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

Another Brandon Sanderson Masterpiece

For everyone who has read previous Brandon Sanderson novels, the well-written nature of this book should come as no surprise. The Brandon wields prose with the dexterity of his own hands and weaves what will surely become a classic fantasy series. Don't be intimidated by it's length, the pages turn quickly and soon you will soon find yourself immersed in the intricacies of Rosharian culture. Here's a few summary points:

1. The book introduces a LOT of characters. Don't be intimidated if you don't remember them, the author does a good job of re-describing them later to reinforce the important characters in your mind.
2. The book is told through perspectives of each character (similar to Game of Thrones), but most of the main plot is told through the perspective of one person. In the each of the series' later books, different character play the role of the primary perspective.
3. Don't get this book if you don't have money/time to get the second book. You will regret it otherwise.

Long, but not grinding

The writing and worldbuilding are both fantastic, as I have come to expect from Sanderson. The only complaint I have is the abrupt ending and obvious setup for the second book.
It's a great spend of a credit.

Well crafted story. Exciting.

Takes a while but really draws you in. Can't wait to listen to next book.

Great Start to an Epic Journey

I just finished listening to this book for the second time in preparation for the release of Oathbringer, the third and newest book in the series. As I've been going through it again, I am amazed by the hidden nuance and details that are woven throughout the book. This is truly a wonderful story.

I would caution anyone new to epic fantasy or the work of Brandon Sanderson to start with one of his different works. This is a dense book and you should understand what you are getting yourself into. Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series or his standalone book Elantris are great entry points. If you are already up to speed on your fantasy literature, dive in and enjoy.

AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

Great start

Loved the book. Very engaging. Epic feel. Inventive world to explore.

The performance from both readers was excellent. Took me a bit (maybe an hour) to get into the story, world, and performance, but after that I was hooked. During the last half of the book, I would take all opportunities to listen.

Negatives:
1. This book definitely feels like a setup to the rest of the story. There is a lot of background and slow reveals. Very satisfying, but also a bit slow and low on action for a long while. You do get to know the main characters enough that you get emotionally involved in their stories. If you have the patience for a long journey, this book does satisfy very well.
2. Right when i was getting interested in a main character, the story would switch to another main character. This was also distracting when getting used to two readers. It is most frustrating at the beginning of the story and gets less frustrating by the end.
3. There is a learning curve in getting used to this newly created world. Magic, environment, cultures, names, languages, geography, weather, etc all seem very new. This is not a typical fantasy adventure story based on traditional Tolkien foundations. Be ready to learn this world to better understand the story.

Slow start but stick with it. Good story

Slow start, but stick with it. Good story when all of the characters are fleshed out and in play.

Great start to an unfinished series

The book really is awesome, the only reason it didn't get 5 stars for me is because it's a little slow compared to Sanderson's other works. That being said, it's book one out of seven (Or so I've been told) and all of them are probably going to be massive like this one, so it makes sense that there's a lot of setup, a lot of foundation laying for the future of the series, so being a little slow is to be expected. Also, there are a lot of story lines, it's a little more complicated than the mistborn series in terms of keeping track of characters, not as much as Game of Thrones but still a lot to keep track of

Loved it - this author is now on my list

I loved the story, the writing style, the characters, and the narrators. In short, I loved every minute of this book, and was very sad when it came to a conclusion. I hope a next book in the series is being written.

Impressed

This is my first Brandon Sanderson exposure and I am hooked. I am excited to start the next story. I will write a longer review when the series is complete.

Fantastic

Beautiful narration. Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish.. I look forward to the next book.