Reviews

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Only show reviews with written explanations

reydeam's review against another edition

5.0

The Way of Kings is grand. Grand in style, depth, pace, world-building, prose, story, and characters. This was all pulled together magnificently. A world - a story of brilliant epicness was created. Reading this epic story has left me in utter awe of Brandon Sanderson’s talent.

Sanderson crafted a story that was far from one dimensional yet not confusing at all. He crafted a story that paid attention to detail yet was not bogged down. His fabulous world-building was amazingly interesting in simple and intricate ways. The details were well-balanced which never left me feeling like Sanderson was droning on. This ability to create a fabulous world was made even more so by the fact that the story remained front and center - not the world-building itself.

The story...umm...wow! It evolved with smooth pacing and unfolded page by page with suspense, intrigue, and action. The story grew as each of the several story lines developed. While these story lines were independent, they converged into the larger story with a subtle naturalness that set my mind whirling with incredible satisfaction. The various story lines were brilliant in that they were each able to seamlessly give the reader (that would be me) an incredible view of the world and its troubles, cultures, and events. These perceptions were shown via the unique individual story lines of the main characters. These story lines, when put together, gave an incredible complete story without reader confusion.

Full Review at Polishing Mud Balls

gamz's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’d give 100 stars if I could. This book blew me away!

refcode's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.75

adam_z's review

Go to review page

5.0

Coming into this series, I had read all of Sanderson's novels outside of his children's & YA titles. I saved Stormlight for last. I enjoyed Elantris, and I absolutely LOVED Warbreaker and the Mistborn books. I thought he did a good job finishing up Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series as well. Somehow Sanderson managed to up his game here. This is the finest prose and storytelling I've seen from him yet. The worldbuilding here is phenomenal. Sanderson's characterization is at its finest here. He's come a long way since Elantris. The pacing might seem a bit slow if you're a reader who is into more plot-driven books, as this is definitely a character-driven book. A most rewarding read for the patient reader!

It's too early to call it, but if any series has the potential to de-throne The Wheel of Time as my all-time favorite fantasy series (or my all-time favorite novels) then The Stormlight Archive might just be it. Time will tell...