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

wow

great book long in places but good. great for any age group no bad words

Huge book and I wanted more!!! It's amazing!!

I loved Mistborn but Brandon Sanderson really created something amazing with these series!! The cultures, the animals, the plants, the magic system and the story they are all great, can't wait to read the next one!!

Loved it :)

A little slow in the beginning, but as the story came together it was hard to stop listening.

Excellent!!!!

This book gets off to a slow start but it builds quickly. The characters are interesting and three dimensional. The plot slowly unveils itself to be ever more and more complex. Can't wait to read book 2.

Kramer as narrator makes the story come alive with great voice work.

High Expectations Met and Exceeded

Any additional comments?

The Way Of Kings promises to be one of the great long-form Fantasy series’. Taking his queues from Robert Jordan (whose epic series Sanderson took over after Jordan’s death), Sanderson lays the framework for what promises to be an exciting and intriguing ten novel series. Set in a world that is quite alien and unique but familiar enough for the reader to feel comfortable, the story follows three primary characters, a slave, a Lord, and a student, each with his or her own agenda set against a backdrop of endless war and intense political intrigue. The plot lines are loosely connected and each build toward a satisfying conclusion that works as both an ending to The Way of Kings but also sets up the next novel in the series. While the exposition may seem long and intentionally drawn out at times the novel is actually very fast paced and rarely drags, especially the audiobook. Sanderson has moved to the top of the genre and is the spiritual heir of Tolkien and Brooks and Jordan. His characters are rich and developed, his writing style is as good as any fantasy writer working today, and the worlds he creates are truly unique and a hallmark of his work. I can’t recommend this series enough. And with Michael Kramer and Kate Reading presenting the audiobook there’s really no reason for any fan of high fantasy not to own this audiobook.

Good enough to go through twice!

May have to hear again to enjoy the most but it is still an excellent read!

good read

the story was difficult at first to develop. characters and time change.but after about one third of the book I could not put it down. very good and solid performance of telling the story

Longest book I couldn't put down.

Where does The Way of Kings rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book ranks among the top of the books I've listened to on Audible. This has a Terry Goodkind feel to me regarding the world and character development. Nothing is missing and listening through the book brings you to each location to experience events and situations with each character.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Way of Kings?

(Doing my best not to induce spoilers) The most memorable part of the book for me was the part when Kaliden and Sil are watching the slaughter and he has to make the decision to save his men or save the army. I also liked the part when Kaliden met Wit out on the plains. It lets you know there's so much more going on than what's directly in front of the reader.

Which character – as performed by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer – was your favorite?

There's several characters in the book I really enjoyed. Rock was a great character, very wise but because of the language barrier he was very simple. Can't remeber his name but the one-armed bridgeman is a great character. Sil by far is one of my favorites, her character development I didn't expect but very much enjoyed

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

(Another Spoiler Alert). When Kaliden thinks about killing himself and Sil tells him she's leaving because he's given up on life is one of the moving parts in the book.

Any additional comments?

I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the time warps. Didn't understand the significance in the story.
Already picked up the next addition. Ready to see how Kaliden develops with Dalegar

So eager for the next one I've listened 3 times.

I hadn't heard of Brandon Sanderson before he was tapped to finish Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I wondered if he was chosen because his writing was similar to Jordan's so I decided to investigate and saw that he had some good fan reviews for Mistborn and Elantris. I decided to give Elantris a listen and liked it. Sanderson was more thoughtful than many of the writers I had been listening to. Then in researching further I read his theory about balancing magic in the story and how magic either had to be rare or it had to have strict rules in the story and immediately understood why some of the other series I had been into had become boring.
I then listened to Mistborn and got hooked for good. I have listened to almost everything he has on audible except the Alcatraz series and out of all of it The Way Of Kings is the best! Brandon seems to have a fascination for the definition of god or religion as it is a common theme in many of his books. In this book he seems to want to define man, right & wrong, leadership, duty and all that. The setting is fantastically crafted and the system or systems of magic are inventive as usual for Sanderson.
I love the book and can't wait for more.

slow starter but definitely ended with a bang..

I am a wheel of time fan. When Brandon took over to finish the series, I was a bit nervous about a possible style change. I had nothing to worry about.. I started in Brandon ' s own work to find out if he had the same magic with his characters. although the time jumps in the book took me for a loop, after getting them figured out, it gave a depth to the main character seldom seen in modern writings.. great stuff.. I am looking forward to the rest of the series