1st Reread [June 2024]: First time it took me 8 months to finish.  Second time it took me 8 days.  This is one of the greatest things I've ever read.  I just love this book so much (can't you tell?) 😭


Original Review + Rating [December 2022]: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I started reading this book eight months ago (back in April). I just finished it last week (at the beginning of December). This book is LONG. I also admit, it was a little intimidating to me, as a slow reader (thank goodness for Michael Kramer and Kate Reading). At 1000+ pages, this is the longest Fiction book I've ever read. And the font size of my Trade Paperback copy isn't what I'd call large. Those 1000 pages were no joke. On top of that, often than not, I was focusing on other books and reading this one on the side. I finally convinced myself--- at the halfway mark ---that it was time to turn all my reading attention to finishing this one. I finished the last 500 pages in under two weeks.

This book was AMAZING. Sanderson's worldbuilding, magic systems, story, characters, and plot twists were top-notch. The book starts off slow, but for good reason--- it kicks off an eventual ten-book Epic Fantasy series. There is a lot to set up, and not one of these 1000+ pages were wasted. Szeth's prologue is what got me completely invested in this book (it has become one of my favorite chapters in any book period).  You will not be disappointed by the ending of this book.  It was both extremely emotional and insanely epic.  Things wrapped up very well, and yet I was still dying to start book two. This is exactly the conclusion I like to come to at the end of my books.

There were three main POVs in this novel: Kaladin's, Dalinar's, and Shallan's~~~ 

•Dalinar is my absolute favorite character in The Way of Kings (I don't know when and how that happened, but it happened). He's just such a good guy. I wasn't expecting to like this guy as much as I did. I loved how he tried to live honorably even when those around him did not. I loved his relationship with Adolin and how that grew and changed throughput the course of the novel. The ending of his portion of the story was SO satisfying (seriously, this guy is just the epitome of honorable). I was honestly sad when we had to take breaks from his POV to go back to Shallan chapters (nothing against Shallan). I am so ready to get to Dalinar's book (Oathbringer).

 •Kaladin's story was so sad, and yet so inspiring. He was the true Main Character of the book (as we got his backstory and primarily his chapters in this one). I loved his instinct to protect and form attachments. His lack of trust and his tendency towards depression made me feel so bad for him (especially once I learned the context for all of that). Kaladin's struggles and insecurities felt so real. He was so well written.
 I can't talk about Kaladin without mentioning Bridge Four. I fell in love with Bridge Four. After having read Elantris earlier in the year, their story reminded me a lot of Raoden and his sector of the prison city he dubbed "New Elantris". This was a very welcome thing. I loved seeing New Elantris grow. I do think Bridge Four did what they did even better. It was a blast getting to know these guys and to see how they gradually came together as a real team. Out of the bunch, I think my absolute favorites were Teft (our lovable old grumpy fellow), Sigzil (Michael Kramer's narration for his voice reminded me of Sazed from Mistborn, and I loved him because of that) and Moash (this dude grew a lot throughout the book, and I loved it) . I'm so, so excited to be continuing Bridge Four's story in Words of Radiance (so far, I am not disappointed).

•And then we come to Shallan. If I'm being honest here, she wasn't my favorite. She was the weakest of the three in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, she was still very well written and interesting in her own right, but I found myself wanting to just get through her chapters to get back to Bridge Four and back to the Kholins. Shallan just didn't stand out to me as much as Dalinar and Kaladin. Hopefully this will soon change. Words of Radiance will be Shallan's book, and I'm optimistic that that's when she'll start to click in my mind.  (Edit upon rereads: yes, Shallan gets better.)

A word on Sanderson's writing here. This book was art (and I'm not just referring to the beautifully done cover and interior illustrations). Sanderson is not one to generally use flowery and elegant prose. Instead, he tells his stories in a very simple, everyday sort of manner (which is one thing I love about his writing). That said, this book was a bit more elegant than normal. It truly felt "epic" in its writing (giving me LOtR vibes at times). There were also so many quotable moments (so much so that I was admittedly half tempted to underline in my copy of The Way of Kings even though I NEVER write in my Fiction books). You can definitely see Sanderson's growth as a writer between Mistborn: The Final Empire and The Way of Kings. Both are excellent novels, but I agree with Sanderson that The Way of Kings is probably his best book.

I'm calling it now, The Stormlight Archive is going to be a classic for the Fantasy genre one day. The Way of Kings is one of my best reads of the year, and I am so glad I pushed myself to finish before the end of 2022. It was slow going, my finishing of this book, but it was SO worth it. Rating this one five stars doesn't do it justice. It is just on a whole new level. I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend this to any and all fans of large-scale Epic Fantasy. It is so rare that I read a fantasy novel that makes me feel good on a Lord of the Rings level. The Way of Kings is one of those rare books.

this was my first fantasy series and i absolutely loved it! 

The world building and magic system in this book is amazing. Sanderson truly shines in those two areas. It was pretty slow paced and you don't learn how things work and the full implications of what's going on around the characters until the very end and even then you're left with lots of questions. Absolutely set up for a sequel and I will read the next one, but I think I need a bit of a break first lol

I do not normally write out book reviews, but this is seriously one of the best books I have ever read and cannot stop thinking about it. 

The Way of Kings is an aptly named book. Although it follows several different characters with very different (though connected) stories, this book is about honor above all else. To take responsibility and do what is right over what is easy or personally advantageous. The amount of true introspection, courage, and sacrifice exhibited by the characters admittedly moved me to tears. 

This is indeed a long book, but to experience the rollercoasters of the incredibly well-crafted character arcs is absolutely worth every single page. Watching these characters struggle and come to grips with their situations is truly inspiring and, as only the best books do, has made me feel less powerless in the world. 

Apart from the characters, the world-building is just as incredible as other Sanderson books. Roshar is an incredibly rich and diverse place, and I am looking forward to learning more about the various cultures in the next book. There were also a number of plot twists presented at the very end that are making me so impatient to start Words of Radiance. 

Wow. Holy shit. Ok I get what you were all talking about now. 

It started slow, but Sanderson's storytelling was frankly immaculate and he weaved all the threads together with precision and care. Kaladin was a firm favourite from the get go, Shallan is a character archetype I adore (I'm a forever student at heart and so seeing characters in any learning environment is my jam) plus her whole dilemma and how she deals with Jasnah was wonderful to watch grow and blossom. Dalinar was a slow burn but grew on me, his dry wit and blunt nature plus the inherent vulnerability in having a POV character deeply question their sanity meant I couldn't help but love him. Also loved Wit after seeing him

as Hoid in Tress of the Emerald Sea

, he made me snort my tea from laughing. 

The audiobook narrators were phenomenal, genuinely no idea why people were bitching about Kate Reading so much (maybe it's a marmite thing but I adored how she read Shallan). There were like one or two things I thought maybe needed a biiiiit more breathing room (for example I do not for one second believe Jasnah would have forgiven Shallan so quickly at the end there) but also for pacing sake I understand why they went the way they did so I'm not complaining. 

Also sorry I just have to, spoilers below also beware of cursing:

THE PARSHMEN?!? THE PARSHMEN ARE VOIDBRINGERS?!?!?!? When I got to that bit as God is my witness I paused my audiobook and just went what the FUCK