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Cover of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings

Book 1 of The Stormlight Archive

  • 1008 pages · about 17 hours
  • First published 2010
  • 30 editions

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1 About this book

Roshar is a world of stone, swept by storms so violent that plants and animals have adapted to hide from them. Long ago its protectors, the Knights Radiant, fell, leaving behind the Shardblades and Shardplate, swords and armor that make their bearers nearly unbeatable. On the Shattered Plains a long war is being fought. Kaladin, who gave up a medical apprenticeship to become a soldier, has been made a slave there. Dalinar Kholin, a great general, is troubled by visions of the ancient past. Far away, Shallan Davar, a young woman from a family in trouble, seeks out a famous scholar with a plan of her own. The Way of Kings, published in 2010, is the first book of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive.

  • Fantasy
  • Epic Fantasy
  • Magic
  • Fantasy, epic
  • High Fantasy
  • Imaginary places
  • Kings and rulers
  • Imaginary wars and battles

2 What to expect

The first volume of the Stormlight Archive, an epic fantasy of about a thousand pages set on a storm-swept world. It follows three main characters, a soldier made a slave, a general haunted by visions and a young scholar with a secret plan, whose stories only gradually connect. The world and its magic are revealed slowly and in great detail, the middle is slow, and the last part moves fast. Despair, honor and leadership are among its themes.

Good for readers who want: epic fantasy, detailed world-building, and the start of an epic series.

3 About Brandon Sanderson

Born 1975

Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy, science fiction, and young adult books. His best known novels include the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive, which are set in the "Cosmere", a fictional universe. Outside of the Cosmere, he has written several young adult and juvenile series including The Reckoners, the Skyward series, and the Alcatraz series.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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