The Way of Kings: Book One of the Stormlight Archive

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

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Published Mar 4, 2014

1008 pages

Average rating: 8.87

290 RATINGS

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Readers say *The Way of Kings* offers phenomenal worldbuilding and a balanced blend of political, religious, and philosophical themes, creating a thou...

Luke
Feb 21, 2026
10/10 stars
Even better the second time. (Rereading the series for Rhythm of Was.) I love this world and these characters.
One note: I do think perhaps the enslavement of the Parshmen could have been handled better; it feels a bit lacking in this current climate and probably should be explored more (with some sensitivity readers helping out.) But for now, with ~7000 more pages of book to come I’ll wait and withhold full judgement on that.
Jonathan Willis
Jan 13, 2026
10/10 stars
What a fantastic book. I truly loved the writing style, and the story itself was fantastic! I thought the sheer size and complexity of the book would get to much for me but it never did, it was really digestible which was a welcome surprise.
tloster25
Jan 02, 2026
10/10 stars
My first venture into a book this size. It was difficult for me to get through around the first half, then once I got used to the pacing, it was a breeze. I love the setting, classic epic fantasy with some twists.
Cheesy Brie
Nov 17, 2025
8/10 stars
A slower build than the previous Sanderson novels I’ve read, but phenomenal world building and balance of political, religious, and philosophical viewpoints and debates throughout this first installation.
Josie the book goblin
Aug 22, 2025
10/10 stars
Before starting this book and series I only knew three things; Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king, Kaladin is well loved but always depressed, and Sanderson is a genius but also a monster.

One thing I love about Sanderson's writing is how complex each and every character is. No two characters are a like and I love reading how their minds work. Each character explore their values, beliefs, and how they make decisions in various situations. This and of course the amazing world building and unique magic systems. It's hard not to love the characters because I've been hurt by all the Mistborn books but I really love all these characters.

"Somebody has to start. Somebody has to step forward and do what is right, because it is right."

Kaladin my poor sweet man. I love him, I think it's safe to say that because I think he is going to live for most of the books (I am scared). I get him being depressed and having very low times, it's written so damn well but please stop torturing my sweet man. He deserves so much happiness and i need him to have that. The flashbacks between him and his father provide such a learning experience. Some of his flashback gutted me to my core. I love how he stands next to his men and always chooses the right thing to do. His relationship with Sly and reading about her changing and learning who she is is just a magic on it's on.

I am obsessed with the bridge four men. I really tried not to like any of them because well this isn't my first Sanderson novel and we know how he hurts us.

Dalinar or who my friend and I coined daddinar because he is daddy and he is just the best. Im really interested in everything that is happening in his mind and his moments with his son's. I feel like you mostly get moments of him thinking he's losing his mind and BAM daddy pulls some amazing moves and saves the day or makes you swoon.

Shallan is so damn interesting and I adore her mind and personality. She is so fresh in a sense and I absolutely love for her chapters and her moments with Jasnah.

I'm still on the fence on where I am with Adolin, Jasnah and Szeth. I like them all enough but im not sold on them. Im pretty sure we will get more of them in the future books.

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