[Review] Journey Before Destination: "The Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson
"And so, does the destination matter? Or is it the path we take? I declare that no accomplishment has substance nearly as great as the road used to achieve it. We are not creatures of destinations. It is the journey that shapes us. Our callused feet, our backs strong from carrying the weight of our travels, our eyes open with the fresh delight of experiences lived.”
Many great fantasy novels have been written and been devoured by fans and new readers alike. Brandon Sanderson got me with the Mistborn trilogy and again with this book he grabbed and shook me to the core. This is an epic story like you will find in many fantasy novels but for a reason it is seen as an amazing one in its own right.
In The Way of Kings we follow the stories of various characters. There is Dalinar, a highprince, who seems to have lost his way as a warrior and is now obsessed with a book which gives us the title of this novel. We meet Shallan who wants to save her family from ruin and does so by means that could get her killed, despite the fact that she is the scholarly type and not really a criminal. Kaladin Stormblessed is another character we accompany as he learns to live as a slave and former soldier, a combination that is rather unlikely as the world he lives in needs every soldier it can get. And we follow an assassin in white, Szeth, struggling to meet his master's demands while dealing with his own morals.
As a good high or epic fantasy story following these many characters and those around them needs to feel easy and enjoyable. And again Sanderson does this with such care. Every single story reveals things about the world, gives us character development and glimpses here and there into their pasts until we get more, and builds up the plot until it comes to a great and beautiful crescendo which will only make the reader yearn for the next book to find out what will happen next.
The novel is set in the world of Roshar, which seems to be a continent surrounded by nothing but sea, and where great highstorms are blowing from one direction only, threatening the lives of everyone who can't hide in time inside a house. Many of the animals are described in a way that make them seem maritime, especially the crustacean chulls which we often meet. The plant life retracts from anyone walking close and reminds one of anemones or sea urchins a lot, in my opinion.
But Roshar is not just very maritime in look. It is also very colorful. People love to wear bright colors - if they're rich enough that is -, gemstones of various colors infused with the light of highstorms - the "Stormlight" are used for lighting and as money, the three moons cast violet, blue and green lights, even their drinks are colorful in a way that tells you the alcohol content by color.
Next to that we got a richness in different people who sometimes look very much like humans in our world and sometimes very alien with colorful skin patterns and abilities uncommon in any other people.
Again, Sanderson created a world that has a strong base in religion that influences the history and the magic system in this world. One can criticize how much effort he puts into these religions but I personally find it very fascinating. Religion is very human, if you believe or not doesn't matter as it influenced our past and will continue to influence us in the future. So to see it this fleshed out and used in a fantasy book always makes me smile. Maybe there are some of his own beliefs in there but in the story itself it works very well.
This leads to philosophical discussions between characters, reasons for decisions made, and also history. A world or country is best understood by its history and getting glimpses into the past over the course of the book are not just there to further the plot but also a great way for us as a reader to get an idea of why these people are the way they are.
The novel has a slower build up than, for example, the Mistborn trilogy but it is always pushing further, giving us insight into the characters, the magic system, and what might be about to happen. If an author can grab you with a slow story that picks up its pace gradually until the climax, you know you have found someone who really knows how to tell a story and write engaging characters.
Obviously, the lives of our four main characters will eventually intersect and that's always something I find fascinating to see. How do four people from such different backgrounds - one of them even being from a different people and one only being slightly higher born than a peasant while two others are born into higher ranks in this world - finally meet? What would throw the world at them to put aside their differences and work together? If that was even a possibility at all.
I love that we do not throw these characters together immediately. This is something I do like about longer series because it can seem rather unrealistic to push characters together very early on who wouldn't ever properly interact. You need to find good reasons for them to interact and as far as these characters have gone until the end of this novel, who has been able to interact already and who hasn't makes a lot of sense. It also gave them all enough time so far to develop in a way that made it possible.
What you will also find in this story - like in many other fantasy properties - is some form of racism that is the base for whatever system is in place. What might be different to other stories is that this novel uses people's eye colors to define their place in the world. Light eyed people - here called "lighteyes" - are in a position of power while the dark eyed people - called "darkeyes" - are at the lower end of the social food chain. It is a bit reminiscent of the Stanford Prison Experiment and the "blue eyes, brown eyes" exercise by Jane Elliott.
I can't say a lot in that topic as a white person. All I can say is that it might be a good and better racism portrayal than in other fantasy stories as light eye colors in our world are more associated with white people and we are the ones pushing racist rhetoric and ideas, often even subconsciously, and dark eyes are more associated with people of color. But I think that a person of color can judge the racism metaphor in this story a lot better than I do and say if it is good or just as annoying as in other stories.
The story does point out though sometimes that there are various different ways of creating oppressed groups which is obviously true. Still, there is something to say about a book portraying one the most that can be related a lot easier to our world.
We also find this world's version of sexism but it's slightly turned on its head. Yes, women aren't supposed to fight or lead or show a certain part of their body (which will seem weird to some readers, I guess, but it is also a cool idea to translate something like this from our world to this one without copy-pasting it) but they are educated in writing and science unlike men whose role is to fight and lead. And it does work. It reminds one of the proverb that says that "educating a woman is educating a nation/community". It's an interesting way of looking at this and turning certain expectations on how sexism can be portrayed on its head, as I said. It makes for a fascinating way of storytelling as we only get the science aspect and what can be find in books through the eyes of women.
As this is a slower story, like I said before, it is more of a book giving us information that we will need to further understand what will happen going into the next book. There is a lot of exposition but beautifully told. But it's one of these books that if it was made into a movie would be cut immensely. Which would be a shame in my opinion as I do love this story. But it is made for a book and not for any other form of media. This is a book about the journey and I'm personally a fan of gladly following on this journey.
This story does leave you with questions which is to be expected. Like in the Mistborn trilogy, Sanderson gives us answers but opens up the world just a tiny bit more for us to ask about more things that appear. And again, there are prophecies and visions involved. In the future I'll definitely reread this and properly annotate to go even deeper into the material and little hints.
The Way of Kings is another beautifully told story in the Cosmere and I can't wait to delve deeper into it. I still have to read all the other non-Mistborn novels from that universe but I'm already finding it fascinating to see where the connections could be. I just figured out one reading through something and I love that it is that character. I was absolutely delighted by that one, that's all I will say. They will seem odd to you after a while when you first read this book but their being there just fits so well into the story and I can't wait to find out more about what Sanderson intends with this worldhopper.
I recommend this to anyone who loves epic high fantasy. It definitely isn't something for people who are new to grand stories like this. Though they might enjoy it if they've read Lord of the Rings. Still, it's more a story for veteran fantasy readers. And if you loved Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind I'm sure you will enjoy this one as well. But be warned, the Stormlight Archive series is supposed to be ten books long in the end. The fourth one isn't out yet. But I guess this won't take as long as waiting for the next Game of Thrones book or the last in the Kingkiller Chronicles. Sanderson is a bit more like King in the way he churns out his books. And he has so many books out, you can just read them in the time being.
“Life before Death.
Strength before Weakness.
Strength before Weakness.
Journey before Destination.”
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Disclaimer: I wasn't asked or paid to talk about this book, author or anything and anyone else mentioned. Everything I said is my own opinion unless otherwise stated. English isn't my native language so sorry if you find any grammar mistakes I didn't pick up on.
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