What Stormlight Archive Book Did You Like More?

[ChullRider he/him]

I personally liked WoR more because it had more comedy and seemed a little more...RADIANT! 

Anyway, I especially like the part where Szeth meets his spren Nightblood and becomes a Skybreaker. That part was really intriguing.

Edited March 28, 2015 by ChullRider

[Patrick Star]

Way of Kings, definitely.

 

My biggest problem with WoR was that THE CHARACTERS DIDN'T TALK TO EACH OTHER!

 

At least in WoK, the characters were all separated, so they weren't able to be quite so antisocial when they got together.

[Dunkum he/him]

I feel like it was pretty in character for them not to talk to each other, though. Shallan is secretive, Kaladin doesn't trust anyone, except maybe Dalinar, and even that only goes so far. Basically between the three characters that really mattered there wasn't really any chance that they would talk to each other, at least not about anything serious, though Dalinar did try.

That said, WoR for me. I'm a sucker for certain kinds of scenes, and Kaladin's climactic scenes do it for me every time.

[Patrick Star]

I feel like it was pretty in character for them not to talk to each other, though. Shallan is secretive, Kaladin doesn't trust anyone, except maybe Dalinar, and even that only goes so far. Basically between the three characters that really mattered there wasn't really any chance that they would talk to each other, at least not about anything serious, though Dalinar did try.

 

Yes, but think of all of the issues that could have been solved if the characters even said a couple more sentences to each other.

 

Here's a big one that could have saved a lot of trouble (especially in future books):

 

Dalinar (To imprisoned Kaladin): "No, Kaladin, I can't prosecute Amaram yet.  I do not have any proof to make a case against him.  But I am still collecting evidence, and I believe your story."

 

And either one of these would probably save some trouble down the road:

 

Kaladin (To Shallan, in Chasms during highstorms): "Amaram mentioned something about your brother being sent by the Ghostbloods, do you have any idea what that means?" or "Actually, that was me.  Amaram killed my men and sold me into slavery to take his shards.  And by the way, Amaram mentioned something about your brother being sent by the Ghostbloods, do you have any idea what that means?"  Either one would have been good.  Even with Kaladin's distrusting disposition, the first choice would have been well within his comfort zone.

[Surgebound Rainspren he/him]

I voted for WoR...I't seemed to be the first book that expanded on roshar, WoK seems like alot of exposition and alot of things set up for WoR. also WoR's scenes where awesome.

[Moogle]

WoK has the best last hundred pages of anything I've read it. It punched far more of a punch than WoR. (Which isn't to get down on WoR. Nightblood!)

 

Overall, Way of Kings came across as more polished, and much more serious and solemn. Radiance was much more lighthearted, and of course it removed Jasnah because her competence would have solved the plot in five seconds flat. Way of Kings was also free of obvious forced plot, which is not something Radiance can say. (Hello, strangely coincidentally timed events to remove any moral responsibility from Dalinar's shoulders fighting the Voidbringers! Hello Eshonai making poor strategic decisions!)

 

Both were wonderful, and while I hate to choose favorites, going to have to go with Kings.

Edited February 11, 2015 by Moogle

[Chaos he/him]

I will never understand people who think Way of Kings is superior to Words of Radiance. I literally cannot fathom it.

Guys. Kaladin drawing Syl. Urithiru. The Everstorm and the Highstorm meeting. Vasher. Shallan. Nightblood. I do like the end of Way of Kings. It's good. (I maintain the method that the Voidbringer reveal was terrible, though.) But it was a small scale ending, a very small scale one. Words of Radiance was massive and glorious.

Words of Radiance was a far more tightly plotted book. The Way of Kings is, I feel, an extensive prologue, honestly, but Words of Radiance is the meat to the series.

Words of Radiance was such a natural extension for all the characters. I don't understand the complaints of "they need to talk to each other!" Yes, they do, but it makes total sense why they didn't.

Words of Radiance, hands down. You guys who think Way of Kings is better are weird. But then, remember I did not love Way of Kings when I first read it. It's grown on me. But Words of Radiance made me scream "eff yeah!" three times in my apartment late at night, and Way of Kings didn't come close.

[Young Bard he/him]

What is this about "People who don't talk to each other?" I find this ridiculous, because:

 

a) it goes against the character's nature;

it adds to the plot;

c) just imagine this scenario: Kaladin and Shallan, despite the fact that they still don't see eye to eye, have some mutual respect for each other after being trapped together in the Shattered Plains. Then, Shallan discovers that Kaladin killed her brother! Playing 2 characters against each other, both attempting to achieve the same goals but still refusing to work together due to past. While risky in that it could become cliche, I think Brandon could pull it off.

 

Also, big reveals which make you brain do backflips and completely rework all your theories. I love books and movies like that. While on smaller scale than some (Three Doors Trilogy, A Beautiful Mind etc.) it is still bloody amazing!

[bunyip99 he/him]

I'm with you Moogle, especially those last 100 odd pages in WOK.

For me, the pacing was better also, with the bridge 4 storyline holding things together.

Of course, I loved WOR as we'll, but it felt like it had a little too much going on at times

I've seen many comments saying WOK was too slow, but it just worked for me.

[Mestiv he/him]

I loved both books, but I think WoR were a bit  better for me. I think that's maybe because it had a bit more of the Lopen, and the Awesomeness of Lift

[Voidus]

I absolutely loved both of them but for completely different reasons, WoK was the best opening book I've ever read, swiftly setting up multiple characters, establishing complex personalities and plotlines and finishing it off with a bang. WoR was just so neat and well written though, the character development was just so good.
Overall I'll go with WoR but it's a close call.

[Cheese United he/him]

That's like asking me to pick my favorite slice of pizza: impossible.

[Slater he/him]

I feel like both have there advantages.

 

WoK had better pacing, Jasnah, Kaladin building Bridge Four up and a lot of mystery.

 

WoR had better humor, (Team Lopen for life)  Adolin got good development and displayed an anti hero streak that was really needed for the shining bright good guys and the climactic "Epic" scenes were amazing and in more number then in WoK.

 

For me, Shallan tipped it over to WoR by actually doing stuff this time.

 

I still can't wait till Jasnah and Kaladin meet though. I feel like there eventual interaction, in whatever book that happens (PLEASE SA 3) will be one of the greatest moments in the series and place whatever book it's in firmly in first.

[WitSpren he/him]

Let's see Cherry Pie or Vanilla Ice Cream?  Cherry Pie or Vanilla Ice Cream?  Cherry Pie or Vanilla Ice Cream?  Cherry Pie or Vanilla Ice Cream?  Cherry Pie or Vanilla Ice Cream?  Cherry Pie or Vanilla Ice Cream?

 WoK or WoR?   WoK or WoR?    WoK or WoR?   WoK or WoR?

 

 

 

Sorry!     You ask the impossible of me!     I want WoK & WoR al la mode or for those that can't understand, I love them both and want US (Unhallowed Stones)   NOW!!!!!

[kaellok he/him]

Hard to say.  For me, WoK is consistently good; even after 3-4 read-throughs, I'm not dreading specific parts, or feel like I have to trudge through scenes and places.  Its highs (in terms of scenes and quality of writing) aren't as high, but neither are its lows (again, in terms of scenes and quality of writing.)  

 

Put another way: both the most enjoyable and least enjoyable parts of the Stormlight Archive so far have occurred in WoR, while WoK was just plain good all 'round.  The more I think of this, the more I think WoK gets the slight edge--just for the climax, if nothing else.  In WoK, it was awesome, meaningful, and the route taken to get there was both logical and passionate and irrational--so very, very human.  WoR, it felt like Sanderson had a vision for what the ending would be, and so that was the ending we got; the ending was good, but the path we took to get there requires not looking down over some of the holes we fly over.  And, honestly, for Shallan's book she had rust-all to do with the climax--and that means something to me.

 

I liked both, a hell of a lot.  And it pains me to vote against WoR, because I absolutely love 70% of it (and love 10%, and like 5%, and dislike 15% and hate 0%)--but I love 100% of WoK.

 

edit: just read Cheese United's post, and sig.  Wish I could give you more than one up-vote.  However, zucchini is pretty damned good.  Avocado, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, broccoli, broccoli, cooked spinach, broccoli, cooked cauliflower, and broccoli are all the devil.

Edited February 15, 2015 by kaellok

[Frosted Flakes]

Way of Kings for me, no doubt. But that's mostly because Shallan's irritates me. That's okay, though, because once she matures she'll be that much more an endearing character for having once been immature.

Those last 100 odd pages of Way of Kings, though. Eddard Stark wishes he was as honorable as Dalinar.

[kari-no-sugata]

Generally, I don't tend to pick "favourites"... but even in this case, I can't really separate them even if forced to.

 

I felt that WoR had slightly better prose, but tWoK was better structured/balanced. WoR has a lot of fun and memorable scenes but also has two scenes that annoy me, even on re-reading - by which I mean the way it is presented rather than the actual events. In tWoK there was a scene that annoyed me on first read but on a  re-read I realised that I had miss-read it. As a sequel, one thing I like about WoR is that it answers many questions from the previous book - it doesn't make the world notably more complex.

[Marns she/her]

Definitely WoR!!

[GreySpren]

I can't pick one over the other simply because they are very different and I like them for different reasons.

 

The obvious choice would be WoR, of course, simply because there's a lot more going on, we get a lot of plot development, but on the other hand WoK gives us the needed context to understand a lot of what's going on and the drive behind many of the main characters. I think WoK builds up the story and WoR unfolds it. I really enjoyed reading them back to back recently. The wait for book 3 is truly painful!

[Unhinged he/him]

WOR for me. The chapters in the chasms were just amazing with both Kaladin and Shallan trying to hide what they were while not realizing that the one person they could actually talk to was right next to them the whole time. 

 

Also when they weathered the highstorm together was one of the most weirdly romantic scenes ever. I've never been much of a person for ships before but I hope Kaladin manages to win in the end.

 

That said WOK was awesome and with the exception of Shallan's chapters it was as good as WOR.

[hoidhunter he/him]

Had to go with WoK.  It sounds cheesy...but everything about Kaladin shaping Bridge 4 into an elite fighting force just gets to me for some reason.  Also...(even cheesier) the scene where Kaladin decides to help Dalinar's army and speaks "the words" strikes a chord somewhere deep inside of me.  I tried to read it out loud to my wife and kept getting choked up...

 

I really liked WoR...especially since it seems to further the plot of the story a lot more...but...how can I say this...WoR Kaladin really bugs me...at least through most of the story until he gets out of his funk...now...I understand that my reaction to this is the result of good character development on Brandon's part....but it just wasn't that much fun for me to read Kaladin as someone who was dishonest...and even a little whiney...vs overcoming depression, self sacrificing,  leader of men Kaladin from WoK.

[gravemind]

Words of Radiance, hands down. You guys who think Way of Kings is better are weird. But then, remember I did not love Way of Kings when I first read it. It's grown on me. But Words of Radiance made me scream "eff yeah!" three times in my apartment late at night, and Way of Kings didn't come close.

 

I'm the same actually, I think at the start of WoK, there is a lot going on that requires a bit of thought and isn't that obvious to the reader. I reread it when WoR came out, this time with the coppermind on hand if required, and read the whole thing in a weekend. After this, I read WoR just as quickly. Both books are some of Brandon't best, I think WoK is just our first look into Roshar and takes a bit of getting into.

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

I go for WoR. It was very dramatic but a bit slow in the middle ( but then Adolin kicked butt).

[blad3mast3r he/him]

Neither book has meaning without the other.

 

BOTH AWESOME

[galendo]

I very much prefer WoK to WoR.  The Bridge Four stuff is all great, much better than almost everything Kaladin gets in WoR.  I also preferred Shallan the aspiring scholar/plotting thief to Shallan the hanger-on-around-camp.  I thought Kaladin's flashbacks were better than Shallan's, too; though to be completely honest I find most of the flashback scenes boring in general.

 

Most of the secondary characters and the interludes, I admit, are much better in WoR.  Dalinar and his sons are also better in WoR than they were in WoK.  But the plot in general feels much more forced: Jasnah "dies" at just the right time for Shallan to be able to do her own stuff around camp, Kaladin loses his powers at just the right time for him and Shallan to be able to wander around in the canyons, Kaladin gets his powers back just in time to save Dalinar, etc., etc.  This is to say nothing of pretty much all Shallan's and Kaladin's interactions, which feel incredibly forced (e.g., Shallan just happening to bump into Kaladin before she reached camp, while just happening to be impersonating a queen, while just happening to be in a position to want to steal his boots, all so that the two characters can get off on a sour note).  It's like the two characters have anti-synergy together.  I blame the forced romance between them.

 

Finally, I can't think offhand of a single exciting scene anywhere in the first half of WoR.  Not one I'd be excited to re-read, at least.  So on the whole, WoK gets my vote by a significant margin.