The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Series: The Stormlight Archive #1
Published by Tor Books on May 24, 2011
Pages: 1258
Source: Purchased, Audible
Narrator: Michael Kramer, Kate Reading
Length: 45 minutes, 37 minutes
Buy from Amazon|Buy from Barnes & Noble|Buy from Book Depository|Buy on Audible
Goodreads

I long for the days before the Last Desolation. Before the Heralds abandoned us and the Knights Radiant turned against us. When there was still magic in Roshar and honor in the hearts of men.

In the end, not war but victory proved the greater test. Did our foes see that the harder they fought, the fiercer our resistance? Fire and hammer forge a sword; time and neglect rust it away. So we won the world, yet lost it.

Now there are four whom we watch: the surgeon, forced to forsake healing and fight in the most brutal war of our time; the assassin, who weeps as he kills; the liar, who wears her scholar's mantle over a thief's heart; and the prince, whose eyes open to the ancient past as his thirst for battle wanes.

One of them may redeem us. One of them will destroy us.

Review:

My first experience with Brandon Sanderson was a success! I loved The Way of Kings.

More than the story, I loved the experience of reading it. I read it over four weeks using an ebook, an old beat-up second-hand paperback (the best kind of book), and the audiobook. An epic fantasy reading experience literally cannot get any better than that.

Out of the three POVs (Kaladin, Dalinar, and Shallan): I loved every single second and word of Kaladin’s story and I wanted more. What a hero! My gosh, his POV’s gave me chills. By the time his parts of the story neared the halfway part of the book and closer to the end, I could barely breath when I was reading about him. I knew I was reading something big.

I grew to love Dalinar’s story too, but it took a little while. And by the end, I love him a ton. It’s Dalinar’s part that makes me want to go back to the beginning and start over! Is this how it is with everyone else? I didn’t warm up to Shallan until about her last chapter or two. Her POV honestly felt repetitive and took such a long time to come to shape that I just spent so much of my time with her story wishing for more about Kaladin. And Szeth – more of him too, please! He is a mystery.

The structure of this book is super complex and Roshar (the world) is huge. I can’t even imagine Sanderson’s notes when he plots. When I started this book, I was dying for a story that I could fall into, lose myself in, and feel surrounded by. This is exactly that story. It’s true that Sanderson got a little bit wordy with his descriptions and explanations, and that the story ran a little slow in the middle, but I think most true epic fantasy is the at least approximately the same way. Sanderson also was a little redundant with some phrasing all the way throughout the story, and it was noticeable, but not enough that it will keep me from coming back for more. After 1258 paperback pages and almost 45 audiobook hours, I think it’s safe enough to say I’m a legit fan, especially since I reread about half of the chapters before moving ahead with the story.

And that ending! My word. It was pretty obvious by about 2/3 in that something pretty large was brewing and holy cow, it was major. Let’s just say that when you get there you know it. It happens, and then it happens, and then some more happens. When I got to the end of the book, I was a little worn out from feeling things, but I’m totally up for more. I’m nearly equally up for going back to the beginning to see if I can pick out where I missed some hints at the ending.

Audiobook Notes:

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson audiobook is 45 hours, 37 minutes, Unabridged and published by Macmillan Audio. Audiobook narration is basically fantasy narration royalty with Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. I loved it. I’d love to hear Kate Reading narrate more in the next installments, but I’m not sure if the female characters will play larger roles or not since I’m late to the Brandon Sanderson party.

As I continue with the series, I’ll 100% be following along with both book and audiobook at the same time. There is no other way for me to read this series.

Title: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Series: The Stormlight Archive #1
Narrated by: Michael Kramer, Kate Reading
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Length: 45 hours, 37 minutes, Unabridged