The Way of Kings
by Brandon Sanderson is truly a fantasy epic. Large portions of the
narrative focus on three characters: a young woman sent by her family to
steal a valuable artifact, a slave who was once a soldier and a leader
and has the potential to become one again, and an aging warrior who
faces the challenge of uniting a fractured kingdom. Other points of view
are touched on, but those three stories are the backbone of the
narrative. As with all of Sanderson's writing, the magic system is
detailed and creative. Readers who enjoy epic fantasy will, no doubt,
enjoy this. In fact, I enjoyed it, on the whole. I must admit that I
slogged through the middle portions, and I put off reading it for almost
two years because I dreaded the time commitment involved in reading the
entire book (unlike my brother, a much more avid Sanderson fan, who pounced on the advance copy as soon as I brought it home, and has been talking it up ever since). I don't think I like it quite
as much as I liked the
Mistborn series, or
Elantris, and if you're new to Sanderson's writing, I'd recommend starting with one of those before tackling
The Way of Kings. Still, I'm glad I finally got around to it!
(Reviewed from an advance copy, courtesy of the publisher.)
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