Courtesy of Jacob lending me his ARC, I finished it last night as well.
This is definitely a character driven story. The major characters are Kaladin, Shallan, and Dalinar with a decent number of minor characters that vary in how well they're developed.
Kaladin was most engrossing, but he's the most frequently "shown" character as well. My biggest complaint is that a good part of the time he's wallowing in despair, which got old. This is balanced by what I consider the most exciting "personal climax" I've read in a long time. In essence, he's the Young Hero archtype with some trauma thrown in to put a new spin on it to keep from becoming stale.
I found Dalinar interesting only some of the time; those of you who've read it can probably guess what those are. To me, Dalinar's purpose in the story was to provide a lot of the necessary world building, though I personally did not feel it to be a contrived info-dump which in itself was refreshing. I think Sanderson did a better job with that here than Erikson has done in his novels (and I say that as an Erikson fan). Dalinar's action sequences were good, but given the character's background they weren't particularly exciting: a nigh-invincible veteran warrior slaughtering enemy troops doesn't exactly elicit a thrill of imminent danger. More interesting are his character and moral development, particularly those that occur in the midst of battle.
Shallan is my favorite character so far. I found her intriguing, as her story begins fairly straightforward but quickly complicates itself. Just when things appear to be wrapped up, they take a complete right turn away from their former path in what to me was the biggest "Surprise!" moment of the book. Right on its heels is the genuinely monumental "Oh, no!" moment that establishes this book as merely the beginning of what will be a long, bloody, epic struggle for creation itself - and had me practically swearing outloud.
Szeth, Rock, Sadeas, Elkohir (sp?), and a host of other supporting minor characters all help populate the world in which the major characters move. I was actually somewhat disappointed at the lack of development in Elkohir, whom I felt was a victim of telling and not showing to some extent. How Szeth deals with his commands are some of the most human moments in the story, giving him more of a persona than his limited pagetime would suggest.
In all, I think it's a well written, solid book that provides the foundation for what Sanderson says is the story he's wanted to tell for half his life but is only now able to. The characters seem like real people, flaws and all, in an ancient world heavy with its own history. I was unable to put this book down, and am excited for the actual release since I'll have to return Jacob's ARC. Definitely two thumbs up.
EDIT: Corrected "Erickson" to "Erikson", per Larry's chastisment.
This is definitely a character driven story. The major characters are Kaladin, Shallan, and Dalinar with a decent number of minor characters that vary in how well they're developed.
Kaladin was most engrossing, but he's the most frequently "shown" character as well. My biggest complaint is that a good part of the time he's wallowing in despair, which got old. This is balanced by what I consider the most exciting "personal climax" I've read in a long time. In essence, he's the Young Hero archtype with some trauma thrown in to put a new spin on it to keep from becoming stale.
I found Dalinar interesting only some of the time; those of you who've read it can probably guess what those are. To me, Dalinar's purpose in the story was to provide a lot of the necessary world building, though I personally did not feel it to be a contrived info-dump which in itself was refreshing. I think Sanderson did a better job with that here than Erikson has done in his novels (and I say that as an Erikson fan). Dalinar's action sequences were good, but given the character's background they weren't particularly exciting: a nigh-invincible veteran warrior slaughtering enemy troops doesn't exactly elicit a thrill of imminent danger. More interesting are his character and moral development, particularly those that occur in the midst of battle.
Shallan is my favorite character so far. I found her intriguing, as her story begins fairly straightforward but quickly complicates itself. Just when things appear to be wrapped up, they take a complete right turn away from their former path in what to me was the biggest "Surprise!" moment of the book. Right on its heels is the genuinely monumental "Oh, no!" moment that establishes this book as merely the beginning of what will be a long, bloody, epic struggle for creation itself - and had me practically swearing outloud.
Szeth, Rock, Sadeas, Elkohir (sp?), and a host of other supporting minor characters all help populate the world in which the major characters move. I was actually somewhat disappointed at the lack of development in Elkohir, whom I felt was a victim of telling and not showing to some extent. How Szeth deals with his commands are some of the most human moments in the story, giving him more of a persona than his limited pagetime would suggest.
In all, I think it's a well written, solid book that provides the foundation for what Sanderson says is the story he's wanted to tell for half his life but is only now able to. The characters seem like real people, flaws and all, in an ancient world heavy with its own history. I was unable to put this book down, and am excited for the actual release since I'll have to return Jacob's ARC. Definitely two thumbs up.
EDIT: Corrected "Erickson" to "Erikson", per Larry's chastisment.
This message last edited by Macharius on 24/08/2010 at 05:28:09 PM
The Way of Kings - Brief Review
24/08/2010 12:54:39 AM
- 1346 Views
As someone who could not finish Misborn through multiple tries I have to say...
24/08/2010 02:57:01 AM
- 703 Views
I didn't quite have such a positive reaction to the book
24/08/2010 04:55:04 AM
- 763 Views
You know...
24/08/2010 02:07:04 PM
- 693 Views
Re: You know...
24/08/2010 02:46:16 PM
- 833 Views
Okay, that makes better sense.
24/08/2010 05:07:56 PM
- 633 Views
Well, you've seen the books I tend to read and those are unusual in regards to dialogue quality
24/08/2010 05:22:10 PM
- 736 Views
The only Sanderson I've read is Elantris
24/08/2010 11:56:28 AM
- 696 Views
Elantris is a very poor example of Sanderson's work.
24/08/2010 01:59:05 PM
- 674 Views
A very good review, and thank you.
24/08/2010 02:01:05 PM
- 635 Views
My WoK reaction
24/08/2010 03:14:58 PM
- 775 Views
I call bullshit on the Erickson comments!
24/08/2010 03:34:20 PM
- 693 Views
Yes there is a very big difference between the two...
24/08/2010 04:58:55 PM
- 608 Views
And I think that books 5, 6, and 8 are among Erikson's better novels
24/08/2010 05:06:43 PM
- 648 Views
Yes, I wondered why you stopped doing those... you've only posted up to HoC, I believe.
24/08/2010 05:22:17 PM
- 615 Views