The Way of Kings by Brandon SandersonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have read The Way of Kings multiple times both the Hardcover and in ebook format, I decided in my re-read preparation for book 2 in the series that I would give the audiobook a try.
I tend to prefer reading to audio books, but some narrators are just so good that they add something to the books, and this is definitely the case with Kate Reading and Michael Kramer.
There is so much to The way of Kings by Sanderson, he has really taken the Epic Fantasy series to another level with this book, it feels epic, but it also feels new.
Sanderson manages to avoid much of what makes first books in a series slow and difficult to get into.
He manages to weave in the info dumps, backstory and worldbuilding in ways that make it part of the story, where you realize after you have read that it has been there but is less obvious. Where he can not do that, he has included interludes, short stories of side characters that give a look into different parts of the world without adding 100 major POV characters, or bogging down the main story.
My original review after the first read:
The Way of Kings by Brandon SandersonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Engaging and epic. For a first book in a proposed 10 book series, The Way of Kings delivers. Brandon Sanderson has created interesting characters that are real, that you grow to like over the span of this 1000+ page book.
Brandon has created a fantasy world without all of the fantasy standards. It was a pleasure to read the description of a world lacking medieval european rolling hills and castles.
This "non-orphan becomes the savior of the world" fantasy will appeal to non-fantasy readers as well. I have already placed this book on the shelf with my re-reads, I plan to enter this world again.
Links:
Brandon Sanderson
Read Sample Chapters
17th Shard: the official Brandon Sanderson fan site, and Wiki and Forums.
Art work and maps from The Way of Kings.
Amazing cover art by Michael Whelan:
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