The Way of Kings

This is a sizeable book, and although I’m not often a fiction reader this was a captivating read. Being the first in the series it definitely serves as an introduction to the larger setting at play, but it doesn’t fail to excite and inspire questions. There’s a decent amount of action scenes, which I’m not usually a huge fan of, but they aren’t drawn out or over-dramatic. The action is always for a cause, it’s never mindless bloodshed or just trying to fill pages.

The heart of this book for me was the world building. I won’t spoil anything, but there’s a solid amount of diverse creatures, mystery, metaphysics, intricate economics as well as some history that is slowly revealed. It’s a very interesting setting that Sanderson has developed, and in the words of my friend, it’s not just world building but universe building. I believe Sanderson refers to his universe as the Cosmere.

What first struck me about Sanderson’s writing is the dialogue. Conversations are something that is easy to do but hard to master, and if Sanderson hasn’t mastered it then he’s at least very close to mastery. I love the characters and I’m very excited to see how they grow as the story progresses.