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If you like fantasy you NEED to read this book.
The Way of Kings is a journey through a world like nothing I've imagined before. A place ravaged by storms so harsh that topsoil is alien and the only living Flora have adapted to hide in porus rock or retract into shell-like exoskeletons. Horses have been replaced by giant hermit crabs, and man's best friend has antenna and six legs. To top it all off, the ruling class are determined by their eye colour and the most powerful kingdoms are those that posses “shards” and “plates”; magical swords and armor leftover from a forgotten era. More I learned about the world the more I grew to love it, and despite being so alien it was never so off-putting that I was pushed away. It pulled me in and kept me wanting to experience more.
The story is told through the perspectives of wildly different characters: an uncle to a king, a slave in the king's army, and young woman on a quest to become a renowned scholar. There wasn't a single character I didn't want to know more about, and when the perspective changed from one to the other I was always eager to progress through their personal journeys.
This book has everything. Magic, epic battles, politics, tragedy, humor, redemption, forgiveness, betrayal, and delicious campfire stew. I seriously can't recommend it enough. Do yourself a favour and read this book!
A trip through Hell. So incredibly bleak and depressing, yet also somehow kept me holding on to a small shred of hope. I recommend this to everyone, but also with a warning that it's going to hurt.
I feel REALLY conflicted about this book. I enjoyed it through and through, but it was slow as hell and there really isn't much payoff to the many story threads.
I'll probably read the third in the series because I love the world that Leckie has created, but this book was a swing and a miss for me.
Random thoughts:
- A main protagonist I liked is still around but... Wasn't really used in the plot much at all?
- This book is all about how imperialism is bad but it also leans on the “white saviour” trope HEAVILY. Braq is just too perfect and solves everyone's problems. Blah.
- What was the point of this book? It really felt like a long setup for a final chapter in the trilogy.
- I honestly like all the tea drinking and politics but it's a bit much at times.
- “Baby lieutenants” are aborable little imperialists.
Interesting characters, a wonderful setting, and layers upon layers of mystery that consistently unfold until the very end. It's not a roller coaster ride, more of a hike through tough but beautiful terrain.
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