So far in my Brandon Sanderson journey, I have read The Way of Kings, Elantris, Mistborn, and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter.
I know, it’s crazy that I split up series and haven’t continued much farther into them. I read TWoK a year ago, and Mistborn just this last year, both of which I rated in the 3 star range. However, I decided to go into Words of Radiance. My goal was to see if it was all hype, or first book syndrome.
I am a mood reader, which means if a book is not grasping me, I likely won’t continue the series. If I am not feeling a book half way through, it ends up in the accidental DNF pile.
Why The Way of Kings Turned Me Off
Week one into Words of Radiance was a little rough to start. I was happier with the character growth of Shallan and Kaladin because they were the reasons I rated the books low in the first place.
In TWoK, I had issues with Kaladin feeling like everyone’s savior by making dumb decisions blindly. When things weren’t working, he was sulking. Given he was a slave in the first book, and how he got there was incredibly sad, I would probably be too. However, 1000 pages of sulking was too many for me.
Shallan was the other side of the coin, and I disliked her even more. She was an entitled girl who felt deserved of her mentor because she had access to daddy’s books. She complained in every chapter and I almost didn’t finish the book because of her. I wanted to skip her chapters so badly, but I did power through it and finished the book.
Where I Am Week 1
I would like to mention I am doing immersive reading for the Stormlight Archive
Week one, I made it 22% of the way through Words of Radiance. I am much happier with this book than I was with the other one. It was a hard start to get back into the groove of a massive book with a lot of world building. I did end up taking a breather in the interludes with a short fantasy/thriller. I found it criminal that 100 pages of the book was only 8% of the book.
Once I got through the interludes, things started flying. I was hooked by 20% (And 2% of this book is 22 pages). Shallan has gained a voice, she has been less whiney and complaining and started to critically think. If you did not like Shallan book 1, you would probably like her a lot more book 2. And Brandon, thank you for listening to your readers when writing this one, it is becoming increasingly obvious why this is the number 1 rated book on goodreads.
Kaladin has a purpose and I think that made a huge difference in his attitude. Maybe that’s why he didn’t click so much with me in the first book, but this one has just worked out so much better for me in the character development.
The Next Upcoming Weeks
I don’t feel like I need to break during the interludes now that the book picked up. I am looking forward to continuing this series. I will hopefully have another update in the next few weeks with my review on Words of Radiance and Elantris (which I thoroughly enjoyed).
Being I have a full time job outside of this while carrying a 34 weeker in my belly, I have been rather tired, and reading has been all I have been able to do outside of the content creating and nesting. I am hoping to get a few more book updates up here soon!
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