The Way of Kings cover art

The Way of Kings

The Stormlight Archive, Book 1

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Way of Kings

By: Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: Michael Kramer, Kate Reading
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

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.



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

©2010 Dragonsteel Entertainment LLC (P)2011 Orion Publishing Group Limited
Fantasy Fiction Royalty War King
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

New Spring cover art
Fourth Wing (Part 2 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) cover art
Elantris (2 of 3) [Dramatized Adaptation] cover art
The Shadow of What Was Lost cover art
The Black Company cover art
The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story cover art
Dune cover art
Unfettered cover art
Ordination cover art
Storm Front cover art
Debt of Bones cover art
Pile of Bones cover art
Enchantress cover art
Dawn of Wonder cover art
Red Rising cover art
The Dragon's Blade cover art

What listeners say about The Way of Kings

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10,712
  • 4 Stars
    1,477
  • 3 Stars
    267
  • 2 Stars
    98
  • 1 Stars
    105
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8,357
  • 4 Stars
    2,044
  • 3 Stars
    493
  • 2 Stars
    112
  • 1 Stars
    152
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9,612
  • 4 Stars
    1,149
  • 3 Stars
    230
  • 2 Stars
    67
  • 1 Stars
    65

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story, well worth a listen

Very engaging, well paced story that trots along keeping you listening for more. This being my second book of Sanderson's but my first fantasy read, I am now, without doubt hooked. Sanderson creates very inventive "magic" worlds with very engaging characters that allow you to explore that world. Micheal Kramer is great but Kate Reading is absolutely abysmal; at her worse she sounds like a really awful droning computer generated voice that has almost no expressive inflection, has terrible timing and no natural rhythm. She sounds incredibly robotic and truly annoying. I really do hope that she is not included in the next book in the series . That said it's still worth suffering through her chapters as Micheal Kramer reads the majority of the book and the story is definitely very worthwhile despite this. So, be warned but not put off spending a credit on this listen (plus it's very decent value for money)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

43 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

Great story, I love the imagery. Michael Kramer works really well as the narrator, but I struggled with Kate Reading. she always sounds frantic and stresses sentences that don't need it. It adds unneeded tension and drama to scenes I envisage as being quite calm. It just pulls you out of an otherwise fantastic story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Poor audio performance by Kate Reading

If you could sum up The Way of Kings in three words, what would they be?

Catchy, exciting and well written.

What did you like best about this story?

Brandon Sanderson managed to enthrall me all the way untill the end. I never anticipated what was going to happen in the story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Kate Reading's voice in the audiobook was crisp which made it annoying to listen to. It made the part where she read less exciting than the rest.
Michael Kramer did an extremely good job as a narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Haha, hell no. Way to long for that.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't put it down!

I work as a food courier, so I enjoyed listening to this on the go for hours! Finished it within the week, and I'm excited for the next book, Words of Radiance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book but did not enjoy the narration

I wasn't a fan of the narrators at all but thats just personal preference. I continued reading the book and it's fantastic. Well worth a listen if you like the narrators, if not I highly recommend reading the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

absolutely epic

Although a moderately slow start, the way of kings will not disappoint. Brandon Sanderson does a fantastic job in creating the world in this novel and spectacularly delivers in all aspects be it character development, plot twists, detailed narratives, and character interaction. The voice of Kramer and Reading does a fantastic job of breathing life into each character. However there are one or two instances where pronunciation of certain names and places differ between the two narrators therefore it may cause some confusion.



the narration is 45 hours ling and is worth every single penny. Probably the most value for money book on audible. This narration include BOTH part one and two of book 1 of the storm light archive.



Brandon Sanderson's best work yet! Can't wait for the next installment.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

Fantastic storytelling. Only minor negative on performance is it would be great if voice actors on the same book got together to agree pronunciations of names beforehand. There are a few occasions where they discuss the same character or place but pronounce the name completely differently.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing!

from story to performance an a amazing journey I'm sticking to this book series simply fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Probably the best book I've ever "Read".

Hours and hours of buildup made me wondering where this was going but it was so worth it. Love the story development and the depth of all the characters.

Looking forward to part 2!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Epic fantasy story

An epic story that I would recommend to anyone and everyone 10 out of 10

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!