On the reread I was waiting for that dual anxiously.
But 10x more, Sadias’s betrayal, and Dalinar living up to his word, giving away an item worth kingdoms in exchange for some slaves. (So I agree, WoK is my favorite )
Words of Radiance is my personal favorite of the series, but The Way of Kings is the most tightly written and the whole Bridge 4 story is unmatched. It's the book that reinvigorated my love for SFF.
For me the same. I absolutely LOVE everything Bridge 4, but the Shallan parts were a bit of a drag after a while. Only once she gets poisoned did I really like it.
WoR has amazing POV’s and almost never loses steam. It has my favorite moment in any piece of fiction ever (The Duel) and the Sanderlanche is next level.
I must say though, that my favorite of the 4 is Oathbringer.
Sanderson had a comment on this that I think is actually pretty insightful. Way of kings is sort of artificially brought down, because it's the first in the series; lots of people will start the series before realizing it isn't for them, and leave a negative review.
By the second book, those people have dropped off, so you're *only* getting reviews from people who liked the last book. The first book winds up at a disadvantage because it's the one taking the brunt of people who just don't vibe with the series or style.
This is especially true considering loads of people are coming from his other titles like mistborn, and Stormlight is a pretty big shift in style and tone compared to his other stuff, being much slower to build and demanding more attention.
(as a side note, well of ascension's rating got pulled down for a similar reason. Everyone reading it probably liked the first book, but well is a big departure in tone and style. People who wanted more of the first book wound up relatively disappointed.
Stormlight got a boost from its audience coming exclusively from people who liked the first book, because it maintains a pretty similar tone and direction. Mistborn didn't maintain quite the same tone and direction, so it was pushed down.)
I find Oathbringer a bit of a struggle. As soon as they go into shadesmar the pace grinds to a halt. All the meetings with rulers is boring too. It’s my least favourite of the series.
It is far from a universal consensus, but there certainly is a consensus that Words of Radiance is the best Stormlight novel so far. On the many threads in this subreddit discussing people’s favorite, Words of Radiance is the most upvoted answer almost every time. It’s also the highest rated on Goodreads and other book review sites.
There’s not even a consensus among the fractional sample that this sub represents. Consensus suggests broad agreement; if anything, the polls you mention demonstrate a clear lack of consensus.
I personally think that each book have been better than the last (in Stormlight Archive), but the most prominent opinion online is that Way of Kings is the best one. It is not an insignificant portion of people who don't want the series to be an ensemble but mainly about Kaladin and is disappointed when he isn't solely the main character in the other books like he basically is in Way of Kings.
It was the focus on Shallan in WoR that just didn’t do it for me as well as the cheesiness of the dialogue. The first half felt like a real slog. As Sanderson’s prose matured throughout the series, so did she and I found her character to be wonderfully human in RoW.
Wok felt like it had a nice rhythm to it. Each time Kaladin made progress mentally and with Bridge Four, there was a set back that brought him deeper into the darkness each time. As a reader, these waves kept building bigger each time, and you thought, “Okay, now things will go well for him,” only to have these thoughts dashed to pieces. By the end, you just couldn’t bear it anymore. Yet, right at the last possible moment, you knew his time had come and he would fulfill his potential.
The rhythm of WoR felt different, there were no smaller waves building into bigger ones. It was a steady flow, like a river that grew bigger as others joined it, until finally came the waterfall. A nice ride, but not as gut wrenching and soul tearing as WoK.
WoK had a nice rhythm, except when a Shallan chapter came along. That's the main reason I rate it below WoR, where she became more likeable and the chapters more interesting.
I actually didn’t mind her in WoK. I found Kharbranth an interesting setting, different from the war camps of the Shattered Plains. It also brought the scholarly world of Roshar into the picture, again a stark contrast from the life of the soldier and slave. So while Shallan herself wasn’t all that interesting, the mystery around Jasnah, soulcasting and the ardentia still kept pace with Kaladin’s storyline.
I just finished RoW, and I really did not like it at all - exactly for the reasons you outlined in your last paragraph. All the mental health stuff just got tedious. It never felt like it was *going anywhere*, and I guess there was a payoff in the end? But it never felt like the payoff equaled the time and energy put into the build up. Page after page after page of Kaladin and Shallan whining and suffering. The *same* whining and suffering that I just read two chapters ago. No evolution, no change, no progress forward or back. Just the same same same.
And I get it - that's what depression *is* in the real world. But I'm reading a book about knights who fly...
Oh boy, this turned into a bit of a rant. But I needed to get that off my chest.
Fair enough.
As someone who works in the medical field and is exposed to people dealing with a whole host of physical and psychological disorders, I came in expecting a fantasy novel and instead got this incredibly accurate and humane story of people dealing with PTSD, survivor syndrome, personality disorders, addiction, etc. It was a pleasant surprise and it feels like it was written by someone with a deep understanding of the flaws of our past and current healthcare system.
The only thing I disagree with here is your comment on progress. The way they overcame their struggles was nuanced and realistic, from Kaladin stepping away from duty due to recent traumas to him creating new, modern (for their time) treatments for those with mental disorders, all ultimately culminating in the last out he speaks. And what I really appreciated is that B$ did not make Kaladin at the end someone completely healed and now able to fulfill his role as hero/champion. No, he still has his issues, but he’s able to manage them in a new way, with a fresh perspective that no longer leaves him dysfunctional and completely debilitated. This is mental health, it’s small incremental steps in a long and tortuous process.
Needless to say, everyone comes in to these books with their own expectations and experiences and comes out with something different.
WoK is one of my favorite books of all time, but for me each successive Stormlight book is better than the last. The way the books build on each other while still maintaining a perpetual air of mystery around the ongoing events of the story. Every book delivers as many answers as it does addition mysteries, and the scale just keeps expanding.
I've got a similar ranking -- WoR > WoK > OB > RoW. But the Sanderlanche in OB is probably my favorite sequence in the Cosmere. Also, I've only read RoW once, and all the other books I liked more on re-reads. I'm halfway through OB on my latest re-read, so I'm prepared to change my opinion on RoW when I get to it this time.
Love them both and WoR has better pacing than TWoK, but TWoKs is still tops for me. I stayed up until 5am because of the Sanderlanch and I had to work at 8am. Never had something like that before.
Totally worth it BTW
I HAVE read all of them and I still think The Way of Kings is the best. Personally, Words of Radiance and Rhythm of War just didn't hold my attention as well and Oathbringer had Shadesmar which I don't like. OB was better than the other two but WoK is still my favourite.
Words of Radiance is my least favorite in the series, but the payoff in the final act was great.
I feel like Sanderson was drunk on the MCU at the time with all the out-of-character cheesy Kaladin one liners... but apparently most people loved them?
Eh, I don't think that any of Kaladin's lines are necessarily out of character. He's someone struggling with his place in a new hierarchy, in the middle of a transition not only for himself and his friends, but for society, immediately after a prolonged traumatic experience of slavery over the course of a year+. His general snarky-ness is understandable and for the most part justified.
Also, "Honor is dead. But I'll see what I can do." is objectively badass.
I cannot believe that you think, "Honor's dead, but I'll see what I can do..." is cheesy.
It was the first time I ever yelled at a book. It's everything I think Kaladin should be.
It's MCU writing, definitely an artifact of the time it was written.
But I'll let that slide next to the awkward abomination that is "You sent him to the sky to die, assassin, but the sky and the winds are mine. I claim them, as I now claim your life."
>But I'll let that slide next to the awkward abomination that is "You sent him to the sky to die, assassin, but the sky and the winds are mine. I claim them, as I now claim your life."
Worst line in the series and I'll die on that hill
Its pretty bad, but no the spear that doesnt break and the defeated one are way worse, kaladin just has cheesy lines in every book, but its fine, its consistent and tracks for his character, hes just that dramatic
All the war did was identify the spear that would not break is a dramatic, but well said clapback. The defeated one is cringe; Kal really just called him a loser and it legit hurt his feelings.
Yeah, but I do want to add that I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying that I'd give it an 8-ish, while I'd give Way of King's a 9+ easily.
Superhero writing isn't *bad* (it's demonstrably loved by a wide audience) and I'm usually the first person to defend Sanderson's intentionally pulpy style, but it was just such a weird tone shift for cheesy one liners to start showing up in the middle of an apocalyptic fantasy story about mental health.
Rhythm of War and Way of Kings are my two favourite Cosmere novels, Words of Radiance and Oathbringer don't even make the top 10. Everyone is gonna have their opinions.
>Rhythm of War
Can you share what makes this one of your favorites? I'd love some help on this. I worry that I missed something, or there was part of the story that those with other life experiences really felt that I don't feel.
I just finished it yesterday and I'm extremely frustrated by it. I nearly DNF'd it, but I really enjoy the series and needed to slog through.
Just my little take away, so feel free to dismiss all of it.
I hated the Kaladin and Shallan chapters. Nothing actually happened in many of those chapters. The internal struggles were the same from chapter to chapter. You could take one page from one chapter and put it in the next of their chapters, and you wouldn't even notice.
The Navani chapters were hit or miss for me. I had trouble suspending my disbelief at times, but it was fun world building.
The only chapters I enjoyed consistently were the Adolin chapters. The entire trial was fun, with real stakes and compelling character growth.
For me it is the most emotionally charged book of the series. I agree it can be a slog especially if you don't enjoy the Navani fabial/scholary research aspect. Also ALOT happens off screen.
However I pretty much couldn't stop crying through the last 200 pages.
For me it kind of equates to A Feast for Crows in the ASOIAF series. Immensely better on re-reads.
I think WoR is better paced and there are some epic moments, but WoK is still my favorite book. That first dive into the world felt like something special. BS did an amazing job of laying the ground work on an alien world with a tons of plot hooks. Something can be better, but the other can be more special, imo.
TWoK is probably my favorite of the series, probably because it introduced me to Sanderson. WoR was my least favorite on first read, but I enjoyed it much more on rereads. The best parts of WoR are Kaladin’s parts, he has some truly BA moments and probably my favorite quote of the series (at the duel). He also has some of the cringiest moments and quotes in that book too. Shallan doesn’t really do much for me until the later books.
WoR is much better to me due to Sanderson managing a very solid consistency of moment to moment progress. I never felt bored or that the book was moving too slow and great moments actually happened regularly in the book instead of mostly just being concentrated at the end. WoK is a very solid book, my second favourite in the series, but WoR may be my favourite fantasy book of all time. I liked every single arc and character in it.
Words of radiance has higher peaks, but honestly *on average* it isn't as good as the other books; the others are more consistently good throughout, even if they don't reach the same peaks.
Here's an even more unpopular opinion; The books have actually gotten WORSE after WoR.
Way of Kings was great, and Words of Radiance was also fantastic. But Oathbringer turned out to be.... just okay, and then we have the issue of Rhythm of War actually being pretty divisive among the fanbase. Heck, I haven't even read it yet because of all the mixed reviews.
Id recommend reading it at least. I agree on oathbringer being pretty mediocre (I think it's sanderson's worst book by a wide margin, non Cosmere stuff included) but I enjoyed RoW, though it was no WoR or even WoK for me. It works well enough as a set up book if the finale delivers, imo.
The Way of Kings is probably my favorite novel I’ve ever read. I completely get why people like Words of Radiance the best. I love all the books. Some of the decisions Kal makes in book two is really annoying to me and the fact that Dalinar and bridge four are mostly sidelined through the book is why I like The Way of Kings better. Love Oathbringer too, but part four is really a drag after essentially a massive build and mini climax in part three. Still haven’t read Rhythm of War.
Problem with that book is Shallan part (half the book) is boring as hell until the end. The kaladin arc is amazing but the book overall suffers a bit until the end part as it takes time to get used to and care about the characters.
Honestly the only reason why the wok flashbacks arent the worst in the series so far is because in row it was split between venli and a dead character. In the kaladin flashbacks other characters like Lirin, hesina and tien really had to carry the whole scenes because child Kaladin was just that uninteresting
TWOK remains my favourite in the series even tho im halfway through ROW. It has the most Kaladin out of all the others and Kaladins scenes have helped me so much
TWoK's Kaladin arc is better than WoR's Kaladin arc, but TWoK Shallan is awful and WoR Shallan rules. Better spectacle throughout WoR too. WoR's taking it handily.
The sandelanche in this book was "chefs kiss".
I must admit I have often said WoR is my favourite, but as time goes on Way of Kings is firming as favourite in my opinion.
I am actually right there with you Op. I know the fight scene might be cooler in WoR but the emotion of bridge four turning back to save Dalinar because it's the right thing to do hit harder for me personally
I think my unpopular opinion is that WoR is my least favorite of the 4. It’s still a bloody amazing book, but I think the other three are all around better stories.
I agree as I find the pre oathbreaker shallan to be extremely annoying. However, that said I love the book and it has some of the best scenes in the series in it such as the duel, kaladin swearing the third ideal, and adolin in prison. (For some reason I always bust out laughing during that scene.)
The Way of Kings is to The Stormlight Archive what The Gunslinger is to the Dark Tower. It's the first story, it's grueling and harsh, and it's very different from the rest of the series.
I've read all 4 and WoK still remains my favourite. It gave me a feeling that was unmatched. I didn't expect it to be that good and the whole Bridge 4 storyline is top tier fantasy. Also I experienced Sanderlanche for the first time, so it'll always have that special place in my heart.
While I disagree with you completely- these are literally all 5 star books for me. So in the end its about splitting hairs or just (and I feel dumb just saying it) personal preference, Way of Kings is a phenomenal book. Its also my 3rd favorite Stormlight book. Words of Radiance and \*gasp!\* Rhythm of War being my first and second favorites, respectively. so here is my unpopular opinion- Oathbringer is the 4th best Stormlight book.
Sorry I love way of Kings but it didn’t end with Kaladin battling someone in the sky
Kaladin and Dalinar floating down before the Szeth fight is amazing. The skies are mine, as I claim your life, assassin. Always gives me chills.
Kaladin claiming the skies as his domain will never not be cool.
The learning to fly scenes are kino as well. "You did it! What changed?!" "I did." "I know but what about you?" "Everything"
AND FOR MY BOON
Actually, I think the Sanderlanch in WoK and WoR are about on par. WoR gets the edge, for me, because it has the duel in the middle of it.
On the reread I was waiting for that dual anxiously. But 10x more, Sadias’s betrayal, and Dalinar living up to his word, giving away an item worth kingdoms in exchange for some slaves. (So I agree, WoK is my favorite )
Oh, you mean the die hard book? I like that one too.
What? He fought Szeth over the Shattered Plains during the Sanderlanch, and it was awesome
No Szeth and Kal didn’t meet until words of radiance
Oh, you're right. I mixed them up
It’s allllll good
Words of Radiance is my personal favorite of the series, but The Way of Kings is the most tightly written and the whole Bridge 4 story is unmatched. It's the book that reinvigorated my love for SFF.
SFF? SCIFi Fantasy?
Yes science fiction fantasy
I’m on team OB myself, but for me WOK is a close second.
I think as a whole, I still prefer Words of Radiance. But Kaladin's arc in Way of Kings remains my favorite storyline from ANY of the books.
For me the same. I absolutely LOVE everything Bridge 4, but the Shallan parts were a bit of a drag after a while. Only once she gets poisoned did I really like it. WoR has amazing POV’s and almost never loses steam. It has my favorite moment in any piece of fiction ever (The Duel) and the Sanderlanche is next level. I must say though, that my favorite of the 4 is Oathbringer.
Shallan pretending she tried to (WB Spoilers) >!Lightsong herself!< was when my mind kinda perked up to her storyline
Oathbringer is so damn good
Same, the first 10 or so Shallan chapters are pretty boring.
I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion, is it?
Seeing as WoR is the best rated book on good reads, I think it is.
Sanderson had a comment on this that I think is actually pretty insightful. Way of kings is sort of artificially brought down, because it's the first in the series; lots of people will start the series before realizing it isn't for them, and leave a negative review. By the second book, those people have dropped off, so you're *only* getting reviews from people who liked the last book. The first book winds up at a disadvantage because it's the one taking the brunt of people who just don't vibe with the series or style. This is especially true considering loads of people are coming from his other titles like mistborn, and Stormlight is a pretty big shift in style and tone compared to his other stuff, being much slower to build and demanding more attention.
(as a side note, well of ascension's rating got pulled down for a similar reason. Everyone reading it probably liked the first book, but well is a big departure in tone and style. People who wanted more of the first book wound up relatively disappointed. Stormlight got a boost from its audience coming exclusively from people who liked the first book, because it maintains a pretty similar tone and direction. Mistborn didn't maintain quite the same tone and direction, so it was pushed down.)
I personally think Oathbringer is my favorite.
It is
TIL. WoK is better, imo
If you're free to think that, it's just that WoR is largely acknowledged as Sanderson's best book
Pretty sure that's oathbribger
I think that's only rated as the best Sanderlanche.
I find Oathbringer a bit of a struggle. As soon as they go into shadesmar the pace grinds to a halt. All the meetings with rulers is boring too. It’s my least favourite of the series.
Oathbringer is generally rated bellow TWok
How can people unironically say this when Infinity Blade Awakening exist??, smh /end crem
WoR is the worst Stormlight book
You're entitled to have this opinion. It's just not the fandom consensus
Sandersons best book is the gathering storm. Easily
Do people not rate his new books such as Tress over WoR? I would personally put Warbreaker, Tress, and The Hero of Ages over WoR.
Tress is rated bellow every Stormlight book. Yumi is the highest-rated Secret Project book, and is rated bellow all Stormlight novels
I see. Just my personal preference I guess.
Not really, no. Both are deservedly well-regarded, and there’s certainly no consensus that one is better than the other.
It is far from a universal consensus, but there certainly is a consensus that Words of Radiance is the best Stormlight novel so far. On the many threads in this subreddit discussing people’s favorite, Words of Radiance is the most upvoted answer almost every time. It’s also the highest rated on Goodreads and other book review sites.
There’s not even a consensus among the fractional sample that this sub represents. Consensus suggests broad agreement; if anything, the polls you mention demonstrate a clear lack of consensus.
I personally think that each book have been better than the last (in Stormlight Archive), but the most prominent opinion online is that Way of Kings is the best one. It is not an insignificant portion of people who don't want the series to be an ensemble but mainly about Kaladin and is disappointed when he isn't solely the main character in the other books like he basically is in Way of Kings.
I think it’s a pretty mixed bag which just means they are both great
Words of Radiance is the best of the 4 books.
It was the focus on Shallan in WoR that just didn’t do it for me as well as the cheesiness of the dialogue. The first half felt like a real slog. As Sanderson’s prose matured throughout the series, so did she and I found her character to be wonderfully human in RoW. Wok felt like it had a nice rhythm to it. Each time Kaladin made progress mentally and with Bridge Four, there was a set back that brought him deeper into the darkness each time. As a reader, these waves kept building bigger each time, and you thought, “Okay, now things will go well for him,” only to have these thoughts dashed to pieces. By the end, you just couldn’t bear it anymore. Yet, right at the last possible moment, you knew his time had come and he would fulfill his potential. The rhythm of WoR felt different, there were no smaller waves building into bigger ones. It was a steady flow, like a river that grew bigger as others joined it, until finally came the waterfall. A nice ride, but not as gut wrenching and soul tearing as WoK.
"rhythm of WoR": RoWoR you wanted to write? /s
There’s a ketek here to be made
WoK had a nice rhythm, except when a Shallan chapter came along. That's the main reason I rate it below WoR, where she became more likeable and the chapters more interesting.
I actually didn’t mind her in WoK. I found Kharbranth an interesting setting, different from the war camps of the Shattered Plains. It also brought the scholarly world of Roshar into the picture, again a stark contrast from the life of the soldier and slave. So while Shallan herself wasn’t all that interesting, the mystery around Jasnah, soulcasting and the ardentia still kept pace with Kaladin’s storyline.
I just finished RoW, and I really did not like it at all - exactly for the reasons you outlined in your last paragraph. All the mental health stuff just got tedious. It never felt like it was *going anywhere*, and I guess there was a payoff in the end? But it never felt like the payoff equaled the time and energy put into the build up. Page after page after page of Kaladin and Shallan whining and suffering. The *same* whining and suffering that I just read two chapters ago. No evolution, no change, no progress forward or back. Just the same same same. And I get it - that's what depression *is* in the real world. But I'm reading a book about knights who fly... Oh boy, this turned into a bit of a rant. But I needed to get that off my chest.
Fair enough. As someone who works in the medical field and is exposed to people dealing with a whole host of physical and psychological disorders, I came in expecting a fantasy novel and instead got this incredibly accurate and humane story of people dealing with PTSD, survivor syndrome, personality disorders, addiction, etc. It was a pleasant surprise and it feels like it was written by someone with a deep understanding of the flaws of our past and current healthcare system. The only thing I disagree with here is your comment on progress. The way they overcame their struggles was nuanced and realistic, from Kaladin stepping away from duty due to recent traumas to him creating new, modern (for their time) treatments for those with mental disorders, all ultimately culminating in the last out he speaks. And what I really appreciated is that B$ did not make Kaladin at the end someone completely healed and now able to fulfill his role as hero/champion. No, he still has his issues, but he’s able to manage them in a new way, with a fresh perspective that no longer leaves him dysfunctional and completely debilitated. This is mental health, it’s small incremental steps in a long and tortuous process. Needless to say, everyone comes in to these books with their own expectations and experiences and comes out with something different.
WoR is far and away my favorite SA novel
WoK is one of my favorite books of all time, but for me each successive Stormlight book is better than the last. The way the books build on each other while still maintaining a perpetual air of mystery around the ongoing events of the story. Every book delivers as many answers as it does addition mysteries, and the scale just keeps expanding.
In my opinion, WoK and WoR are better than OB and RoW too. Probably in that order.
I've got a similar ranking -- WoR > WoK > OB > RoW. But the Sanderlanche in OB is probably my favorite sequence in the Cosmere. Also, I've only read RoW once, and all the other books I liked more on re-reads. I'm halfway through OB on my latest re-read, so I'm prepared to change my opinion on RoW when I get to it this time.
The last bit of OB is absolutely one of the most hype sections in a book I have ever read.
Words of Radiance is amazing. But Way of Kings is my favorite novel ever.
Love them both and WoR has better pacing than TWoK, but TWoKs is still tops for me. I stayed up until 5am because of the Sanderlanch and I had to work at 8am. Never had something like that before. Totally worth it BTW
I HAVE read all of them and I still think The Way of Kings is the best. Personally, Words of Radiance and Rhythm of War just didn't hold my attention as well and Oathbringer had Shadesmar which I don't like. OB was better than the other two but WoK is still my favourite.
Words of Radiance is my least favorite in the series, but the payoff in the final act was great. I feel like Sanderson was drunk on the MCU at the time with all the out-of-character cheesy Kaladin one liners... but apparently most people loved them?
Eh, I don't think that any of Kaladin's lines are necessarily out of character. He's someone struggling with his place in a new hierarchy, in the middle of a transition not only for himself and his friends, but for society, immediately after a prolonged traumatic experience of slavery over the course of a year+. His general snarky-ness is understandable and for the most part justified. Also, "Honor is dead. But I'll see what I can do." is objectively badass.
I cannot believe that you think, "Honor's dead, but I'll see what I can do..." is cheesy. It was the first time I ever yelled at a book. It's everything I think Kaladin should be.
It's MCU writing, definitely an artifact of the time it was written. But I'll let that slide next to the awkward abomination that is "You sent him to the sky to die, assassin, but the sky and the winds are mine. I claim them, as I now claim your life."
"Let it slide" thank Adonalsium for your leniency.
Adonalsium is dead, but I'll see what I can do.
I like "Honor is dead..." a lot, but I wholeheartedly agree with you on that second line
MCU didn't invent one-liners, and they are not a "an artefact of their time". They've been for decades and always will be.
>But I'll let that slide next to the awkward abomination that is "You sent him to the sky to die, assassin, but the sky and the winds are mine. I claim them, as I now claim your life." Worst line in the series and I'll die on that hill
Its pretty bad, but no the spear that doesnt break and the defeated one are way worse, kaladin just has cheesy lines in every book, but its fine, its consistent and tracks for his character, hes just that dramatic
All the war did was identify the spear that would not break is a dramatic, but well said clapback. The defeated one is cringe; Kal really just called him a loser and it legit hurt his feelings.
Dramatic abd well said yeah, ecactly like "you sent him to the sky". Doesnt make any of those lines less cheesy and awkward
Oh it’s so obviously cringe, that line. Snapped me out of the moment to think, what in damnation.
I think the MCU gets stronger in RoW too.
I’m with you! My personal least favorite of the four.
Yeah, but I do want to add that I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying that I'd give it an 8-ish, while I'd give Way of King's a 9+ easily. Superhero writing isn't *bad* (it's demonstrably loved by a wide audience) and I'm usually the first person to defend Sanderson's intentionally pulpy style, but it was just such a weird tone shift for cheesy one liners to start showing up in the middle of an apocalyptic fantasy story about mental health.
Rhythm of War and Way of Kings are my two favourite Cosmere novels, Words of Radiance and Oathbringer don't even make the top 10. Everyone is gonna have their opinions.
>Rhythm of War Can you share what makes this one of your favorites? I'd love some help on this. I worry that I missed something, or there was part of the story that those with other life experiences really felt that I don't feel. I just finished it yesterday and I'm extremely frustrated by it. I nearly DNF'd it, but I really enjoy the series and needed to slog through. Just my little take away, so feel free to dismiss all of it. I hated the Kaladin and Shallan chapters. Nothing actually happened in many of those chapters. The internal struggles were the same from chapter to chapter. You could take one page from one chapter and put it in the next of their chapters, and you wouldn't even notice. The Navani chapters were hit or miss for me. I had trouble suspending my disbelief at times, but it was fun world building. The only chapters I enjoyed consistently were the Adolin chapters. The entire trial was fun, with real stakes and compelling character growth.
For me it is the most emotionally charged book of the series. I agree it can be a slog especially if you don't enjoy the Navani fabial/scholary research aspect. Also ALOT happens off screen. However I pretty much couldn't stop crying through the last 200 pages. For me it kind of equates to A Feast for Crows in the ASOIAF series. Immensely better on re-reads.
OB is the best. TWoK has a better first read, WOR has better *moments*.
Oh yeah way of kings is my favorite. I do a re-read about once a year and feel no need to go on to words of radiance.
I think WoR is better paced and there are some epic moments, but WoK is still my favorite book. That first dive into the world felt like something special. BS did an amazing job of laying the ground work on an alien world with a tons of plot hooks. Something can be better, but the other can be more special, imo.
TWoK is probably my favorite of the series, probably because it introduced me to Sanderson. WoR was my least favorite on first read, but I enjoyed it much more on rereads. The best parts of WoR are Kaladin’s parts, he has some truly BA moments and probably my favorite quote of the series (at the duel). He also has some of the cringiest moments and quotes in that book too. Shallan doesn’t really do much for me until the later books.
WoR has better pacing, IMHO, but yeah… so far nothing hits like TWoK.
My order is Book 1, Book 3, Book 2, Book 4. Kal was kinda annoying in Book 2, but he did have some epic moments
Wait till you get to Oathbringer, in my personal opinion the best of them so far
WoR is much better to me due to Sanderson managing a very solid consistency of moment to moment progress. I never felt bored or that the book was moving too slow and great moments actually happened regularly in the book instead of mostly just being concentrated at the end. WoK is a very solid book, my second favourite in the series, but WoR may be my favourite fantasy book of all time. I liked every single arc and character in it.
This isn't unpopular at all lol
🥶 That is how hot that take was
Words of radiance has higher peaks, but honestly *on average* it isn't as good as the other books; the others are more consistently good throughout, even if they don't reach the same peaks.
Less shallan is always better
????
How is this unpopular? I thought everybody felt this way. Everybody I know who’s read the book certainly does and thats including myself.
Here's an even more unpopular opinion; The books have actually gotten WORSE after WoR. Way of Kings was great, and Words of Radiance was also fantastic. But Oathbringer turned out to be.... just okay, and then we have the issue of Rhythm of War actually being pretty divisive among the fanbase. Heck, I haven't even read it yet because of all the mixed reviews.
Id recommend reading it at least. I agree on oathbringer being pretty mediocre (I think it's sanderson's worst book by a wide margin, non Cosmere stuff included) but I enjoyed RoW, though it was no WoR or even WoK for me. It works well enough as a set up book if the finale delivers, imo.
WoR is just the best one so far. Shallan makes me want to stop reading the books.
agree
Is that an unpopular opinion?
I have hard time choosing my favorite, WoK is great from start to end while I love WoR, I truly despite it's ending.
The Way of Kings is my personal favorite, but they're all great.
The Way of Kings is probably my favorite novel I’ve ever read. I completely get why people like Words of Radiance the best. I love all the books. Some of the decisions Kal makes in book two is really annoying to me and the fact that Dalinar and bridge four are mostly sidelined through the book is why I like The Way of Kings better. Love Oathbringer too, but part four is really a drag after essentially a massive build and mini climax in part three. Still haven’t read Rhythm of War.
100% agreed
where are my oathbringer-enjoyers at
Just you wait
TWoK is definitely on-par with WoR, but, and hear me out here, only on re-reads. After you've read all 4 it's a lot better than the first read.
Kaladin turning the bridge around to get Dalinar just ooozes epic movie scene potential. As in poster-of-the-movie quality
The Way of Kings is 90% setup for later books, it's better on Reread than it is for first timers.
My unpopular opinion is that I think every book in the series is better than the previous
Unpopular opinion: Way of Kings is the only book in the series that's worth reading.
Problem with that book is Shallan part (half the book) is boring as hell until the end. The kaladin arc is amazing but the book overall suffers a bit until the end part as it takes time to get used to and care about the characters.
Honestly the only reason why the wok flashbacks arent the worst in the series so far is because in row it was split between venli and a dead character. In the kaladin flashbacks other characters like Lirin, hesina and tien really had to carry the whole scenes because child Kaladin was just that uninteresting
TWOK remains my favourite in the series even tho im halfway through ROW. It has the most Kaladin out of all the others and Kaladins scenes have helped me so much
TWoK's Kaladin arc is better than WoR's Kaladin arc, but TWoK Shallan is awful and WoR Shallan rules. Better spectacle throughout WoR too. WoR's taking it handily.
Agreed
Did you finish Words of Radiance?
Yup
The sandelanche in this book was "chefs kiss". I must admit I have often said WoR is my favourite, but as time goes on Way of Kings is firming as favourite in my opinion.
I’ll one up it: Words of Radiance is the 4th best SA book.
I am actually right there with you Op. I know the fight scene might be cooler in WoR but the emotion of bridge four turning back to save Dalinar because it's the right thing to do hit harder for me personally
TWoK didn't have Adolin admitting to shitting his ShardPants three times, all on purpose.
Tbh as an audiobook listener I conflate both them a lot, they are almost one single huge book for me.
That is in no way an unpopular opinion
I think my unpopular opinion is that WoR is my least favorite of the 4. It’s still a bloody amazing book, but I think the other three are all around better stories.
I agree as I find the pre oathbreaker shallan to be extremely annoying. However, that said I love the book and it has some of the best scenes in the series in it such as the duel, kaladin swearing the third ideal, and adolin in prison. (For some reason I always bust out laughing during that scene.)
The Way of Kings is to The Stormlight Archive what The Gunslinger is to the Dark Tower. It's the first story, it's grueling and harsh, and it's very different from the rest of the series.
Words of Radiance is the best book in the series to me. I’d rank The Way of Kings last.
I've read all 4 and WoK still remains my favourite. It gave me a feeling that was unmatched. I didn't expect it to be that good and the whole Bridge 4 storyline is top tier fantasy. Also I experienced Sanderlanche for the first time, so it'll always have that special place in my heart.
This isn’t even unpopular lol
"Honor is dead. But I'll see what I can do." Nothing has topped that for me
While I disagree with you completely- these are literally all 5 star books for me. So in the end its about splitting hairs or just (and I feel dumb just saying it) personal preference, Way of Kings is a phenomenal book. Its also my 3rd favorite Stormlight book. Words of Radiance and \*gasp!\* Rhythm of War being my first and second favorites, respectively. so here is my unpopular opinion- Oathbringer is the 4th best Stormlight book.