The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson

   2010; 1,252 pages.  Book #1 (out of 3) of the Stormlight Archives series.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Epic Fantasy; Military Fantasy; Sword & Sorcery.  Laurels: 2010 Whitney Award – Best Novel (winner); 2010 Whitney Award – Best Speculative Fiction (winner); 2011 David Gemmell Legend Award (winner); 2010 Goodreads Choice Award – Best Fantasy Novel (nominated).  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

    The Radiants have fled, abandoning the world to whatever fate the gods have ordained for it.  Of course, the Voidbringers are gone as well, although no one seems to know exactly why they  left and where they went.  This all happened eons ago, so it’s also possible that the Radiants and Voidbringers never existed at all, they’re merely legends concocted  over the centuries.

    Meanwhile the land of Roshar carries on without divine interference.  Kingdoms war with one another for land, power, and the precious gemstones and shards.  Even when a realm isn’t trying to invade some foreign land, its highprinces still pass the time fighting each other.

    Alethkar is one of the stronger kingdoms in Roshar, but it is fragmented into a dozen or so separate fiefdoms,  Each is ruled by its own Brightlord, and each refuses to cooperate in any way with any other brightlord.  They pay lip-service  to the King, but will only come to his aid if the kingdom as a whole is threatened.

    It would of course be beneficial to unite into one force and sweep over the neighboring lands in a wave of conquest.  But that would mean trusting each other and bowing to the king.

    Fat chance of that ever happening.

What’s To Like...

    The Way of Kings is the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series, “The Stormlight Archives”.  It is planned to be a 10-book series; but so far just the first three have been published.  The book’s style is similar to the author’s “Mistborn” trilogy: a sweeping tale of Sword-&-Sorcery; an extensively detailed world; a gazillion characters to meet and greet; and a complex and well-developed magic system.

    For the most part, the story chronicles the lives of three protagonists, each of which is struggling to come to grips with the overriding theme of The Way of Kings, “Honor above all else.”  That may seem like a straightforward concept, but Brandon Sanderson devises a diabolical set of situational ethics for each one.

    Kaladin is a doomed bridgeman, who paradoxically lives a charmed life.  He defies death in every circumstance, but those around him, whom he loves and cares for, all seem to die in his place.  Shallan is charged with saving the well-being of her family, but it will come at a cost of betraying the trust of someone she’s grown to respect and cherish.  Dalinar is a ruler, but has to decide if his devotion to a chivalrous Code of Honor is worth it when all those around him perceive him at best as a coward, and at worst as a lunatic.

    Three of the secondary characters are worth mentioning.  Syl is a sprite-like companion of Kaladin, who helps him through his dark times and learns from him about how self-contradictory humans can be.  Szeth is forced to obey every wish and command by whoever happens to possess the magic fabrial he's linked to.  And although Wit is presently relegated to being a court jester, it's obvious that isn’t his true calling.  For now, he supplies some much-appreciated witty repartee to the storyline, but I foresee bigger things for him as the series progresses.

    I enjoyed the philosophy debates between Shallan and Jasnah, chuckled at the discourse about Romance novels of pages 156-57, and liked the mention of an opiate called “firemoss”.  I was impressed with the author’s innovative way of introducing instant-messaging into a sword-&-sorcery setting.  I’ll leave it to you to guess how he accomplished that; I thought it was quite clever.

    The ending is superb, with everything building steadily to an exciting, protracted, and action-packed battle.  There are a couple chapters of 'epilogue’ content after that, and they are also quite enlightening.  At book's end, Szeth, Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin all reach pivotal points in their lives, and their futures are altered irrevocably.  This is not a cliffhanger ending, but there is a plethora of plot threads still unresolved that will whet your appetite for the sequel, Words of Radiance.  All  1328 pages of it.

Kewlest New Word...

Heliodor (n.) : a clear yellow variety of beryl used as a gemstone.

Excerpts...

    “Why did your father want to make a treaty with the Parshendi?” Shallan found herself asking as she walked.

    “Why wouldn’t he want to?”

    “That’s not an answer.”

    “Of course it is.  It’s just not one that tells you anything.”

    “It would help, Brightness, if you would give me a useful answer.”

    “Then ask a useful question.”  (pg. 653)

    Kaladin turned toward the stranger.  His flute was carved from a dark wood that was almost black.  The instrument seemed too ordinary to belong to a lighteyes, yet the man held it reverently.

   “What are you doing here,” Kaladin asked.

    “Sitting.  Occasionally playing.”

    “I mean, why are you here?”

    “Why am I here?” the man said, lowering his flute, leaning back and relaxing.  “Why are any of us here?  That’s a rather deep question for a first meeting, young bridgeman.  I generally prefer introductions before theology.  Lunch too, if it can be found.  Perhaps a nice nap.  Actually, practically anything should come before theology.  But especially introductions.”

    “All right,” Kaladin said.  “And you are …?”

    “Sitting.  Occasionally playing … with the minds of bridgemen.”  (pg. 997)

 “Respect is like manure.  Use it where needed, and growth will flourish.  Spread it on too thick, and things start to smell.”  (pg. 141)

    My quibbles about The Way of Kings are minor.  There are two maps in the front of the book, one of Roshar (which apparently is a supercontinent), the other of Alethkar.  But neither is particularly user-friendly when one is trying to determine the location of some city or kingdom cited in the book.  The Roshar map is particularly difficult, since it is spread over two pages and therefore has a huge crease running down its middle.  I read the mass-marketing paperback version, perhaps the Hardcover maps are better.

    There are short quotes of “final words of dying people” at the start of most of the chapters, but they were uninspiring.  But their significance is explained late in the book (page 1222), which means they will probably make a lot more sense in the sequel.  More importantly, there is no “Names and Terms” section at the back of the book, which is vital when you have dozens upon dozens of characters to keep track of.  I’d normally chalk this up to the whim of the author, but jeez, Mr. Sanderson, sir, you had a “Names and Terms” section in the Mistborn trilogy!

    Finally, keep in mind that religion plays a significant part in any Brandon Sanderson novel, and that’s true here.  He can occasionally tend towards “preachiness” at times (see chapter 33), but at least he isn't overbearing about it.

    9 Stars.  The incredibly high ratings that The Way of Kings gets at both Amazon and Goodreads are fully deserved.  My only concern is the pace of the publishing.  Next August will mark the ninth anniversary of Book One, with just two more installments added since then.  At this rate, it will be another 15-20 years before the series is finished.  Shades of Robert Jordan's WoT!!  That’s a long span of time.