Everything I said in the review of the first part still stands but now raised to the second power! The world feels very real, and it feels like the story really comes from there and not the other way around. There is so much incredibly cool stuff but none of it feels out of place, disingenuous or like a façade. The world, the setting and the characters just happen to be the way they are, and we get to follow their epic tale in a world where it feels like stories are lurking behind every corner. The authenticity of the world is tangible and the immersion in it is dangerously gripping. In fact, I was in a hurry to return projects for a thousand deadlines but decided to take a small break in between to catch my breath by reading just a few pages. I failed to do both because soon I realized that I had read over 200 pages in a single sitting, and I could only step down from the emotional rollercoaster because of a break in between parts. I had to sacrifice a lot of sleep to complete the projects in time, but it was easily worth it regardless.

In those 200 pages and the fifty or so that followed, I read probably the most hardcore fighting scene I have ever seen and got to witness the unfolding of many mysterious conspiracies that perfectly employ the technology and customs of Roshar to create fascinating and highly engaging subplots that are only possible there and nowhere else. Regardless of these, however, my favorite scenes were those involving certain characters sitting around a campfire. There is something about those that make them my favorite type of scene in books, movies and life in general as they can somehow tap into the very essence of humanity, which Sanderson absolutely nails in the book.

As a whole, The Way of Kings is an epically fantastic book of massive proportions that tells a beautiful human story of endurance, perseverance, trust, deception and purpose, but really it is only a prelude for what is to come, and I cannot wait to go further and deeper!