The Way of Kings Part 1

, #1

Paperback, 592 pages

English language

Published April 30, 2011 by Gollancz.

ISBN:
978-0-575-09736-0
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4 stars (3 reviews)

Speak again the ancient oaths. Life before death. Strength before weakness, Journey before destination. And return to men the shards they once bore. The knights radiant must stand again.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars are fought for them, and won by them.

One such war is about to swallow up a soldier, a brightlord and a young woman scholar.

27 editions

reviewed The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #1)

Over 1200 pages of fantasy

4 stars

This was a thick pocket book. Over 1250 pages of fantasy and adventure with a fair bit of violence, deception, magic and conflict. This book, or was it series of books has been compared to those by Tolkien although I would not go that far.

I found the story a bit confusing as it consists of many different threads, that only at the end of the book starts to come together.

I would recommend the book to anyone who is not intimidated by its thickness and weight, and likes good fantasy world building.

reviewed The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #1)

Fantastic book with only one major flaw

4 stars

The Way of Kings is a worldbuilding masterpiece. Its characters are rich and internally complex, their stories are fascinating, and their motivations compelling (even when you disagree with them). The single exception to this is the Shallan arc.

This is not because Shallan is a bad character, but because she's a decent character surrounded by great ones, and because it takes too long for her arc to connect to the main story.

I highly, highly recommend reading this book, and most of this author's other works.