I Read THE WAY OF KINGS For The First Time 👑💎 | Spoiler-Filled Vlog
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- čas přidán 27. 05. 2022
- Hi everyone! Today a long spoiler-filled vlog of me making my way through the Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, the first book in the Stormlight Archive series. Even though Brando Sando is one of the most well known fantasy authors and I've loved most of his Cosmere works (Mistborn Era 1, Elantris, and Warbreaker), it seems like this did not live up to the hype, at least for me. Please let me know in the comments down below if you read and enjoyed this one, and what your most memorable moment in the book was! If you haven't read the series yet: Don't watch this video, read the book, join my discord, and get through the 4 books that are currently published together with us. More information about the readalong you can find in one of the videos mentioned down below.
Also, some parts of the video were shot a while ago and the audio is not amazing, if that bothers you and you can put the sound down a bit, I found that helped a lot!
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Jeej, we got our WoK vlog. It's getting me hyped again to pick up part 2 of the Stormlight archive.
Had so much fun with the live discussion. Just for once I could talk with people who have read something I also read. It just added something special to the experience.
Love the dogwalking parts, and as a bonus a great filming set-up.
Never played Gloomhaven but have heard some great things about it.
Really loving the nature you live in/nearby. It's just so relaxing & beautiful.
It's almost time! I have it on my June TBR so I can read it a bit closer together, I think that will also help with my enjoyment. And I agree , the discussions add something to the experience! It's my favorite part of booktube 😄
@@JolienReads really looking forward to part 2. And I'll be watching the discussion. Good to know I've June to read Words of Radiance.
I have opened up some topics in the discord as well, I think most of the people in the readalong are going to read the book in June haha, we all just want to binge it just before the liveshow I think 😂
@@JolienReads guess so, read the biggest past of Way of Kings just a couple of days before the discussion. (800+ pages)
If Brandon writes that someone has crystal-like fingernails or blue skin, it's not a meaningless fluffy detail. He has virtually no extraneous details that aren't hints about underlying mechanics of his worlds or motivations of his characters. If you see a character behaving in an "unrealistic" way, 9 times out of 10, it's because you'll find out later that there was more going on and you were SUPPOSED to think it was odd.
I don't really get how you could possibly think his character work isn't good. It's one of my favorite parts of this series. Maybe because you need a couple books for most characters to get a good idea of what ALL of their motivations are, but I never felt like it was an issue even from the first one. Maybe I just had a skewed idea of what "good" character work was, though, because I'd just finished Wheel of Time when I started this series, and I have VERY mixed feelings about the character work in that one. I would be curious as to what books you consider "good" character work. I'll admit that I haven't read a whole lot of modern adult fantasy, so as much as I'd hate to admit that my absolute favorite author isn't perfect in every way, I'd be interested to expand my perspective as well.
Hi Ryan, sorry for the late response! I'm glad you enjoy this series and I must say: it's highly praised so I'm more of an outlier than you in this case. I think a lot of Sandersons characters are written like Marvel figures, I don't feel like the things they say or do in a certain scene are how a real life person would react. Rolling over the floor laughing for example, is something a character of his does that completely got me out of the story. They feel a bit one dimensional at times. But, I do think that I focused on it more than is fair because I just wasn't too invested in the book to start, and when you're only half in you start nitpicking.
Some character work that I absolutely love can be found in A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin, The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb, or the Phedre Trilogy by Jacqueline Carey. I think it was unfair to say Sandersons character work is bad (I don't remember if I said it this way to be honest or if I was more nuanced lol) but it's not the type that I like. I enjoy morally gray characters with slow development and where you are in the person's head for the majority of the time, so you know there reasoning and internal struggles.
@@JolienReads I know im a year late :') but I only just finished TWOK a month ago. But you used that same one example in your other TWOK video and I just don't get how someone who was sitting, "fell on his side" from laughter is unrealistic and not how someone would react in real life. I've seen many people (myself included) falling off of chairs and wheezing and rolling on the ground at a good joke. Are there any other examples of characters doing something that a real person (in their world) would not do? Because I feel like the one example you gave twice isn't a strong one, esp since Teft wasn't necessarily rolling from laughter. Kaladin was afraid he'd roll off because he fell on his side.
"Teft laughed, his voice echoing. He fell on his side, so amused that Kaladin was afraid he'd roll right into the chasm."
I have to say, WoK, while good, was S L O W. It took me forever to get through because I just could wrap my head around it haha. HOWEVER, WoR was a million times better for me, and I think you'll enjoy it much more. It definitely clears up a ton of things he starts in WoK.
I haven't read Oathbringer yet, but I'm hoping to at some point this here so I can catch up with everything!
I have heard from multiple people now that they think I will like the next one better, so that's encouraging 😄 I'm reading the 4 books currently out this year so if you want we can read the third book around the same time!
@@JolienReads I would love that!
ohhh niceeeee. It's one of my most inspirational ones. I'm so in for this video ^^
Haha I hope you enjoy, even though I wasn't the biggest fan! Judging by the first book I think I still like Mistborn Era 1 the most, but ofcourse I still have 3 (soon to be 4) tomes to get through 😅😅😅
@@JolienReads I did enjoy! Made my drive out of town much more interesting:)
I relate to not likin shallan at the start, and dalinar later. Both of them grow on you through the series. Its slow but def worth it.
All I have to ask is who is your fav character and why is it Jasnah 🤭
"Shallan tries to be witty but she's not"
You've explained my thoughts perfectly! I'm on the second book now, and I actually really like Shallan as a character, but I really dislike the "funny" quips and "witty" remarks she occasionally makes. It feels a bit... forced, and not natural, especially when the other characters tells her (and the reader, indirectly) that she's witty or clever. I don't think I would've minded her quips as much if Sanderson didn't choose to explicitly tell us that Shallan is witty, and instead letting us decide for ourselves. Still, just a minor point of contention to an otherwise brilliant book.
Cant' wait to watch the rest of the review!
Exactly! I can handle an awkward character if everyone else looks at her that way, but people in the book treating Shallan like she's the funniest person they ever met is a bit cringy 😅
I think the ending of the book really shines, and if this is where the second book continues, I can see myself enjoying that one more! It's on my June TBR so I'm very curious to see where the story takes us
Also with Dalinar you have to understand a bit of why he is very hard headed and honor bound to the rules; man was drinking and having the time of his life while his brother was being chased and killed in his own palace, it kinda straightens you out I think.
I can definitely see how that would change him, quit drinking etc. just not to the extent that we're seeing in the book. But, maybe he'll grow on me in the next installments 😁
Ooooh yess bby, this is the vlog I've been waiting for! So fun to finally hear all of your in-depth thoughts 🤩
I love that you are not afraid to express some of your more negative opinions, because you had some very valid critiques that I think are not pointed out enough!! While I personally liked the characters more than you seem to, I can't deny that they sometimes acted very cringy 🥲
Also, most of the interludes have had some kind of significance to the overall story, but I agree that they sometimes felt useless and hindered the pace and momentum of the story.
I wasn't completely in love with book 1 either, but book 2 and 3 definitely won me over! And I think the characterwork also improved quite a bit, because I have come to really care for all of them! Book 4 had some of the best and some of the worst moments for me (and somehow I still rated it 5 stars, lol), because the revelations and cosmere connections were soooo cool, but the magic started feeling more like science and I still don't know how to feel about it 🤣
Can't wait to hear more of your thoughts as you read through this series. Hope you will end up having a fun time 🥰
It's good to hear that you also didn't LOVE book 1 but had much better experiences with book 2 and 3, I'm reading the next one in June so hopefully I also like that one a bit better. Book 4 seems to be very divisive among the fanbase, I've heard people say it's the best book, but just as many tell me it's the worst haha 😅 At the very least I have an interesting journey ahead of me. And I do love the discussions so looking very much forward to that!
most people complain that the book was too long. seems like you would of rather had another 500 to explain everything in robert jordan detail
Oh no, dear God no 😂😂😂 I don't think this book should have been this long. A lot of things could have been removed or said in less words. Which would then give more space to dive deeper in some things that actually needed more attention (such as the characters, although I can completely see that this is a personal preference of mine, a lot of people like how Sanderson does characters, I just don't)
In the end I can see why so many people love this book, and I liked it just fine, but it's far from the perfect book (in terms of writing there are some 'mistakes' that should have been noticed before publishing) and on top of that it's just not the type of fantasy I normally enjoy. So part of my problems are completely subjective, no book is for everyone I guess.
@@JolienReads i found books 1 and 3 the most enjoyable sofar. and i definitely hear you on some of the character "flaws" needing to be fleshed out earlier to make the character more enjoyable. almost everyone has a problem with shallan being very annoying to read early on as a example
Hoid's in all the Cosmere books as a cameo. Warbreaker he's the storyteller to Siri, Mistborn he's a skaa informant, and I haven't read Elantris but I know he's in there as well. He's this mysterious figure and Sanderson is eventually gonna write his backstory in Dragonsteel.
Also I really wanted to hear your review on the last part of the book! Some huge reveals there that completely change everything. Are you going to do a spoiler-filled review? Those twists really made a big fan of the series and showed such attention to detail in the earlier parts of the book that I loved (The Taravangian thing... one of my favourite plot twists).
Okay, that does make sense as to why I didn't really remember him haha. I didn't know there was an overlap between the books until after I read all (except for SA) so I wasn't really paying attention to the cameos 😅
SPOILERSPOILERSPOILER
Oh yes! I had a whole word document open where I was taking notes on what I wanted to discuss for the end but then my laptop died... Do you mean that the Almighty is no longer in control and that Odium is? And yes, the nice king who was a little bit slow being the big villain was something I did NOT see coming! I'm horrible at predicting twists but I love when they happen.
Hi 👋 like ur vlog video! Way of kings by Brandon Sanderson books is so good! I’m glad u liking the book....😊😊😊 I’ve send u little package 📦 u should get by Tuesday! Happy reading to you!! 😊📖📝
It wasn't a favorite but I do hope I'll like the next book more 😄 And thank you Safina, you really shouldn't have! Happy reading to you as well
in some of his earlier work Hoid isn't very prominent as the full idea of the cosmere wasn't really as certain yet. i think in Elantris he's just there for like one small scene and he's just a delivery guy more or less
Aha, that makes sense! I never payed attention to recurring characters and only heard mention of Hoid before startin SA so if it's only a small cameo I'm not surprised I didn't notice.
Some of the characteristics of the people such as fingernails and the spotted skin fit into the world building. You can figure some stuff about the world based on it.
Do we see some more of its significance in the future novels? I'd really like that!
This is one of those talks where it feels like you’re reading to pick apart details and characters in the first 1/5 of the 1st book of a 10 book series. It feels way too critical of the start of a story. I do accept that is how some people read but it feels too presumptuous for me my first time in a book
I understand what you're saying, the thing is I never normally read so critically but this story just really wasn't for me which made me focus on all the stuff I didn't like. I guess Sanderson is just no longer my cup of tea
Very interesting take! I really love the 2nd book in this series. While I appreciate Sanderson's excellent world building, plot and magic system, his characters and prose prevent this series from being in my top favs.
Yes, I agree with you so much! It's good to hear the second book gets better, I've heard this from multiple people at this point (and the extra Parshendi POV does make me curious) so I'm excited to pick it up in June!
haha the comparison between Ned Stark and Dalinar: is that why I dislike both 😉😂
Haha, I'm rereading ASOIAF next year and now I'm very curious on how I will like his character. I don't remember from my first read, but in the series he is as dumb as a bag of bricks so my expectations are low 😂
i very much dislike Dalinar 😉 i think most people who dislike him don't change their mind on him. you can understand him better, but that doesn't change how I feel about him.
Shallan I think mainly has that humor in book one. Shallan basically is someone who is constantly putting up a facade and doesn't often show her true self. she's probably the most frustrating character for me to read from. but I do like what Sanderson does with her storyline. it's just not very pleasant to read at times.
Kaladin will definitely continue struggling with his mental health. i think he is just someone who is very much motivated through his care for others. like Raoden in Elantris. so when he can focus on caring for them he basically can keep the dark thoughts at bay.
Yeah, even though he got a bit better towards the end, I doubt he will ever become a character I actually like... Same for Shallan to be honest. I understand her putting up a facade but I don't understand why people around her would keep commenting on how 'witty' she is when she's actually just annoying 😂
I like your view on Kaladin and that does make sense, thanks for sharing!
Yeah I don't really gel with Sanderson's humour either.
Yeah, he writes a bit over-the-top which is fine, just not what I usually enjoy. Someone compared it to Marvel movies/characters and I think I agree with that. In any case it's good to hear I'm not the only ones 😅