Dear Readers,
I'd like to introduce you to the first post of Louder Opinions, the new and improved blog location for 2025. I'm starting off strong with my favorite non-Science Fiction author, Brandon Sanderson, who recently published his concluding book to the series, The Stormlight Archive. Sanderson is a fantastic author whose work has improved over his career, culminating in this masterpiece series that will immerse readers immediately into the universe he's created.
To introduce new readers to the series, I skimmed through my copy of The Way of Kings, the first book of the series, and will review that book instead of the newest installation. The book kicks off with a variety of characters, including the deadly assassin Szeth, the stoic military leader Dalinar, and the talented but unlucky Kaladin, whom the book follows closest. In a desolate corner of the world, the kingdom of Alethkar fights a deadly war with the Parshendi, a carapace-skinned race of people who killed Alethkar's king. Kaladin is brought to the war as a slave, and must navigate a world of abuse and danger as his friends' lives are wasted in suicidal missions. Meanwhile, Dalinar discovers a plot larger than his kingdom, and even the world.
Even though the entire series is amazing, the first book is still my favorite due to Sanderson's masterful worldbuilding. The entire world lives differently, due to the dangerous Storms that sweep the land every few weeks. The global ecosystem resembles a giant tide pool, with crustaceans and plants adapted towards the treacherous winds and rain. In addition to the immersive world, the characters' struggles mirror real-life emotions and problems, creating a sense of familiarity and realism in the characters.
I loved this book, and this series, as it keeps getting larger in scale and tension, resulting in beautiful and poetic resolutions and dramatic climaxes that leave me unable to set the books down. While these books are extremely long (each well over 1,000 pages and 300,000 words), they never feel dull because of the wide scope of the story. I may have to warn you, if you pick one of Sanderson's books up, you might catch the bug of Sanderson fandom and won't be able to stop. Even if not, thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more blog posts in 2025!
-Sam Bhalerao
1,000 pages is quite a lot! I like how you introduced the characters and plot in a brief yet informational way. Also, I think the setting is quite unique, with the dangerous storms that sweep in frequently and how the ecosystem is practically a giant tide pool.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really fan of fantasy, but the worldbuilding sounds interesting! I appreciate the idea of living in a giant tidepool.
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