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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
Another highly recommended author from a friend of mine, Brandon Sanderson’s high fantasy novel is brilliantly descriptive and yet balances the ability to not become boggy beautifully. This was my first Sanderson read (it was a weekend of Author firsts for me it seems) and as some of you know I have always been a fan of high fantasy – satisfying a subconscious need for imagination. This book itself was a bit of slow read which is to be expected by the way Sanderson laid out the groundwork of such an in-depth series and with his descriptive writing style. I am looking forward to completing the second part of The Way of Kings.
Thanks,
Luke A. Rigby
(Excerpt from the 'Luke's In The Know' Newsletter)
Thanks,
Luke A. Rigby
(Excerpt from the 'Luke's In The Know' Newsletter)
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Slow-going. Put it down in July after reading and reading it with no appreciable dent.
I'm happy to report that September reaped a more profitable read. But Shallan still reads like an insufferably self-importany prick, and Dhalinar as an insufferably morose sadboi - but I think im warming to them. Looking forward to Part 2!
I'm happy to report that September reaped a more profitable read. But Shallan still reads like an insufferably self-importany prick, and Dhalinar as an insufferably morose sadboi - but I think im warming to them. Looking forward to Part 2!
adventurous
slow-paced
Es lässt sich im Grunde zusammenfassen mit "Das ist sehr viel Text für sehr wenig Handlung". Viel Text ist kein grundsätzliches Problem für mich, aber hier schlägt sich das wenig in den Charakteren (recht eindimensional), der Handlung (ließe sich auf wenigen Seiten zusammenfassen) oder dem World building (entweder man ertrinkt in Details oder wird mit einer Tatsache völlig allein gelassen) nieder. Zu dem nicht besonders ausgefeilten Schreibstil kommen dann noch eine schlechte Übersetzung und ein quasi nicht vorhandenes Lektorat. Wir verfolgen die Handlung aus der Sicht unterschiedlicher Charaktere, wobei die Verteilung sehr ungleichmäßig und auch in ihrer Anordnung wenig schlüssig ist. Das ist schade, denn die zugrunde liegende Idee und auch das magic system finde ich sehr spannend, aber so war das Buch einfach nur sehr langatmig und langweilig.
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this is a very slow book, which makes sense because we are setting up a big, epic fantasy series… and I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface of the series storyline… it has a lot of potential and I am very curious about where everything is going and how the plotlines will merge.
my favorite POV was Kaladin's and then Shallan's (although it did take me a little bit to get into it)… every other POVs were a bit boring and not as interesting for me… but, once again, I am curious to see how everything will come together. some chapters were harder than others and I was hoping this would be as good as the Mistborn series for me but it isn't quite there yet… but I'm excited to keep reading.
my favorite POV was Kaladin's and then Shallan's (although it did take me a little bit to get into it)… every other POVs were a bit boring and not as interesting for me… but, once again, I am curious to see how everything will come together. some chapters were harder than others and I was hoping this would be as good as the Mistborn series for me but it isn't quite there yet… but I'm excited to keep reading.
I've been meaning to start this series for a long time and now after reading the first (half of the) first book it was... fine?
When reading The Way of Kings I was waiting all the time to be hooked and suddenly have a moment where I just 'got it' and saw why this book has the exceptional reviews and adoring fans it does but it just never caught me in the same way other fantasy series like Game of Thrones and the Witcher did.
In trying to understand my lack of interest I came up with two potential reasons.
First, I think my preference for big picture and ideas based fantasy narratives is at odds with the more character focused style of Sanderson with a large amount of the narrative focusing on the pursuits of a few core characters and their individual pursuits. In contrast I would say Game of Thrones is far more about the conflict within the world GRRM created and less about the individual characters, although they too are well developed, and the Witcher, while highly character orientated always diminished the role of these characters in the greater scheme of the world or deduced them to being of use to other entities. None of this is a critique of Sanderson's who spends more time developing the individuals within his stories and evidentially this is popular with other readers but just isn't my cup of tea. Similarly, I was never fully sold on Sanderson's style of writing, again a personal preference, and I feel this created a distance and disconnect between me and this book at times.
Overall, this is not a bad book and I probably will continue it at some stage but due to the financial and time commitments required to complete a series with such enormous books, I think I will try other series first before committing to it.
When reading The Way of Kings I was waiting all the time to be hooked and suddenly have a moment where I just 'got it' and saw why this book has the exceptional reviews and adoring fans it does but it just never caught me in the same way other fantasy series like Game of Thrones and the Witcher did.
In trying to understand my lack of interest I came up with two potential reasons.
First, I think my preference for big picture and ideas based fantasy narratives is at odds with the more character focused style of Sanderson with a large amount of the narrative focusing on the pursuits of a few core characters and their individual pursuits. In contrast I would say Game of Thrones is far more about the conflict within the world GRRM created and less about the individual characters, although they too are well developed, and the Witcher, while highly character orientated always diminished the role of these characters in the greater scheme of the world or deduced them to being of use to other entities. None of this is a critique of Sanderson's who spends more time developing the individuals within his stories and evidentially this is popular with other readers but just isn't my cup of tea. Similarly, I was never fully sold on Sanderson's style of writing, again a personal preference, and I feel this created a distance and disconnect between me and this book at times.
Overall, this is not a bad book and I probably will continue it at some stage but due to the financial and time commitments required to complete a series with such enormous books, I think I will try other series first before committing to it.
Possibly the best fantasy series starter I have ever read. If not the best fantasy *book* I have ever read... Straight on to Part 2!
WOW.
I've been hearing great things about Brandon Sanderson for ages, but I was pretty much blown away (ha!) by what awaited me in the Stormlight Archives.
It's not a book for people who need a novel to hook them instantly with the plot, but if you have the patience to discover the world and its characters, you're rewarded with some of the best worldbuilding I've ever seen. It's a great example of showing rather than telling - one thing I hate about fantasy or sci-fi novels is when you have to log through page after page of “how this world works“. Here, the world is explained and described so slowly I was sometimes startled to see how much I already knew. It can be a bit confusing at first, but it reminded me a bit of the first hours of playing an RPG, where you're runnung around learning how everything works.
The plot takes a while to get going, but while there is one and I assume the threads will be pulled together as the books progress, I also loved how it was more about having things happen in this world rather than just having things happen. Actually, to use another video game analogy, it felt like an open world game where it takes a bit to start the main quest.
Unlike certain video games, however, I am very eager to see how the main quest goes, so I can't wait to read volume two.
I was really surprised by how much I loved this, and it made me fall in love with fantasy all over again, because WOW.
I've been hearing great things about Brandon Sanderson for ages, but I was pretty much blown away (ha!) by what awaited me in the Stormlight Archives.
It's not a book for people who need a novel to hook them instantly with the plot, but if you have the patience to discover the world and its characters, you're rewarded with some of the best worldbuilding I've ever seen. It's a great example of showing rather than telling - one thing I hate about fantasy or sci-fi novels is when you have to log through page after page of “how this world works“. Here, the world is explained and described so slowly I was sometimes startled to see how much I already knew. It can be a bit confusing at first, but it reminded me a bit of the first hours of playing an RPG, where you're runnung around learning how everything works.
The plot takes a while to get going, but while there is one and I assume the threads will be pulled together as the books progress, I also loved how it was more about having things happen in this world rather than just having things happen. Actually, to use another video game analogy, it felt like an open world game where it takes a bit to start the main quest.
Unlike certain video games, however, I am very eager to see how the main quest goes, so I can't wait to read volume two.
I was really surprised by how much I loved this, and it made me fall in love with fantasy all over again, because WOW.