Audiobook Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Series: The Stormlight Archive #1

Publisher: Tor Books

Publication Date: August 31, 2010

Author Info: brandonsanderson.com 

Wendy's Rating: 5 of 5 stars - It is evident that Sanderson has this entire world perfectly detailed in his head, and he seems determined to make sure the reader sees it exactly as he does... 

With three hours left on the audiobook and constant interruptions at work where I usually listen to my audiobooks, this happened:

I got through the work day, running home to read the rest because the narrators just weren't reading fast enough, dammit! I now am suffering from severe book hangover, knowing that I have to wait until March 4, 2014 to find out what happens next in Words of Radiance. You'd think with all this, that I'd throw all the stars at this book, but I had to deliberate on that a bit. My bookflail showed up in the last 200 pages of a massive book. But I'm just not sure I could have made it through the first 3/4 if I'd not opted to listen to the audiobook.

The world Sanderson has built is immense and his lore covers everything from fashion, to theology, to weather, to magic, to politics, and more. A lot more. A. LOT. MORE. It is incredibly impressive, but the interjection of lore building exposition and flashbacks became disruptive after a while. It is evident that Sanderson has this entire world perfectly detailed in his head, and he seems determined to make sure the reader sees it exactly as he does by including full descriptions of even the smallest element, rather than allowing the reader to use a bit more of their own imagination.

Considering the intended length of the series, weighing in at twenty books, I assume the information dumps will become less of an issue as it progresses (save it for the wiki, please). And fortunately the lore influx is also balanced by the depth of the characters, which is what helped me pull through. In other epic fantasies, you don't really get to know the characters, and in some cases you can't even tell them apart. Here, there is as much time spent with the development of the major characters and the supporting cast important to them. Perhaps more of Kaladin’s backstory is told than is necessary, but I can excuse this because of how vivid and interesting the character is, such that you actually come to care about him and the others, rather than merely liking him because he's cool.

The audiobook was read by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, the same people who narrated Robert Jordan’s unimpressive The Eye of the World, which inspired my post on epic storytelling for the sake of epicness. With this in mind, I should have been daunted by this book’s information overload and the twenty book series, but this is Brandon Sanderson. I’ve actually only read 2.1 books by him (though I own several) and completely subscribe to the well-earned hype. His world building *is* truly amazing. His unique and varied approach to the use of magic in each of his stories is fascinating (in the case of Warbreaker, it’s specifically what attracted me). And his characters are very real and very endearing. If Sanderson gets carried away sometimes with too much lore, I can forgive him because it feels like him eagerly inviting you into his head, rather than him just unnecessarily padding out a book and/or killing time till he figures out what the story is supposed to do next.

As for the story itself, it was really impressive. A pointless war for vengeance is at the heart of everything, with mysteries stemming from this core in all directions. The last 200 pages of the book are so intense because those vines of mystery, along with all of these intriguing characters, start to come together in the end, creating all new mysteries that demand that you continue the journey.

Cover Art: Warbreaker

Warbreaker by ~DSillustration

Cover Art for Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

It's official. I've been thoroughly spoiled by The Way of Kings and the newer novellas that Sanderson has written in the last couple of years.

Anyway, let's first start with what this book is about. As with most of his works, explanation of the world lore and magic system in Warbreaker will take at least a few paragraphs alone, so here we go. This is a story of two kingdoms on the verge of war. Idris and Hallandren have been at odds for centuries, due to irreconcilable differences in their culture, religion and beliefs.

The magic in their world is BioChromatic, one based on drawing power from color while being fueled by an essence called "Breath". Breath is considered almost like a soul to the people of Idris; without a Breath you are called a "Drab". Indeed, the Idrians wear grey-scale colors and shun the practice by Hallandren Awakeners who use Breath to bring objects to life and even reanimate the dead for their Lifeless army.

Sometimes, the dead also come back to life if they die in glory, and in Hallandren these people are known as the Returned and are worshiped as gods. One of the main characters in this novel, Lightsong the Bold is one such individual. However, he and the other gods require taking in at least one Breath a week to remain alive. Luckily in this world, Breath can be sold, bartered and collected like any other trade good. With his or her Breath, a Returned god can heal or do other amazing things, but the catch is, he or she cannot give their Breath away with dying.

Events kick off when Siri, princess of Idris, is sent to Hallandren to marry their God King in accordance to a treaty to try to stave off the war, taking the place of her older sister Vivenna at the last minute. Vivenna, feeling snubbed and robbed of the duty she has been preparing for her whole life, secretly makes her way to Hallandren as well in an attempt to rescue her little sister. But despite their best efforts to avert the conflict, war might be inevitable anyway.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; I don't think Sanderson is capable of writing a bad book in my eyes, but I just like some of them better than others. There are several things about Warbreaker that kept it from being one of my favorites, the main reason being the BioChromatic magic system. Out of all the worlds and systems that Sanderson has ever created, I don't think this was one of his strongest ones.

Admittedly, it could be a personal preference and my own difficulty in imagining a magic system based around color. As an artist, colors in all their glorious hues and tones play a huge part in my life, and sometimes it's hard to picture in my head the characters' manipulations of it in fantasy. I remember having a tough time wrapping my head around the chromaturgy magic system in Brent Weeks' The Black Prism as well, that being another book with its magic based around color.

Also, for the first time, a Sanderson character managed to annoy me. Lightsong wasn't an unlikeable character or badly written by any means, but he grated on my nerves. I understood that he was meant to come off as a clownish buffoon, but some of his jokes were so outrageously lame and tacky that I couldn't help but cringe in my seat. In contrast, I very much enjoyed the characterization and development of the two sisters though; both Siri and Vivenna grow in ways throughout the course of this novel that are believable and endear the reader to them.

Final Verdict:

3.5 of 5 stars

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The idea alone of using colour as a source of power made me very curious about this book. The details Sanderson puts into the use of colour and Breath is very intricate, yet surprisingly not overwhelming. The obvious religious comparisons are not overwhelming either. I was concerned for a moment when Austre, the one god, unseen, was introduced, but, despite the comparisons, the book wasn’t preachy, even as it admonished the hypocritical views of some of its characters. The other gods, the Returned, are a cross between a resurrected Jesus and the petty Greek gods – but with far less potency.

I loved that all the main characters started as one thing, but were thrown into situations that forced them to almost wipe their slates clean and grow into another. I’m a big fan of inconclusive endings, and I appreciated this one even more because it actually played off of the changes these characters went through, allowing you to assume the outcome.

The supporting cast of characters was very supportive, and served as distraction from all the plotting going on on all sides. Oh goodness, the plotting. I admit to skimming through some of these parts. I got the point without it needing to go on quite so much with the details.

The end felt a bit rushed and incomplete. Or rather, I accept that it was meant to be inconclusive and love inconclusive endings, but because it seemed to rush to that point in those last few pages, I felt a bit let down.

Overall, loved the book, loved the concepts presented. My favourite character would definitely have to be Denth, the mercenary happily complaining about how mercenaries are so unloved for obvious reasons...

Final verdict:

3.5 of 5 stars