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

great story, but the narration...

this is an amazing story, but listening to the speak and spell like enunciation of Kate reading almost ruined the experience.

Overall great read!

While the number of new names and phrases for things were hard to manage at first, they lent themselves to the immersiveness of the story. The word is vast and beautiful and the characters intriguing. The tandem narration was a nice was to split the points of view the listener was expected to switch back and forth from.

My one and only complaint would be the actual narrator, Kate Reading. While she was articulate and had on otherwise pleasing tone of voice, she applied strange inflections to her sentences. Often she would make statements sound like questions which was distracting. Most notable however, Ms. Reading put these inflections in the middle of her sentences, making it sound as though the thought was over. Otherwise she put them at the end of a sentence which blurred the thoughts.

The Way of Best Sellers

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

The mark of a truly great writer is the ability to guide your mind subconsciously to a point in the story where you hope with all your heart that something happens and when it happens your heart bursts with joy. Brandon Sanderson did this and he did it so well. His misdirection is perfect. He does not talk down to you and at the same time he does not drown you in details. I was scared he would in the opening but I was wrong.

What does Kate Reading and Michael Kramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrators did such a flawless job that they never once pulled me out of the story with "an amazing performance that surpassed the content" and yet they brought every line to life. Really, their performance sold me on a year long subscription to Audible.com.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Ten heartbeats before the storm

Any additional comments?

You will fall in love with the world created by Brandon Sanderson as brought to life by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer. If you loved Eye of the World by Robert Jordan find a synonym here that is its equal in so many ways.

Returned due to poor narration

Would you listen to The Way of Kings again? Why?

Brandon Sanderson wrote a book that is like a fine tapestry, Michael Kramer turns all that bright creative work gray.

Reluctant Listener Turned Total Fan!

This was a book that my teenager couldn't stop talking about. We took it on a cross country road trip. (Seriously 45 hours? Ever hear of abridgment?)

I recommend that if you don't know anything about the book that you look it up read a synapses. Get to know a little about the main characters before you start. If not at least have the information handy to refer to.

When I started the book it was difficult for me to follow. The author introduced several different characters with uncommon names in different settings, and switched points of view from one chapter to the next, as he told stories from alternating perspectives. I'm not great remembering names of people I meet in person, and if I use Google Maps to drive somewhere I will still need Google Maps to get me home, so needless to say, after a few chapters I was feeling a little lost.

Wikipedia helped me to fill in some details that I may have missed due to travel distractions, but also helped with synopses of the characters' plot lines, and how they related to each other. This was SO helpful. Once I had perspective listening to the book was a different experience and I fell in love with the characters.

Brandon Sanderson's ability to breathe life into the worlds and characters he creates is masterful. 45 hours later I didn't want it to end. I can't wait to start Book 2 - Words of Radiance!

I may have been taking a road-trip but "The Way of Kings" took my on an unexpectedly thrilling journey!

Stick with it and you'll be addicted

I almost didn't listen to this past the first hour. I just couldn't get into it at first. I think it was mostly due to the rather cryptic, confusing (first) prologue. I listened to it over and over again and kept thinking? Huh? I have to admit in the very beginning, I thought it was too much of a Sci Fi story to get into. I needed a story to listen to though while I edited photos on the computer (mindless retouching - not creative.) so I stuck it out.

I'm glad I did because the story becomes very compelling. I couldn't pry myself away from it and I immediately bought the 2nd book - I couldn't wait a week for my next credit to come up! I actually spent one entire weekend in bed listening because I couldn't pry myself away. This rarely happens to me.

The narration is excellent and I'm glad they have the two narrators.

I will give a few warnings about the story. (No Spoilers, though.)

In it's essence, this book is about a handful of characters and that story is very absorbing and easy to follow. However, as a whole, there are a lot of characters and places and the names are all made-up, so I found it hard to follow along sometimes. He also has opening sentences to each chapter as well as interludes with characters you only see once and I sometimes found myself feeling a bit lost. I kept wishing I had a study guide of character and place names I could refer to. If I can fault the story at all, it's maybe details and levels of the story get spooned out so incrementally that it can be confusing.

Hmm. Thinking about it, this might be a good candidate for the Whisper-syc feature if it exists so you could go back and forth. I'm a very visual person and when names get complicated and numerous, I do better seeing them written, but the narration is good enough that I enjoy hearing it.

I plan on listening to this again while doing chores so I can fill in areas I didn't quite follow the first time through.

I heartily recommend this.

Why are you wasting your time reading this review?

Would you listen to The Way of Kings again? Why?

Yes. Because it was magnificent. Stop reading this review right now and download the book.

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

You're still here? What's wrong with you?

What does Kate Reading and Michael Kramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Sigh. You need more convincing? The narrators knocked this one out of the park both were amazing.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I couldn't stop listening. All the characters, the world they inhabited, their social customs, how everything worked...just amazing.

Any additional comments?

Ok, you're done. Now go get the book. You might as well get the second one tool it's even better.

Slow start but, strong finish

If you could sum up The Way of Kings in three words, what would they be?

It was a little slow moving at the beginning but, once the characters had been formed and relationships built, you are in for a roller coaster of a ride. It took a while to get used to the narrators (which was almost a deal breaker for me). You get used to them, and they become great assets to the characters. I listen during my commute but, found myself sneaking a listen anytime I could spare. Downloading book 2 right now.

Great book! Highly recommend!

Excellent story and character development. Plot twists you don't see coming and a deep imaginative world. Not your typical sword and sorcery story. The female narrative sometimes gets annoying to me but that may just be me.

Fantastic book. Excited to finish the series.

If you are looking for a good book that doesn't have dozens of characters to keep track of and can desribe an object in less than three pages, then The Way of Kings might be for you.
I did enjoy A Song of Ice and Fire, Lord of the Rings and other grand fantasies but those books require your undivided attention. For me, those types of books are for reading while on vacation, I needed a book to listen on my commute to work.
The Way of Kings is just a great, easy listening story.
Sanderson keeps the it going with a decent amount of action, suspense and twists. I can't even think of a part that felt slow or boring.
Both Kramer and Reading were great performers and were consistent throughout the book. Toward the end, Reading performs chapter with a character that was previously performed by Kramer and she pronounces his name differently. It sounds foreign and out of place after 40 some odd hours of hearing him a certain way. It was a chapter that should have been performed by Kramer for consistency's sake, and is the reason I deducted one star, but it doesn't ruin the book.
I've already ordered the next book in the series and plan on getting the 3rd when it comes out. Highly recommend!