Dec. 2010: The Way of Kings / The magic

[Jeanne]

What did you think of the magic system in The Way of Kings?

[Naithin]

Jeanne wrote: "What did you think of the magic system in The Way of Kings?"

I think what we know of it so far is rather intriguing. There is certainly a lot more yet to be explained/demonstrated, I think.

Seems to me that there are at least three somewhat disparate types going on.

((Spoiler warning for next paragraph of so if you haven't finished reading yet))
There are the soulcaster's powered by the stormlight of the gems which seems to be the most accepted 'normal' magic in the world (well, most normal and accepted asides from the Spren, which I assume are also magic of a kind, although not a worked type).

So far as a normal magic system goes, this one is really quite unique. I don't think this should really come as any surprise to anyone even passingly familiar with who Brandon Sanderson is though.

Following from that we have certain people able to take the Stormlight directly into themselves, such as Szeth and Kaladin and do rather Matrix-esque type things with it. I thought this was indeed a rather cool type of magic, but I wasn't entirely happy with all the prose in which it was presented. Seemed a bit clunky, yet... I'm unsure it could've been done any differently and still have offered as much clarity-of-action as it did which is no doubt the more important consideration.

Possibly related to that sort of magic is what Jasnah and Shallan can do. They seem to feed off Stormlight as well (re: where Shallan enters the other realm and when returning Jasnah chastises her for attempting it with so little in the way of charged gems available) but for the purposes of soulcasting rather than leaping all over the place.

Different sides of the same coin? Perhaps. :)

Then finally (Depending on whether you count Szeth/Jasnah's to be the same or not, I guess this is really four, but meh) you have the Old World magic, the blessing of your choice plus a curse not of your own choice from an elder entity. It shall be interesting to see how this is used.

So far it certainly took a back seat to the other types, yet honestly, it's also the one I'm most interested to see more of, perhaps see this entity drawn into the greater conflict somehow.
((End spoilers))

Overall, I'm a fan. It's certainly all somewhat unique, it can offer fairly amazing power yet certainly has sufficient costs to prevent characters from experiencing Mary Sue syndrome for long periods of time without consequence.

Can't wait to see how it all develops in future books. :)

[Amelia]

Naithin wrote: "he Old World magic, the blessing of your choice plus a curse not of your own choice from an elder entity. It shall be interesting to see how this is used. "

Oooh, I forgot about this one. Add me to that list. This one is a very intriguing type of magic. Now I just wish I knew what Dalinar asked for. . .

[meleah]

The magic was very interesting. The abilities connected with Stormlight did remind me a bit of Mistborn, but I don't think we've seen the full scope of it yet. I really like it so far.
Shallan's magic brought up a big question - what are those dark figures she sees and that keep appearing in her drawings?
I'm also very curious to learn more about the Old World magic. A blessing and a curse, fascinating.