📖 the stormlight archive: reading log #1
The Way of Kings, page 95
minor spoiler warning
a few days ago, i started reading brandon sanderson's 'the stormlight archive' series! i actually found it a year ago, but i didn't think the blurb sounded that interesting at the time. i was also put off a bit by how big the book was.
but now i'm actually giving it a chance, and on page 95 (of 1000), i'm really enjoying it! i like the characters, the way the book is structured, and also the illustrations. i particularly want to see more of szeth. the only magic we've seen so far (apart from the soulcasting just a few pages earlier) was in the prologue with szeth using stormlight for his lashings and that amazing action scene with king gavilar.
there are probably tons of small worldbuilding details that've slipped through my mind already, but i think i'm kinda getting the gist of the world. roshar is a world with kingdoms and magic and slavery and a harsh landscape and a ruling class. the story seems to be about discovering why the Knights Radiant disappeared (but left their weapons and armor behind), why wars for the shardblades and shardplates started (which, to me, seems like a question with a very obvious answer, but you do you, book), and how four people (kaladin, shallan, szeth, and dalinar) are connected to bringing back the Knights Radiant and the magic of the old times.
it's way too early to start thinking about themes and stuff, but already i can see some important traits in the characters that are definitely going to be really important later. szeth, for an assassin, cares a lot about honor and nobility. kaladin is a soldier who keeps failing everyone he cares about, and doesn't want to care about anything anymore for fear that he will fail them too. shallan comes from a wealthy family and cares a lot about modesty and formality, and is willing to commit theft to save her house.
i honestly have no idea how there are going to be 10 books in this series, each with over one thousand pages. i can only assume the journey is going to be really long and complicated with lots of plot twists and new locations and magic and discoveries and people, which i'm really excited about! but i have a genuinely terrible memory, and i'm really worried that it's going to get in the way of really enjoying the book.
regardless, i'm trying my best.
i don't know how often i'll do these reading logs. i'll probably do them just whenever i feel like it, so don't be too surprised if my next reading log is at the end of the book or, like, book #3. i also don't know how much detail i'm going to put into each one -- it'll probably vary a lot. i just thought it would be fun to write about my progress online.