How would you describe SA/WoK to a friend?

[Zephryl]

So, told a friend of mine I bought the latest SA book yesterday and they proceeded to ask me what the SA was about and... I really struggled to make it sound interesting without throwing out spoilers or just incoherently about how good it is.

 

Anyone else want to give it a go?

[Elsecaller_17.5 he/him]

I wish I knew

[officiallyaninja he/him]

"alright, so you know how a lot of fantasy has just a bunch of random magic that make's no sense? well the magic in this feels like you're getting a physics lesson. theres actual rules and an insane amount of creativity in it.

The one thing Sanderson excels in is setup and payoff. the first half of his books can be a little slow, but man when you get to the end, you physically cannot stop reading. there are things in books that have boon foreshadowed in previous books from literally a decade ago. and when the payoff hits, it feels Incredible"  

that's probably how I'd try to explain it.

[Frustration he/him]

It's really good and if you don't read it I'll stab you.

 

Note: it's extra effective if they watched you stab someone for not reading it.

Extra note: there is the small downside of having to change your name and face everytime you do it, but it's all for the cause!

[Shard of Reading he/him]

1 hour ago, Frustration said:

It's really good and if you don't read it I'll stab you.

 

Note: it's extra effective if they watched you stab someone for not reading it.

Extra note: there is the small downside of having to change your name and face everytime you do it, but it's all for the cause!

Yup. Just like this. Works every time.

Umm.. I'd say: Big world, huge storms, magic light, spirts of emotions, and flying assassins.

[BreezeCauthon he/him]

I'm notorious for being bad at briefly describing things without spoiling them (as an example: I once summed up The Pursuit of Happyness as "Will Smith being poor." My summaries of Merlin episodes, on the other hand, can run up to ten minutes.)

Nevertheless, here's my attempt (only for the WoK. That's the only one you have to get them interested in, after that, Brandon will do the rest):

"The Way of Kings is an epic fantasy novel that follows the intertwining stories of an enslaved footsoldier, the uncle to a king, and a young noblewoman from a foreign country. They must face monstrous creatures, the dreaded highstorms, and their own tortured pasts as they seek to unlock the secrets of their magical world."

Alternatively, you could read them the instead flap of the book. People are paid to write those, so they're generally pretty good.

[Branf she/her]

I was telling a friend about the stormlight archive yesterday and I said "So basically God is dead, getting better at magic requires you to grow emotionally as a person, and bonus there's lots of crabs" then I sent her a picture of some of the art which she really liked.

Honestly I think the art is a good way to get people interested because its a pretty unique thing for epic fantasy and conveys a lot of the tone of the story/world without you having to put a lot of effort in to explain without spoilers.

Then we had a conversation about how Jean Paul Sartre halucinated crabs following him, so I'm pretty sure it will be a memorable conversation for her.

[Hen she/her]

My English teacher asked for book recommendations recently, and this is what I told her:

Quote

I'd recommend The Way of Kings! 

The main focus of the book is politics within a warring kingdom. It follows Kaladin, who is a broken character trying to overcome his deep rooted flaws, and following his path of wanting to help other people. Kaladin's flaws stick with him throughout the entire book, even when at times he is successful in beating them. It’s a great example of the fact that healing isn't linear, it takes time. While Kaladin is following his path, he comes across a dead magic system. It’s a Hard-Magic-System, with many rules and limits on what can be done with it. The magic though, isn't the main focus of the book. 

The book is written through many different characters points of view, so although Kaladin is the main character, he is not the only character. There is also Shallan, a girl who is forced to go on a journey to save her family while still struggling with the innocence of a sheltered childhood. And Dalinar, the commander of an army, who is forced to make difficult decisions in a time of war. 

All of this to say, I think you would enjoy this book, and I highly recommend it! I haven't met a single person who has read it and hasn't enjoyed it. The author, Brandon Sanderson is an amazing writer!

I mean this feels to formal to say to a friend, but I think its still a good way to describe it. 

[atiummisting17]

Paladins of different ideals (each with different powers) bond with physical incarnations of ideas in a setting that's like the bottom of the ocean if the water was drained and a giant magical storm took its place.

[+robardin he/him]

"What's so good about The Way of Kings?"

Look them in the eyes and say: "These are the Immortal Words of the Knights Radiant: Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination. Speak again the ancient oaths."

And if they look suitably awed, say, "If you want to know more, here it is. -- Oh by the way, everybody's kind of an unreliable narrator. Even the divine ones."

Edited November 19, 2020 by robardin

[Eluvianii he/him]

These are great but how do you describe it to people if the most common extent of fantasy knowledge you can find is "Watched one or two Harry Potter movies and sort of liked them and knows that Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings are the names of something"? 

[Realmatic Shadow]

16 hours ago, robardin said:

"If you want to know more, here it is. -- Oh by the way, everybody's kind of an unreliable narrator. Even the divine ones."

"especially the divine ones"

[Zorben]

You know that scene in the Dark Tower where Roland fights the lobstrosities? The SA is basically ten 500 page novels based off of that.

[Kvothe the Bloodless he/him]

On 11/19/2020 at 5:38 PM, robardin said:

"What's so good about The Way of Kings?"

Look them in the eyes and say: "These are the Immortal Words of the Knights Radiant: Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination. Speak again the ancient oaths."

And if they look suitably awed, say, "If you want to know more, here it is. -- Oh by the way, everybody's kind of an unreliable narrator. Even the divine ones."

Works every time

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

I usually do a quick rundown of the three WOK mains - Kaladin was a soldier, but has become a slave, Shallan is a thief and student to a princess, and Dalinar is a former warlord questioning his society while they question his sanity.  They're experiencing events that herald world shaking changes.

[Honorspring]

On a very strange world where hurricane level storms filled with magic are common and the spirits of emotions and natural things are always around, a gifted soldier-turned-slave fights to stay alive, and to keep his friends that way too. A great warlord struggles to decide if the visions he's seen lately should be trusted or if he is losing his mind to age and the stress of politics. A young girl seeks to become a thief in order to save her family but gets in over her head when she tries to steal from the kings sister, and must become a woman instead if she is to survive and save far more than just her brothers 

[MGershone]

Alternatively, you could wait until an appropriate time and then give WoK as a present, then guilt trip them if they don't read it, no summary necessary.

"What? I gave you a 1,001 page book and you didn't read it?!"

[Frustration he/him]

On 1/5/2021 at 8:23 PM, MGershone said:

Alternatively, you could wait until an appropriate time and then give WoK as a present, then guilt trip them if they don't read it, no summary necessary.

"What? I gave you a 1,001 page book and you didn't read it?!"

If you get them hardcover you can be like

"That was $40, wasted"

[Zephryl]

On 1/8/2021 at 4:15 PM, Frustration said:

If you get them hardcover you can be like

"That was $40, wasted"

 

Well, they live in another country so with the postage it'd be more like $70.

Guilt tripping is always a valid strategy