The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is a popcorn-munching crowd-pleasing fantasy epic with some pacing issues in its first two-thirds. It's my favorite of Sanderson's so far, and I'm itching to read the other Stormlight Archive books. I admire the directness and clarity of Sanderson's writing, which helps you keep track of his complex worldbuilding and magic systems. But it's a double-edged sword when some parts could use a little more, I dunno, flavor(?) or poetry(?). The "life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination" mantra of the Knights Radiant, for instance, had me rolling my eyes each time it came up. There's gotta be a more interesting way to say or represent those ideas without, you know, just directly saying them.

This book has to do a ton of setup for what's to come, and Sanderson takes his time doing so, indulging in long flashback sequences, detailed descriptions of cultures (clothing, hairdos, food), and expository dialogue on the magic system.

But towards the end, the pacing ramps up intensely, to the point where I was doing no-fun keep-putting-it-off type chores just so I could hear what happens to my boi Dalinar. Thank you for helping me unclog the right side of my kitchen sink, Brandon Sanderson.

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