Just Arrived: “The Way of Kings” Parts 1 & 2 by Brandon Sanderson
You may recall that my most recent “just arrived” was Brandon Sanderson’s Alloy of Law, here—and yesterday the two parts of the first book in his The Way of Kings epic series arrived as well, which pleases me since I do like to be up to speed with an author’s recent works before I do an inteview.
And of course it was The Way of Kings that won Brandon Sanderson the Gemmell Legend Award (for the best heroic fantasy novel), here, earlier this year. So I am going to enjoy comparing his Mistborn ‘western’ (Alloy of Law) with The Way of Kings, which appears to be more classically conceived epic fantasy—and as you all know, that tends to be something I enjoy. (Although as confessed in relation to Alloy of Law, I have a more than passing fondness for a good western as well. 😉 )
So what does it say on the back cover:
“Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Its terrifying and frequent tempests have shaped ecology and civilization alike … It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecreated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardbaldes and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armour that transform ordinary men into near invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardbaldes. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
One such war is about to swallow up a soldier, a brightlord, and a young woman scholar.”
Well, it certainly does read as classic epic fare, but as with all fantasy, it’s not the basic plot, but the characters, the world building, and the execution of the plot that are the proof of the story—so as always I shall look forward to reading and making up my own mind.