Hey peeps!

As an author always trying to learn, and to perfect my craft, I’ve gone through several critically-acclaimed books to over-analyze their first chapters. I have a personal “test” which I think holds up to determine whether an opening is totally solid, and after looking at Fourth Wing and Unsouled, today it’s time to examine The Way of Kings, written by Brandon Sanderson!

NORMALLY, I look at chapter 1 specifically, since prologues don’t typically have the same flow or requirements for engagement.

However, since the prologue to The Way of Kings is more of a SECRET CHAPTER ONE, we’re going to dive straight into it and see what’s going on.

As a side note, the best prologue I’ve ever read was in Dragonflight (written by Anne McCaffrey) and completely changed the game for how I thought of prologues moving forward. So, how does The Way of Kings Compare?

Let’s find out!

Oops – the Prologue of The Way of Kings is Actually Chapter One!

Hear me out! Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series not only has a Prologue, but it ALSO HAS a Prelude! (Overindulgent much, Sanderson? LOL) However, I’d like to make the argument that the prologue is actually “Chapter 1” and his prelude is actually his prologue.

If you don’t believe me, let me lay out my evidence.

1. The Prelude does what a lot of what normal Prologues do: it summarizes long periods of history (in this case trough dialogue). The Prologue here does not do that.
2. The Prologue follows a single viewpoint through a single scene, with little explanation to the world outside of what is relevant to understand the activities in said scene.
3. The Prologue introduces a reoccurring character, which again, not something prologues are known for.

For those reasons, I believe the Prologue is a secret chapter one.

So, now we can finally get on with the official breakdown!

Requirement #1: Is there at least one hook?

The prologue opens with:

Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king.

Prologue, The Way of Kings

If that isn’t a hook, I don’t know what is!

The promise of regicide is a powerful hook for any novel, and since the ENTIRE prologue is about this very deed coming to fruition, it’s not only a hook, it’s a promise kept.

Brandon Sanderson said, “This character is going to kill a king,” and then a king dies (sorry if you haven’t read the prologue, and this is a spoiler, but it’s only a spoiler for the very end of the prologue, so we can all calm down).

That’s right! Not only is this a hook, it’s a powerful writing technique that delivers subconscious messages to the reader. Once Sanderson has killed the king, the reader knows that Sanderson will make good on his exciting promises, so they’re confident that if they keep reading, more excitement is in store.

In all honestly, this first sentence, and the fact that Szeth does kill a king by the end of the prologue, is so masterclass I don’t think I can praise it enough.

Excellent. Wonderfully executed.

Requirement #2: Does the main character have at least one likeable trait?

Szeth is an assassin, and for some people that’s 100% a likeable trait. (Myself included, LOL)

HOWEVER, logically, it’s a negative, so in order to ensure Szeth is likeable, Sanderson went out of his way to give three reasons why you should like Szeth as a character.

1. He’s bound by honor to follow the orders of Parshendi. And while he doesn’t want to kill the king, he must, and it’s the kind of angst that’s compelling to watch!
2. Szeth is extremely skilled. While most assassins would sneak in and stab a fool without being seen, Szeth just… marches straight up to the king’s door and engages in one of the longest run-n-gun sequences I’ve read in someone’s else work, LOL – Szeth is SO skilled, he becomes instantly likeable.
3. Szeth is a man of his word. When the dying king asks to deliver a message, Szeth does just that. What a bro.

And we learn all that in this one prologue!

Of the three traits, I want to take a special moment to discuss point #2.

Because once again, Sanderson has done something so wonderful, it’s hard to give it enough praise.

The fight scene between Szeth and the king is masterclass. (I know I’ve used that twice now, but it’s fitting).

This fight not only demonstrates Szeth’s skill, but also teaches the reader about the magic system. And it’s an AWESOME magic system.

The shards are rule-of-cool and the stormlight is fun-with-physics done right! And while some authors would’ve used paragraphs and paragraphs of time to explain, or even had little training tutorials in-universe to get these physics concepts to the reader, Sanderson masterfully weaves all the powers into a single fight.

It’s so amazing, I’m still in awe.

Brilliantly done.

Requirement #3: Are the villains mentioned or at least hinted at?

The reason I include this requirement in my list of “what makes an excellent opening chapter” is because giving the reader a sliver of a road map helps build trust.

If the reader knows who the villain is, or what the stakes are for the hero, it makes it easy to disappear into the world and actively root for them.

The prologue to Sanderson’s epic fantasy does that wholesale. We have plenty of villains (either Szeth himself) or the people who control him. And if that wasn’t enough, the king’s dying words imply there are MANY more just over the horizon.

In Conclusion…

The prologue in The Way of Kings is a masterclass of writing.

It’s engaging. It’s intriguing. It’s informative. It’s nuanced.

I’ve critiqued a lot of opening chapters over the years, trying to figure out what makes things tick, and I can say with certainty that the prologue here showcases some wonderful skill. It’s difficult to find an opening this strong in terms of writing.

That being said…

You better like fight scenes if you read this. If you DISLIKE written fight scenes, or just fighting in general, or bodies piling up like this is a Drowning Pool song, then you probably WON’T like this prologue.

However, subjectivity isn’t the name of the game for writing. My three requirements are meant to remove subjective opinion from the equation to better understand storytelling as a whole.

Some people like fights. And regicide. And assassins. And cool magic systems.

And if any of those things catch your interest on the regular, I’m confident you’ll enjoy The Way of Kings.

So, on that note, this prologue gets a solid 10/10 from me.

Join me next time when I look Kings of the Wyld, by Nicholas Eames.

Until then!

Shami