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Notes -
So I finally finished Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Not a bad book by any means, but I don't really get why people think this is one of the best things ever written. While I enjoyed the last 80% of the book, and the last 30% was really fantastic, I had to read almost an entire novel of confusing and soulless exposition in the first 20% of the book. Even in the "better" last 80%, Sanderson could really have used a more aggressive editor. The characters are interesting enough, although I found most of them to be two dimensional rather than three dimensional, although this may change in the later books. Prose seemed fine, although difficult to judge because I was reading in Spanish. Book also seems to lack any kind of nuanced themes, although there is some stuff about mental health, religion vs. atheism, and morality in general. All in all, fun if bloated, epic fantasy, that doesn't have anything particular to say about the human condition (other than being depressed doesn't relieve you of responsibility to other people).
That said, I was pleasantly surprised by Sanderson, and I probably will continue with the series. Friends have told me his writing improves over time, which bodes well for my future reading experience, and jives well with my veneration of consistent and patient work as the key to pretty much anything (Sanderson is a very reliable writer who is very transparent and consistent with his deadlines).
I think outside of the world building, there’s not much to Sanderson. It’s interesting in a kind of D&D setting way, but it lacks a lot of cultural elements, the characters and plot aren’t that interesting, the politics is nonexistent.
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