A Reading Blog: The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive #1) Prelude - Part One
I can’t believe I am here:
If you read my previous post, then you know that I recently committed to reading the first four Stormlight Archive books by Brandon Sanderson in preparation for the much anticipated fifth book in the series dropping on December 6th of this year. I am long overdue to read this series and simply getting started has been the biggest hurdle. I am no stranger to big tomes, but for some reason, this series intimidates me. So naturally, I said, “Let me read them and blog my experience while doing it”. Nice bit of added pressure. I love self-induced anxiety. Needless to say, I am a little shocked that I am back so soon to share my thoughts on part one of the book.
And so yes, I have decided to organize my posts to align with each of the five parts in the book. This was something I was trying to decide on in my previous post. With this approach, there will be less ground to cover and I can do my write-ups with the content fresher in my mind. So with all that said, let’s get started…
First Impressions (spoiler free):
This book is…big. And I don’t mean it’s you-might-sprain-your-wrist-holding-it physical size. It’s big in scope. This is epic fantasy in every sense of the word. It’s giving me Wheel of Time vibes with its vast, intricate world-building - the various peoples, places, cultures and languages that have been realized and brought to life. I know it is early in the series, but it’s clear that Sanderson has a fully fleshed out world ready for his reader to experience.
We don’t delve too deeply into the magic system at the start, but it’s already obvious we are getting a hard magic system. Which is not my favorite. But having read other Brandon Sanderson books, I knew what I was getting myself into. This is what the guy is known for. If you prefer your fantasy to read less like a high school physics book, this series might not be for you. However, the book has so many other things going for it that this is not a deal-breaker for me personally. We do learn a little bit about “Stormlight”, “Shardplates” and “Shardblades”, and how the frequent “high storms” that impact and shape the physical land also play into the magic system. We also are exposed to the “spren” - rotspren, deathspren, fearspren, the list goes on. I am not sure what they do exactly just yet, but they are there.
After 160ish pages, I am finding the pacing…deliberate. I have heard others complain that it is slow, but I respectfully disagree. The book is a 1,000 pages - it isn’t going to be action-packed the whole way through, but I feel like Sanderson is being intentional in how much time he is devoting to character development, plot progression and philosophizing.
Diving deeper (spoilers from this point on!)
Right out of the gate, I love the prelude. He gives us just enough in the first few pages to briefly introduce us to the sprawling world of Roshar, but also with plenty of unanswered questions to propel us forward: who are the Heralds? Why do they have to repeat a cycle of dying and coming back to life? Who are the knights? What is a Desolation? Will the Oathpact hold? Who knows? Poor Taln. I bet he’s pissed.
From the prelude, we jump forward in time 4,500 years. Good lord. In this prologue, that sets the plot for rest of the book, we meet a mysterious character, Szeth-son-son-Vallano. He has been sent on a mission by his people, the Parshendi, to assassinate the king of Alethkar - the very same king they have recently signed a treaty with and who is hosting a peace treaty signing party at his house in honor of the occasion. Pretty rude on the part of the Parshendi, if you ask me. But seriously, we don’t know why they are breaking the treaty - as King Gavilar says whilst dying, “The Parshendi? That doesn’t make any sense.” RAFO, I guess.
In the following chapters (time skip five years from the prologue), we are introduced to two main POVs. First, we meet Kaladin Stormblessed, a former soldier turned slave, who is struggling with his sense of honor and doing what is right versus giving into hopelessness and despair. This poor guy is going through it. We don’t yet know the events that brought about his status as citizen of Alethkar to slave, but his story is already a compelling one and of the two POVs we have so far, his is easily my favorite. His personal spren, Syl, is a delight. Anyone else getting Tinkerbell vibes from this one? No? Ok, well I am eager to find out what kind of spren she is as that has not yet been mentioned…but we do know she is unique.
When Kaladin is sold into the Alethkar war camp on the Shattered Plains, he thinks he is getting another shot at being a soldier, but in a cruel twist of fate, we see that he is actually doomed to join a crew of “bridgemen” who have to carry the heavy bridges that connect the chasms of the plains the Parshendi and Alethi are fighting upon. In short, it’s a terrifying experience that usually leads to a high “turnover” rate, if you know what I mean? They die. Like, most of them. It’s terrible.
So, at the end of part one, it is no surprise when we see Kaladin heading to the Honor Chasm - the pit where despairing bridgemen can “honorably” give up on life. At the encouragement of Syl, we see Kaladin decide he’s going to give it one more try. This is a really great scene where we see him take back what little control he has over his current situation. As he heads back to the camp he has an altercation with Gaz (the camp bully) where he sets down the new law:
“We are going to start over new, you and I. Clean. And I want you to understand something from the start. I’m already dead. You can’t hurt me. Understand?”
We then see Kaladin start the task of taking over as bridge leader of the especially unlucky crew of Bridge Four.
Then there's Shallan Davar, a young woman on a mission to become a scholar under the tutelage of Jasnah Kholin (the daughter of the recently assassinated king). But, she actually has a hidden agenda (so sneaky) - she needs to steal Jasnah’s powerful “soulcaster” and replace it with her family’s broken one so they can use it to magic food, resources, etc. out of thin air to reclaim their family’s wealth and social status that is in a very precarious position right now as the patriarch of their household is actually dead but the kids are keeping up the illusion that he is alive for the sake of not being absorbed into a neighboring princedom. Sorry, that was a really long sentence, but as you can see, her plot line is complicated. Shallan herself is a bit awkward and Sanderson tries his hand at humor in her POV. I can’t say that I am a fan, but again, I can overlook it. Overall, I am eager to see where her story goes. By the end of part one, she does succeed in securing the apprenticeship under Jasnah, but I suspect her ulterior motive is going to get exposed sooner rather than later. Either that, or lead to a serious moral dilemma.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the first part of The Way of Kings has set my expectations very high. I am eager to explore the world that Sanderson has created - with its intricate plotting, rich world-building, and engaging characters, it’s promising to be a new favorite series.
Next up: The first Interludes.
