how important his actions are.
Wit; the Kings wit (entertainer) He have the sense of humour and the intelligence of someone know much more than he reveals at first.
Jasnah Kholin; the heretic sister of the King. A truth seeker I can’t wait to get better acquainted with.
Adolin Kholin; Dalinar’s eldest son. A keen duellist that has a moral compass always showing true.
Navani Kholin; Queen mother of Jasnah and Elhokar.
There is also, Ishikk, Baxil, Geranid, Nan Balat, Rysn, and Axies the Collector that have minor viewpoints throughout the book.



And this is just the first installment of ten….
I can’t wait to get lost in the pages of what's to come

[Sue Miz · Rating 4 out of 5]

oooooh, I had so many theories reading this parrrrttttt
some were wrong but MANY came true😍😍😍
I just finished
and do I think that this part was better than part 1? hell yes I do
do I think that this part deserves 5 stars? damn right it does...well, 4.5
do I think the whole book (part 1 and part 2) deserves 5 stars? absolutely not

There is no doubt that Brandon is a master world builder...creating a whole universe with somehow different magic systems (not quite...i thought that Lashing was similar to metal using in Mistborn)

however, is he trying to tackle something new in each of his worlds? I dont think so
its the same
hierarchy
misogyny
oppression
slavery

although in TWOK, he just scratched the surface
there were many instances where I was so built up to a spectacular plot twist only to be disappointed in the revelation to the point where I'd annotate "that's it???"

also, he never once addressed the issues mentioned! I know there are a gazillion books left, but still! in a world that lived for thousands of years, not once there was an anti-slavery movement???women rising up?

Now
Did I enjoy the book? if talking about the whole book -part 1 and 2- 50% no
it was tedious, repetitive, and overly descriptive, and I stand by what I said in reviewing part 1
"I could easily cut unnecessary 300 pgs of this book. 400 if I put an effort"
and I think longevity and repetition that killed the enjoyment "

however, it got to be a page turner at the last 300 pgs
would this deter me from giving it a 3.5 stars or a generous 4? no

I do not tolerate the "it gets better towards the end" books

I will be continuing this series ..well, the next 2 books at least and say goodbye to Brandon's series

[Saša · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nazalost, zavrsih Put Kraljeva. :)
Nema tu sta da se kaze, sem da oba dela cine najbolju knjigu ove godine za mene.
Cista desetka, preporuka svima !!!

[Kat Book Deli · Rating 5 out of 5]

lmao I have absolutely played myself reading this so early in the year - the rest of my reading year is never going to live up

[Arundhati · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deserves all the stars in this world. I absolutely loved it. I cannot begin to form words to express how much I love it. Perfection. Yes that's what it is. Rereading it just made me realise no other book could possibly take its place in my heart.It was, it is and it will remain my most favorite series of all time❤.

Rtc :))

[Ghanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunt genul de cititor răbdător, care nu sare la final ca să știe cum se termină cartea, care nu vrea să afle spoilere dinainte, care lasă autorii să-și spună povestea în ritmul lor. Aici, am sărit la final, căutând capitolele următoare ale personajului meu preferat, because I needed to know if she's ok.

This book does things to me & I love it :)) Singurul motiv pentru care nu am citit toată seria Stormlight Archive în ianuarie e pentru că încerc să-mi prelungesc plăcerea (și să mai citesc și alți autori, totuși :)))

[m i l o u ✨ (Grumpy Hobbit) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Death is the destination. But the journey, that is life. That is what matters.”

I'm going to flat out admit that I read this book last October and then my long and agonizing reading slump knocked me out of the game, so I cannot remember every detail about this book to write a valid book review that it deserves.

I can recall that this books left me shaken up once I've finished it and that I wanted to read the rest of the series when I'm granted the opportunity.


Books in the series:


1.) The Way of Kings Part 1 ★★★★


↠ Genre: High Fantasy
↠ Pov: Third Person - Various
↠ Type: Book 1 out of ? in The Stormlight Archive Series
↠ Rating: 100%