Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

95 reviews

merrow's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

The world building is wonderfully paced and spread out through the book, letting you learn things piece by piece. The characters feel very well driven, and individual. Cool concepts and a good balance between action, politics, and information.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide

b_silver's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.0

Reviewing this book is so hard. I want to give it a 5 star. But I can’t. Because the first 500 pages of this book were such a slog to get through.

I was bored by Dalinar’s and Shallan’s chapters. I thought the whole war plot with the Parshendi felt generic and boring. I was so tempted to put the book down and move on. But the one thing that kept me going was Kaladin.

Kaladin is one of the most compelling fantasy characters I’ve ever seen. His backstory is heartbreaking. He has so much depth. He’s just so likable. I had to know where his story ended up. And thats what kept me going.

By the time I got to the end of Part 3 (which is around the 700 page mark), I was hooked. My opinion on Dalinar and Shallan flipped. And I binge read to the end.

I know people say you have to give this book a chance to hook you in, and it takes time to get into. But it shouldn’t take 700 pages to do so. That’s why I can’t give this book a perfect score. But it was still incredible, and I’m fully invested in the story now. Can’t wait to dive into book 2. 4/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

scifi_rat's review against another edition

adventurous tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mattiedancer's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

Writing: 5⭐️/5 

I think Sanderson’s writing is outstanding. Rich descriptions, beautiful dialogue, and stunningly crafted characters all twine together in this novel to create some truly decadent writing. Even the fight scenes were wonderfully written, as Sanderson has a way of describing the action without the details becoming tangled in the movement. 

Characters: 5⭐️/5

Sanderson could write a spin-off about probably any character in this series, and I would care enough to read it. Every character feels real in this book. 

Plot: 5⭐️/5 

The plot and the world in this novel are stunning. I loved learning about the world, and I loved the stories that were explored throughout. It’s a long novel, and yet the pacing is perfect, taking the time to explain each moment that needs explaining. Ugh, I just want to dive into it again.

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Someone looking for a remarkable high-fantasy series
• Someone who likes Brandon Sanderson
• Readers looking for a fantasy series with stunning writing

Content Warnings? 

• War, violence, blood, slavery, mental illness, suicide, suicidal thoughts, classism, grief, murder, injury, injury detail, vomit

Post-Reading Rating:  5⭐️/5

Love, love, love. Where has Sanderson been all this time? 

Final Rating: 5⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

theinkwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

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

4.0

That was… a lot. Definitely not an instant favorite, but still a worthwhile read. I have to say, there’s so much worldbuilding for such a large world that I got so confused at times and honestly felt kind of stupid (and still do). I liked our three main POVs, although Dalinar and Kaladin kind of feel like alternate universe versions of the same character, especially with their internal struggles. I also kind of feel like most of the interludes (except for Szeth’s) were kind of unnecessary and made the worldbuilding more confusing because they draw in narratives from different parts of Roshar other than the ones that relate to the main plot and don’t really seem to connect to or add anything to our main storyline. But it also may just be a bit of an issue with adjustment to Sanderson’s writing style, since it’s the first book of his I’ve read. I think I’ll probably continue with this series (since I have basically no idea what to expect in the next books), although maybe not until all the books are out so I won’t have to take a couple months of rereading each time a new book comes out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and War

Minor: Mental illness

ashley_mrose530's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Honestly, this book is nothing short of spectacular. I would give this more than 5 stars if I could. The pacing is amazing, the writing is perfectly simple but also captivating, and the characters are all lovable. I think this is definitely a great book for anyone who is looking to get into epic high fantasy. It drops you right in, in a good way. There's always going to be a little bit of confusion with a high fantasy as you try to get a sense of the world, but this book gave you just enough so you could understand and not be bored but also didn't overwhelm you with all of the information all at once. The world building was so seamless and well thought out and I loved learning about the magic system and the different species of humans.
I loved all of the characters even the more minor ones. They were all so well developed and had such distinct personalities. I even loved the one who was killing everyone and will be seen as the "bad guy". They all had a lot of depth throughout the book and stood out as individuals. I rooted for every single one of them to get what they wanted.
I also really liked the pacing of this book. Like I said, it does drop you in like right away with a character who is killing people as he's trying to kill a king, so it starts off on a high note which I think was a great way to start because when that was over you were completely ready to slow down and get a deeper sense of the world that you needed in order to move on. But the book itself was also separated into parts with interludes in between. I really enjoyed that it took a step back from the main story with those and added a side story to give you more information about the world and how it works without inundating you with exposition. It really worked with the pacing of the novel as a whole.
So yeah this was definitely a 10/10 read and I will be recommending it to anyone who is interested in high fantasy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Self harm, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Classism

jeffjk's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

A solid fantasy epic that feels like a puzzle box you can untangle with enough careful attention. The characters are people I want to know or be, just exceptionally well-made lil people.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism

ekcd_'s review

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism

lakinglaze's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I’m officially obsessed, yet again, with another Brandon Sanderson book! The magic system, the world building, the characters — it’s all just incredibly perfect!! I am going to consume this series so quickly and I absolutely can’t wait!! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mads_reads_books's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and War