New Brandon Sanderson Interview

A new interview with Brandon Sanderson has been posted over at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. Once again, I helped out by submitting a few questions, along with a few other bloggers including Larry from OF Blog of the Fallen and Adam from The Wertzone. It mostly covers The Way of Kings (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound, my review), but also hits on general writing and just barely touches The Wheel of Time.

It's another great interview, so go read it! And thanks to Brandon (and Peter, his assistant, who recorded and transcribed the interview...and of course Pat who arranged the interview).

Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson developed a decent following based on his own fiction, but it was his selection to complete The Wheel of Time after Robert Jordan’s sad, premature passing that placed his name among the rock stars of epic fantasy. One has to believe that it was in part due to Sanderson’s exposure to the inner workings of The Wheel of Time that helped to inspire him to dust off a shelved concept for his own multi-book series. The Way of Kings (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) is book one of The Stormlight Archives, a planned 10-book series.

As a long-time fan of The Wheel of Time, I have nothing but praise for Sanderson’s efforts to complete the series. However, I’ve also enjoyed Sanderson’s own Mistborn series. In this respect, I really want more of Sanderson’s original fiction, and was quite pleased when I heard that The Way of Kings was in the pipeline. In spite of the pressures of limited reading time in my life I was equally excited when I learned that The Way of Kings is the start of a big fat fantasy series. Whether or not Sanderson’s exposure to The Wheel of Time influenced the development of The Stormlight Archives, The Way of Kings is superb beginning to a series that will likely be the face of epic fantasy for the next decade or more.

A beloved king is assassinated leading the nation of Alethkar to wage war against a mysterious foe beyond its borders. This war and others throughout the world of Roshar seemingly distract humankind from an oncoming apocalypse where creatures of myth seek the destruction of all people. We see the story unfold from the points of view of just a few scattered across the land.

Let’s not dance around it – The Way of Kings could be a defining example of big fat fantasy. It weighs in at a hefty 1,008 pages in hardcover and is only the first book in a projected 10-book series, and I daresay that each volume will probably be rather long. This is classic epic fantasy – an imagined second-world setting, magic, and good versus evil, though identifying a specific quest is a bit trickier. In some respects The Way of Kings holds much in common with beginning of George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire – the real evil that must be faced (and most probably overcome) hasn’t really revealed itself as the typical concerns of humanity get in the way. In fact, while you could probably quickly identify the ‘good guys’, identifying the bad guys is far less certain. Thematically, this is the point, and a point that I think will only grow more important as the series progresses.

The Way of Kings is essentially told from the point of view of 3 characters. Dalinar is the brother of the assassinated king and uncle to the new king. Kaladin is a slave with a unique past sold into service of the army of High Prince Sadeas. Shallan is the daughter of a disgraced and impovershed house looking for a way save her family.

The Way of Kings is character-based in that the success or failure of the story lies with the characters much more than other elements of the story. In this Sanderson succeeds with characterization that is by the far the best I have seen in his writing to date. As one would suspect, the characterization does vary a bit, though it feels intentional and one’s reaction to it will largely be a personal one – in other words, I may like Kaladin best, but someone with differing life experiences from me may relate to Shallan much more.

As I indicated above, Kaladin is the character I found myself enjoying the most. While still relatively young, he is weighed down by the hand life has dealt him – a promising career, a rising star in the army, glory on the battlefield, a fall from the top of society, hopelessness and despair and throughout a sense of failing those around him. Throw in a natural ability to lead and a bit of mystery and Kaladin is a classic protagonist of epic fantasy that fans will flock to.

Kaladin contrasts with other characters such as Shallan. Shallan is young, naïve and selfishly motivated. Shallan’s goals are to get into the good graces of Jasnah, a smart, powerful, heretical woman, and steel her greatest possession. Her motivation may be to save her family, but it’s really hard to truly like a character with the annoyance of youth with questionable motivations. Or contrast Kaladin to Dalinar – an old honorable man who often comes across as a prudish, stuffy old man out of touch with those around him. Of course he’s also a great warrior, an inspiring leader and someone who just may save the kingdom.

Along with the major characters, there also a few minor, and more mysterious characters who I can’t help but want to know more about. Szeth is a mysterious assassin, more powerful and skillful than anyone he meets, and a slave devoted entirely to serving his master, whoever that may be. The few short points of view we get from Szeth always leave me craving for more. And there is Hoid, a character that has made appearances in Sanderson’s other fiction, including Mistborn (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), Elantris (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), and Warbreaker (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound). Hoid seemingly plays a larger, more critical role in The Way of Kings– does this point to The Stormlight Archives revealing the truth of a metaverse in Sanderson’s fiction? I don’t know, but I look forward to finding out.

My review wouldn’t be complete without a least some discussion of the world of Roshar. The world is dominated by highstorms – storms strong enough to strip the soil from the land. In fact the land itself has no soil and plants and animals have evolved to shelter from these storms. The landscape feels desolate and alien, altogether different from the cloned earths that most fantasy offers. This world further comes alive through the wonderful illustrations included throughout the text. I found it amusing that as I was reading The Way of Kings descriptions of Roshar reminded me of another fantasy world, one just beyond my remembrance – I finally realized that it was the world form Mistborn that I was reminded of. Sanderson has developed his own style of worldbuilding that I find immensely satisfying.

The Way of Kings is Sanderson’s most recent original work and the first book in a planned massive series. It’s his best book to date and the start of something very promising. The world is wonderfully creative with a deep history and uncertain future, the characters draw you in and make you care, and it all combines into something very special. Sanderson’s name may have leaped into the spotlight on the coattails of The Wheel of Time (though he was certainly on his way up already), but The Way of Kings proves that he belongs. This is a book that all fans of epic fantasy need to read and it could serve a great introduction for new fans to the genre, both young and not-so-young, as long as they can get past intimidation of 1000+ page book. My final thought can only be this: Brandon, when do we get book 2, because I want it now! 8.5/10

A Great Hunt for Wheel of Time Fans!

Tor made a big announcement this morning. It’s reproduced below:

How’s this for a Great Hunt?

Tor Books has just announced that, starting tomorrow, an exclusive secret from the Wheel of Time will go live on Brandon Sanderson’s website!

But it won’t go live without a fight: the page will be completely encrypted. (And it's not live until tomorrow, sorry.)

To unlock it, fans will have to hunt down the many unique digital codes, printed on the back of Wheel of Time bumper stickers that Brandon will hide inside copies of The Way of Kings along each stop on his tour. (Which kicks off tonight!)

Each bumper sticker/code will unlock a piece of the secret and it will require the work of many fans in many cities to unlock the entire page. The Great Hunt begins!

Sounds like fun – I’m sure that Wheel of Time fans are up for the challenge.

In other news, the Prologue to Towers of Midnight (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) “Distinctions” (order it direct) is available for preorder and will be released on September 21st. I hate this – I loath to pay for something twice and can only see this as a money-hungry move by the publisher. But since people will pay for it, I can only conclude that it is a sound business move, if one that I find repugnant.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (My Extra Special Review)*

As you can gather by reading the 40+ reviews on Amazon.com, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson has evoked an incredibly wide range of reactions, nearly all of which are outstandingly positive. Well, it’s time for me to add my voice to those, only I need step it up a few orders of magnitude. Simply said, this is the best book that has ever been written in the history of humanity. And it’s not even debatable. AND, not only is the book so great, but it comes with an astounding array of fringe benefits.

Before I get into why the book is so awesome that words cannot contain the awesomeness, I must explain some of the extra benefits the book bestows. So, let me count the ways my life has improved from reading The Way of Kings.

1. I lost 25 pounds by reading this book – this is the best diet plan you can possibly buy!
2. I no longer need blood pressure medication (and it lowered my cholesterol too!)!
3. My penis is now 12 inches longer, no condom can contain me now!
4. My wife immaculately conceived!
5. It cured my baldness!
6. My erection can last over 4 hours I don’t need to call a doctor!
7. A brand new Mercedes Benz showed up at my house in appreciation of reading the book!
8. This book did my taxes! (and I got a great refund!)
9. I’ve discovered the cure for cancer (and global warming)!
10. I’m pretty sure this book is the actual reason Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize!

I could literally go on and on, but I’m running out of time and I don’t want people to think that I’m making this stuff up. So, everyone simply must buy and read this book – it will change their lives forever and make the world a better place! So, what are you waiting for…. 100.25/10



*Of course this all completely bullshit, but due to some asinine regulation I must state the obvious anyway. Hell, this book doesn’t even exist yet, so clearly it wasn’t provided by the publisher, though I do hope they will provide the book when it does exist, because I’m all about the quid pro quo and I am clearly on the forefront of a brilliant viral marketing campaign.