The Way of Kings

STORM ME, THIS IS SO WORTH THE HYPE!!

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I know, I’m a bit late to the party… but hey, I’m in time for book five, at least! After holding “Way of Kings” captive on my tbr for years, I finally picked it up and have to say: IT’S SO WORTH THE HYPE! I already read “Mistborn” and quite enjoy Brandon Sanderson’s media presence & lectures, but the ending of “The Final Empire” kept me from reading his books for a while, leaving me dissatisfied. However, I knew that sooner or later I’d definitely give “The Stormlight Archives” a try, as it is known as Sanderson’s Magnum Opus and I was still interested in his universe (probably just searching for a different entry point). I don’t regret picking “The Way of Kings” up one bit and am glad he finally won me over with this one. I can totally see why he’s so many people’s favourite author now and immediately bought the next books in the “Cosmere” reading order. Even though Sanderson’s magic systems can sometimes feel like mathematical equations, he’s an author you can trust will deliver the pay-off for making us read through some info-dumpy, confusing beginnings. The Worldbuilding shone in this, but I was especially a fan of the character work and couldn’t wait to return to a POV whenever we switched to another. Kaladin, Shallan, Jasnah, Danilar, Adolin, Wit and the members of Bridge Four completely won my heart and I can’t wait to learn what happens to them next. There’s definitely still so much more brewing underneath the surface and knowing Bandron Sanderson, it’ll probably take some time and several books until everything is revealed between action packed battles and emotional character growth. But that’s what makes his books so epic in the first place!

Spectacular, give me 14 of them right now.

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Frankly, I thought no other Sanderson book could ever surpass the beauty, intrigue and uniqueness of "Mistborn". Well, jokes on me I guess, because "The Way of Kings" well and truly knocked me off my reading chair multiple times. This spectacular first entry to the "Stormlight Archive" absolutely blows most other current high fantasy series out of the water in terms of scope, world and character-building, and I can confidently say that not a single one of the over 1000 pages of this epic saga left me feeling jaded or indifferent to the story that was told. Ergo I truly salute Brandon Sanderson for his craft. It is certainly no easy task to keep a reader engaged for such a long period of time, and to absolutely grip one’s attention from beginning to end is a tremendous feat in itself. I will, however, say that "The Way of Kings" is still very much traditional fantasy in the same vein of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time". If you expect continuous bloodshed and violent battles every other page or so, you will most likely be disappointed. "The Way of Kings" primarily excels in its story-telling and characters, it hits every emotional note right on the head, and that is precisely what makes it so great. I learned to care for these characters, I grew invested in their fates, and that is the magic that Sanderson manages to wield so expertly. I am already itching to pick up "Words of Radiance" and if it is even half as good as its predecessor I fear I will have to write another overly long recommendation raving, yet again, about Brandon Sanderson‘s work.