The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1)

[Kathelijne]

Read until chapter 48 and I need to get some thoughts out. These will be the last of the day, I promise 😉
(view spoiler)[
At first I just felt like Vivenna's chapters were just boring. Now, she's just annoying the hell out of me. She claims to know she's arrogant and a hypocrite but then she continues to be so anyway?? Like it took her all of two seconds getting off the streets before she decided she wasn't 'that' woman. She was more bearable when Denth was still around but then that betrayal.... Yeah don't like her AT ALL. Apparently, needed to get that off my chest. (hide spoiler)]

Here's my theory on what's happening (probably nothing about this is right but that's okay haha):
(view spoiler)[ Hoid mentioned these Kalad's Phantoms, a sort of new form of Lifeless. The Peacemaker overthrew him, casting these phantoms out and then gave his breath to the priests. He said they had to protect it but not use it right? So maybe this breath is actually the Phantom, a twisted sort of force (like Nightblood?). Maybe they store it in the GodKing and then cutting out his tongue so that it can't be used. However, Seb mentioned that he doesn't take the breaths to survive.. so maybe he actually has to take them in order to control this force? Maybe if he doesn't get this breath he'll become this evil sort of force? Something that wants violence?

Maybe Denth wants to get this force out of the GodKing somehow. Maybe that's why he wants to attack the Court of Gods? And wants to gain control over it? That's why tries to provoke the war? That could be what Lightsong is seeing in his visions.

Also, Denth's real name is the same as the high priest of the Godking? Just with 'vara' or something before it... coincidence? I'm beginning to think Sanderson doesn't do coincidence 😛 (hide spoiler)]

[Kathelijne]

Trisha wrote: "Through chapter 40:

The only development in these last 10 chapters was the betrayal of Denth and his gang - I always had doubts about them considering they knew way more about the Princess’ plans..."

(view spoiler)[LightSong giving up his breath seems likely and would be fitting ending I think. Aw you don't like him? Who do you think is the best character so far then?
And yes, the GodKing is adorable 😄 (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

Raviteja wrote: "Trisha wrote: "Raviteja wrote: "This cameo is so obvious (or, at least, someday it will be) that I almost didn’t use the name Hoid for the character, as I felt it would be too obvious. The first dr..."

Is that a polite way of saying, “You know nothing, Jon Snow!”

Sorry, still having a GOT hangover!

[Trisha]

I’m through chapter 49 and I, too, will stop here now.

(view spoiler)[ Kathelijne, I find Vivenna unbearable too, especially with all that self-pity.

I believe the Phantoms are real too, but I still haven’t associated them with the God King; you could be right there, Kathelijne. I’m beginning to think that Vasher is more than a mercenary. He is quite knowledgeable when it comes to Awakenings and BioChroma, and as Vivenna noticed, his beard doesn’t grow and stays as is. Could he be a Returned - a Returned living in exile? Or a previous God King who escaped his death? Just thinking out loud.

Too curious to know what is driving Vasher and Denth towards their respective goals. Also, that point about Denth’s name is praiseworthy, Kathelijne. (hide spoiler)]

I don’t want to stop reading but it’s 4 am now, so have to stop! Night all! :)

[Trisha]

Kathelijne wrote: "Trisha wrote: "Through chapter 40:

The only development in these last 10 chapters was the betrayal of Denth and his gang - I always had doubts about them considering they knew way more about the ..."

Kaladin 😛 kidding!

I do like LightSong, (view spoiler)[but he takes it too far at times. Sarcasm is best when it’s unpredictable. But with LightSong, you always know he’ll try to be exceedingly witty.

I don’t have a favourite character this time 😬 Vasher perhaps? No wait, it has to be Nightblood! (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

I’m finished, I mean the book is finished but so am I. I hate the fact that I discovered Brandon Sanderson so late in my life - what was I doing before? (view spoiler)[

Now that I’m done, I am quite clear on where this book stands wrt The Way of Kings (I know comparing is bad, but why not). The Way of Kings is perhaps one of my favourite fantasy books of all time now. Too good! This one was magical and had a very creative premise, but fell short of the magnificence the former had. But still quite good, in fact, I’m already looking forward to the sequel.

My questions about Denth were left unanswered? He is a Returned, but who exactly is not told yet. We know what went wrong between him and Vasher, although I’d have appreciated more background. So Vasher killed Denth’s sister whom he supposedly loved, because she had invented the command to create Lifeless from a single breath + the process to awaken steel and put sentience into it. Was she planning to use it for evil purposes? Guess we’ll find out in the next book. (hide spoiler)]

[Kathelijne]

Also finished!
(view spoiler)[ I actually think I enjoyed the middle section of the book the most. The ending was good but some parts were really drawn out while others went by way to fast in my opinion. I didn't expect to still be left with so many questions as this was written to be a standalone but I do like that element. Sanderson always leaves you wanting more haha

Don't have much to comment on Siri and Vivenna tbh. Lightsong's final chapters destroyed me though. That was so sad, yet so beautiful at the same time. How he gave up his breath to heal the GodKing, saving someone yet again. And how he saved his niece!! I didn't even think about the fact that Llarimar could have been his brother but I absolutely loved their dynamic and relationship. Again, beautifully tragic.

I'm struggling with the rating here. I don't think that (besides Way of Kings) I read one of his books as fast as I read this one. All I wanted to do was read. On the other hand, I liked but definitely didn't love any of the characters or relationship dynamics (besides Lightsong and his brother). Don't know how that happened! 😄 Very glad I've read it however! I think I'm giving it 3.5. Very curious to see what easter eggs will appear in the Stormlight Archive. (hide spoiler)]

[Kathelijne]

Trisha wrote: "I’m finished, I mean the book is finished but so am I. I hate the fact that I discovered Brandon Sanderson so late in my life - what was I doing before?

Now that I’m done, I am quite clear on whe..."
(view spoiler)[
Right!? I have the same questions... Why did he really kill Shashara? The fact that she just found out that command doesn't seem enough reason. Also if the Five Scholars really are that powerful, just like Vasher, then why couldn't Denth 'tap' into that power? Apparently there was no connection between Denth and the High Priest either haha. (hide spoiler)]

[Raviteja]

Trisha wrote: "I’m finished, I mean the book is finished but so am I. I hate the fact that I discovered Brandon Sanderson so late in my life - what was I doing before?

Now that I’m done, I am quite clear on whe..."

I have a friend to thank for introducing Sanderson to me :D
(view spoiler)[
I think its not a fair comparison. I feel anything pales in comparison to a book in Stormlight archive, but I find the books good by themselves. As for sequel, even Brandon is not sure of when it will come. His plate is currently full with the other books. The thing I love about him though, is he gives regular updates about what he is working on!

Hmm, Denth also has Royal locks (Sanderson confirmed it in a Q & A). Brandon reserved the history and manywar for the next book apparently.

Boy, you know, I'd rather leave the history of the Five and the Manywar for the sequel. Denth was there, and at first he tried to stop it, work as a peacemaker, and eventually took Vasher's side. Until the death of his sister.
https://wob.coppermind.net/events/202...

AFAIK, Vasher didnt want the knowledge of creating another blade like Nightblood to ever go out. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

Kathelijne, (view spoiler)[

I found it ranging between 3.5 to 3.75 and ended up rating it 3.75🌟. 3.5 would have confused me more because I would have definitely rounded down the rating to the lower denomination while rating it star-wise. I agree with you that the middle section was the strongest, the climax sections involving LightSong and Vasher seemed good to me, but the ones with the God King were a letdown - not as vivid and interesting as was expected from a character so highly hyped throughout the book.

Overall, it was a good read, not quite memorable, but nonetheless good. It did leave quite a few questions but didn’t quite end on a cliffhanger. Of course, we’d like to know what happens to the Flesh Lifeless vs Stone Lifeless, but looks like Vasher and Vivenna are going on a new quest.

Also, Nightblood wasnt revealed to be a Shardblade either! All my attempts to look keen and observant failed with that, lol! (hide spoiler)]

It was so much fun buddy-reading though! :)

[Raviteja]

Kathelijne wrote: "Also finished!
I actually think I enjoyed the middle section of the book the most. The ending was good but some parts were really drawn out while others went by way to fast in my opinion. I didn't..."

Well well, you will need to spot the easter eggs, when they come ;)

[Raviteja]

Kathelijne wrote: "Trisha wrote: "I’m finished, I mean the book is finished but so am I. I hate the fact that I discovered Brandon Sanderson so late in my life - what was I doing before?

Now that I’m done, I am qui..."

(view spoiler)[ Brandon said that Returned get one powerful breath that will take them to 5th heightening. In the end its one breath, which is why they need a new breath every week. So the returned cant give *that* breath away.

Besides Denth was a bit overconfident. He was always insistent that Vasher is not really a good duelist. That is what I thought. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

Raviteja, (view spoiler)[

I know I’m guilty, but how can I not compare two books by the same author taking place in the same Cosmos. I just can’t help!

And yes, Denth’s hair changed its colour when he was dying - I thought I’ll check with you on that. The excerpt goes like this:

“Denth shook, bleeding, and lost control.  His hair suddenly bled to deep black, then blonde, then an angry red.”

On killing Shashara, killing someone you love just so that the secret dies with them isn’t a reasonable thing to do, unless of course he knew that Shashara intended to do something sinister. (hide spoiler)]

Btw, thanks for reading our updates and answering our questions! Please feel free to recommend any other book by Sanderson - I promise I’ll read just about anything. :)

[Kathelijne]

Trisha wrote: "Kathelijne,

I found it ranging between 3.5 to 3.75 and ended up rating it 3.75🌟. 3.5 would have confused me more because I would have definitely rounded down the rating to the lower denomination ..."

I get so frustrated with the rating system on goodreads sometimes... I never know where to put the books! But I agree, it definitely feels more like a 4 then a 3 star read.

(view spoiler)[Curious to see if this quest of Vasher and Vivenna will be in the Warbreaker sequel (if it ever comes, seeing what Raviteja quoted haha) or in Stormlight Archive? I guess we'll have to wait and see how intertwined they will actually be.

Haha I know right! We're trying too hard apparently 😂 (hide spoiler)]

Yes, I love buddy reading! It's been so fun.

[Trisha]

Raviteja wrote: "Brandon said that Returned get one powerful breath..."

Well, Vasher wasn’t (view spoiler)[ a good duelist, he killed Denth unethically - not the way duelists are supposed to kill, or so I think. I mean I’m all for killing unethically as long as one is killing the bad people! Ethics or not, who cares! (hide spoiler)]

[Kathelijne]

@Raviteja
I know, no pressure right? 😉

(view spoiler)[What you said about the breaths makes sense. That part went by really fast so it's a little foggy, definitely need to reread that part a little better. Thanks for explaining it again! (hide spoiler)]

[Dominique]

Trisha wrote: "Raviteja,

I know I’m guilty, but how can I not compare two books by the same author taking place in the same Cosmos. I just can’t help!

And yes, Denth’s hair changed its colour when he was dying..."

You should read Elantris

[Trisha]

Dominique, adding that to my TBR right away, thanks!

[Raviteja]

Trisha wrote: "Raviteja,

I know I’m guilty, but how can I not compare two books by the same author taking place in the same Cosmos. I just can’t help!

And yes, Denth’s hair changed its colour when he was dying..."

Trisha wrote: "Raviteja wrote: "Brandon said that Returned get one powerful breath..."

Well, Vasher wasn’t [spoilers removed]"

Nightblood is one of the very invested entites in Cosmere. If one were to find out how to make blades like Nightblood, it would almost be catastrophic. We will know more in the next book. While it has no release date, the title is "Nightblood" :D

[Raviteja]

Kathelijne wrote: "Trisha wrote: "Kathelijne,

I found it ranging between 3.5 to 3.75 and ended up rating it 3.75🌟. 3.5 would have confused me more because I would have definitely rounded down the rating to the lowe..."

Following Brandon for the last three years, I am confident that the sequel of Warbreaker will come, but no one knows when.

Oh, btw every year in December he publishes something called "state of the sanderson" detailing about the status of all his books and the future projects.

ELANTRIS, WARBREAKER, RITHMATIST
As you probably expected, no motion here. I didn’t plan for there to be any this year, though all three should get a sequel eventually. I’ve been targeting the post-Stormligh-Five timeline for these. I could see slipping Rithmatist 2 in between Mistborn Era 3 books, for example, when I need a break.

Status: No motion (Sorry again.)

Post Stormlight five = 2023+

[Raviteja]

Kathelijne wrote: "@Raviteja
I know, no pressure right? 😉

[spoilers removed]"

Ah, no pressure! I am confident that you all will see it when it comes :)

[Raviteja]

Trisha wrote: "Dominique, adding that to my TBR right away, thanks!"

You should add the mistborn era 1 trilogy (Mistborn 1-3), starting with The Final Empire.

[Trisha]

Raviteja, I am planning to read the Mistborn series right after the Stormlight Archive unless you recommend any of the Mistborn books to be read before the remaining Stormlight books.

Off to google now, I ask far too many questions.

[Dominique]

Raviteja wrote: "Trisha wrote: "Dominique, adding that to my TBR right away, thanks!"

You should add the mistborn era 1 trilogy (Mistborn 1-3), starting with The Final Empire."

Totally agree!

[Raviteja]

Trisha wrote: "Raviteja, I am planning to read the Mistborn series right after the Stormlight Archive unless you recommend any of the Mistborn books to be read before the remaining Stormlight books.

Off to googl..."

You should read the first three, atleast before Oathbringer. I read them after WoR and at that point, I didnt feel it would have made much difference if I read before it.
So far, I have read till book 6 in Mistborn, I am yet to read Secret History and a couple of Cosmere stories from Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection. I guess I can tell you more after I finish Secret History.