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I've been meaning to read BK for a very long time. It was one of the few Russian classics that I hadn't read. Overall, I liked it—I guess for the big ideas. The prosecutor's speech and “après moi, le déluge” in particular really resonated with me. However, BK is not very good fiction: bad pacing, turgid dialogue, horribly unrealistic women characters, and not much plot given the absurd length. There is also a lot of religious dribble, especially in the first half, which I really struggled through. In the end, I'm glad I read BK, and I would generally recommend that people read it at some point, but I doubt I'll ever pick it up again.
Re the translation: I read the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation. I appreciate that they're going for a more literal translation of the Russian. However, I found it annoying that this often resulted in English sentences that are simply ungrammatical (in the formal linguistic sense; e.g. illicit argument structure for the given predicate, violations of the anti-that-trace constraint). Why?
I listened to the audiobook version. This book was so engrossing that I actually looked forward to my commute where I could listen undisturbed. In many ways, it felt like watching a (good) movie. I really enjoyed the characters of Ender and Valentine. The ending is superb. However, conquering the world via blogging is a little silly, but I'm willing to accept it as having been believable in 1994. Having read [b:Speaker for the Dead 7967 Speaker for the Dead (Ender's Saga, #2) Orson Scott Card https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1295660894s/7967.jpg 2327777], I can see that everything in this book is necessary to build up to Speaker for the Dead, which is an even better novel.
As a reader (or listener in my case), The Way of Kings is a commitment, but it pays off. I would recommend this book to anyone who reads epic fantasy or to anyone who has enjoyed other Sanderson books and can readily place faith in the author to deliver a good story. The plot is incredibly slow at many points, but I found that this slowness made the ending more thrilling and exciting. It feels like a solid foundation for an incredible series, so I look forward to reading the next two published books. Sanderson is a master at world building and creating interesting characters, and these skills show in this book. I particularly enjoyed the storyline with Shallan and Jasnah, a female tutor-advisor relationship, which we don't get to see often in fantasy. I found the character Dalinar a bore at first, but grew to like him and his storyline.
