Kyle Erickson

“What is a man's life worth?”
“The slavemasters say one is worth about two emerald broams.”
“And what do you say?”
“A life is priceless.”

It took me five months of casually dipping into The Way of Kings in between other books to finish my reread. Well, not true. It took me five months to read the first half. It took me three days to read the second half. Oops.

I used to think this was the least good of the three novellas but I really enjoyed it this time. The plot is basic, two lords fighting over a river, which I think is why I originally dismissed it. But the character development happening with Dunk and the background of what's happening in Westeros, plus the themes of what loyalty and honor mean to someone, is just excellent.

This is a one star and a two star and a three star and a four star rating all at once. I can defend each rating but simultaneously think each one is wrong. I'll land in the middle I guess.


One thing's for sure. I don't like it. I might hate it. But damn if I could stop.

This book is very good and I would encourage everyone, but especially those with children, to read it. However it's also frustrating because the evidence seems so clear that we are headed towards a bad result and we will just not course correct in any sort of meaningful way. I hope this book inspires A) a small amount of parents to be more intentional with their kid's level of screens, B) a small amount of people to be more intentional with their own level of screens, and C) more research and books into this topic which will hopefully result in D) some actual change on a societal level.

But we'll see.

This book is awesome.

Near the end of the book, some characters are proclaiming their loyalty to Mara, and I'm sitting there like “me too!!”. Mara is one of my favorite protagonists ever. The way she uses her cultural upbringing, her own perspective and intelligence, and the perspective of others to challenge the status quo and fight her enemies in ways they don't expect is just SO good.

I'm giving this 9.5/10 because it did feel a bit overlong in spots and there was a minor issue I had with the ending. But without a doubt one of the best political fantasy books I've ever read.