The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, The) (original: 2010; edição: 2011)

The massive Stormlight Archives series has been on my radar for years. I finally committed to tackling the first book. At more than 1,000 pages I hoped it would be worth the effort. I'll admit it takes quite a while to get into the rhythm of the novel.

The story rotates between the points of view of Kaladin (trained by his father as a surgeon, now a lowly soldier), Shallan (attempting to study under Jasnah, but secretly plotting to steal from her), Szeth (an assassin bound to serve his master), Dalinar Kholin (a warrior plagued by visions), and several other minor characters, who lead seemingly unconnected lives. There is a lot of battle scenes, which became tiresome. But I loved the character development in between those sections. Shallan's story was my favorite through most of the book. As the book went on I began to see the connections and all of the main characters became interesting. Halfway through I wasn't sure I was loving it, but by the end, I couldn't put it down.

The second book is even longer, but I'm looking forward to it now that I understand the complicated world and am already familiar with the characters. The author created a fascinating and layered epic fantasy world where politics are shady and alliances constantly shift. There is religion, morality, competition, class warfare, assassins, and so much more to discover. I'm hoping the farther I get into the series, the more I'll enjoy it. ( )

I made the mistake of stopping too long while reading this book. Will have to reattempt some other time when I can focus on barreling through it without distraction.

This is a brilliant start to a fantastic fantasy tale. It is not immediately an easy read because there are many characters, and time lines, to puzzle together for the reader. We have warriors, children, kings and assassins, learned and pupils.

I always find it hard to describe what really grips me in a book, but some books you just want to follow a little longer, just one more page or chapter as the sun sets, the neighbours turn out their lights and the sound of traffic fades. This book became such a book half way through.

The risk for spoilers really prevent me from writing more, but if you like Sanderson's other books, or Jordan's first books, or the start of A Song of Ice and Fire, I am pretty sure you will find much to like in this book. ( )

While this book started off really good and is amazing well written, at the end it felt a bit like a let down as the whole usual the underdog gets the powers, the people that need to survive survive and all is well. It is not bad, and actually very good, better than Mistborn, but still I felt that it could have been so much better. ( )

Fantastically detailed worldbuilding. Very much an introduction to a world and series, a lot of ground-paving, and no real superlative characters, but highly enjoyable for those who like epic fantasy. ( )