I’m not usually a fan of fiction, but Brandon Sanderson’s "The Way of Kings" really hooked me in. This first book in The Stormlight Archive series is a real treat, even for someone like me who doesn't often dive into fantasy. Set in the unique world of Roshar, where magical storms are the norm and ancient legends come to life, this book is all about epic adventures and unforgettable characters. The story unfolds through the eyes of several characters, each bringing their own flavor to the tale. Sanderson does a fantastic job of developing these characters, making you care about their struggles and triumphs. You’ll find yourself rooting for them as they face all sorts of challenges, both big and small. One of the coolest things about this book is the magic system. It's original and deeply woven into the story, adding a layer of excitement and mystery. The action scenes are thrilling and the pacing keeps you hooked from beginning to end. The themes of honor, sacrifice, and power struggles add some depth to the story, making it more than just a fun read. Sanderson’s writing style is engaging and easy to follow, so even if you're new to his work, you won't have any trouble diving into this world. All in all, "The Way of Kings" is an epic start to The Stormlight Archive. Whether you're into fantasy or not, you'll love the adventure and magic Sanderson brings to the table. This book sets the stage for an incredible series that you won’t want to miss.

It is epic, it is foreboading, it is filled with lore and it is down right amazing. The overall plot intrigue of just this first installment in the continuing Stormlight Archive series, is enticing and gratifying. I don’t read fantasy generally, though I have dabbled with it in senses of horror fantasies and some previous engagements with Neil Gaiman, and even Brandon Sanderson already. This was my second novel ever read by him and bam, what an easy hook. This book has everything. EVERYTHING. Brandon Sanderson, although relatively new to me personally, should and possibly already is regarded as one of the greatest writers of this time period. He has dynamics and characters so appealing, this will be the most interesting slow read you’ll ever have the pleasure to ingest. It’s slow in reference to action but that in no way holds this writing back. It’s dark and holds depth that will make you well up for these characters. I felt never ending impending doom the entirety of reading this 1100 page tale. And it’s only just begun. Im enthralled. I need more now. All of the build, the care and devotion into creating his lore and character ensemble. You’ll have favorites, you’ll despise others and, those who you will never trust and then the others you would trust with your own life. The imagination of this man astounds me. So many things are being alluded to the entire time but you get the pleasure of falling in love with these characters and learning about who each of them are or have the potential to be. He flaws in one area for me personally though. While his male characters are so strong in development, depth and versatility within themselves and with others which make them feel so raw and real, the women are extremely more lacking. They have some depth and some intrigue, but overall they feel extremely overshadowed and created with less care. There are far more similarities within their design then within his male characters and most do not show much of their true personalities making them somewhat tiresome to read about. It also feels as if he has a somewhat recurring theme to how he writes female characters. In Elantris, his debut novel, his male and female setups were somewhat generic and too stagnant. He had progressed extremely with all other aspects of his writing from that novel to Way of Kings, whereas his female characters seem to mimic his original creation of a female lead. It is not anywhere near making this an unenjoyable story, but it is somewhat dull at certain times because of it, and doesn’t give much way of attachment to the females. That being said, I have higher hopes for their development in the continuing series and everything else was brilliant. He has so many elements all at play, so many underlying mysteries and a tone that will change with every storyline you get into. This book probably made me experience every emotion. It hits and it hits hard. You won’t want to put this down. As you find out more and more, you’ll find yourself asking for more and more. It is masterfully written and full of heroics and depression so overpowering you will binge read to continue to get as much information as possible to stop drowning in the pain of not knowing what will happen next. What does it all mean? What is real? You will question everything but put full faith into those you trust in this book. You never know what will really happen because there’s always a seed of doubt in every step. This is war after all and all is fair in love and war. I couldn’t have asked for more out of a fantasy. I am now mid second installment and it’s just getting better. With every word I fill with anticipation. I love the dynamics and plot building. If you want to enter the world of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere, this is the best and worst place to start. It has so much that is tied to other areas of his works but still delivers so much on its own. This. This is what we read for. This promotes all feelings you want from a book. I don’t think I’ve read many books with this much depth and all encompassing satisfaction. This has made me a Brandon Sanderson fan to the fullest.

There are times when I hate having grown up to be a fantasy fan. Most of the time it's when I pick up a book that seems promising - maybe because it's from a familiar author, or because you heard from a friend of a friend that it was good - but it turns out to be disappointing. Stock characters, old and tired plotlines, and a world that's basically Tolkien with some greasepaint and false noses added on. Given the number of people who write fantasy, the odds of coming across a truly interesting world with compelling characters and a story that has some surprises is difficult indeed. Fortunately, it looks like Sanderson has managed to pull it off. The world of Roshar is a strange and tempestuous place. The seasons come and go in unpredictable ways, sometimes bringing with them great highstorms that are so powerful that even the plants of this world have evolved ways to hide from them. It is a world filled with spirits, ubiquitous beings called spren, which pop up for almost any reason. There are the spren of nature - windspren, firespren, rotspren, riverspren and the like. There are spren that seem attracted to humans, like alespren, gloryspren, anticipationspren and logicspren. No one really knows what they are or why they exist, but they are everywhere in this world. The greatest kingdom in Roshar is that of Alethkar, which is barely a nation at all. A loosely bound alliance of ten high princes, the people of Alethkar are a hostile, ambitious, violent folk whose first and greatest love is battle and winning. Since the assassination of their king by the savage Parshendi, they have been involved in a seemingly endless siege of revenge on the great Shattered Plains. The greatest warriors of Alethkar - or any nation - are those who wield the amazing shardblades. Swords that seem to condense out of mist, the shardblades can cut through anything, though if they cut through a person their effects are a little more subtle. A warrior armed with a shardblade, wearing shardplate armor, can use the incredible power of stormlight to achieve feats that no normal man could survive. Bound within glowing gemstones and restored by the howling winds of the highstorms, stormlight is Roshar's greatest treasure. Within this world we follow an ensemble cast which, while adhering to certain fantasy archetypes, still is made interesting and worth watching. Dalinar, the brother to the dead Alethi king, is searching for a way to hold together the weak nation that his brother formed. He has been learning of the old ways, the teachings of the vanished and reviled Knights Radiant, in the hopes that they can help hold his people together. On the other end of Alethi society is Kaladin. Once a promising young surgeon, Kaladin joined the army in hopes of being able to fight on the Shattered Plains. He made it there, but not as a soldier - as a member of a bridge crew, one of the most expendable resources in the entire war. He became the lowest of the low, forced to find a reason to stay alive. In a city far from the fighting, young Shallan Davar has fought to become the ward of the great heretic scholar Jasnah Kholin. While she has ostensibly come to learn from the woman, her true purpose is to steal Jasnah's soulcaster, a device which, if used properly, can turn something into something else - stone into smoke, glass into blood, a man into fire. With this, Shallan hopes to revive her family's flagging fortunes after the death of her father. What she discovers with Jasnah, of course, is far, far more. Then there's Szeth-son-son-Vallano, truthless of Shinovar. Poor, poor Szeth. From a race of people known for their peaceful and easygoing natures, Szeth is the most powerful assassin the world has seen. He can harness the stormlight to manipulate gravity, making him able to do the impossible while he uses his shardblade to cut down anyone in his way. In truth, though, Szeth wishes only one thing - to find someone who is good enough to kill him, and end his tormented life. As you may have guessed, it's a complicated tale, and Sanderson doesn't hold to this whole "Give the reader time to get used to it" style of writing. If you're not paying attention from the beginning, you are likely to be very, very lost within the first chapter or so. But once everything settles down, the story turns into a fast-paced, multi-leveled adventure that takes place in a world that is imaginative and fascinating. The characters are enthralling, too, with many levels and - most importantly - flaws. While Kaladin is a brilliant organizer and leader, he has to fight continually against the despair of realizing what his life has come to. The easy thing would be to allow himself to die, but he knows he can't let himself do that. Dalinar, plagued by visions of what might be Roshar's ancient past, is fighting centuries of Alethi martial tradition by trying to bring the high princes together and end the war, rather than allowing it to go on. He's pulled between the love of his nephew, the king, and his frustration that the king won't be strong enough to do what needs doing. Shallan, who left her home with a clear purpose, is finding that nothing was what she thought it would be. Jasnah isn't an evil woman, despite being a heretic, and her plan to steal the soulcaster becomes less and less certain the more she learns. All of these characters are at the front edge of thousands of years of history, much of it shrouded in uncertainty - legendary Knights Radiant who fought Voidbringers before giving up their duty and turning against mankind. What actually happened is unknown, and perhaps won't ever be known. But the effects of those events echo to the present day, causing problems which our characters will eventually have to deal with. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give to Sanderson is that when I finished the book, I immediately went back to the first page and started reading again. There are very few books that have inspired me thus, but this one did - especially after the cascading Big Reveals at the end, which explain a lot, and cast a new light on a whole lot more. What's more, I found myself wishing that I had access to an animation studio while I read the action scenes. Fights can be hard to do in written form - there's a tendency to either describe too much or too little, and very often the reader gets slowed down trying to visualize what's happening in the story. Sanderson is very, very good at writing action, something I first noticed in Towers of Midnight. Even when Szeth is hopping from floor to ceiling to wall, flinging people around like toys, the action was very clear in my mind's eye, and it's something I would love to see animated, if not done in live action. And yes, to get back to why I hate being a fantasy reader sometimes, it is the first book in a series, which means I'm likely to be following it for quite some time. There's nothing truly wrong with that - there are plenty of series that I've followed in my day - but I never look forward to the waiting game that you have to play as the author works on the next book. To be fair, though, Sanderson is busy right now finishing up my favorite series, The Wheel of Time, so I think I can give him a little latitude. In any case, if you're looking for a dense, fun new series to read, definitely pick this up. I plan on getting into some of his other books, mainly in order to have something to do while I wait for the next one of these. -------------------------------------- "The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that." - Hoid, The Way of Kings