Genre: Epic Fantasy
Hardcover: 1008 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: August 31, 2010
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0765326353
ISBN-13: 978-0765326355
Author Website: Brandon Sanderson
Series Website: StormBlessed.com
Read An Excerpt
Epic fantasy, good epic fantasy, is often about systems: systems of politics, or religion, of history, or of interpersonal relationships. These are the systems that can be found in most any novel. But when speaking of epic fantasy, there are two other systems that come into play, magic and warfare. Different authors approach these systems in different ways, and it is often these that the reader uses to differentiate them in one of the most trope-filled genres. But it is the master fantasist, the genius of systems, who can not only create these whole cloth, but make them interweave into the seamless whole that is worldbuilding. Brandon Sanderson is such a master.
His new novel The Way of Kings is a 1,008 page tome of fiction that only just scratches the surface of the world he has built. With this volume, readers stand on the threshold of a new A Song of Ice and Fire or Wheel of Time, a Belgariad/Mallorean or Midkemia, a series of astounding length and complexity.
The plot begins with an assassination. When the King of Alethkar is killed, his son takes the highprinces of Alethkar to war on the Shattered Plains against the Parshendi, a race of marbled humanoids who take credit for the assassination. The armies of the highprinces must fight the Parshendi on their home ground, a series of small plateaus that must be crossed by bridges in order for the armies to move from one the another. A lot of the novel is taken up with explaining how the warfare works, describing its violence and danger, and building backstory on one of the bridgemen, Kaladin.
The story primarily follows three individuals through this medieval secondary world. Each of them represents a different stratum of the society of Alethka, the kingdom which is the focus of the narrative. There is Dalinar, the uncle to a king and a renowned warleader and highprince who is beginning to have fearful visions of the past. There is Kaladin, a bridgeman, the lowest of the low in the army, who is slowly discovering powers within himself he didn’t even know existed. And there is Shallan, the female intelligentsia who, along with her mentor, is on the verge of discovering a secret long buried which could rock the world of Roshar.
Sanderson subtly interweaves these three characters with a strong supporting cast as well. Adolin is Dalinar’s son, whose character is developed quite extensively, perhaps as a precursor to great feats of heroism in later novels. Szeth is a Shin assassin, a Truthless, completely in thrall to the master who sends him to kill the upper echelons of society. And there is Princess Jasnah, the heretical mentor to Shallan whose search for the truth might just get them killed. Other interlude characters provide glimpses of a broader world outside Alethkar and the forces at play in them.
Dalinar (and to a small extent Adolin) provide the courtly perspective of the novel. From him, the reader is introduced to the political landscape. This is particularly important for this novel, as the primary theme is of a civilization, decimated long ago, slowly picking itself up and putting itself back together. Dalinar provides a transitional character, one who is moving from the old warlord style government to one with more knightly valor and chivalry, one more like that which was lost.
Kaladin the bridgeman is the serf/slave. A middle class man made into a slave, Kaladin is the front line perspective of the war, the perspective of the common man. His story is also the one that drives the primary plot of The Way of Kings as he attempts to find redemption for past failures. His is the one perspective in the novel that switches between present and past, and as the story unfolds, Kaladin’s past rapidly catches up to meet his present in a mounting of suspense.
Dalinar and Kaladin’s two plots eventually intertwine at the end of the novel, though Shallan still has yet to meet the other two by the end of the novel. And it is in their stories that the violence is most prevalent, it is here that the “action” (i.e. battle and fight scenes) of the story occurs.
Shallan’s tale is the one the reader encounters least. It is here that the history of the world is built, and it is through Shallan that the magical system is best understood. However, Shallan’s story is not without its own suspense, and her tale of seeing engimatic figures appearing in her art is as frightening as Kaladin’s is eventful.
The structure of the novel is of interest. Broken up into four parts, each separated by interludes which consist of three chapters each, the document is also interspersed with illustrations and maps that are designed to look as if they came from a journal. In many cases, they could be said to be the work of Shallan, who is a gifted artist in a world where art is highly esteemed, either as original works or copies from the books she is studying. The interjection of the illustrations and interludes breaks the story up nicely, making its massive pages more comfortable to read and not overly focused on any one character for too long. (For instance, after a brief period in the beginning of the novel which we meet Shallan and discover her motivations, we leave her for nearly 300 pages before we return to her character perspective again.) It also makes the timelines of all the disparate characters fit together snugly, just one of the small ways that Sanderson, a master of the world intergration, showcases his talent.
Sanderson is known for his clever and complicated magic systems. However, in the case of The Way of Kings, the magic system is not as carefully delinated as in his previous works. In this case, the magic system is an illusory sort of thing, bits and pieces being revealed from time to time, but not comprehensively understandable, at least not yet. It is not evident how the spren (a sort of sprite that appears at significant changes (great emotions like pain or elation, forces of nature like rot or wind) fit into the story. Nor is evident how the jewels surrounded by glass that collect power from the Highstorms and used for magical power and as money are able to do what they do. In all of the plot lines of the three main characters, the magic system is built slowly, piece by piece, sometimes with an event or revelation from one informing on the action of another in subtle ways. Don’t expect to understand the complexities of this world soon or even at all in this story. Sanderson is playing the long game, and this lengthy novel is just the first piece of the puzzle.
The world itself is complex too. Although humans exist in Roshar, they come in multitudinous races that are even more varied than simple things like skin or eye color. Though eye color is an important part of Alethkarian society, there are also races who are hairless, ones who have eyebrows that grow several feet in length, and a race of humanoids that may or may not be related to humans at all known as parshmen. When people with different races intermingle and produce progeny, that progeny may grow patches of hair of different colors. So a blond person may have patches of black hair or vice versa. These characters are human, but Sanderson uses these significant details to differentiate them from our own and truly make this a secondary world.
And that is just the people. Of all the animals, only the horse is Earth-like. The rest of the animals of the world are more like insects than mammals. Chitin shells predominate. In the evolution of this world, the bug is king. And then there are the plants. Because of the Highstorms, an unpredictable storm of hurricane force that also gives the gems their magical power, seasons are short, and plants are adapted to enclose themselves in shells whenever the storm comes. Seasons are only a few weeks in length (except in the place of the Shin), farming is a near constant activity and much of the world is just scoured rock. This makes for very different politics that a simple medieval based fantasy would have, and Sanderson really follows through on the repercussions for his systems that his world modification causes. Roshar and its construction becomes as fascinating a part of the novel as the characters, and the reader will have only seen the tip of the iceberg.
And with all this description of the novel, I have barely scraped the surface of its complexity. Sanderson is the master of world systems, everything in this novel is integrated, and the smallest detail reveals important aspects of the world. Sanderson’s foreshadowing is subtle, and each plotline, though mostly separate, through the course of this novel informs on the other in myriad ways.
Sanderson has built on his work on the shoulders of the greatest writers of epic fantasy – Martin, Jordan, Eddings, Feist and Brooks – but with The Way of Kings has set his sights on surpassing even them. Brandon Sanderson is modern epic fantasy’s Grand Master, comparable only to Tolkien in scope and richness of story, and I for one hope he has a long, long career.
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[...] Original post by John Ottinger III [...]
“Sanderson is playing the long game, and this lengthy novel is just the first piece of the puzzle.”
Cool.
John, how highly would you recommend this as a standalone experience?
Well, it is enjoyable in its own right, but you are aware that the series is only beginning, and a lot of it is devoted to world and character building, so it may seem slow if you only plan to read this first book.
[...] the original: Book Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – Grasping for … This entry was posted in Books and tagged 1008-pages, Books, books-publication, english, fantasy, [...]
So, no mention of the recurring “expletives” — “storm it!”, “storming..”, etc ? I’m sorry, but… that was just silly. Not that it ruins the whole story, necessarily, but it’s distracting.
It can be. I’ve been reading fantasy long enough that I have to expect it, and just let it pass. My personal favorite is Ed Greenwood’s “STLARNING” in the Forgotten Realms universe. Got any that annoy/amuse you?
When the most significant aspect of the world in which you live is devastating, world-wide storms, it’s anything but silly that they would form the basis of commonly spoken “oaths”. It makes perfect sense.
If you say so.
I gotta be honest, I thought tWoK was just okay. Not terrible, but not stellar, either.
Phil, though I do wax ecstatic about Sanderson’s systems, my true excitement is not for this book in particular, but this series as a whole. When done, it promises to be both modern in sensibility and yet a throwback to classic epic fantasies.
[...] Reviews have started cropping up, and the release is just around the corner. Few authors have come around that can match the impact had on the genre by George R.R. Martin, Terry Goodkind or Robert Jordan, but Brandon Sanderson (with the marketing push behind him, his ties to Wheel of Time, the accessibility of his work, and, well, his popularity) seems poised to join them with the release of The Way of Kings, the first book in The Stormlight Archives. [...]
[...] Grasping for the wind: Book Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson [...]
[...] Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson @ Grasping for the Wind [...]
John: well, maybe; that would be great, of course.
Like I siad, it wasn’t awful; I started the book skeptical, and he managed to get me into it enough to read the whole thing, so there is that. I’m not convinced I’ll read the next book yet, though. It may depend on whether or not new George RR Martin, Scott Lynch, and/or Gene Wolfe are out around the same time…
Well, that is always a problem when several favorite authors appear at the same time. I haven’t read the Lynch, do you recommend highly?
oops typo. siad/said
Phil, you strike me as a man with similar taste in books. I haven’t read this Sanderson yet, but my impression of his other stuff fits what you say about tWoK – not terrible, but not great, either. I’m turned off a bit by extensive inner monologue and I’ve felt a bit annoyed at the slow trickle of revelation that marks every single one of his works. In short, I hate knowing that I’m not going to know everything until the last few pages – the same way I felt watching the third or fourth M. Night Shyamalan flick. You know the twist is coming but it doesn’t really enhance the experience of watching the build-up. I enjoyed the Mistborn trilogy, though I found myself slapping my forehead more than a few times, and kind of blundered through Elantris and Warbreaker. I thought Sanderson did a pretty good job on his first crack at the Wheel of Time series, such that I was hoping he had managed to break a few of the habits I’ve mentioned (Brandon himself said that he felt like he had grown as a writer during that process). So how does tWoK stack up with that in mind?
@John Ottinger III – Yes, Lynch is highly recommended as far as I’m concerned. I’m re-reading his first and I hardly ever re-read books. I almost can’t recommend him highly enough. Both he and Joe Abercrombie have made terrific debuts in the past few years. Lynch has been delayed with health problems and so still has just the two main books out, while Abercrombie’s fifth is due out next January. Read them. I dare you to be disappointed in them!
From my read, there was significantly less of the “devastating revelation that explains the whole book” at the end. There was a significant revelation at the end, but it was much more oriented toward the rest of the series (somewhat like the end of The Eye of the World) than at explaining earlier parts of the book. It forces some reinterpretation, but frankly if that point hadn’t been introduced until the next book, it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference. It was nice here as a hook, but the book didn’t really have any huge surprises in the way others of his have. It was more a solid burn toward an excellent ending—and then a twist to whet your appetite for the next book.
Chris, that’s a good point. It does what you say as well, but I felt that it tied the entire book together rather neatly and in a revelatory manner due to LOTS of prior foreshadowing. But your point makes great sense too. I just went to a Sanderson reading, and your assessment of the ending was basically what he said about this first book. It is a lead-in to much bigger (a la Martin, but at a more rapid pace) things.
Andrew and Phil – given the tastes you have described, I can see why Sanderson only sort of works for you. You probably find Eddings rather dry (an honest assessment) and love the Malazan series. I think we have different tastes, neither more valid than the other, just different.
Andrew – I have read the Abercrombie books and loved them, which means Lynch may be to my tastes. But then again, I’m an omnivorous reader, and tend to like most of what I read, with an occasional let-down.
Finished reading this book, unbelievable how over hyped this novel is, the story comes to a grinding halt after page 47 and doesn’t pickup until about 643 pages later. Will tax even the most experienced readers. For such a long book it was shallow and barely provided characters and situations that a reader could immerse themselves into and connect with. Over extended scenes(Kaladin and Bridge Crew 4) that went nowhere, each character is stuck in a set piece for hundreds of pages with nothing happening that pushes the story forward until the very end of book( near the last 200pages). The ending is definitely not worth the time investment.Don’t be fooled by the hype.
John Doe,
I guess this means your the type of reader that doesn’t like to strain his brain by having multiple syllables and plots that envolve more than one person at a time. Reading a book this complex must have given you quite the headache. Poor boy, life can be so hard for you. Might I suggest you try to read something easier, like People Magasin or The National Enquirer. Just make sure you read them slowly so as not to strain that little mouse on a wheel you call a brain.
[...] series of Alcatraz novels, and has written two stand-alone novels and a trilogy. The Way of Kings (my review) is the beginning of an epic series set to rivel Goodkind, Jordan, or Eddings in length and [...]
[...] A month ago, I got to meet Brandon Sanderson not once, but twice! The author who had just finished the final edits of Towers of Midnight (the latest Wheel of Time book) was on tour to promote his latest solo work The Way of Kings a 1,008 page tome which I reviewed in detail. [...]
I just finished the audiobook version of this, and it was fantastic. A little daunting when you first look at it, being 45 hours long, but I found myself wishing it would never end. The narrators were great, I recognized them from other audiobooks(Mistborn and Bellwether) so I knew from the start I’d love listening to them.
You have to go into this book knowing that it’s the very start of a 10 novel long epic, and be ready to just slow down a little, spend some time learning the lay of the land, the characters and just…. enjoy the immersion. If you’re the instant gratification type, this isn’t for you. But if you like to simmer over something brilliant, lose yourself in a whole new world, then pick this one up!
I can’t wait for the next one! I hope it’s coming soon! (And I hope the same narrators stick it through to the end!)
Well handled review John O. I enjoyed the book as an overall, though I certainly had my qualms. I did a review at the SF Signal too: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2010/11/review-way-of-kings-by-brandon-sanderson/
One of my biggest issues was the over-explanation of the world. Sanderson spent too much time (in my mind) trying to elaborate on how varied and incredible his world is. He could have cut out many pages of description of foreign people that really played no part in the story and instead pushed the story along at a faster clip.
I was also disappointed in general at the political intrigue, which felt like a far cry from Martin’s incredible interplay or even Jordan’s the Wheel of Time. Some of it was just plain awkward.
Some of his revelations were also horribly done. I thought Kaladin’s realization of his power was fumbled and came off as strange instead of having the impact desired. Also the endbook realization about the Parshendi was just too much of a stretch by so schooled of a scholar as Jasna. But we’ll see how the next book takes it.
There were plenty of startling, heart wrenching revelations though. So overall I do think it is a recommended read and I will be investigating the next in the series.
[...] Book Review: Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson 2. Book Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson 3. Interview: Brandon Sanderson on Towers of Midnight 4. Book Review: The Gathering Storm by Robert [...]
I just finished reading this tonight and i felt it was amazing. It literally took my mind into this other world so far that I couldn’t even escape it in my dreams. I cannot wait til the next book in the series comes out. I fear it will be far from now seeing how this one hasn’t been out that long and considering the length in which he has to live up to. The length seemed daunting at first, but as you get into it, it flies by. I read it in four days, couldn’t put it down. This definitely rivals that of Belgariad and Malloreon by Eddings, whom I’m a big fan of. So glad I randomly found short description of this book on amazon and asked for it for Christmas. Sometimes taking a gamble on an author you never read before is scary, but Sanderson made it thrilling. He’s definitely made it to my list of favorite authors.
[...] Brent Weeks (Orbit) [GFTW review] The Way of Kings – Brandon Sanderson (Gollancz/Tor US) [GFTW review] Towers of Midnight – Brandon Sanderson & Robert Jordan (Orbit/Tor US) [GFTW review] The [...]