A friend recently pushed me to read The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, the first book in The Stormlight Archive. So I did… and I was blown away. I mean, how had I not read anything by Sanderson before? The Way of Kings was an absolute masterpiece and a book that certainly made the journey worthwhile. And that’s why I’m here to talk about it.
The Way of Kings
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, Book One of the Stormlight Archive begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.
Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.
Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.
The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.
Speak again the ancient oaths:
Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.
and return to men the Shards they once bore.
The Knights Radiant must stand again.
Okay, first up, I will admit that the one thing that stopped me from reading any of Sanderson’s works before is… my bias against epic fantasy. “But Germaine!!” you cry, “I thought you read everything!”
It’s not true. Unfortunately, I have a harder time picking up genres like epic fantasies and westerns. (Also anything that takes place on a farm. I don’t generally pick up books that involve farms.)
SO. TODAY. I. WILL. CALL. MYSELF. OUT.
Epic fantasy–when done right–can be truly amazing. I consider The Way of Kings a masterpiece and I’m going to explain why.
(Remember, these are just my opinions. It’s totally okay to disagree with me.)
Photo by King’s Church International
It sets up the world.
The Way of Kings opens with not one, not two, but THREE prologues. At first, this drove me crazy–I wanted to get to the main character as fast as possible. But after a while, I realized that the prologues weren’t useless exposition–they let me see into the history of the world of Roshar and delve firsthand into recent events, events that shape the characters and the world in its present day.
Sanderson weaves together details to build a solid world that is believable and beautiful in its own way. There’s religion, gender stereotypes, different races. Everything looks to be thought out, from glyphs and their meanings to the ranking of a soldier. (And did you know that reading, writing, and the sciences are considered feminine arts?)
Plus, Sanderson’s choice of characters shows us the different aspects of the world he’s made. Fallen-from-grace Kaladin conveys the effects a government’s decisions can have on its people. Smart and witty Shallan has it in her character to study and learn all that she can (thus allowing us to explore the history, philosophy, and nature of her world). And the honorable Dalinar, with his close ties to the throne, allows us to watch as he tries to deal with the issues of fighting a war.
An interesting decision Sanderson makes, however, is to slip in interludes in between the parts of his book. These interludes depict characters going about their own business without much context. Although we may never see these characters again, these scenes let us see Roshar in snapshots. Some might think of these interludes as pointless, but I feel that they are important in some way or another.
It introduces the characters (and makes you like them).
While Kaladin, Shallan, and Dalinar are without a doubt the main cast of The Way of Kings, Sanderson doesn’t hesitate to let side characters take over with their own points of view. This might seem like a risky choice (head hopping, anyone?) but it’s actually done very well.
Kaladin is the main main character of The Way of Kings. From the start, Sanderson lets us know that he is a fighter. We watch as Kaladin goes through tiny victories and then insane pitfalls. He’s got a good heart, but life just does not like him (and after reading all his flashbacks, I just wanted to protect this soft boi). He’s not perfect, but he tries, and I think that’s definitely something admirable about his character.
Shallan would have been a boring character if you knew her on the surface level. Deep down, Shallan holds so much internal conflict. From the beginning, it is revealed that she’s not someone with purely innocent intentions. And as you get further and further into the book, it’s hinted at that she might have done something terrible in the past–something she prefers to forget. Her sharp tongue yet caring soul makes her endearing, but it’s her internal conflict that really gets you to understand her.
And then there’s Dalinar. Dalinar was an interesting character. At first, I saw no point in having him as a main character in the book. His parts were slow and boring and I just could not get myself to care about him… until everything (i.e. Kaladin’s, Shallan’s, and Dalinar’s storylines) came together. Dalinar is someone who grows on you, and by the time I’d finished the book, I was fully invested in his character and I have full respect for him (even though he’s a fictional character).
It raises the stakes.
By the end of The Way of Kings, a lot has changed. Kaladin, Shallan, and Dalinar have gone through many challenges and have learned more as a result. They’ve gone through part of their character arcs, but with more books to go in the series, they’ve got more to learn still.
Even better, the conflicts have barely been resolved. Yes, a couple of issues have been dealt with, but bigger problems loom in the background, waiting to spring onto these characters and their world. There are many more things to come to our main trio, and with a war still going on and tensions rising, The Stormlight Archive feels promising.
If The Way of Kings achieved this much and it’s only the first instalment in an ongoing saga, I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I’m excited to travel along with Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, and the rest of the cast all the way down to the final chapter.
That’s all!
Thank you for allowing me to rave about The Way of Kings and The Stormlight Archive! You are truly appreciated.
Tell me, have you read The Way of Kings? Are you biased against certain genres? What do you require for an awesome epic fantasy? Let me know in the comments below!
Go make your mark <3
