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

this was a great story and read very well!

Absolutely loved this story! It was read very well and I cannot wait for book 2!

A must for fans of epic fantasy

If you're a huge fan of epic fantasy, you must must must read this. For the rest of us, it's very difficult to recommend. It takes slogging through at least 70% of this behemoth before the pace picks up. I almost quit several times. The last third or so of the book is incredibly well done and I'm glad I stuck it out. If I'd known what I was getting into from the beginning though, I wouldn't have started.

The narration is exactly what the other reviews suggest. The male narrator is top notch. The female narrator is competent at best and you spend all of her time wishing the other guy would return faster.

A unforgettable story

I've been told Brandon Sanderson took 10 years to world build... and that investment manifests itself in the breadth and depth of characters, the world, and culture. Will you be anywhere but on the edge of your seat? Doubtful.
The voice actors switched between a mainly male character chapter and mainly female character chapter. They do a great job imagining the accents and I felt inside the story in every moment. Well done.

Wow.

I have never been this engrossed in a book in my life. I listened to it every day on the way too and from work and I can honestly say the connection I've felt to these characters is amazing. I laughed, teared up, and audibly gasped at some parts. If you're looking for a high fantasy book series and have gone through a dozen without getting hooked, this is it. the world feels more alien than any fantasy world I've seen yet it also feels grounded in a way, I cant wait to read the rest of these books.

still my favorite series!

This is my second time going through the series. I remember why this is still my favorite.

Fantastic

This book is a bit difficult to get in to at first, but it is seriously worth it. I highly recommend listening!!

The imagination of this author is phenomenal!

it starts out slow and slowly you are wrapped into this complex storyline. Just when you think you have it figured out, there's a turn and you are shouting out your reaction! I listened to this at work and many times had to explain myself. However I found other fans and we had great discussions about this fabulous book series. It is so complex that it's one of those you have to listen to or read multiple times to really get the details. A very very talented author. The narrators are on point! I'm recommending this book to everybody I talk to.

incredible world building

I swear that the author must have been from this other word. Its described so good as he has been there.

not bad

didn't enjoy the start but got good later so I am going to get the next in the series

This is a Great Listen

This is the first book in a while of this length I have really thought about starting over from the beginning once I finished it.