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A review by aprilthebookqueen
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I really loved this book. I found it super intimidating to start due to its length, but I barely noticed because I was so invested in it.
I felt so lost at first. This does happen with Sanderson novels for me it seems. I hurt my brain trying to understand the world as it’s presented in the first few chapters and it just doesn’t ever work. But when it begins to come together? It’s magical.
There are three main pov’s in this one. All from different statuses in society which really allows you to get a good idea of how this all works. I also found myself invested in all three storylines. I’d have that moment of disappointed when they switched because I wanted to know what happened next but I’d get sucked into the next storyline so quickly and forget about it.
I love seeing the different relationships explored, from father/son in one storyline and mentor/student in another and the found family in the third storyline. You really get to see these relationships develop. While father/son is already an established relationship beforehand, you get to see the challenges they navigate and what they learn about each other and how that changes their relationship. The mentor/student was a fun storyline to watch, though for obvious reasons if you read, I was anxious from the beginning how that would end. But the found family we see explored is what really I really enjoyed the most. Seeing things change from a feeling of “neutrality” as in, you don’t care one way or the other about another to the way it ended was amazing and well done. I find it more interesting to see a relationship go from indifference to what I’d define as a mutual respect and love.
There’s a lot of themes explored in this one, and this would end up so long if I talked about them all. But I will say it’s a really thought provoking and interesting read. While it ends with questions and an eagerness for the next one, it also feels like it ends at a good enough point to feel satisfied with where it leaves off. (Which is good for me because the next one I’m reading in the Cosmere order isn’t the next one of these.)
I felt so lost at first. This does happen with Sanderson novels for me it seems. I hurt my brain trying to understand the world as it’s presented in the first few chapters and it just doesn’t ever work. But when it begins to come together? It’s magical.
There are three main pov’s in this one. All from different statuses in society which really allows you to get a good idea of how this all works. I also found myself invested in all three storylines. I’d have that moment of disappointed when they switched because I wanted to know what happened next but I’d get sucked into the next storyline so quickly and forget about it.
I love seeing the different relationships explored, from father/son in one storyline and mentor/student in another and the found family in the third storyline. You really get to see these relationships develop. While father/son is already an established relationship beforehand, you get to see the challenges they navigate and what they learn about each other and how that changes their relationship. The mentor/student was a fun storyline to watch, though for obvious reasons if you read, I was anxious from the beginning how that would end. But the found family we see explored is what really I really enjoyed the most. Seeing things change from a feeling of “neutrality” as in, you don’t care one way or the other about another to the way it ended was amazing and well done. I find it more interesting to see a relationship go from indifference to what I’d define as a mutual respect and love.
There’s a lot of themes explored in this one, and this would end up so long if I talked about them all. But I will say it’s a really thought provoking and interesting read. While it ends with questions and an eagerness for the next one, it also feels like it ends at a good enough point to feel satisfied with where it leaves off. (Which is good for me because the next one I’m reading in the Cosmere order isn’t the next one of these.)