The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Jan 20, 2017 J.M. Brister rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017

When looking at epic fantasy series, many times a first book can be a little slow, typically concentrating on a lot of set-up for later books. Initially, when I heard about The Way of Kings, the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series, the most talked-about feature was the one-thousand plus page length. When my husband brought home the hard-cover edition, I took one look at that thing and immediately put the title on the back-burner. I went through Sanderson’s Mistborn series When looking at epic fantasy series, many times a first book can be a little slow, typically concentrating on a lot of set-up for later books. Initially, when I heard about The Way of Kings, the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series, the most talked-about feature was the one-thousand plus page length. When my husband brought home the hard-cover edition, I took one look at that thing and immediately put the title on the back-burner. I went through Sanderson’s Mistborn series and liked it, but I thought that I was going to have a hard time getting into a first book that long.

I was totally wrong.

The Way of Kings is one of the best fantasy books that I have ever read. Actually, it is probably one of the best books I have ever read period, and I don’t say that lightly either. As a former English teacher, I have many wonderful titles on my list of must-reads. I have to say, though, The Way of Kings really is a fantastic read. Here’s why:

Despite the epic length of The Way of Kings, the story is extremely fast-paced. Sanderson is an expert at dangling little pieces of information at the right points to make the reader want to keep reading, despite the daunting size of the text. The story revolves around a handful of characters living in the inhospitable land of Roshar, a land of storms and stone. This book focuses on Kaladin, a former soldier turned slave, as he struggles with his purpose in life and the group of slaves he adopts as his own. They truly are dealing with horrific conditions as the kingdoms of Roshar battle a mysterious enemy who killed their High King. But as Kaladin tries to keep his men alive, he begins to realize that they are not much more than cannon fodder, and the righteous war that they were supposed to be fighting is beginning to turn into nothing more than a petty political scheme.

The nobility of the kingdoms in Roshar are obsessed with money, power, and Shardblades and Shardplates—extremely powerful weapons and armor from a different era, one which is lost in the echoes or Roshar’s distant history where the Knights Radiant protected the land from true horrors. One book that recounts some of the former glory of these guardians is The Way of Kings, a text that Brightlord Dalinar Kholin is obsessed with. The brother of the slain king, Dalinar believes that the book has some secret meaning that may affect the future of the kingdoms. Not everyone around him is so sure, since many doubt Dalinar’s sanity.

Meanwhile, in a seemingly irrelevant but extremely important side story, a young woman named Shallan must figure out a way to steal an enormously valuable item from Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah, in order to restore her family’s position in society. While getting close to Jasnah, Shallan soon discovers that Jasnah’s research may hold the key to the Knights Radiant and the real reason behind the war.

The Way of Kings covers everything from political intrigue to the horrors of war to racism and inherent bias. There’s something for everyone. Despite being such a lengthy novel, there’s not any filler. Everything is important and as the story unfolds, the details masterfully build upon each other. The story is also beautifully written. Sanderson is an accomplished writer who creates prose that is truly an art form. I do not say this about many contemporary authors.

One of the best aspects of The Way of Kings is the setting itself, which has a unique feel from most standard fantasy novels. Roshar is a weather-beaten land where plants retract in and out of the rocks and most typical animals are crustacean-like beings with tough shells to withstand highstorms, which are fierce hurricane-like tempests that will destroy anyone and anything in their path. Cities and towns are built specifically with these storms in mind, and travel can be a quite rough. The lore and history as well as the cultures and people of Roshar are fascinating and add depth to the marvelous world Sanderson has created.

The main characters are memorable and relatable. I happened to really connect with Kaladin, and I ended up learning a few things about myself through his eyes. All of the main characters have multiple flaws but also many redeeming qualities, making them believable and realistic. The reader is drawn in to their plights and is concerned for their well-being, wanting them to succeed.

There are multiple conflicts: some from other characters, some from the war, and some that are internal struggles, which creates a well-rounded story line. Yes, it might be a hefty read, but everything pulls together so nicely that most readers probably won’t mind. I certainly didn’t. In fact, I felt a bit lost after finishing it. I got that let-down feeling after I finish a book when it is so good that I never want it to end, and when it does end, I get depressed. The Way of Kings did that to me. Luckily, I was a little late to the game when I read it, so it didn’t take me very long to get my hands on the second book, Words of Radiance (review coming soon).

The Way of Kings did come out in 2010, so this review may appear to come out at an odd time, but don’t forget that the third book of the series, Oathbringer, will be out November 14, so this is a great time to play catch-up if you haven’t started on this series yet. I cannot praise these books enough. They really are the next great fantasy series of our time.

Oh, and those who enjoy listening to their books, the book tape version of The Way of Kings is amazing. I did one read through and one listen through of the book and cannot say enough about the production of the audio book. ...more

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Sep 11, 2013 Annie rated it really liked it

My brother has been begging me to read The Way of Kings for ages, and he finally went and bought it for me. I’m ever so glad he did because it was a highly enjoyable read and a cut above Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy, which I enjoyed but found a bit flat. I am going to have to thump my brother one for getting me into a series that (a) is going to be 10 books and (b) only has 1 of those 10 books written so far. The next one is supposed to come out in November and Sanderson does seem like a fast wr My brother has been begging me to read The Way of Kings for ages, and he finally went and bought it for me. I’m ever so glad he did because it was a highly enjoyable read and a cut above Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy, which I enjoyed but found a bit flat. I am going to have to thump my brother one for getting me into a series that (a) is going to be 10 books and (b) only has 1 of those 10 books written so far. The next one is supposed to come out in November and Sanderson does seem like a fast writer.

The Way of Kings follows three main characters. Dalinar is an Alethian prince, brother of the murdered king and uncle to the current king. He has been plagued by crippling visions that come upon him during the high storms of Roshar. These storms ravage the land and kill anyone caught in them, and also infuse gems with Stormlight, which can be used to perform small bits of magic. Dalinar holds a Shardblade and Shardplate, Stormlight-infused weaponry that make him nearly invincible. Winning any Shards in battle automatically lifts any man up to nobility in the Roshari caste system, where the light-eyed rule the dark-eyed. I think if you win Shards your eyes change color but I was a little unclear on that point.

Anyway, Dalinar and the other princes are waging a war on the Shattered Plains against the Parshendi, a people with mottled red and black skin who sing as they fight. The Shattered Plains are home to chasmfiends, who lurk the deep crevices between plateaus. If you find and kill a chasmfiend in its chrysalis, you can rip out its gemheart and those hold a lot of magic. The princes want to get the gemhearts before the Parshendi can, and the king has them competing against each other instead of working together. Dalinar’s visions tell him that he is supposed to unite them all, but since everybody thinks he’s crazy that doesn’t seem very likely.

Kaladin is a bridgeman in another prince’s army. Sadeas isn’t honorable like Dalinar. He enslaves men to carry heavy bridges so the soldiers can quickly cross the chasms. A bridgeman’s life basically sucks, but Kaladin isn’t the kind of man to just suck it up and die. A former soldier, he’s haunted by the idea that he’s doomed to survive, unable to save anyone around him, starting with the battlefield death of his younger brother. Kaladin decides to rewrite the bridgeman’s script, and in so doing, unleashes Sadeas’s anger. However, he discovers a strange connection with Stormlight that links him to heroes of old called Radiants–the same ones who may be speaking to Dalinar in his visions.

Lastly, Shallan is a noble girl charged with stealing a powerful Soulcaster from a noteworthy heretic, Jasnah, who is also sister to the king. Here is where the book really shines–the theology is complicated, deep, and well thought out enough that the heresy makes sense. I felt like there was a lot to discover about the belief systems in the book and I appreciated that not everyone was on the same page, religiously speaking. Needless to say, Shallan’s plans go tragically and terrifying awry.

There’s also a scary guy who can walk on walls while he kills everyone in sight. This bit reminded me too much of Mistborn, but I’m curious to see where it goes.

If you have read this far, you’re either a fantasy nerd who will probably like this book if you haven’t read it already, or you are just amazed at the depths of my geekery. I am the real deal, okay? I am really and truly an epic fantasy nerd and I don’t care who knows it! ...more

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Jul 14, 2023 Peter rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This may be closer to a 3 1/2 for me. I did drag a bit in the middle and he did tend to rely on the same descriptions quite regularly, but the fact that he spent so much time with the characters actually made the climax of the book much more powerful since you knew them and cared about them (although I still think it could have been trimmed some). The world he created is also fascinating, and I found the differences in the different non-human races to be unique (not just another take on elves or ...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Robert rated it liked it

Shelves: 2011-reading-list

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, lots of inventive ideas, but in the end, it felt longer than it needed to be. I feel like it could have been tightened up, and would have been more focused and not one iota less interesting.

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Jan 21, 2018 emily rated it really liked it

Shelves: best-worldbuilding, epically-massive-massively-epic, 2020, favorites, when-the-war-came, best-audio-narrators, cw-body-horror, family-drama, non-white-protagonist, adventure-action-survival

the first time through, i listened to this on audiobook, and i loved it. but i had no idea about the maps and illustrations i was missing out on by not reading, and i feel like i definitely picked up on more of the connecting threads of things this time through-- though that may be also because i've now read two more books in the series, so things that were just hints being dropped the first time are now things i was able to draw connections between. can't wait to reread the other two now, and b ...more

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Oct 31, 2014 Tracey marked it as to-read

Shelves: owned-etext

C.S & Craig gave 4 stars

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May 13, 2014 Cindywho rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-sf

Katie was right, this was a good one. I hadn't been drawn into an epic fantasy like this in a while. The world building is fun with lots of different races of people and strange crablike creatures and desert plants and weird magic. ...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Lbd rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Good book but sure was thick. If you're a linear reader, you wont like this one. It jumps around a lot. I wish it had been put into two books versus this tomb. ...more

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