Reacting to 1 STAR Reviews of Way of Kings

In this episode of Next Chapter, we're reacting to 1-star reviews of 'The Way of Kings' by Brandon Sanderson, one of the most beloved high fantasy novels out there. Watch as we dive into the critiques and grievances shared by some readers on Goodreads, exploring what didn't click for them and offering our perspectives on their points.
We'll discuss themes, character development, and world-building in 'The Way of Kings,' balancing the harsh reviews with our understanding and appreciation of Sanderson's work. This episode is a fun exploration of differing opinions and a discussion on the vast range of reader experiences within the same literary universe.
Subscribe to Next Chapter for more unique content like this, where we take a lighter approach to the diverse world of book reviews. Do you agree with any of the 1-star points, or do you see things differently? Let us know in the comments below.
#TheWayOfKings #BrandonSanderson #BookReviews #Goodreads #FantasyBooks

[@brendandangelo715]

I went through the 1 star reviews for TWoK a while back. My favorite was someone who complained how weird it was for women to cover their hands. "That's just illogical! Who would think that hands must be covered!" they cried. I was so blown away. Like people weren't concerned over women's ankles at one point in time.

[@ciaranirvine]

Some people just seem to have no critical awareness of what they are reading. The entire safehand thing is so obviously Brandon poking fun at our own weird social/religious taboos throughout history that made no sense - like the Victorians covering up table legs cos that was just way too frisky.

[@aundesignSWE]

To me, the stormlight archives are one of the most unique fantasy series out there. The worldbuilding Brandon Sanderson has done is just mindblowing! I really enjoyed the books

[@NextChapterYT]

Glad you enjoyed them too!! We’re huge fans over here 🫡

[@aundesignSWE]

@@NextChapterYTi can tell! 🎉 I’m about to listen to all the books again! Have you heard the graphs audio ones? 🤩

[@hammerandthewrench7924]

I find it interesting how people who don't like the book as a whole consistently also adore Shallon. Shallon was a bit too immature for a woman who masterminded what she did after another big thing we learned she did later on (to avoid spoilers). Her "witty" comments were a little tryhard for me but it's not that deep lol. I also thought Dalinar's part was a bit dull to start and his visions were not very interesting until later (kind of took me a minute to fully grasp what his delimma was, likely my problem not the book). But it all picks up. I knew this book would take me eons to finish. I appreciate his pacing; it made me reevaluate how I consume content; it took me 7 months to finish the 1st book, I took my time chunk my chunk. I processed it then went back in. That is, until I got to the last 300 pages, I finished that in a couple days lol. His writing has taught me in a world focused on the final output (the ending) of everything; that the process before that can be the most valuable. While his book is by definition a final output of his work; reading it is certainly a process. I learned to live in that world with those people and feel the time as it passed, almost like one would in real life. The immersion he created is only something true skill and imagination can accomplish. I won't say his book is objectively good, to avoid being that type of person, but it's clear he is very experienced as a writer and understands the genre very well.

[@NextChapterYT]

Journey before destination!! I love it!! It’s a masterpiece but it does take some learning to figure out how to enjoy it best

[@Bakert112]

I actually kinda agree with the point about the magic system. Sanderson does push it a little far with the science sometimes. I don’t know how you can come to that conclusion after 100 pages though.

[@Ms.Pronounced_Name]

I like that the magic is science, because at it's base science is just figuring out why stuff happens and predicting what will happen under different conditions. Once you have that information, applying it is the realm of engineering, eventually ending up as consumer products. So if Hogwarts exists, that means that somewhere in the Harry Potter Universe a Navani has to exist, we just never get to see her.

[@Bakert112]

@@Ms.Pronounced_Name for me it doesn’t become a problem until rythm of war were I think he pushed it a little far.

[@FranzBinder20]

Yeah I found it weird, how they ridiculed this point as if it made no sense at all. They don't seem to understand the whole soft vs hard magic debate.

[@ChromeVader]

Yeah, I think Sanderson's magic systems start to feel a little like superpowers after a while, and they kinda lose that magical/wondrous feel that softer magic systems make a point to retain. I think that's intentional, to be honest, since a lot of the time Sanderson uses the developing explanation of how the magic works as a driving story arc. It's like a scientific puzzle the reader wants to see put together. So if that's your thing, you'll probably love Sanderson, but if that's not your thing, you probably won't.

[@ChromeVader]

@@FranzBinder20 Yeah, they seemed to read a little more into some of those reviews than was actually there.

[@jordanlindorff372]

I'm glad youtube recommended this video to me. Guess the algorithm works sometimes :P I look forward to checking out your other videos.

[@jordanlindorff372]

Also I really liked your discussion about whether or not people should do their homework before starting TWOK. I had a coworker recommend the series, and I got through the prologues and was confused. I decided to do some research and I ended up watching some videos on youtube found out about Roshar and kept reading. I felt like these introduction videos helped my expectations and helped me get more invested in reading TWOK.

[@NextChapterYT]

Hey, welcome!! Excited to have you! Haha yes it can be very confusing. But also very helpful to understand that is just his style, throw you into the world and then pick up everything by the end. Honestly I think it’s a lot of fun and makes the world building happen more naturally. Also helpful to understand that the slow build has a massive payoff in the end. I love that!

[@andrewb7590]

TALENELAT'ELIN, HERALD OF WAR, DID NOT SACRIFICE HIMSELF IN THE FIRST FEW PAGES JUST TO BE FORGOTTEN LIKE THIS. ONE STAR Seriously tho, another great video, thanks for all the awesome content!

[@mostlyunchained]

People rating books after reading like 2% of it makes me irrationally angry 😂

[@NextChapterYT]

It’s ridiculous!! You haven’t even met most of the characters or learned anything about the plot!

[@Ms.Pronounced_Name]

I don't even consider myself to have started a book until I've read 10% or 100 pages, whichever of those is longer. How a person could give an opinion before that point boggles my mind

[@kahunab7400]

​@@NextChapterYT if the prose is unbearable, there is no need to read more. I expect authors to put their best foot forward. If a steak tastes burned, and is completely dry, no need for a second bite

[@TheCosmerenaut1]

I don’t think they got the joke of the shallan 5-1 star one

[@carveking]

The word was dismal not dismissal lol. Love the series keep it up

[@NextChapterYT]

Good catch!! I also said shardbringer or something like that 😂 still getting used to being on camera but so glad you’re enjoying the series!!

[@benbrady8675]

When I first start listening to it, I felt lost, but I started over shortly into it and it all made sense! I had to get into the mindset. I do not think I would have enjoyed it if the style was like lord of the rings.

[@bgirl4840]

23:00 Sanderson literally has a law that revolves around this concept: Sanderson's First Law: An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY proportional to how well the reader understands said magic. It's not that you need a magic system that makes sense. But if you want any kind of tension in your story and you are resolving that tension WITH MAGIC, the magic needs to be understood. For example, lord of the rings and harry potter generally have softer magic systems. The purpose of magic in these stories are more to generate wonder than to solve conflict. In comparison harder magic systems like the one in TWoK tend to lean more into a scifi feel which develop the tools available to the characters. There is so much discussion around hard and soft magic systems within fantasy that its not funny. At the end of the day, its personal preference. I myself love harder magic systems. It gives me a chance to theory craft; dig a bit more into the world and how it works; try and come up with solutions to problems that the characters are facing along-side the characters.

[@LEOrgill]

The Way of Kings was my 2nd adult fantasy book I ever read. My first was Mistborn. I’ll be honest I was probably lost and confused for at least the first 1/3 of the book but I’m so glad that I completed it. The climax is one of my favorite scenes ever and it’s the reason why it’s my favorite Stormlight novel. (I know I’m in the minority on that one. )

[@user-kf2hr8zw9v]

To be fair, Sezth-Son-Son-Vallano, truthless of Shinova who wore white on the day he was to kill a king is indeed geeky.😂😂😂😂

[@NextChapterYT]

But the very best kind of geeky ;) pure awesome

[@user-kf2hr8zw9v]

@@NextChapterYT For 100% sure.😍

[@Ms.Pronounced_Name]

IMO that part is more edgelord than geek, which is appropriate for Szeth

[@user-kf2hr8zw9v]

@@Ms.Pronounced_Name You are totally right! I was just trying to make a joke.😂

[@ChromeVader]

I personally agree with the idea that you can't really judge a whole book just off of the first few pages or chapters, especially with Sanderson due to his tendency to start slowly. That said, it felt like you guys read a little too much into some of those 1-star reviews. For example, the person who said Tolkien did it better was just saying they liked Tolkien better than Sanderson. There was nothing in that comment to suggest the person compared everything to Tolkien, or thought that only Tolkien should be allowed to write fantasy. I agree that Sanderson and Tolkien are apples and oranges in their writing styles, but a person can prefer one over the other. Ultimately, all of these 1-star reviews are valid and truthful because they represent the experience those readers had. And a reader's experience is heavily determined by their personal tastes. I often disagree with a lot of low-star reviews on Sanderson books, but that's just because my tastes are different, so what bothered one reader may not have bothered me, or I may have liked it. Ultimately, if a reader can't get past the first few pages of a book, they're not going to like that book even if they power through. People who love Sanderson's writing and stories are going to be those who legitimately like his writing style, or those who legitimately like slow-start epics with cascading payoffs at the end and therefore start a Sanderson novel already having decided to push through the slog to get to the revelations. People who don't make it past the first few pages just aren't going to like the book, and that's okay. I believe Sanderson himself commented once on why Way of Kings has more negative reviews than most later SA books, and he said it was probably because it was the first book in the series and readers didn't yet know if they would like that sort of long epic in his writing style. By the time readers get to later SA books, they've generally already decided they like Sanderson's work, and so there will be fewer DNFs after the first few pages. Fun video, though! Glad I found your channel.

[@noneofyourbusiness3288]

3:23 not that I fully agree with this. Way of Kings is a pretty good book, but when it comes to Shallan > Kaladin, yeah... Kaladin was a really boring MC if you ask me. Shallans story is just more interesting imo, there is intruige and creepiness, while Kaladin is mopping around a bunch. Stormlight has some of my favorite characters, but Kaladin is not one of them.

[@SpeedySpeedson]

So I think that 1 star review saying Tolkien did it better was a joke, considering the same guy gave Elantris a 5 star review and said "The Way of kings" is arguably better, LOL.

[@spencerd6126]

Sen probably gave it a one star review because he dies in chapter one Also, I agree that Shalland story is the best part of WoK. Kaladins plotline is the worst one of the 3 main stories

[@NextChapterYT]

Haha yes! Hahaha totally realized the name connection after the recording, too funny 😂

[@UncleBerty]

I’m not sure whether I would like to meet these reviewers for science or have them live on an island far away where they can’t say things.

[@NextChapterYT]

Hahaha seriously. Would be an interesting conversation… maybe a potential podcast interview!

[@ciaranirvine]

The reviewer complaining about the bodycount is hilarious, considering in Mistborn basically *the entire planet gets genocided* apart from a handful of survivors LOL

[@NextChapterYT]

We both laughed out loud when reading this comment!! 😂 it's so try and hilarious that they must have missed that in Mistborn? lol

[@RhmnLego]

Michael Kramer is my bae, if i was a professional writer i would hire him for everything

[@NextChapterYT]

100%. He is awesome!

[@some5794]

People who don't finish even the first 4-5 chapters just show how immature their reading is. They just stick to reading memes

[@NextChapterYT]

While I’m totally agreed with you, now I want to see all the memes for WoK 🤣

[@csd8204]

You can recommend a 1000+ page book to someone and know they're going to like it? I've read all the Stormlight books and can totally understand someone not liking them. The books have large portions where nothing happens and could've been just as impactful and half the length. As far as Tolkien? Is there any action in any of his books (snd I've read The Hobbit and LOTR) so boring. That said, everything isn't for everyone. Tastes vary. I wont be reading anymore Sanderson or Tolkien and neither is great to me which is just fine.

[@NextChapterYT]

Well I’d say it depends on their preferences and reading history! I probably wouldn’t just throw it out to someone I don’t know, other than to say I loved it personally! You’re 100% right on the taste variance. Everyone loves different stuff and that’s why we get such great variety in the genre!

[@ryanskeff]

LOL - I know one of these reviewers. Its spon on for them.

[@bgirl4840]

While the stormlight archives is my favourite series I've read to date, I will admit that there are flaws. Mainly the shifting between perspetives just as its getting good is frustrating and the 3 prologue chapters definitely make it a bit difficult to settle into the book. If that isn't what you are complaining about when you give a 1 star review, sorry but your opinion is wrong. bad prose? Brandon's Writing means I don't have to wade through piles of boring-ass descriptions. It's so much easier to read! Magic system too hard? : That's what makes the world building so interesting. Part of the intrigue is learning with the characters about this ancient magic system.

[@bintube5269]

poor Shallan...

[@NextChapterYT]

Seriously though!

[@Ms.Pronounced_Name]

21:20 If magic can't be science, that means it can't be reproducible. If it can't be reproduced, it can't be taught, so this person thinks Harry Potter is to scientific! Edit: Also, FIRST!

[@NextChapterYT]

Congrats on First! Also I'm with you on the magic. If it's not at least scientific (albeit different than our earth science) its hard to keep consistent!

[@johnwoolard4599]

I blame Twitter for these readers not reading more than 1% of the book before getting bored.

[@NextChapterYT]

Haha we have to lump TikTok in there too ;) hard to commit to a 48hr book when you can only watch a video for 15 seconds! ;)

[@benjaminb4407]

I kind of agree about WoK. I hated it. Maybe not 1 star but I'd give it 2.5 or 3. I would have liked it more of it was half the length and all the important bits could've easily fit. I finished the book. The last 20% was very good. But maaaaan it took way too long to get there. I do agree, I was so bored with everything dealing with Kaladin and Shallan was much more interesting. Shallan's stuff consistently developed and changed but I could've skipped 200 pages of Kaladin and not a single thing would have changed with him. I dreaded every Kaladin chapter because when we first meet him he is a badass on the battlefield doing all kinds of cool stuff and has a neat reputation, but the entire book is flashbacks within flashbacks and we almost never actually glimpse him that way. It felt like a false promise of hearing about a character who never appears on the page. The slave sections made sense even though they weren't enjoyable to read as an arc up to get to being a badass - but then there was a second divergent within that of all of his flashbacks of being a kid with just made me angry because it already felt like the slave stuff was a little off topic. Then the flashbacks of him as a kid were doubly so. Had I not seen him as a badass in the first scene and we just saw him as a slave at first I don't think I would have been as bothered. I would have still been pretty bored though. Dalinar was a much more interesting character because he was framed for attempted murder which gave us a very clear plot to follow and it made every revelation feel important. Kaladin was just "let me tell you a bunch of sad things so hopefully you like this character" but he is so milktoast and boring that it really didn't endear me to him even a little bit.

[@cantspellrestaraunt]

Sanderson's prose may be simple, but it's not economic. It's bloated. He takes three sentences to convey something that a more talented writer could manage in one. Oathbringer is half a million words. It's as long as War & Peace. It's as long as the entire LOTR trilogy combined, and Tolkien is known to RAMBLE. Does Sanderson achieve anything close to LOTR in Oathbringer? No. This is why people use Tolkien as a comparison. People with lower reading levels deserve stories, but that does not mean people who write for a low reading level get to stand with the greats.

[@josh440]

Well said!

[@josh440]

Other great prose stylists who write simply but beautifully and economical are Ursula LeGuin and Octavia Butler. It is, in fact, possible to write simply without being pedestrian.

[@ChromeVader]

Haha I was just discussing Mistborn era 1 with a friend and we were commenting on how if you trimmed down Sanderson's prose to remove repetitive or unnecessarily long wording all three books would be a solid 100 pages shorter. 🤣

[@Bakert112]

Spitting

[@Draithz]

So much gate keeping. "People with lower reading levels deserve stories" Disregarding everything else I disagree with , that part alone is just rude and makes you come across as a 15 year old .

[@bigredcrazyk]

The difference between Tolkien and Sanderson isn't the poetic nature of Tolkien's prose. It's that Tolkien spent decades building an immersive setting with his own races, languages, and thousands of years worth of lore. Sanderson could NEVER be bothered enough to devote that much energy into his settings or world-building. He does just enough to be a competent writer and tell the story he wants to tell. But just enough isn't good enough for me. I expect more from a high fantasy author. Sanderson is not a bad author, but I don't believe he's a compelling storyteller, nor does he write with much nuance or finesse. High fantasy is about more than the spectacle. It's about the attention to detail. It's about the thought and care that goes into every layer of not just the story, but all the background lore. I've read 3 Sanderson novels, and he just doesn't write with enough depth for me. I want ASoIaF level of world-building. Martin's prose aren't super poetic either, but I give him more of a pass than Sanderson because of the detail Martin puts into his world-building. He crafted that universe with so much love, and that's what's missing from Sanderson's work. You can tell Martin slaves over his characters and the world they live in. You don't feel that when you read Sanderson. At the end of the day, Sanderson writes to be successful and pump out content. If you're able to complete a novel or more every single year, you aren't taking the time to enrich you settings or devote much to the world-building. Sanderson is a content machine whose writing advice amounts to doing the bare minimum to tell your story, and it shows. As long as he views writing as content-creation rather than art, he's never going to be more than just a competent writer. But he's successful so why change anything, am I right? Edit: I wanted to throw my two cents in on magic systems since it was brought up. You guys missed the boat entirely on soft magic. Magic at its core is about harnessing the mystical to break the laws of nature. Magic shouldn't have a lot of rules or structure because that goes against the definition of what magic is. The more understanding you place on it, the less magical it is. Hard magic isn't more science-based purely because it has more rules. It's because there is a greater understanding of how it functions. With hard magic, the fantastical element of magic isn't achieved through the act itself, but what the act is able to accomplish. Mistborn's metal-bending isn't fantastical, but how it's used in combination with various metals to achieve different outcomes is what makes it fantastical. With soft magic, it's the act itself that is fantastical, not the application. It's Denaerys stepping into the fire with petrified dragon eggs and coming out unburnt with three baby dragons. We obviously know magic occurred, but we aren't certain what exactly happened. It had something to do with the deaths of Khal Drogo, Miri Maz Durr, and Denaerys’s unborn child. These three sacrifices were paid so that the dragons could live, but we have no idea how it was accomplished or why Dany wasn't burned alive in the process. At least in the books, that was a one-off. She's not immune to fire in any other scenario. It just so happened that certain conditions were met and this magical event occurred, and that in and of itself was the fantastical thing. Soft magic should still have limitations and shouldn't be used to hand-wave away problems, but there's mystery in how it operates and where it comes from. Performing magic is the spectacle, opposed to hard magic where it can seem like using magic is just another day in the office. I personally prefer soft magic. Again, magic foundationally is about utilizing the unknowable to break the laws of nature. The more you structure the magic, the more it becomes part of the laws of natural. In Mistborn, allomancy is just part of the physics of the world. It's only defined as magic because it's a supernatural force, but we aren't actually breaking the laws of nature in that universe. That's why people say it feels like science. For all intensive purposes, it is science. I'd go as far as saying it's not magic at all because you aren't breaking the laws of nature. You're working within the confines of nature to produce reliable and expected outcomes through supernatural means. Sorry, not magic.

[@chasinghaze0962]

Great comment.

[@Draithz]

Magic is more interesting when it has rules and has to work with in rules. Its better when readers understand what magic can and cant do. When Characters do something creative with it that make sense within the rules, it adds to the story. I also personally think Sanderson world building is some of the best in modern fantasy.

[@Bakert112]

@@Draithz “magic is more interesting when it has rules“ hard disagree the more rules the less interesting the magic in my opinion. Soft and hard magic systems both have a place in fantasy and one is not inherently better than the other it’s all about preference.

[@mercianthane2503]

@@Draithz Hard disagree with your take on magic.

[@bgirl4840]

Hard disagree on the effort that is put into the worldbuilding. Sanderson might not structure it in the same way Martin does but just because he rights fast doesn't mean effort isn't put into his creation. In fact he proves that one can write amazing books within shorter time frames. Tolkien has amazing worldbuilding. I won't deny that. But just because an author doesn't spend decades creating a completely new language with lineages of different races to explain the change of that language over time DOESN'T mean that they didn't put time and effort into their story. It's quite difficult to compare Brandon to Martin's books due to their approach and feel to their writing. Martin is what Brandon describes as a 'discoverer', he kind of writes as he goes (in simplified terms). He gives characters detailed backstories and motivations then places them in different scenarios to see how they react. This makes each of the character's interactions feel nuanced and unique which in turn gives them depth. Brandon on the other hand is an 'Outliner'. He will have an idea for what events should happen for the overall story, where he wants his characters to go, what goals need to be met to achieve a character arc at the right moments. This means that for every throw away line, there is some kind of forshadowing or set up for something further down the line. Every part of his story has a reason. He can also think about the mechanics of the lore, cultures, characters and design his story so they can feed into each other. That takes LOTS of effort to achieve. One of the best aspects of Brandon's writing is the way you can be 4 books deep but still be learning about the lore, magic system, culture, or a character. How could you say an author doesn't put thought into a book when each part of the lore and characters are still growing after 16 books (main novels of the cosmere so far)? And due to Brandon's writing style, the lore isn't just being tacked on and staying shallow, its growing deeper. Another part of his stories I really like is his representation of maginalized groups and mental health. There is NO WAY Brandon could write the way he does without extensive research into these subjects. When it comes to the magic system, I completely agree. Both soft and hard magic systems have their purpose. Hard magic systems work really well in Brandon's stories because he has such good foresight into how it will be used at different parts of the story. This is one of the parts of worldbuilding that actually shows how much effort he puts into his setting.

[@osirisgem]

I ll be honest I read the first 4 books and I don't think Ill pick up the any others. He is so fucking repetitive it makes them almost unreadable. I am almost hostile to him because of it. Mistborn was better, i guess. But it all just supports what I have been saying for literal centuries, it should be illegal to publish Mormon authors. Think about it. lol Im kidding about the last bit, but the first part I mean entirely

[@bgirl4840]

Y u need to be so disrespectful bro. If you don't mean the last part why say it at all?

[@mudbutt42]

The Way of Kings is an odd book. It's gigantic, it starts like 4 times, last desolation, gavilar's murder, then the kid from chapter 1, Then back to Kaladin in chapter 2. There's no clear protagonists until extremely late in the book, there's no mcguffin, no clear lord ruler type. It was like chapter 26 on my first read through, I stopped and thought. What the hell is this book about? But after reading it all, I wouldn't have it any other way. 5 stars for me

[@NextChapterYT]

Love it!! If you stick it out to the end you are always blown away. Everyone is glad they pushed through!

[@Ms.Pronounced_Name]

To this day I don't consider WoK to be one book, but rather 3 books plus a short story anthology all welded together using the Highstorms as flux.