Steven C. (SteveTheDM) - , reviewed on 4/10/2015 + 204 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I am flabbergasted at the quality of this book. If you're at all a fan of Epic Fantasy, Sanderson has gifted you with something truly awesome.

Worldbuilding: woven seamlessly into the narrative, it takes longer to learn but you never notice that you're learning it. And wildly complex, as well. As the details come to light, you piece them together and they make sense, without anything every having been pointed out. After reading so many infodumps in so many other novels, this was remarkably refreshing.

Clarity: I've read plenty of novels where huge battles take place and I'm left in confusion about what just happened. Mostly all at the end of novels, where the author is clearly just trying to make the deadline and has to get something written. That's not true here. Many battles happened. And every time one happened I kept being surprised that I could follow what was going on. Sanderson's concentration on his small groups of people and keeping the focus tight on small groups (even with a phenomenally huge backdrop) meant that keeping engaged with the prose was a delight.

Characters: There are a handful of main protagonists; each growing in some way, and each having a story worth hearing. And leaving me eager for more. Following characters was the main structure of the novel, and works well.

The story itself was great; and shows tremendous promise. I'm not sure it shines above other great epics (LotR, Dune), from that perspective, however. But the skill that Sanderson gave to the presentation was simply stunning.

An easy 5 of 5 stars.

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