The Way of Kings
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Will I stop being bored by this book?
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Dude, if you've read 8 chapters of any book and you don't like it, stop reading!
Karen wrote: "Dude, if you've read 8 chapters of any book and you don't like it, stop reading!"Maybe I should, but I've stuck with books for longer and they eventually ended up picking up pace and being great reads. It's hard with a book this large, because sometimes there is a significant amount of boring setup work in the beginning and it doesn't start getting better until later on. The opening sequence of the book was a interesting starting point, but I have a feeling we won't get much about that until much later.
I've gotten down a few more chapters since I posted this earlier today, and I think I can see hints of a more interesting story emerging from Kaladin's arc. As of right now, I'm still hanging in, I just hope some of the other stories, like Shallan's start to pick up, because I honestly do not care even one small bit about her apprenticing nonsense so far.
I still don't like most of the characters; their flaws don't seem to be redeemed by much of anything so far. There just seems to be a lot of sociopaths, psychopaths, racists, sexists, slavers, liars, thieves, etc. without much in the way of redeeming traits.
I'm going to keep reading, though, unless it gets worse. Right now I couldn't give it more than 3 stars, and I'd be being generous, but I'm probably only 15% done with the book, so it's really hard for me to judge a book after having read such a small amount of it, especially how much I've enjoyed most of the other works I've read from Sanderson. That's why I don't generally rate or review a book unless I've read the majority of it. Sometimes a book can be half garbage, and then with the stroke of a pen can instantly redeem itself.
I just seems to me that you really don't like it, and if it hasn't grabbed you by this point, I doubt it ever will. It's all right not to like a book and put it down, even if tons of other people just loved it. There are plenty of other books out there to try.
Karen wrote: "Dude, if you've read 8 chapters of any book and you don't like it, stop reading!"I should also say that I think we may have different reading styles. I read (or listen to audiobooks at work/while driving) a lot. I try to get through at least 1 book a week; more if I can get away with it. With how big this one is, it might take me a week and a half, but it's still not a huge commitment that will entangle me for months.
All that to say, for somebody like me, who doesn't savor books over a long period, it's not as big a deal if you read a book you don't ultimately end up liking. It's not something I would've spent months with, so to have it be disappointing isn't generally a crushing blow to me. I've already read 7 chapters today, and will probably do another 3-5 before the day is up, and the same thing tomorrow and the next day, etc.
Plus, it's part of the Cosmere cycle, which means I really want to read it, just to have knowledge of the Shardworld for reference in future books. Plus, I know Hoid is supposed to be a bigger part of this book, and so I am definitely very curious to get to that part. There are things keeping me tied to the book, even if I'm not loving it just yet. It still has the potential to sway me, I think.
8 chapters isn't a lot in a book this long. I love the book, but you honestly don't find out all that much about what is going on for a while because the story is so huge. Your perception of the gender divide is a little off. It describes SOME of the people in the society. The thing is, it's SUPPOSED to be wrong. Things are really messed up in their society and figuring out why is a big part of the story.
A couple of things: Kaladin's story does become really good, but he can get annoying sometimes because of his clinical depression making him a real sad sack all the time (though a lot of people with clinical depression have really appreciated the depiction). Shallan becomes awesome, in my opinion, but she's not everyone's favorite. The reason that she's seeking the apprenticeship is important. Hoid is going by a different name, but you should be able to spot him. More difficult to spot will be the cameos from Demoux from Mistborn and Galladon from Elantris (Baon from White Sand, too, but I'm guessing that you haven't read that).
Words of Radiance is really cool, so you should keep with the series. The extended Mistborn series is turning out to be the major Cosmere infodump series, but all kinds of people/things are showing up in Stormlight. At the end of WoR, I was like "Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!" over what shows up at the end from another book.
Daniel wrote: "8 chapters isn't a lot in a book this long. I love the book, but you honestly don't find out all that much about what is going on for a while because the story is so huge. Your perception of the ..."
Nice. This is what I needed. I think at the end of the day I just needed a pep talk to convince me that, if for no other reason than to understand the Cosmere fully, I need to read this book, even if it ends up being my least favorite. Glad to know there may be reasons for problems I have with this world so far, other than "that's just how their society is".
it ends up being a fantastic book
Yeah, you're supposed to hate the way their society is. Things got messed up somewhere along the way, and Odium is somehow involved. I assume that you know something about Shards, if you're interested in the Cosmere. Odium is one of those Shards. The state of affairs in Elantris is largely dependent on Odium's interference. He killed the Shardholders there and splintered their Shards, such that no one could take up their power, like what happens in Mistborn.
Yes the book is long and it reads slower than other Sanderson books but it is a huge epic made of 10 books, so you can understand If the first have a bit more worldbuilding than usual, and describe the setup .. There aren't many epics of this magnitude so even if its slow paced for your taste you should stick to it
Martin wrote: "Yes the book is long and it reads slower than other Sanderson books but it is a huge epic made of 10 books, so you can understand If the first have a bit more worldbuilding than usual, and describe..."Yeah, I'm about 30% through now and it has definitely picked up. It helps that there hasn't been nearly as much Shallan to bore me in this second 15% of the book, now that they've introduced the kings brother.
Russell wrote: "Martin wrote: "Yes the book is long and it reads slower than other Sanderson books but it is a huge epic made of 10 books, so you can understand If the first have a bit more worldbuilding than usua..."BTW, I know Shallan's not the most interesting person in the world (especially at the start), but she becomes a very likable character with lots of depth, so just have patience. I think she's a really neat character.
Emie wrote: "Russell wrote: "Martin wrote: "Yes the book is long and it reads slower than other Sanderson books but it is a huge epic made of 10 books, so you can understand If the first have a bit more worldbu..."Honestly I'm glad that her book is already out there.. We have the better parts ahead of us
I'll admit, I struggled horribly with Way of Kings. It's a tough read. I mean, its over a thousand pages, everything was so alien and different, there were too many different perspectives, nothing interesting was happening. But I forced myself to read on. And it was completely worth it.This book is a slow burner, and as was said above, is the first book in a ten book epic. I've never read epic fantasy before, and I decided to give this a try after reading Mistborn. It was about three weeks of hard, painful reading and world building until the book finally sucked me in. Isn't it always the way with such intricate and detailed books?
It takes a while to absorb all the information, but in the end it makes the book all the more believable and real.
There was no certain event or incident that did it, I just realised I was finally absorbed by this book. So much so that when a lady revealed her safe hand, I gasped. Like, come on. It's a hand. Somehow Sanderson made me believe this was shocking and disgraceful.
The high storms I began to see as a completely normal phenomenon and really from there on in I have been completed invested into this book. Kaladin's arc is brilliant once it kicks off and all the characters have been introduced. Each book focuses on a character I believe, with Words of Radiance being Shallans book. I think Dalinar is next but I'm not sure. Once you see each characters background and life, it just keeps adding threads to the overall story and is I have to say quite awesome.
There are still so many things I just can't keep track of or comprehend, even after reading Words of Radiance. Like, its a hella lot to take in, but have faith that it will all come together. Please keep reading it will be worth it in the end!!!
Just as an update, in case anyone cares, I have now read about 65% of the book and I am liking it significantly more. I am even seeing the first hints of interesting things from Shallans story now.
I am not at all surprised that you're liking it more now. I've reread it a couple of times, and it's actually more interesting on subsequent reads (especially if you've also read Words of Radiance) because you have a much better grasp on what is going on.For example, a lot of people don't like Shallan at first. I certainly spent a great deal of my first read of the book not being interested in her chapters at all. Except there are actually really cool things about her story coming that are foreshadowed from the very beginning. You just miss it the first time because you don't know enough about the world and her backstory.
I assume that you have deduced who Hoid is?
Daniel wrote: "I am not at all surprised that you're liking it more now. I've reread it a couple of times, and it's actually more interesting on subsequent reads (especially if you've also read Words of Radiance)..."Yep, figured out Hoid. I also think I have grasped a few foreshadowey things from Shallan.
Russell wrote: "Daniel wrote: "I am not at all surprised that you're liking it more now. I've reread it a couple of times, and it's actually more interesting on subsequent reads (especially if you've also read Wor..."I love both books and I still don't like Shallan. I admire some aspects of her character but her actions usually get a "no don't do that" from me more often than not. Kaladin is the character I like best but it looks like the future novels will focus on others.
And I'm all for keeping going as far as one could while reading before giving up entirely.
Elizabeth wrote: "Russell wrote: "Daniel wrote: "I am not at all surprised that you're liking it more now. I've reread it a couple of times, and it's actually more interesting on subsequent reads (especially if you'..."Kaladin is da best!
Finished the book. It was an excellent start. Five stars, in-spite of the first quarter being somewhat painfully boring and the first half being fairly slow (but just barely).
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With Mistborn and Elantris, and to a lesser extent Warbreaker, if I wasn't immediately sucked in, I at least sympathized with the characters and wanted to know more about them early on. I think I might care about these characters less than I did the ones in The Emperor's Soul. At least that was short.
So.. Will it get any better for me, or am I doomed to find this book a resounding 3 stars or less, if I even finish it?