The Way of Kings

The Stormlight Archive, Book 1

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer

Length: 45 hrs and 30 mins

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

Spectacular

I've read the Mistborn series (which I loved) and Sanderson's continuation of the WoT series (which I also thought was incredible), but this book exceeded even my expectations. If Sanderson is able to continue this series with equal quality installments, it may become my favorite fantasy series. This book is fantastic on its own, but it also develops such an incredible world with multiple interesting characters that coming to the end was a depressing experience (despite the strong ending for a book that's obviously the first of a series). I bought this to bide my time while eagerly anticipating the last installment of WoT, but I feel like I was rewarded with a work that is at least as good, and possibly better, than the final book of the WoT series (although I must reserve judgment until I read it). With regard to content and style, as much as I love Robert Jordan, I find Sanderson indulges less in the detailed minutia and keeps things moving while still developing the depth of character and world that Jordan did. I don't say that as a mark against Jordan, who was a true master, only to give Sanderson the high praise he deserves. I dream of being a writer, and if I ever had the guts to try it, Sanderson would be one of the authors I'd strive to emulate. Buy this book and ENJOY! (until you get to the end, and then -- like me -- you can wait miserably for the next installment).

For those needing some criticism to give validity to a review (which I understand), I'll note the following. I really like Michael Kramer (not my favorite narrator, but definitely great), and I also like Kate Reading, BUT I do get a bit annoyed by the tone she used to voice the main female character (Shallan). It's similar to the voice used some of the 'young naive women' in WoT (e.g., Nynaeve al'Meara), which I also find a bit grating. I realize the underlying material for these characters suggests a naive female in need of worldly understanding and refinement, but the voice just seems to Jr. High catty for me, particularly because the characters are obviously strong, deep individuals. To be clear, I really respect Kate Reading and consider her to be very talented. I'm only criticizing the voice she uses to depict the 'annoying young woman' characters, which should of course have an annoying voice, I just wish that the degree of annoying were turned down a notch. But again, fantastic book, and great narration from both Kramer and Reading.

BTW: I just checked (on 11/23/12) and Wikipedia indicates vol. 2 of the series will be forthcoming during Christmas season of 2013. Makes me want to cry, although it would have taken me 4 lifetimes to write a poor rendition of vol. 1, so I'm not criticizing the author. Indeed, given Sanderson's work on the WoT series (and others), he appears to be as prolific as R. Jordan. Heralds be praised!!!

Great story, odd narration

The story is wonderful. The only thing that bothered me was the weird way the female narrator emphasized her words. It is as if they took her sentences apart and glued them back together piece by piece. She emphasizes every word in every sentence, which made it hard to get through the chapters she read.

really good story, didn't love the female narrator

loved the book. I have become a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson. his stories are fantastic, unpredictable, and capture you in a world with it's own magic.
his characters are diverse and loveable (or hateable, depending on who they are)
The female narrator did not read as well as Michael Kramer, and between the two she said a character's name correctly. it drove me crazy.
other than that, it was a very enjoyable 'read'.
*** edit*** the mispronunciation was fixed in the next book. :)

it took a very long time to get the story rolling

it didn't really start to get good until about three quarters through the book. but when it does, WOW!

Top Book

Starts slow, you'll feel lost, confused, angry, then five hours in you're itching for more and then you are listening in the shower and while you make love to your wife and then it's over and you're sad again 😔.

Way too short!

Any additional comments?

I was totally wrapped up in the story and even after 45 hours of listening I wasn't ready for it to end. I can't wait for the sequel to come out. His website says it's 80% complete!

An engaging story, almost ruined by bad Reading

See what I did there?

This book takes some time to get going (I didn't really get into it until part 2), but once it does it's an addictive ride as I've come to expect from Sanderson.

That said, Kate Reading is the worst audiobook reader I've heard so far and she nearly turned me off of this book. I found her speech mannerisms irritating (lisps and strange inflections or pauses), she cannot do a male voice, nor distinguish those male voices (compared to Kramer who handles multiple female voices pretty well). Lastly, she causes inconsistencies in pronunciation of names and in character voices, the character of Sadeus being the main example of this. I hate to rant about this, but it really is the main issue with this book. Had Kramer been the sole reader the experience would have been far more enjoyable, but as it is, half the book is often excruciating to listen to.

Great story, good narration

Amazing story, first of all. I loved it, and I can't wait to continue reading the series. I enjoyed every moment, it kept my up late waiting to see what would happen next.

With that out of the way:

The narrators aren't my favorite, but they're both talented in their own style. I can't dock any points for the narration, though. They were both professional quality narrators, I'm only speaking for my personal preference. There were parts where I felt the narration conflicted with the tone of the story somewhat, and there was a point towards the end when a certain character yelled and the quality of the recording suffered drastically for some reason (you'll probably know what I'm talking about when you hear it), but this is a minor nit-pick overall.

Moreover, this was a phenomenal story and I'm excited to continue the series.

Instant Classic

I can't write a reveiw as eloquently as many of the others have here. This is just a good book. Well worth the read. If you enjoyed "The Wheel of Time" series, you will enjoy this well written novel. Brandon Sanderson is now one of my favorite authors.

Push Through for an Incredible Epic Fantasy Novel

I guess the best way I can start this review is a little more background. I've read four Brandon Sanderson novels (Steelheart, Firefight, The Rithmatist, and Mistborn). So I have a pretty good track record with his books. But jumping into a book that's over 1000 pages or 40+ audiobook hours was a little daunting. The other problem is that The Way of Kings takes a long time to warm up. I mean a long time. I'd say it was a third maybe up to a half of the way through the novel before the wheels really started to turn for me. There are just so many characters and so much world building to take in that at times its overwhelming. There's a ton going on in The Way of Kings.

Some of the world building pays off and other stuff is just to fill in your imagination the world that Sanderson has built. There are three primary characters and nearly a hundred other characters that you get to know. A lot of which have their own chapters. The main three are extremely engaging though. You have Dalinar Kohlin a Brightlord who's known to be one of the most honest men in the kingdom. Then you have Shallan a woman who's family is in ruins and is set to find her family help. And finally the main character at least in my opinion is Kaladin. He's a slave but has the most backstory and consistently throughout the book has the most interesting journey.

Once you get over the hump, The Way of Kings builds a world that's both engrossing and extremely entertaining. The last hundred pages or so are some of the best fantasy I've ever read. There's struggle, war, romance, political battles, and religious insights. You learn so much about the world of Roshar that at times I had to remember the world wasn't real. Sanderson has always been a great world builder but I've never read anything to the level of The Way of Kings. For me getting past the first half gave a huge payoff in the end. I can only hope the next book, Words of Radiance can start quickly and continue to build off of this incredible fantasy epic that Brandon Sanderson has written.