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The Way of Kings  By  cover art

The Way of Kings

By: Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
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Publisher's summary

From number one New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of the Stormlight Archive, begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where 10 armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of more than 10 years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths:

Life before death.

Strength before weakness.

Journey before destination.

And return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson:

The Cosmere

The Stormlight Archive:

  • The Way of Kings
  • Words of Radiance
  • Edgedancer (Novella)
  • Oathbringer

The Mistborn trilogy:

  • Mistborn: The Final Empire
  • The Well of Ascension
  • The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series:

  • Alloy of Law
  • Shadows of Self
  • Bands of Mourning

Collection:

  • Arcanum Unbounded

Other Cosmere novels:

  • Elantris
  • Warbreaker

The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series:

  • Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
  • The Scrivener's Bones
  • The Knights of Crystallia
  • The Shattered Lens
  • The Dark Talent

The Rithmatist series:

  • The Rithmatist

Other books by Brandon Sanderson:

  • The Reckoners
  • Steelheart
  • Firefight
  • Calamity

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2010 Dragonsteel Entertaiment, LLC (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Featured Article: The Best Fantasy Audiobooks to Take You Out of This World


Few audiobooks provide as much of an escape as those in the fantasy genre. Each of the best introduces us to an entirely new world (or a new version of this one), a diverse cast of complexly constructed characters, and a story so mesmerizing we’re reluctant to return to real life. But because the genre is so full of talent, it can be difficult to know what to listen to next. Look no further than this list of the best fantasy audiobooks to get you started.

Editor's Pick: Best of the Decade

Here’s to another 10 years at the top
"My journey as a Brandon Sanderson fan began more than a decade ago. My brother and I discovered one of his very first published books, Mistborn, at a gas station rest stop in high school and both of us have been hooked ever since. But Brandon Sanderson, who started out as our little secret, has grown to be one of the biggest and most respected names in fantasy today. It’s been such a joy and delight to be his fan as he’s only gotten better and better at creating compelling, creative, and human stories over the years. Is it weird to say that I feel proud? There is no doubt in my mind that his epic series, the Stormlight Archive, deserves a spot as the best of the decade."—Melissa B., Audible Editor

What listeners say about The Way of Kings

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    89,177
  • 4 Stars
    9,561
  • 3 Stars
    1,586
  • 2 Stars
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Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    75,542
  • 4 Stars
    11,512
  • 3 Stars
    2,139
  • 2 Stars
    427
  • 1 Stars
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Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    79,708
  • 4 Stars
    7,923
  • 3 Stars
    1,443
  • 2 Stars
    480
  • 1 Stars
    421

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Possibly as good as the Wheel of Time?

Wow! Great Book. Love the Heroes, the ladies, the readers.... Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!!!

Love books with virtue and honor. One character is something like CS Forester's "Horatio Hornblower" and Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe's Rifles" series.
Great value, 45 hours of listening. Never boring or slow.

Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series is my favorite for the "Fantasy Series" genre. This one so far is on par! Other books of this genre that I like are "The Warded Man" by Peter V. Brett and George R.R. Martins "Ice and Fire" Series....
If you liked any of the books I have reference then you will love this book. If you have not read these referenced books and you like this book, put them on your readling list. :-)

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64 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best fantasy book EVER written!!!

Any additional comments?

If I could give more stars I would. I am a fan of Brandon Sanderson's other works, along with the wheel of time series. I also have listened to 'A Song of Fire and Ice' series, 'Harry Potter', 'Twilight', 'The Dark Tower', 'The King Killer Chronicles' and several other fantasy series type books. This one is by far the very best. There is not even a close second. Can't wait for book 2 to come out.

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63 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The woman narrator’s cadence is unbearable.

She always uses the down/up inflection on the last word in the sentence, drives me crazy. Do yourself a favor and skip the audio version this time.

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59 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

AMAZING!!! (from a non-fantasy/sci-fi fan)

I was pressured to download this book by a sci-fi loving boyfriend and sister. Since it was so long, and only one credit, I went ahead. I expected to let it sit in my library to get them off my back, but instead started listening to it while in traffic one morning. I stayed in my car for an extra 20 minutes in the parking lot because I couldn't get enough! I have seen some reviews that say the entire book is character development. Aren't all stories? The narration was incredible - as was the recording (although Kate and Michael pronounce one of the main characters names differently at the very end of the book which was a little confusing at first). I cannot wait for the next one!

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58 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Detailed.

It definitely earned a five star rating, as sweeping epic fantasies go. Sanderson takes us into the heads of each individual protagonist, and many of the 2nd level characters. The quotes are both creepy and portentous, as well as overdone and vague. The secret behind their harvesting is terrifying.

This book starts with a quick dramatic plot point, and then ebbs and builds, slowly, until the last five or so hours, where everything gets tied together, and presents a promising setup for book 2.

Brandon Sanderson's writing style, in this book, reminded me of Robert Jordan's; where you'd have these intricate meandering progressions, and suddenly a plot twist would rattle the storyline. I feel it's worth the two credits, and regret waiting for the next book in the series, but at least we're guaranteed it will be out before The Winds of Winter.

I'm not the biggest fan of Kate Reading's narration. Something about the way she draws out the words 'eyes' and 'oaths'. She has a great voice and she would be good for a single pov novel, and for R. Jordan's books, since his female characters are all so similar. She's not the best at diversifying her voices, or at male voices, so it's sometimes hard to tell who's speaking. Probably, it's just me, and I'm sorry I couldn't give the book a 5 star narration, as it deserves.

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55 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

THANK YOU BRANDON SANDERSON (AND KATE / MICHAEL)

Waiting for next Wheel of Time and Song of Ice and Fire...(not holding my breath)

Been through Codex Alera, Saga of 7 Suns, Sword of Truth, Mistborn, Prince Roger, Discworld, Deathstalker, etc. etc. etc.

Looking for another long series.

Spent a LONG time on one that ... I finally gave up on when I saw this.

This is just what I needed - a book I can't put down - one that has made it again a NECESSITY that I have my ipod for my daily 1 hour plus drive. Since I'm not finished yet, the 5 stars may be premature, but I don't care. This book is GOOD.

Brandon Sanderson really, really, REALLY knows how to write. Can't wait for the next WoT book, and now, can't wait for the next in this series.

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51 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A great listen

I finished listening to the book this morning. The narration by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer is outstanding. Arguably the best narrators you could find. I enjoyed the book very much and I strongly recommend it to anyone looking for 46 hours of good reading (listening).

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50 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brandon has done it again!

I was impressed with Sanderson's writing after he took over for Wheel of time, so I bought Mistborn - and enjoyed it very much. I'm about 1/2 way through The Way of Kings, and I must say it is awesome. Its amazing how he can pump out such quality stuff so quickly. I've been waiting for the next Fire and Ice book for 5 or 6 years, and Sanderson has put out 5 or 6 novels in that time. Anyway, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read/listen. I would recommend to anyone who likes sify.

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42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Can't wait for more

This is a very, very long book. When it ended, I wished it were ten times this length. By the end, I truly cared for all of the main characters, and I'm eager to know what happens next. I didn't care as much for some of the intermissions, because they tended to focus on more disposable characters, but mostly just because I wanted to know what was going to happen to Kaladin, Dalinar, and Shallan. It's a great book, and I think it is required reading (or listening, I suppose) by every fan of epic fantasy.

The narration is really good. It took me a little while to adjust each time the narrator changed, but both narrators were great.

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40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Genius. And I usually HATE the fantasy genre!!

Ok, this will be quick, since there are something like five MILLION reviews of this book on here, and the odds are good that NO ONE will read this mine.

Truth is, I felt obligated to write this because I usually can't stand fantasy stories... I LOVE sci-fi, but for some reason I could just never get into an fantasy pieces, and believe me, I've tried.

This book, however, just converted me!

To say this book is "genius" for a fantasy book is an understatement. This book is genius, period. I rank it with the greatest books EVER written... EVER. I'm not kidding. It's up there with War and Peace, Ulysses, Winds of War, Lolita, and the Bible.

Sanderson's mind is capable of creating worlds and characters which I could not even conceive of being possible to create. So much depth in every little thing; from the rocks to the clothing. This guy is incredible.

Here's to hoping you never die, Mr. Sanderson. May the world be blessed with your incredible works of literary art for decades to come!

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36 people found this helpful