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.