The book starts off with a big bang, and then Sanderson pulls back and starts his story. The thing is, the story is about characters, and it takes a time for a story about characters to really get compelling.

In my review, I mentioned that there will be some people who complain that not enough is happening in the early parts of the book, that there isn't enough magic featured, or action, or a broad painting of the world. While I think the story could use a little bit of refinement at the beginning, it is both interesting and it pays off with deeper reader involvement and access to the primary characters.

The approach is a bit similar here as to what Steven Erikson did in Gardens of the Moon. Events are in progress, and the story has a relatively tight focus on a few characters, without going to great lengths to establish overarching story lines, world features, or even the primary players in the plot conflict. The disconnect in Way of Kings isn't as sharp and pronounced as in GotM (the reader isn't dropped at the end of a war with characters and plot lines seemingly already established and progressing).

The simple fact of the novel is that after the first few opening scenes, the book doesn't start off at a frenetic pace, or with a bunch of info dumps to catch the reader up, or even broader points of view. It works. The story builds through the characters rather than the story carrying along the characters.