So, after a decade of not reading and finally getting back into it, I’ve been reading mostly hyped Bookstagram YA fantasy and ultimately stomping all over them because they fall short in all their potential.
I’ve also been avoiding this book due to the length, and the fact that’s is an unfinished series. Finally, I’ve swallowed my fear and picked up The Way of Kings, and the realization that I’ve been reading all the wrong books is now branded into my very being.
The Way of Kings is everything I wanted those other books to be.
The characters?
At first, I was a bit bored with the war and wasn’t really invested in Dalinar’s POV, but from the beginning, I was swept away by Shallan, Kaladin, and Szeth’s POV. By the halfway mark, I was emotionally invested in Dalinar’s character too.
If you’ve read previous reviews, you know that I have difficulty with multiple POVs coupled with flashbacks and different timelines, which still kind of holds true here, but now I don’t think I’m the problem anymore. While I did get Kaladin and Szeth mixed up in the first few chapters, everyone was fleshed out in my head at about chapter four or five, and the POVs were not a hindrance for this story. The delivery of these POVs in The Way of Kings worked well, whereas the delivery from other authors crushed my ability to enjoy the story.
If I were to talk about everyone I loved or hated, we’d be here for a week—so many characters and so much development for good and bad in just over 1000 pages. I can’t wait to revisit these characters in the next of this series.
I love Syl and all of her kind. That’s all.
The plot?
Slow to start, then Bam! Bam! Bam! with action, betrayal, and so many twists, revelations, and conclusions all intertwining and woven tightly together at the end. I’ve only read three of Sanderson’s books, but this seems to be a common theme. I’m not complaining.
Anything else?
Politics, religions, races, unique magic system, just all-around epic world-building. If you’ve been on the fence about reading The Way of Kings, just do it! Go, right now. Shhh… Don’t contest, just read.
