The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson

All year I've had friends tell me that I need to read the Stormlight Archive series from Brandon Sanderson. We're in the middle of a pandemic, they said. What else do you have going on, they asked.

I'm a big fan of epic fantasies, but I seldom have the time to commit to reading these gigantic tomes. So I decided that since I wasn't making that 2020 book goal anyway, I may as well commit to finishing off my year with The Way of Kings. What's the worst that could happen, I don't like it?

Well it only took about 25 pages for me to really get into this book. And yes, at the end, I completely loved it and the world that Sanderson has set up here. I love Kaladin (duh), I loved Shallan (even though she's sneaky) and I loved Dalinar. I mean these are some great characters. Not overly virtuous. Full of mistakes and misunderstandings. But trying. Trying so hard to make a better world. Even when others don't want it.

In the back of all this is a system of magic and politics and a history only hinted at but barely understood. And all of this has giant ramifications for the events of the day as our heroes race to understand what is going on, before it's too late.

This book is a big lift. I write. Generally for myself. And I can't imagine the time and dedication it takes to write something like this - let alone four of the five (ten?!) planned books in this series so far. That Sanderson finished off the Wheel of Time series for Robert Jordan is no surprise. He seems to have an unending energy for world building and writing. And yes, in the last 100 pages I could not put the book down. Stuck in what I understand is the "Sanderlanche" when all the plot lines start to come together and a lot of the action happens.

I'm assuming more happens in the second book because there was a lot of world building and set up in this one. There was a lot of momentum at the back of this book, but since the next one is just as long, I doubt that kind of pace could be maintained through another 1,000 pages without some breathing room at the beginning. But I'll let you know, because I am totally going forward with the rest of this series

5/5 Stars.