This is for a readalong we’re doing on Goodreads, and since The Way of Kings is such a huge epic fantasy, I though it would make sense if I put my thoughts down somewhere, because I’ll probably get lost somewhere in the middle of the book. It’s 1007 pages long, people, I need to do this.
Prelude Thoughts:
By the way, I’m writing this as I read, so it’s going to be confusing and not organized at all.
- There’s a guy named Kalak.
- Thunderclast – some stone beast.
- Kalak has died before. I’m guessing once or a couple times at the hands of this thunderclast beast, since he says it was not pleasant.
- There are somethings called Surgebringers
…thunderclasts had ripped themselves free of the stone to join the fray.
THE LAND IS ALIVE?
… sounds of victory.
So someone won the battle, and I’m guessing it’s Kalak’s side?
Dustbringers had done their work well.
There we go, another type of creature, human, race, thing? Must remember these.
But I survived … I actually survived this time.
Oh, so he’s been to battles similar like these before? And he probably died lots.
That was dangerous. When he died, he was sent back, no choice. When he survived the Desolation, he was supposed to go back as well. Back to that place he dreaded. Back to that place of pain and fire. What if he decided… not to go?
Whoa, whoa. Okay, so they go to some place when they die – I’m just going assume that this Kalak is not the only one, but I could be wrong. Desolation. Must remember that – I’m sure it will come up again later.
…the ten of them…
Okay, so there are ten. And only one was waiting for him, a guy named Jezrien.
If their masters had died, the Blades would have vanished…
Okay, so they’re not dead, haha. God, this is going to be great, I can tell. It’s ‘Blades’ with a capital B, meaning that it’s gotta be something important. There are also Shardblades, and Blades are supposedly more powerful than the Shardblades.
Talenel died. He’s the only one that died, the others slammed their swords into the ground and left.
- Radiants
- King of Heralds (That’s Jezrien, I’m guessing.)
“And Taln?” Kalak asked. The flesh burning. The fires. The pain over and over and over…
“Better that one man should suffer than ten,” Jezrien whispered. He seemed so cold. Like a shadow caused by the heat and light falling on someone honorable and true, casting this black imitation behind.
…
“It has been decided, Kalak. We will go our ways, and we will not seek out one another. Our Blades must be left. The Oathpact ends now.”
…
“We chose this burden willingly. Well, we can choose to drop it if we wish.”
“What do we tell the people, Jezrien?” Kalak asked. “What will they say of this day?”
“It’s simple,” Jezrien said, walking away. “We tell them that they finally won. It’s an easy enough lie. Who knows? Maybe it will turn out to be true.”
So they didn‘t win? Prelude ends with Kalak walking away in the opposite direction from Jezrien, asking for forgiveness from the one they left behind – and I’m guessing that’s Taln, who died and would probably be suffering in that Desolation thingy… somewhere.
Okay, I like this. All of that was in less than four pages. Brilliant. After this, there’s a prologue, 4,500 years later, and the beginning of Book One.
And oh my god, LOOK AT THE PRETTY PAGES! THIS IS SUCH A LOVELY BOOK! I NEED TO GET MY OWN COPY.
Thoughts on prologue coming soon.
