“I must know something true about you. Tell me. The stronger the truth, the more hidden it is, the more powerful the bond. Tell me. Tell me. What are you?”

“Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination. Speak again the ancient oaths and return to men the Shards they once bore…The Knights Radiant must stand again.”

And so an epic journey comes to an end. When The Way of Kings was released and I saw how beautiful the book was, with its Michael Whelan cover and its interior illustrations, I still scoffed. The book was enormous, it was book one of an ongoing series, and there was no way that I would be reading it.

Never say never…

If all my friends jumped off a bridge, would I do it? Possibly so. I am certainly glad I took this leap of faith.

The Way of Kings is a marvelous achievement, worthy of whatever string of pretty words critics and fans alike might choose to laud upon it. The book is at once simple and infinitesimally complex. Brandon Sanderson juggles a manageable set of characters and plots and weaves them together so subtly that you don’t realize you are being ensnared in an elaborate web of masterful storytelling until it is too late–you are caught.

This post marks the final portion of The Way of Kings group read. Part 5 is a slight section but so full of substance. Suey handled this week’s questions.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 5 times (now):

Henceforth there be SPOILERS

Continue reading The Way of Kings Group Read, Part 5–The Conclusion →

“”Death is the end of all men!” Dalinar bellowed. “What is the measure of him once he is gone? The wealth he accumulated and left for his heirs to squabble over? The glory he obtained, only to be passed on to those who slew him? The lofty positions he held through happenstance?

No. We fight here because we understand. The end is the same. It is the path that separates men. When we taste that end, we will do so with our heads held high, eyes to the sun.”

And so we come to the end of Part Four of Brandon Sanderson’s novel, The Way of Kings. We are nearly at the end, only the denouement is left (though those of us who have read it know there are exciting things yet to be revealed therein). And whoa! What a breathtaking, breakneck-paced section of reading Part Four turned out to be. For anyone worried we might be left with a cliffhanger-filled, unsatisfying ending to the first volume of The Stormlight Archive, Sanderson knocked it out of the park. A grand slam. And we ain’t done yet!

Kailana had the enviable task of coming up with this week’s questions. Thank you Kailana!

My oft-repeated warnings must be brought to bear once again for those who follow after the jump: “Here there be Spoilers!”

Continue reading The Way of Kings Group Read, Part Four →

A long week affording precious little in the way of reading time gave way to a weekend in which I was able to luxuriate in the written word. That gift of free time meant that I was able to gorge myself on Brandon Sanderson in order to be ready for this week’s group discussion.

Memory took over question duty for the week and you can find my potentially spoiler-laden answers after the jump. I’ll remind you that you can find the answers from each participant by checking in on Deanna’s The Way of Kings group read site.

Before checking out this week’s Q&A, I wanted to take a moment to congratulate artist Michael Whelan on his recent Chesley award for the cover illustration for The Way of Kings! Michael Whelan perfectly captured the spirit of this book with this painting.

With no further ado, let us begin.

Continue reading The Way of Kings Group Read, Part Three →

“It is good to care when you fight, so long as you don’t let it consume you. Don’t try to stop yourself from feeling. You’ll hate what you become.”

A small group of brave souls has come together in the quest to group read the first massive tome in Brandon Sanderson’s epic ten-volume Stormlight Archive. Today finds us at the tail end of the second week of our journey and I was given the great pleasure of coming up with the questions for this section of the book. If any readers who are not participating would like to join in you can find details on the site listed below. And for those of you who may have already read the book we would love to see you join in the conversation.

This is a group discussion, so expect spoilers to be present in the answers to the various questions. I would encourage you to visit the group read site for links to the Q&A for other participants.

Shall we proceed?

Continue reading The Way of Kings Group Read, Part 2 →

“The world became ours, and we lost it. Nothing, it appears, is more challenging to the souls of men than victory itself.”

“She hadn’t asked, but she was certain Captain Tozbeck could read. She’d seen him holding books; it had made her uncomfortable. Reading was an unseemly trait in a man.”

To anyone looking it might seem that Brandon Sanderson literally burst onto the scene. Seemingly overnight the bookstore shelves were flooded with books bearing his name and he was tapped for the monumental task of bringing to a culmination the life’s work of author Robert Jordan, whose Wheel of Time series was left plotted but unfinished at his untimely death. We all know things are rarely that simple and while Sanderson’s star may have risen quickly, he has been writing for many, many years.

The Way of Kings is touted as the first novel in an epic ten volume series entitled The Stormlight Archive. Given my predilection to run screaming away from large novels and to faint dead away at the thought of reading ongoing, decades-in-the-making series this was not a novel that I expected to read, even with its temptingly gorgeous Michael Whelan cover and rare color and black and white illustrations. I must learn never to say, or even think, “never”.

An evening Twitter session with a handful of friends quickly found me throwing my hat into the ring if someone wanted to host a group read of Sanderson’s tome. And thus a community event was born. Deanna agreed to tackle the host duties for this monstrously large book and August 1st trumpeted the beginning of this grand adventure. We are in the early days, so if any of you would like to join in, we would love to have you do so.

Various readers will be taking the reins with weekly questions. Deanna has kicked us off with this week’s questions which follow the jump.

As with the recent Dune group read, expect spoilers to be present in the answers to various questions. I would encourage you to visit the group read site for links to the Q&A for other participants.

Continue reading Way of Kings Group Read, Week 1 →