The Way of Kings
- Author Brandon Sanderson
- Narrator Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Publisher Orion
- Publish Date 26 May 2011
- Run Time 45 hours and 28 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Adventure fiction, Dystopian and utopian fiction, Epic fantasy / heroic fantasy, Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Narrative theme: Politics, War, combat and military adventure fiction.
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What to expect
The groundbreaking first book of an epic series that has changed the face of fantasy. The Way of Kings begins The Stormlight Archive.
Speak again the ancient oaths:
Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.
Return to men the Shards they once bore.
The Knights Radiant must stand again.
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 ten 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 ten 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.
Readers love The Way of Kings:
'A masterpiece series in epic fantasy' Novel Notions
'It's multi-POV, action-packed, heartfelt, exciting, thrilling' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'The story is mind-blowing' Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'[It's] elevated the art of storytelling to a different league' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Introduces a series that will change the history of Fantasy' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'I really wish I could give The Way of Kings a sixth star' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Other books by Brandon Sanderson
The Cosmere
The Stormlight Archive
The Way of Kings
Words of Radiance
Edgedancer (Novella)
Oathbringer
Rhythm of War
Wind and Truth
The Mistborn Saga
Mistborn
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages
The Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
The Bands of Mourning
The Lost Metal
Critics Review
User Reviews
but once the book has pulled you in, which took me about 7h, you'll start looking forward to those moments when you'll have time to listen.
the characters are solid, obviously thoroughly thought through. if something doesn't make sense, it soon will, as more motivations of characters are revealed.
world building is stellar. science, biology, and customs are all explained nicely
and, it's so very exciting!
the only downside is that as an audio book, some of the names are confusing to me in how they sound read out loud. they look very different in writing, so i suspect that the author just didn't consider the sounds of the names. for me, it was sometimes hard to follow who did what. voice acting is good though, so during conversation this isn't an issue.
As usual with any Sanderson book: epic world building, epic character detail, epic plot points and epic writing.
I give a 4 star because there was some short sections that paced really slow for me and, had I been physically reading, I would have possibly given up. I'm glad I didn't though because this is a fantastic book!
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