Vivian L. (samuraibunny) - , reviewed on 8/13/2012 + 33 more book reviews

Loved it. I didn't expect anything else from Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson paints an interesting and flawed world, yet it is still epic. Such a large story pretty much requires accounts from different people, which is what happened here. I'll admit that I'm not the fondest of this type of storytelling, but it gets the job done. Inevitably, I become more interested in one character's story more than the others and then it feels almost like a chore to read about the other characters. But, it wasn't too bad with this book and I was able to connect better and follow the other characters just as closely once the story picked up more.

I specifically recall that one reviewer said that the first 200 pages were mostly world-building before the story got interesting. I'm not sure I agree with that assessment. I do agree that the beginning is slow, but with a tale as grand as this one, a slow but sure introduction is better than confusion later on. The suspense builds up along the read. At first, I wasn't sure where the book was going, but by the end, I'm itching to get my hands on the next book.

Don't let the sheer size of this volume intimidate you, that is, assuming that you are about to read the full, 1000 paged novel and not the two volume split editions. It is a relatively quick read, considering the size. I was sucked into the story and I'm sure you will be as well.

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