The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive Series #1) by Brandon Sanderson

4.8 (17)
$25.99

Product Details

Web ID: 15843498

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.

  • Product Features

    • Suggested age range - Adult
    • Format - Paperback
    • Product dimensions - 6.1" W x 9.2" H x 1.8" D
    • Genre - Science Fiction and Fantasy
    • Publication Date: 03-04-2014
    • Page count - 1008
    • ISBN - 9780765376671
    • Brandon Sanderson (Author)
    • Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
  • Materials & Care

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Ratings & Reviews

4.8/5

17 star ratings & reviews

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27 days ago

One of the greats

Really enjoyed every character perspective in this book. Each character left me wanting to know more about them, their backgrounds, and what path they would take. I didn't feel there was any part of this book that was unnecessary or redundant and I was never uninterested. For a 1,200+ page book, I felt like I flew through this. It was difficult to put this book down, and one of the only books I've read where I found myself thinking about the characters after I stopped reading. Highly recommend this book if you're interested in mysterious magic systems, political warfare, and fantasy in general. I've already started reading book two and can't wait to see where Sanderson takes this series.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 months ago

Amazing World Building

BrandoSando has a lot going on in that brain of his, and it’s amazing reading his books and seeing how worlds intersect as you dive into his universe. These books will make you think bigger in your own life, stretch you, encourage you, and occasionally catch you off guard with some well placed humor. I can see The Stormlight Archives being the next big tv show that takes the world by storm, much like Game of Thrones did. If you’re ready for a hearty meal and wanna down a bunch of pages…you won’t be disappointed. “Journey before destination”

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

5 months ago
from Arizona

An Epic Journey of Honor and Magic

Rating: 🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉 (5/5) The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is the first book in the Stormlight Archive series, and it's a massive, immersive epic fantasy that draws you in from the very first page. If you love complex worlds with detailed magic systems, rich histories, and characters that feel alive, this book is going to be right up your alley. It’s the kind of story that hooks you with multiple perspectives, offering grand battles, deeply personal struggles, and tons of mysteries that unfold slowly. - Genre: Epic Fantasy - Length: 1,000+ pages, so definitely a commitment but so worth it. - Pace: It can be a slow burn at times, with a lot of world-building and setup, but once the action hits, it’s intense and gripping. - Vibe: Deeply epic, with themes of honor, leadership, and sacrifice running throughout. There’s a real sense of stakes, especially when it comes to the characters’ personal journeys. - Tropes: - Chosen one (Kaladin has a big journey of self-discovery) - Found family (the relationships between the Bridge Four crew are gold) - Ancient secrets (the world is rich with lost history and forgotten powers) - Political intrigue (Dalinar's chapters are full of power plays and leadership dilemmas) - Favorite Character: - Kaladin: The former soldier turned slave, Kaladin is the heart of the book for many. His arc from despair to hope is so well done. He’s a character who struggles deeply but keeps fighting. - Pros: - Incredibly detailed world-building. Roshar is a world that feels truly alive, with its own ecology, history, and magic. - Unique magic systems (like the use of Stormlight and Shardblades) that are both mysterious and cool. - Deep, complex characters who evolve over the course of the book. - The relationships, especially Kaladin and Bridge Four, are really emotional and meaningful. - Sanderson is amazing at writing big, epic battle scenes. - Cons: - The book can be slow at first, especially if you’re more into fast-paced stories. Sanderson takes his time setting up the world and characters. - Some readers might find the multiple POVs a bit overwhelming, though they do tie together beautifully by the end. - Who Would Like It: - Fans of epic, sprawling fantasy like The Wheel of Time or A Song of Ice and Fire. - Readers who love detailed world-building and magic systems that are well thought out. - Those who enjoy stories with a balance of character development, political intrigue, and massive action scenes. Quote: "Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination." This mantra is the core of The Way of Kings, and it's a perfect reflection of the book’s themes of perseverance, honor, and the struggles that shape us.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

1 year ago

Excellent

Honestly this book has pushed me to be better, and I've never connected to characters more.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

1 year ago

It is just indescribable. My favorite series ever!

I love Brandon Sanderson’s books so much. He creates whole universes. The connection he makes. This book helped my and continues to help me through hard time and I cannot recommend it enough! The emotional portrayal is incredible and so is the plot

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

1 year ago

A journey with an unbelievable cliffhanger!

All I want to say is the last 200-pages is a whole movie in itself!

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

2 years ago

A long, emotional, and truly wonderful road.

I love this book and this series. It takes a while to build. There are details that seem unnecessary. There are viewpoints that are long. There are viewpoints you want more of. There are things that make you scream in rage or in joy. It's a long road and it starts slow, but the end is one of the most satisfying and intense things you'll read, because of the length of the buildup, it makes the ending all the more powerful. Journey before destination!

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

3 years ago
from Daytona Beach, Florida

Close to Greatness

My opinions on The Way of Kings are myriad. There are many elements I feel constitute a 3/5 rating, but the final two hundred pages were nearly universally stellar in quality. It displays moments of brilliance, but they stick out sharply compared to how mundane other parts are. A large part of this book concerns itself with worldbuilding, yet I rarely felt engaged by it, as that focus is almost always on flora and fauna rather than nations. You'll read a dozen descriptions of crabs-that-aren't-crabs and ghosts-that-aren't-ghosts, and while Sanderson does lend these descriptions an appreciable amount of color and wonder, they are not a substitute for an elementary understanding of the world he beseeches us to invest in. My second largest complaint is a more convoluted one, as it bleeds into one of the novel's greatest strengths. Much characterization, a typical strong point in Sanderson's writing, is repetitive to the point of exhaustion. You have a witty character who is so assured of their own wittiness that moments of candid thought feel almost like a bucket of cold water. You have a character that's so set with hatred and loathing of his oppressors that if you added each of his derisive comments about their lack of honor, you'd have a river ready to sweep you off your feet. That repetition constitutes so much of The Way of Kings that it's, at times, a chore to walk through; nevertheless, as I mentioned, there is an upside. The book's finale turns many of these cemented characteristics on their head, and the relief of a personality being fundamentally changed feels so sincere, so arduously won, that catharsis well and truly is the lasting sensation upon finishing the book. You feel that the characters overcame something real, specifically because a majority of these pages reinforced that obstacle. I ultimately opted for a 4/5 rating as I feel that's what best describes what this book has to offer. There are hints of something truly special in the overarching conflict, as well as many brief asides that give momentary glimpses of a far wider, and far stranger, world. Sanderson's punchy dialogue comes in full force here, paired with really stellar action scenes in a setting that's decidedly closer to grounded than many of its contemporaries. By the end of the book, I truly loved one of the viewpoint characters, really liked two others, and was more or less ambivalent of the fourth, where I originally rather loathed him. I'm someone that values the end much more than the beginning or middle. If you can end strong, there's a good chance I'll see it through. If you're someone like me, that doesn't mind a rocky foundation at the start, I can give The Way of Kings a good recommendation, though I can't, in good conscience, be more earnest in that until I work my way through more of The Stormlight Archive. Investments in fantasy series can eat up a fair portion of time, and I think it's better to have a fairer understanding of the whole, or at least as much as has been published, before pushing it off onto others. The Way of Kings demonstrates Sanderson's breadth and depth of imagination, and how much he's honed his skills to follow in the footsteps of the greatest authors in the genre. Unfortunately, and perhaps a bit expectedly, it also demonstrates that he hasn't quite hit their stride. Yet.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com