Магія покинула людство зі зникненням Променистих лицарів. Єдине, що залишилося, - це Сколкозброя і Сколкозбруя. Той, кому пощастило заволодіти цими артефактами, стає могутнім воїном. Утім невдовзі Рошар - світ бур і скель - зміниться навіки. Бо землею ходять троє. Убивця, який повеліває силами гравітації. Стомлений війною полководець, що передрікає апокаліпсис. Та син хірурга - колишній солдат, що став рабом, - до якого прив’язався дух-спрен. Але найбільшу таємницю приховує четверта з них - дівчина-спудейка, яка прибула на навчання до вченої-єретички. Ці четверо можуть врятувати Рошар. Або знищити назавжди…
The entire story felt carefully engineered, and I kept seeing parallels to tropes in fantasy I've been familiarized with. As something that's as well regarded as this is, I kept expecting to have all these tropes turned on their head and have them slap me on the face, but they just kept coming. The characters especially felt like they were heavily inspired by fantasy tropes, and in the end they're mostly just kind of archetypal. In general, it lacks spice. But that's quite possibly due to non-spicy stories selling better.
But the engineering worked. After about 1/3rd of the story I was drawn in, and I'm going to buy the next one.
August 2020 Reread: Three years have passed and some chapters are so clear in my mind, and others were brand new and a rush to live again. Each time I reread the books I connect something that comes up later, see a bit of Sanderson foreshadowing and, most importantly, still enjoy it.
Sometimes we find it hardest to accept in others that which we cling to in ourselves
Each time I start this book I tell myself that it won't be as good as I remember, it will be a slog, etc., and each time I am proven wrong and love being back in the Stormlight Archive series.
That smile forced back the gloom, made the aches and soreness fade. Kaladin's father had described that kind of smile. Those smiles weren't why Lirin had become a surgeon, but they were why he'd remained one.
Syl was silent for a …
August 2020 Reread: Three years have passed and some chapters are so clear in my mind, and others were brand new and a rush to live again. Each time I reread the books I connect something that comes up later, see a bit of Sanderson foreshadowing and, most importantly, still enjoy it.
Sometimes we find it hardest to accept in others that which we cling to in ourselves
Each time I start this book I tell myself that it won't be as good as I remember, it will be a slog, etc., and each time I am proven wrong and love being back in the Stormlight Archive series.
That smile forced back the gloom, made the aches and soreness fade. Kaladin's father had described that kind of smile. Those smiles weren't why Lirin had become a surgeon, but they were why he'd remained one.
Syl was silent for a moment. "Do you want to be a miracle?" "No," Kaladin whispered. "But for them, I will be."
There is so much of the series left (Rhythm of War releasing November) and I will be reading this book half a dozen times over those years/decades and I hope I continue to enjoy it as much as I have over the last five years.
October 2017 Reread: Yup, still good!
We fight here because we understand. The end is the same. It is the path that separates men. When we taste that end, we will do so with our heads held high, eyes to the sun.
The creation of the world and characters in this story is unbelievable. With the exception of a few Kabsal/Shallan moments each POV was brilliant. I was surprised with how much I remembered over the last two years however a summary of the book wouldn't do those moments justice.
On to Words of Radiance!
We fight here because we understand. The end is the same. It is the path that separates men. When we taste that end, we will do so with our heads held high, eyes to the sun.
Epic. That's the only word I can use to describe Way of Kings. As a standalone book it was epic. You are cast down in to a world with a volatile political landscape, a war that has lots its meaning and a hint of something greater to the east.
As the starting point to a ten book magnum opus the world of the Stormlight Archive will be epic. Sanderson writes such vivid characters that the men of Bridge Four have unique voices and become instant favorites. Somehow Sanderson creates another complex magic system that is easy to grasp but takes time to master and learn the intricacies of.
The shift of POV's on the Shattered Plains was fascinating. As you understand the futility of a life as a bridgeman being used as a disposable piece in war the words of the Radiants, life before death, and have the epiphany that Dalinar and Gavilar both encountered.
Way of Kings pleasantly concludes the conflict but sets the stakes up for Words of Radiance, which I was happy to easy transition in to after finishing this. I know there could be decades to wait until this series is finished, but even at the conclusion of Way of Kings I immediately wanted to reread it to pick up details I missed earlier, and as this series unfolds, I expect there will be a lot of payoff in rereading instalments.
A man's emotions are what define him, and control is the hallmark of true strength. To lack feeling is to be dead, but to act on every feeling is to be a child.
This book deserves five stars but is almost more deserving because Sanderson was able to prove that an introduction to a long series doesn't have to be tedious or boring, it can be exciting and engaging as you drop the reader in to the middle of a world they know nothing about.
Wow! It really was just as good as everyone said it would be. It's been a long time since I have read a "so good you can't put it down" book. I loved the story. I LOVED the lore. I loved the characters. I had some trouble with the pacing at times, it was a very long book and there were moments in the middle that felt very "filler" but I never felt bored. The last hundred pages were the most exciting, and I almost wish some of that excitement was peppered in throughout the slower parts. I have already picked up the next two. Looking forward to them!
I don't often write reviews, but I'd like to at least to keep some rough notes on what I read, and this is as good a place to start as any.
This is a pretty long book, the first 2/3s or so of which are mostly slow-paced, with lots of worldbuilding, character introductions and general table setting. That isn't really a negative, the straightforward writing and thorough explanations really helped my immersion and kept me from feeling overwhelmed with the intricate lore, which is often a concern of mine when reading through long fantasy epics.
The last third of the book delivers on what the rest of the book has built up towards in a very satisfying and rewarding way. The pace also picks up and it all ends with the right mix of closure and excitement for what comes next. I'll be reading the second book for sure.
Other …
I don't often write reviews, but I'd like to at least to keep some rough notes on what I read, and this is as good a place to start as any.
This is a pretty long book, the first 2/3s or so of which are mostly slow-paced, with lots of worldbuilding, character introductions and general table setting. That isn't really a negative, the straightforward writing and thorough explanations really helped my immersion and kept me from feeling overwhelmed with the intricate lore, which is often a concern of mine when reading through long fantasy epics.
The last third of the book delivers on what the rest of the book has built up towards in a very satisfying and rewarding way. The pace also picks up and it all ends with the right mix of closure and excitement for what comes next. I'll be reading the second book for sure.
Other notes: - I found all characters genuinely interesting, there wasn't a particular point of view I couldn't wait to go back to, nor one I thought was weaker than the others. - Some really interesting ideas in the worldbuilding, the lore is fascinating and I'm excited to learn more about the mythology and magic system in the other books. - Action scenes are really well written, just the right mix of dynamism without being hard to follow. - There was a lot of repetition when certain terms or characters came up. This could be considered a negative for those that are really good at remembering details after reading them once, but I appreciated the constant reminders and made the 1000+ pages book quite approachable.
An enjoyable war story mixed with intrigue and magic. A bit thick on the fantasy-babble, but the story is in a well developed and detailed world that is fun to explore.
A really great start to an epic fantasy series that I cannot wait to see the rest of. If you love well defined magic and alien settings then Stormlight is for you. Sanderson goes beyond any fantasy world building that I had seen or heard of before and has created a living, breathing world that is so different from Earth that you can't help being sucked in just to find out how all of it works.
Not gonna lie, I spent most of this book thinking this series might be a miss for me, no matter how highly praised it's been. But those last ten chapters turned me completely around, and now I'm 100% on board.
4.8 What an incredible worldbuilding and story so far, I cant wait to read the second book! Part of this book reminds me of Paksenarion, the whole warcamp moral stuff and that this book has a lot of moments of raw perfection like the whole of Paksenarion has it. The Way of Kings is a brilliant work of art for the soul and, I think, will be a story of justice and honor too!
An expertly crafted book. It is impossible to find any fault in it.
Is it well written? Yes. It is 1,000+ pages long, but still never feels like we get side-tracked, there is never a lull in interest. It absolutely draws you in. (I read it mostly while walking on the street. It is sheer luck that I did not get hurt. The real world did not exist for me.)
Are the characters interesting? Very. The character ideas are fantastic. Nobody is just a hero, or a warrior, or a victim. Our warrior character is also a surgeon. Our "detective" is also an artist. We also have singers, musicians, chefs, engineers. I was hoping that Bridge Four starts a boy band at some point and the rest of the story focuses on their rise to fame. (Unfortunately, not.) The characters also work well for drama. They have well-written motivations and …
An expertly crafted book. It is impossible to find any fault in it.
Is it well written? Yes. It is 1,000+ pages long, but still never feels like we get side-tracked, there is never a lull in interest. It absolutely draws you in. (I read it mostly while walking on the street. It is sheer luck that I did not get hurt. The real world did not exist for me.)
Are the characters interesting? Very. The character ideas are fantastic. Nobody is just a hero, or a warrior, or a victim. Our warrior character is also a surgeon. Our "detective" is also an artist. We also have singers, musicians, chefs, engineers. I was hoping that Bridge Four starts a boy band at some point and the rest of the story focuses on their rise to fame. (Unfortunately, not.) The characters also work well for drama. They have well-written motivations and relatable dilemmas.
Is the setting original? This is Brandon Sanderson. Of course it is original! It is medieval fantasy, but no wizards, no elves, no orcs, no undead, etc. Swords and spears are the only element taken from the standard fantasy template, but even they are presented in novel ways. Chicken meat is an exotic delicacy. Even grass is no longer the same.
Is the plot good? The plot is so grand (spanning thousands of years) that it can be revealed at a decent pace and still fill 10,000+ pages. (This series is planned for 10 volumes, the first two of which are 1,000+ pages.) It is good so far, at least. I think a central theme in the plot is that there are two sides to every story. Were the Knights Radiant heroes or villains? So many mysteries, so much for the reader to try to figure out between books!
Does it break from the privileged white male perspective? It seems okay to me. The races in the book are out of this world, but racial and class tensions are a big theme. One of the main characters (and the focus of the second book) is a woman. There are strict gender roles in the country that is the primary focus of the first book. It is mostly patriarchal, but there are restrictions on the men too (cannot eat sweet food, cannot learn to read). We also get glimpses of other eras where men were allowed to read and women were allowed to fight. I expect the social system and its history will be continuously examined in the series.
And yet I am still left a little unfulfilled. I always feel like this after reading fantasy, but not after reading sci-fi. What is going on?
Sci-fi examines possible futures. It is not an exhaustible set, but I feel like progress can be made. It is a bit like science itself. We will never learn everything (or will we?) but we make progress. Fantasy on the other hand examines alternative magical universes. The set is also not exhaustible, but I do not even feel like progress can be made. This lack of progress is what leaves me unfulfilled.
For a specific example, time-travel stories need to work harder and harder to give the reader something new. In fantasy on the other hand you can always pull out a weird new monster from your hat. It does not get harder. The space of monsters is boundless.
