The main reason I am continually drawn towards Sanderson's novels is his ability to create varied and complex characters. And in a series such as the Stormlight Archive, one that attests to be at least ten 1,000 page books in length, you're going to need some incredibly strong and interesting characters to keep me invested throughout. If The Way of Kings is any foretelling of the quality of future books, then I gladly look forward to delving into this journey. The Way of Kings is mostly build up for the series overall, with a great amount of world building and setting up of character motivations and backstory being set up in its 1,000 pages. The book follows four main characters, using their experiences and own personal subplots and character arcs to color the world we are going to be inhabiting for the series. Now, when an author writes multiple POV chapters of differing characters, normally I grow attached to one or maybe two of them, and have to drudge along throughout the ones I deem less interesting, anxiously waiting to return to the characters I am invested in (I'm looking at you, Samwell Tarly chapters in Feast for Crows.) But of the four main characters, I was greatly invested in all of them. We have Szeth the assassin in white, who has the shortest arc of the four but shows great promise for what's to come in future books. Kaladin the surgeon turned soldier turned slave. Shallan the scholar who also is a thief. And Dalinar the King's uncle who is having very strange visions. To go more into their characters would give away spoilers, but each one of them (save maybe Szeth) underwent realistic growth and character development within this book. I loved each and every one of them and never felt like it was a chore to read more of any of their stories. 
 I will say that I never found the chapters detailing Kaladin's backstory to be that interesting or necessary. They did help the reader understand his hatred of lighteyes, but that was the one part of the book that felt cliched to me. I know his story wasn't intended to be a plot twist grab but a lot of times I felt that we could have covered basically all of his backstory in one chapter, not multiple ones. There are a few plot threads that weren't fully wrapped up from his backstory, so it's possible we might visit them again in later books but for now I don't feel that they added a lot of the story overall. 
 If the length of both the books themselves and the series doesn't intimidate you, I highly recommend this book. The characters and their subplots are thoroughly interesting and engaging and although not much in terms of overarching plot happens, there's enough character growth and worldbuilding to more than make up for that. I am eager to continue on in the series and get some of the many questions I have answered.