The Way of Kings

The Stormlight Archive, Book 1

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer

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

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

Loved the Book, One Glaring Narration Issue

I loved this book. Of course it was a little slow at first, but that's to be expected when background information is being given at the beginning of any long novel. The characters are well developed and you care about what happens with them. I got a little tired of the jumps back and forth in time, but that was only minor. The glaring flaw was in the narration. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading do a great job and unlike other reviews I have no problem with their style. Toward the very end of the book though the pronunciation of Sadius was changed by Kate Reading to the point where I was asking myself if a new character had been introduced somewhere that I missed. I soon figured out who she was talking about, but it's one of those little things that grate on the nerves every time you hear it. It doesn't seem too much to expect that pronunciation of names be consistent throughout an entire series let alone a single book. The producers should be embarrassed to put out a final product with such an amateur flaw. Audio books should be edited as properly as written books.

Brandon's Best Work Yet

I read Warbreaker when Brandon became Robert Jordan's successor, as I wanted to measure his writing style against my expectations for the Wheel of Time. I have since devoured every novel (except the Alacatraz books) he's written. I expected TWoK to be on par with all his other excellent works, but I was completely blown away. This is far and above Sanderson's best work, and that's really saying something because all his other books are, in my opinion, outstanding.

Oh, and Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are awesome. That is all.

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. :-)

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.

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.

Excellent

Still working my way through it. It's a very well thought out world, with stories told from a variety of perspectives. I really like the way Brandon builds the world as he tells the story, and I am very much looking forward to the rest of this book as well as the future volumes in this series. It's the start of a 10 book epic story. I would *expect* there to be a bit more description getting things started! Love the detail though. Keep up the good work, Mr. Sanderson!

Your future if you buy this book

I've written less than 5 reviews despite owning literally over a hundred audible audiobooks. But this one warrants a review! DON'T BUY THIS BOOK, UNLESS YOU WANT THIS AS YOUR FUTURE:
(1) You will literally put your life on hold to listen to this book. This was so bad, that I actually downloaded the barnes and noble nook software so I could buy a written copy, so I could READ it faster. I have too much to do to take 5 days listening to this but it was soooo good that I was going to do that.
(2) If you're like me, you may love the book. But that just makes you want the next installment more. On Sanderson's site it says it's not even planned to be released until Fall 2012. D'oh!

But what you'll get is a great book. Great characters who you'll care about and who'll grow. Great world that will make you think. Great narration. 5 stars! And what a bargain for just one credit!

Woah

This is a hugely satisfying story. Very emotionally powerful in those last several hours. That ending. This is going to be an incredible series.

Great book, almost ruined by narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The book itself, yes, but not the audio version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kaladin, definitely. He's got a great sense of nobility about him that's often hampered by his recurring depression, and it makes for an incredibly relatable character.

How could the performance have been better?

Michael Kramer is an excellent narrator, but Kate Reading is awful. She's terrible at doing voices, and focuses so much on enunciation that she ends up ending almost every sentence with the same annoying cadence. It's incredibly distracting.

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

Yes, but I don't want to spoil anything.

Any additional comments?

I definitely recommend reading this book, and the sequel, but man, Kate's narration makes it really hard to get through her chapters.

An Excellent Start for a New Epic

It's easy to see from this novel why Brandon Sanderson was chosen to follow in Robert Jordan's ("The Wheel of Time") footsteps by his wife and editor Harriet. It's a masterful tale, and sets the stage for an epic conflict that spans ages and realms. I am eagerly awaiting the next entry in the series.