The Way of Kings

(10/07/2020) So, the fourth Stormlight book is due, making this the fourth reread. I wasn't planning on starting so early (November is a long time away after all) but I'm so excited I couldn't help myself!

Unsurprisingly, it's still phenomenal. The characters are fantastically human, the world and worldbuilding immense and vivid. The writing, while relatively simple, gets the job done and although this is a relatively slow paced book it never once feels like it's stalling. There are four main point of view characters: Kaladin, a slave, Shallan, a scholar, Dalinar, a lord, and Adolin, Dalinar's son. I'm never disappointed turning to the next chapter and seeing which character I'm reading about next, which is more than can be said for other books in the genre. There are also brief interludes from the point of view of (seemingly random) characters which display cultures and events from all over, leaving the world feeling alive.

While I've seen some complain about the use of flashbacks, I strongly disagree. Maybe it's something to do with Kaladin being my favourite character in the series, but I love the way the things we learn through his flashbacks expand our understanding of his character and his response to present day events. And like I said, I'm biased. I love him to bits. The other POV characters are pretty great too, and I'm so glad the flashbacks continue into the next books focusing on a different character each time, but the fact we started with Kaladin definitely made me immediately invested.

This is everything I love about fantasy. The ultimate 1100 page doorstopper. And it blows me away on a reread knowing that it only gets better. Now I have to go and start book two right away and ignore the other 100s of books on my TBR list