Reviews tagging 'War'

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

153 reviews

yrioona's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Meh. A competently put together genre tome. Very long, fairly cheesy, lots of fantasy racism. Consistently readable, but sometimes just barely. I think I would experience this as ~feeling~ mormon even if I didn't know Brandon Sanderson was mormon. Some of the worldbuilding details really stretch credibility (a currency system based on glass spheres of equal size???). I did appreciate all the critters though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, War, and Racism

smmartin22's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Slavery, Gore, and Xenophobia

daniche979's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This is a pretty amazing book, in a wildly complex world. Like most Sanderson books it can take a minute to get a grasp of what the heck is happening. 

There are LOTS of characters which can also get confusing especially with the interludes - which honestly were my least favorite parts. Additionally I didn't care about Kaladin's childhood stuff. 

But overall the main and even secondary characters are incredibly diverse and interesting. The focus is less on their growth (there is some here and there) and more on their interpersonal dynamics. And once certain storyline finally overlap - amazing. 

The pacing is overall pretty good especially for a book of this size. The action and politics are intriguing and the climax is fantastic and satisfying.

Can't wait for the next one. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Death, and Violence

nightrainfallsmoke1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

mathmagicalreader's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Classism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and War

pensandpicks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War

Moderate: Xenophobia, Slavery, Medical content, and Medical trauma

otakatoe3's review

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Genocide, Blood, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Racism, Colonisation, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and War

elizlizabeth's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.5

Can't say I'm a fan of Sanderson just by this but I can see the appeal. The characters are compelling and the ecology of this world makes sense for the most part. Battle scenes are plenty and well written, so if you like those here's your book.
I did have some issues with how the races are portrayed. Most of the criticism seems to focus on the light-dark eyes racism which is intentional but I do believe some comments made on the Parshmen/Parshendi were very much unintentional and made me feel a little offput.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Racism

katelynprice's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.5

Obviously, the world-building here is exceptional. I'm always into stories where individual strands connect and intertwine, so this book is right up my alley. I do think it took a bit too long to get to the end, though. I honestly think a good 200 pages could've been condensed, and then it might've been a full 5 stars, but the payoff in the end was glorious and worth the time and patience! Thank you, Brandon Sanderson, for confirming for me that I do indeed enjoy epic fantasy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Grief

Minor: Self harm

kaylatibbs's review

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racism, Death, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Murder, Classism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Child death, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Hate crime, Cursing, Ableism, Excrement, Medical content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt