Recently I finished reading Way of Kings, a book by Brandon Sanderson that Elisabeth recommended. This is my new favorite book, well, series I should say, as Sanderson plans on having 10 books total in this world and I imagine I’ll like all of them.
His writing style is very similar to Tad Williams, who wrote the Otherland series, another favorite of mine. Way of Kings is over 1000 pages and although the first few chapters seem to be all over the place, he quickly gets a grasp of the story and characters and moves the plot along at a steady pace.
What really grabs the reader are the world mechanics. Imagine a world where crustaceans, like lobsters, are giant and walk around the earth. That’s what part of this world is. It’s a kind of world I’ve never read about before and it was done quite well. Not only that but there is a type of magic in the world that is quite fascinating. I won’t even try to explain it as my grasp is not very solid (I think I need to reread the book more slowly) but know that I think it’s interesting.
The characters (and there are a few) are also interesting and they generally stay that way the entire time. Shallan, the main female in the story, does get a bit old to me with her “what should I do?” stance but not to fear, there are two other female characters in the story that are strong. I actually would have prefered one of them to be the main female character but then the story would have changed. Still, I can hope that they have larger roles in the second book.
Don’t start this book if you like definite endings. With only two books written in a ten book series, this is another Game of Thrones and The Kingkiller Chronicles. Although this book does a decent job at tying up most of the ends, not everything is answered.
Just Lauren 