I have liked Brandon Sanderson since his first book was published, his detailed worlds, original magic systems, and the way he weaves his magic and character development so firmly into the world in fantastic stories. Mistborn is one of the best series I have read in recent times, Elantris was fantastic, and Warbreaker was wonderfully epic. I love the way he consistently turns the genre on its head. And now, after working on completing Robert Jordan’s (nothing if not genre conventional) Wheel of Time series, Sanderson turns in the first volume of his own vast world spanning fantasy epic.
And it is good.
His writing is crisp and clear, not overly flowery but it reads really smoothly. The language subtly reflects the character of the viewpoint characters as well as the world and culture of the story, most notably Sanderson manages to really capture the flavor in the passages he quotes from the titular fictional book “the Way of Kings”. The characters themselves are well rounded, motivated by subtle shades of their pasts and they act in real and surprising ways. They each have their own secrets, their own past and motivations as well as complex morals and personal struggles.The way that character back-story is woven into the main narrative is masterfully handled and finely paced, trickling out the details throughout the narrative so we learn their motivations for their present actions just as they become necessary, in whole it makes the characters exceptionally deep and engaging.
The structure of the novel itself is somewhat original in that it is broken up into discrete sections called “books” with each “book” dedicated to the stories of 2-4 of the 4 primary viewpoint characters which are themselves participating in three separate story arcs that take place in different locations and slowly connect into a masterfully epic plot. Between each of these “books” are Interludes, consisting of character vignettes that take place in other parts of the world, with other characters, one of which runs parallel to the main story and builds in a way that makes it clearly part of the overarching plot of the series that this book establishes. Each of these little vignettes gives details to some part of the world, or other characters, or the overarching plot. Despite the number of viewpoint characters and the distance of the interludes to the main story, unlike many other epic fantasy works I have read that had different viewpoint characters (such as Wheel of Time) this book managed to balance the viewpoints and make each character engaging enough that I did not ever feel frustrated by the viewpoint switch.
The world itself and the magic is original while at the same time playing with some recognizable tropes. Yes we are in a medieval-ish society (with access to relics of long lost magic) that is organized into a feudal system, but the world itself has been shaped by the Highstorms, magically powerful storms that sweep across the land, and the detail of the adaptations of the world, and society to these storms is just fascinating. Every detail seems to have been thought out, from the political system, the history, the storms, the magic and how it all comes together. The magic actually has a cost (in stormlight, or gemstones infused with stormlight as the case may be) and the economic implications of practical gemstones is even taken into consideration, emeralds become the most valuable because they can be used to transmute stone into organic material and even food, and this makes is easy for a well funded army to travel far beyond their supply lines. Everything comes together in the story.
While the novel balances viewpoints, character backgrounds, and world-building it is at the same time playing out scenes of well paced action alongside deep character interactions, secretive political intrigues, and some startlingly deep philosophical discussions. This is not only an epic tale, but it also serves as a practical exploration of leadership; discussing the use of law and order, morality of justice, and what right men have to lead others. And it isn’t just a surface discussion, it raises some very deep points.
All together it is a massive, detailed and well-written work that comes together in an climax. And even at 1000 pages and a self-sufficient story in its own right it feels like it is a wonderful epic prologue setting up an even wider story, and it left me wanting the rest. The Way of Kings reminds me of the Wheel of Time in some ways, but it is certainly better then any individual work of that series, more finely crafted, more original and more insightful. It also made me think at times of Dune, and I found that it compared favorably even there, the character development was more personal, and the scope even larger.
The one concern I have stems from the revelation that the “almighty creator” was just a fallible man and the hints of dualism underpinning the cosmology. But I can’t fully judge the cosmology until it has been more fully revealed.