Unraveling: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
I've been slowly but surely making my way through all of Sanderson's books (that's the plan anyway) ever since I picked up one of his short stories, Legion. Sanderson packed so much into those 88 pages, more than some full length fantasy books out there, and it never once felt weighed down. So reading The Way of Kingswas a no brainer, my only problem was that it's 1008 pages long. I've read books longer than that before but you still need to catch your breath before finally tackling such a big book, but it more than made up for it. Actually, when I finally got to the end I was cursing cause it was too short xD
As always Sanderson's world building was impeccable. There is SO much going on in Roshar, so many little details that have to be kept in mind while reading to really understand the genius that is this book. The way the Earth adapted to survive the High Storms making the grass pull back into the earth to not be uprooted, the animals, the plant life and specially the spren. These little elementals obviously play a huge role in Roshar, but no one actually knows what their true purpose is. We get some insight with Syl, a tantalizing clue with Geranid's testing, and a tiny insight with Axis, but it's no where near enough to even grasp half of the picture let alone the whole picture and I can't wait to find out, the spren are just a fascinating concept in an already intriguing world.
The plot is simple in it's goal, but intricate in it's execution. I don't want to accidently spoil anything for anyone so all I'll say is, they are all simply trying to stop the Desolations, but there are so many things to take into account that it's mind boggling. And as for the characters, well I loved them all. Each and everyone one of them is different and unique and complicated in their own right.
In short, don't let the length of the book, nor the series, intimidate you, because this book will make up for it a hundred fold.
