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[ScOULaris]

So I just recently finished reading Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings, and I really wanted to discuss it with some other fans. Since the second book came out, however, wikis and other Stormlight Archive forums are dangerous territory for spoilers. So, knowing that there are a lot of Sanderson fans on GAF, I figured I'd make this thread for discussing the first book in the Stormlight Archive series.

I am in the process of reading Words of Radiance as well, so I might make a follow-up thread for that once I'm done. Please use spoiler tags whenever referencing something from the second book in this thread. Operate under the assumption that people in this discussion have only read Way of Kings thus far.

I'll start us off with a couple of quick bulleted lists:

My favorite moments

• Szeth's assassination scenes
• The chasmfiend hunt
• Bridge Four going back to the Tower to save Dalinar and Adolin
• Dalinar beating Elhokar's ass to prove a point
• Shallan arriving at Kharbranth, the City of Bells
• Dalinar giving up his Shardblade in exchange for Bridge Four's freedom

Things I'd like to discuss

• Roshar and Sanderson's world-building in general
• Characters and their development
• Theories pertaining to some of the mysteries left unanswered in the first book (careful if you have read Words of Radiance)

__________

Hopefully this thread can yield some good Way of Kings discussion while I (and probably some others in here) work my way through the second book. I'm in no rush, however. The wait for the third book will surely prove to be pretty brutal. I'm going to be an old man by the time this 10-part series is finished.

PS - the art/sketches in this book are of a surprisingly high quality.

Click to enlarge.

 

[Leependi]

Started reading it last month because I wanted to find a new series to read while waiting for Winds of Winter.

I'm reading on my Kindle though so all the sketches and maps and such look like crap, I went into a bookshop to see what they actually looked like. I would have just bought the book but it's in two parts which both cost £9.

 

[ScOULaris]

Started reading it last month because I wanted to find a new series to read while waiting for Winds of Winter.

I'm reading on my Kindle though so all the sketches and maps and such look like crap, I went into a bookshop to see what they actually looked like. I would have just bought the book but it's in two parts which both cost £9.

I'm reading it in e-book format as well, and I had the same problem with the compressed pics. I ended up looking them up online after the fact.

 

[Mango Positive]

The pictures are cool on the iPad Kindle, but I really don't need pictures.

I love this series. I'll be very interested to see where it goes. I've read Words of Radiance, so I have to be a bit careful talking about the tale. I highly recommend that everyone read Warbreaker before reading Words of Radiance. The ending will be more special for you if you do.

 

[studyguy]

The title goes on sale so often on Amazon, if you love fantasy then you might as well plop down the two bucks. The audiobook version is fantastically produced as well. I absolutely love the series. I hear that they're making an animated film, but if any one series needed a film or adaptation from Sanderson's works, this might be it.

Moving on to the title itself, I personally loved Wheel of Time so this feels like another step into a similar world in both scope and relative pace. I'm super excited for what's to come and the fact that Sanderson writes like a madman is even better. I know he gets flak for his writing style but honestly I just sort of approach it like a popcorn action flick, the scope of the world really interests me more than some of the characters at times,

Spoiler

Shallan in Words of Radiance is the fucking worst,

but still, he keeps things going quickly and never feels bogged down for better or worse. Hopefully he can keep the pace going in the next ones to follow.

 

[Maledict]

I was quite dissapointed in this. It feels like Sandersons attempt at a Wheel of Time of his own, but it's got two major issues for me:

I) His quality of writing just isn't up to 'huge epic series'. Whilst I love some of his ideas and world building, he is not a particularly skilled writer and his descriptive text and dialogue isn't that great.

2) if this is supposed to be the first of a 10 book series, then it felt a bit like too much was revealed too fast by the end of the first book. Just one of the end reveals would have been fine, but the last few chapters wee a constant barrage of surprise twists and they undermined the impact of them by having so many at once. Pace is key and I think he is better suited to short, sharp snappy books rather than huge epic series.

Words of Radiance is a book I actually stopped reading half way through, and that's incredibly, incredibly rare for me.

 

[studyguy]

I) His quality of writing just isn't up to 'huge epic series'. Whilst I love some of his ideas and world building, he is not a particularly skilled writer and his descriptive text and dialogue isn't that great.

I absolutely agree, like I mentioned before I treat his stuff like a popcorn action flick rather than something overly serious. Some of the characters feel a little contrived, but then again there's usually so much going on that I can just sort of deal with it. I feel like he excels at making the moment to moment action sequences impactful, but over the course of a longer series I can totally see how that can wear thin on people.

 

[dionysus]

OP are you aware of the cosmere? Do you know that several of his series are in the same universe and ultimately will tell an overarching story?

Because to talk about Sanderson's world building you can't avoid the cosmere. But talking about the Cosmere will spoil other books and also give insight into probably directions for Stormlight Archive. What I am saying is that you are asking to be spoiled by people with a ton of knowledge and reasonable speculation since they have read Mistborn, Elantris, Warbreaker, and even some of his unpublished stuff.

On the subject of Sanderson himself. His strengths are his magic systems and the buildup. By the end of a Sanderson book you are so excited for the climax, and he normally delivers. For the magic systems trust me he didn't reveal to much in book 1 or 2. We will definitely be exploring the (meta)physics of Roshar for all 10 books.

 

[ScOULaris]

OP are you aware of the cosmere? Do you know that several of his series are in the same universe and ultimately will tell an overarching story?

Because to talk about Sanderson's world building you can't avoid the cosmere. But talking about the Cosmere will spoil other books and also give insight into probably directions for Stormlight Archive. What I am saying is that you are asking to be spoiled by people with a ton of knowledge and reasonable speculation since they have read Mistborn, Elantris, Warbreaker, and even some of his unpublished stuff.

Yeah, I have heard about the Cosmere, and I'm doing my best to avoid spoilers that might arise from any discussion of it. I'll be more open to looking into it after I finish the second Stormlight book at least.

 

[dionysus]

Yeah, I have heard about the Cosmere, and I'm doing my best to avoid spoilers that might arise from any discussion of it. I'll be more open to looking into it after I finish the second Stormlight book at least.

I suggest reading Warbreaker right now or after book 2. It is relatively short, very different from SA, and in my opinion his best book besides the ones in SA. It also has a pretty big tie-in to SA book 2.

Warbreaker is like Frozen by more nuance and better. Disney princesses.

 

[gdt]

I love this series so much. Gonna start getting into the Cosmere stuff now. Didn't know that WoR ties into another book like that. Well, I did know, but not such a direct tie, apparently.

 

[ScOULaris]

Warbreaker is like Frozen by more nuance and better. Disney princesses.

Haha, well that doesn't exactly sell me on it.

 

[Faiz]

The pictures are cool on the iPad Kindle, but I really don't need pictures.

"I don't need pictures" certainly sounds high minded, but keep in mind Sanderson wrote and pitched this book from the beginning as an illustrated work. The illustrations are carefully designed and chosen as integral parts of the novel.

 

[dionysus]

Haha, well that doesn't exactly sell me on it.

You got one princess trying to rescue another. Also the princesses have some typical fantasy princess tropes. That is why I compared it to Disney. But there are male protagonists as well, and even the princess tropes are turned on their head.

It is good. Trust me.

 

[lightus]

Sanderson is one of those authors that I personally love, but I have a hard time recommending to people. He has clear faults, it just so happens that the stuff he struggles with isn't a big issue to me.

I'm currently working through the cosmer. Only have a few more books to go.

I loved Way of Kings enough that I actually went back and bought a signed hard copy after reading the paperback. (and my avatar is one of the characters, though it's not all that obvious)

Like others have said, if you're not in a huge hurry I'd recommend reading Warbreaker before getting to Words of Radiance. It's not a major thing, but it does raise a few questions you otherwise may have missed.