What a book! What a series. I loved everything about this work except the length.

I haven’t been introduced to the fantasy genre outside of the usual culprits (Harry Potter, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings/the Hobbit). In my mind, fantasy seems a little cheesy. Woah, did this book change my mind.

The world Sanderson has created is incredible. The depth and thought he put into the world he created (called the Cosmere) is astounding. The planet, Roshar, is dependent on “stormlight” that is light trapped in spheres. At the “high storm,” the stormlight is replenished; otherwise the spheres become “dun.” The spheres are a source of light, but also commerce. The high storm and all that it entails become so integral to their lives they say things like “storm it!”

The main characters are vast. Kaladin is a slave with a mysterious past who bumps into a magical being called a “spren” who is intelligent; Dalinar Kholin is a Highprince of the Alethi court, a confidant of the Alethi King, Elokar; Shallan Davar hatches a plot to bring renown to her family. The plot revolves mostly around a war: the Alethi King Gavilar was murdered by the Parshendi. Six years later, the Alethi and the Parshendi are still fighting on the Shattered Plains where no progress is being made. Kaladin ends up becoming a bridgeman, a person who runs with a bridge and places it down for the army to move across the plain. Dalinar begins to have visions where the message becomes, “unite them.” Shallan comes under the wardship of Jesnah Kholin and begins to draw close to her in an attempt to steal her soulcaster, a magical device made of stormlight spheres.

There is just too many story lines, too much plot, to explain much more. The main take away of a review like this is: GO READ IT.