I started The Way of Kings twice before it took. The first 200 pages are genuinely slow — Sanderson is building scaffolding for a structure you can't see yet, and you have to decide whether to trust him. I'm glad I did.

Kaladin's arc is what kept me going. I've read a lot of fantasy where characters are depressed in the way characters in TV dramas are depressed: dramatically, visibly, with clear turning points. Kaladin's depression is quieter and more structural. It's in the way he talks about his past, the way he describes his own capacity to care about people as a curse rather than a gift. It felt true in a way I didn't expect from an epic fantasy novel.

The magic system is typically Sanderson — rule-based and satisfying — but what surprised me was how late in the book it becomes central. For most of the novel the stormlight stuff is background color. The story is really about labor and loyalty and who deserves protection.