Brandon Sanderson has done extremely well.
One can only imagine the mental and physical effort put into writing this kind of book. I see now that I didn't appreciate WoT as much, possibly because I read the series AFTER it was completed. Reading SA when only two books have been released so far makes me appreciate just how difficult writing it was.
Way of Kings is incredibly vast but not too complex. The author introduces his readers to a strange, captivating world of rich history and impossible possibilities. There's almost as much fun to be had in the gradual discovery of the world of Roshar as there is in the numerable plot twists and thrilling events that permeate the entirety of the 1000-plus pages of this brilliant book.
The plot extent is unimaginably vast. Events in the book stretch back thousands of years, spanning powerful kingdoms, extraordinary beings, different peoples, and powerful weapons known as Shards.
Not many authors are experts in literary dialogue, and here Brandon Sanderson does better than most. The conversations between his characters possess great depth, enabling his readers to enjoy some of the perceived lulls between scenes of intense action, something that is much needed when reading a 1000-plus-page behemoth such as this.
The build-up is really lengthy (to be expected of such a lengthy book) but well worth it.
Obviously, WoK gets many plaudits for its exquisite magic system, and deservedly so. The magic is well structured, brilliant, and nicely done.
If subsequent books in this series are THIS good, then Stormlight Archive has a good chance of toppling WoT in the Epic Fantasy Hierarchy.
Brandon Sanderson has created a true EPIC here, and I say once again, he has done extremely well.
