The Stormlight Archive. Oh how I have tried to read you on more than a handful of occasions. With some encouragement from friends, and a final surge of nerdy determination, I dove headfirst into book one: The Way Of Kings.
The Way Of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is the first book in a series that is slated for no fewer than 10 novels. It is the very definition of epic fantasy, clocking in at 1007 pages. Fantasy veterans may scoff at such a large book. Anything smaller than 800 pages is basically a pamphlet right? I thought so too. I confidently screamed my way through The Wheel of Time, sprinted through the so-called slump, and read the legendary 214 page chapter in a single sitting. Sanderson finished that series and it was a fantastic end to a fantastic series. Surely Stormlight would be the same?
Ehhh unfortunately not for me. I tried reading The Way Of Kings three or four times before I finally muscled through and got to the end. It was a struggle. It is a slow book, putting the slump in The Wheel of Time to shame. By Sanderson’s own admission, there are several “false starts” at the beginning, and for me it felt a bit too jarring. It goes from big weapons, assassinations, and cool battles to a very mopey main character and many many chapters of a whole lot of not a lot going on. I’m sure there is an argument that there is plenty of character development and intrigue going on, and that’s certainly true to an extent, but it is glacial.
There are moments, particularly towards the end, that are epic in every sense of the word. I’ve always been fond of selfless characters and sacrifice, and this book scratches that itch in a beautiful and satisfying way. I only wish it didn’t take literally 900 pages to get there. That is but one of a handful of resolutions at the end of the book and the others felt a bit bland and forgettable for me.
I would describe The Way Of Kings as a decent prologue. It sets up the world quite well and introduces our main PoV characters, including their motivations and challenges. But as a series I’m not convinced I’ll continue with it. I have started book two, but unsurprisingly it’s the same glacial pace and my friends inform me with more than a little glee that The Way Of Kings is the fast one.
Perhaps I’ll come back to the series at some point, or branch out into other parts of Sanderson’s work. The Final Empire (Mistborne book 1) was a decent read, so I’m sure I’ll have some luck elsewhere in his extraordinary catalogue. If nothing else, I have to commend him for his unbelievable writing consistency.