THUNDERCLAST!!! RUN!!!
Plabies and Gentleplebs, fellow novel lovers! This is the 4th #plebreads novel recommendation and this one is EPIC!
This week's choice is the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson.
Currently consisting of 4 novels and 3 novellas, with the aim to reach 10 novels(Sanderson is a beast and will very probably finish all 10 novels before Rothfuss finishes Doors of Stone)
Starting with The Way of Kings:
1007 pages, published aug 2010
Genre: Extremely fucking EPIC fantasy. This is actually the book that made me fall in love with the genre and 13 years later there have been few others that even came close to it.
Goodreads synopsis: Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable...
My review: EPIC. EPIC. EPIC. FUCKING EPIC. This book defines epic fantasy. Large scale battles that can easily rival those from the Malazan series and the final Wheel of Time novels. A breathtaking 100% original world and a magic system based on lightning energy that you zappy zappers will love. One of the most badass main characters EVER. Kaladin is only second to Ruka from Ash and Sand in my badassery ranking. But Ruka is an anti-hero, so it could be said Kaladin is #1 badass hero on my ranking lol.
Do not dread the 1k pages, cherish them! This is not 1k pages with half of it being philosophical ramblings like Malazan. This is pure adrenaline on massive battles and incredible world building that will instantly turn you into a Sanderson fan if you have never read anything by him yet. By the end of those pages you will be thinking it was actually too few and 2k pages would be better!
This book marks the beggining of a series that, in my humble opinion, will one day be counted among the greatest works of its genre(it already is for me, but I'm sure it will be for everyone else soon enough). Right up there with Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Malazan Book of the Fallen and Wheel of Time. It's also perfect material for future TV shows and movies. I just hope they don't fuck it up like they did with WoT.
As always, please pay attention to this important addendum: If you are interested but broke like me and can't afford to buy the book, just PM me and i'll hook you up with a free copy. However, if you have the mean$, please buy an original ebook/audiobook/hardcover copy to support Brandon, he is an incredibly talented and dedicated author and deserves it.
Also, check the #plebreads hashtag to get all my novel recommendations! Every week there will be a new one.
That's it! Thank you all for reading and I wish you all a great week ahead! PV!
