Also, some females in this world are supposed to hide their left hands, and it is considered totally obscene for a woman to have that left hand uncovered. And “lower class” woman just wear a glove over their left hand, while working. I’m sure this will come into play in later books, so I thought I’d mention it, but it still made me giggle at some of the responses to seeing a woman’s bare left hand. Szeth - Okay, call my weird, but Szeth’s chapters, as few as there were, were my absolute favorite. Szeth is still a very mysterious man, but he wields a Shardblade and knows how to use it to its full abilities. He is known to the world as the Assassin in White and is one of the most feared assassins in the world. From his perspective we get to see the guilt and pain from what he is being forced to do, but who and why he is being forced to repent for his past sins, is a constant mystery. Also, the epilogue chapter of this book, which is in Szeth’s perspective, actually blew my mind.

Seen mostly from the perspectives of Kaladin, Shallan and Dalinar, all in different positions in life and different realms of the world most of the time it was hard to initially see how they are all connected. But with each big reveal or huge betrayal more of the pieces line up and the intricacies of the plot, the characters, the magic system and the world come into focus. My mind was blown throughout the story. Things that didn’t seem extremely relevant at the time later became a huge revelation about motives and truths. Sanderson floored me again and again and each time I love it all the more. The age before the Heralds abandoned us and the Knights Radiant turned against us. A time when there was still magic in the world and honor in the hearts of men.I knew 3 different people who started this book after I did, but still finished before I did. It's okay though... it's okay. Yes, Teft from Th There are many great fantasy books out there; some have a compelling story to tell supplemented with great characters; some have awesome magic and epic battle scenes, and some come with an interesting world that was richly imagined and detailed. The Way of Kings is a huge opening act to The Stormlight Archive which took every single one of these elements of a good fantasy story and elevated the art of storytelling to a different league. You might think that “Yeah, you say that because you're a Sanderson addict”. Then let me say that I've read The Way of Kings before I became addicted to his books. Or to phrase it the other way, I became an addict because of it.

As of the date of this review, I have read this book three times. Till now I have yet to exhaust the discovery or appreciation of all the details, hints and foreshadowing that Sanderson had masterfully woven into this impressive accomplishment of modern epic fantasy. Brandon Sanderson: My History as a Writer". Brandon Sanderson. October 2008 . Retrieved February 1, 2021. It never, ever, crossed my mind that Kaladin (our main protagonist) is a Jesus and Superman in one, with Peter Pan’s Tinkerbelle (Syl) on his shoulders as, not just as a moral compass, but a source of his powers to, let’s say, I don’t know, maybe even fly… I was daunted, to say the least when approaching this massive tome. After completing Mistborn and loving it, I wanted to read more of Sanderson's books and my own research led me to this book. I leapt into it unaware that my reading life was going to be changed irrevocably. Wit, also known as Hoid, the Drifter, and Cephandrius, is the court jester of king Elhokar Kholin at the Shattered Plains. Wit's role as court jester simply allows him to insult everyone he meets, often by just deliberately discussing that person's worst character flaws openly. Wit is also secretly more than he seems, often possessing an omniscient knowledge of things he shouldn't, and the ability to know where to travel to meet important people and offer obscure but useful advice and information to those he briefly meets. Hoid is in all major books in the Cosmere, a universe where most works by Sanderson are set. [17]With his almost omnipotent power he’s expressing, he tries to take care of those who can’t do that for themselves, and you can see in his saddened gaze – which is due to undoubtedly his equally sad and tragic past – weight of the entire world, threatening to crash him underneath. Before you started reading this book, let me do you a favor. Go outside your home, look at the sky, the stars, clouds, the moon or if you’re brave enough, the sun. Done? Good, raise your expectation of this series that high. My expectation for this book was probably higher than that and it still managed to blow me away. I’m pretty sure the title The Way of Kings is a hidden message by Sanderson for his reader, telling us that this is his first step in his way of becoming one of the kings in the genre.

And when I compared those examples of undoubted quality in long history with what Brandon tried here with, not just his characters but overall, in this book, it’s really not that much of a surprise that The Way of Kings doesn’t stand to a test of time. I really don't think I'll be able to take that pain, but I know that Sanderson is the king of destroying his readers' poor souls, so I'm just going to be prepared and still die My goal: to prove to myself, and to him, that the “good” decision was not actually the best one. The Way Of Kings is his story, though he shares the space with several others. They’ll get their own books later in the series. But he didn't limit himself to grand scale misdirection, no, he did not. He also regularly made your heart stop for the three seconds it took to get past the obvious reaction to the reality of the situation that was entirely different from the path he had lead you down. Who he is at the beginning and the end, moral conflicts that shaped his character inside of one cohesive story etc...

And the other unique concept/tradition in this world is that it is “beneath” men (other than ardents) to learn how to read and write. Like, men in this world marry a lot of the time just to be able to have their wives read to them and write down things for them. Yet, this value in society has not only put them at a disadvantage in life, but as also put them at a disadvantage in solving the mystery of the late king’s final act before death. I admit, on my first two reads, I was inclined to agree. I understand all of you who think and say that.