The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings

By Brandon Sanderson

  • Release Date: 2010-08-31
  • Genre: Epic Fantasy
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 9,363 Ratings

Description

From #1 New York Times bestselling 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 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. The result of over ten 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 ● Dawnshard (novella) ● Rhythm of War The Mistborn Saga The Original Trilogy ● Mistborn ● The Well of Ascension ● The Hero of Ages Wax and Wayne ● The Alloy of Law ● Shadows of Self ● The Bands of Mourning ● The Lost Metal Other Cosmere novels ● Elantris ● Warbreaker ● Tress of the Emerald Sea ● Yumi and the Nightmare Painter ● The Sunlit Man Collection ● Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection 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 ● Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians (with Janci Patterson) Other novels ● The Rithmatist ● Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds ● The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England Other books by Brandon Sanderson The Reckoners ● Steelheart ● Firefight ● Calamity Skyward ● Skyward ● Starsight ● Cytonic ● Skyward Flight (with Janci Patterson) ● Defiant At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Reviews

  • A Full Lashing Binds us to Sanderson’s Epic World

    5
    By Dakebakestt
    Amazing, incredible story telling. Such a master class of world building, one of the most exciting books I’ve ever read.
  • Starts slow but strong finish

    3
    By Paulsifer
    This book is the definition of world building. It does not really pick up until halfway through and even then I would not call it engrossing until the last ~300 pages. However, it made me want to read the second book. Just prepare for a slow burn through most of the read.
  • Good and Bad

    1
    By Kakushan
    This book has a very interesting setting, and there are some great moments; however, that all that is good about it. It is extremely campy, boring, and slow. I would say that over half of the book is totally irrelevant to the actual plot. Entire chapters could be skipped without missing anything at all. But there is a very good book hidden in there somewhere, so when you start reading you will want to see it through, unfortunately.
  • Way of kings 10/10

    5
    By cobyhx
    Incredible.
  • Greatest book

    5
    By LogenO5
    This may seem like a large daunting book, but every second is worth it. Must read by everyone
  • Incredible!!!

    5
    By GroovyBoomstick
    Sanderson crafts an amazing epic fantasy world, with great action, unique magic, and amazing twists and turns in the first book of this sprawling epic
  • Just read the bloody book

    5
    By Ippochaf
    I loved A Song of Ice and Fire, this is arguably better in many aspects. Definitely won’t be disappointed
  • Fresh air of fantasy

    5
    By brbryte
    Definitely unique in the best way, the world building is great and gets you hooked from every character and angle!
  • Quite literally the best book I have read

    5
    By EliseOreo
    BRILLIANT!!! I know it’s massively long but it is also so so SO worth it!! 100/10 will recommend to, like, everyone!
  • Outstanding!

    5
    By SweetLilFlower
    Every time I read this book, I am amazed at the beauty within this intro to Stormlight Archive.