![]() And, while war is one of the central themes of the book, descriptions of battles and war do not dominate the narrative. Wars exist on the planet among them over the power and dominance brought by the magical weapons known as Shardblades and Shardplates. The book describes and develops half a dozen interesting and well defined fictional races. Speaking of the weather, the environment and particularly the atmosphere of the planet and how the geology, flora and fauna have evolved within the influence of extreme weather is integral to the storyline. They particularly seem to appear when “change” happens and it is at least at this point in the series difficult to know if they are responsible for, contribute to or are just present when changes in anything from one’s health to the weather occur. They were for me various types of conscious energy or spirit-like entities that were part of or associated with almost everything on the planet including specific kinds of thoughts and emotions, wellness and sickness, life and death. But among my favorite and central characters were a peasant, apprentice surgeon named Kaladin and a spren named Syl with whom Kal has a rather magical and symbiotic relationship. Frankly, I think that Szeth is a metaphor for many of us and our behavior. ![]() How’s that for a crazy mixed-up contradiction. One of the most interesting characters, one named Szeth, is a peace-loving believer in nonviolence but is also an ultimate, ninja-like assassin who hates to but is forced to kill and cries each time that he does. I became totally invested in each character and cared for everyone of the good guys and even some of the bad ones. While constructed of multiple arcs, the writing is completely straight forward, accessible and easy to follow. It’s all there, a wide range of human thought and emotion. The writing contains wit and charm, adventure and philosophy, comedy and pathos. The book was totally gripping and absorbing. Personally, for me, it ended all too soon. Coming in at over 45 hours on audiobook or over 1000 pages in print, for some TWoK might seem too lengthy. This is Book 1 of the Stormlight Archive. The Way of Kings was well worth the price and promises to be one of the best ever series by Sanderson or any SF/Fantasy author. I avoided The Way of Kings because of its Audible 2 credit price but finally caved because I had lusted so long for something so good as Mistborn. I was totally captivated by the story and its writing. My first books by Sanderson were those of the Mistborn Trilogy. I gave up on the Robert Jordan Wheel of Time series by Volume 5 so never got to Brandon Sanderson’s concluding contributions to that series. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. The result of more than 10 years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.Īnd return to men the Shards they once bore. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.Īcross the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. In a war that makes no sense, where 10 armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.īrightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. Wars were fought for them and won by them. It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. ![]() From number one New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of the Stormlight Archive, begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |