The Way of Kings
The Stormlight Archive, Book 1
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
LIMITED TIME OFFER
Get 3 months for £0.99/mo
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
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.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.
The Way of Kings
Narrated by:
Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
Buy Now for £16.99
-
Narrated by:
-
Kate Reading
-
Michael Kramer
About this listen
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.
Readers love The Way of Kings:
'A masterpiece series in epic fantasy' Novel Notions
'It's multi-POV, action-packed, heartfelt, exciting, thrilling' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'The story is mind-blowing' Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'[It's] elevated the art of storytelling to a different league' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Introduces a series that will change the history of Fantasy' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'I really wish I could give The Way of Kings a sixth star' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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
Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
The Way of Kings is epic in every sense
I loved this book. What else is there to say? (Patrick Rothfuss)
Sanderson has created a fascinating world here, one that deserves a sequel
An epic worthy of the name - and a real treat for fantasy fans
The Way of Kings is the very definition of epic
There is truly something enchanting, majestic, and magical about this series
Brandon Sanderson's reputation is finally as big as his novels
Brandon Sanderson is the most immersive fantasy writer I've ever encountered
This is a story of the indefatigable human spirit. It is an empathetic tale of courage, compassion, loyalty and honour
Sanderson creates the most intricate and fleshed out magic system I've read since The Wheel of Time
A really good listen (and the narrators are good - I think the dislike of Ms Reading must be a personal thing for some listeners - apart from pronouncing one of the characters names in a completely different way to the other narrator, I thought she was fine.). Highly recommended. I read with dismay that book 2 is only scheduled to be out in 2012 - gutted at the long wait!
And a final thought.... it's a 7 part download of between 5& 7 hours each - pence per hour of listening, you'd be hard pressed to find better value thant this!
Outstanding
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There was also discrepancy in how both readers pronounced some names.
Great Story, Troublesome Performance
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I am, however, persevering with the story because, like all of Sanderson's books, it is so good and grips you from the first that you have to keep going. I am blisfully enjoying where Kramer narrates and wading through Reading's chapters. The book is too good for me to allow her to spoil it completely. I am, however, a little nervous of listening to the Wheel of Time series that I am starting to purchase, as Reading also contributes to that narration. The reviews note that she only does a few chapters so I may be able to suffer her voice if that's the case.
Still can't believe they used her? What's wrong with Kramer narrating the whole thing? Oh well, back to it...
So far so good???
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I confess that I got 2-3 hours in an realised my mind had wondered so much that I had no idea what was going on. That is not good. However, on a second attempt I got up to speed and really enjoyed it. At first I was a little miffed that the readers are American. I generally don't like that. Reading isn't my preferred reader by any means. Kramer and Reading read all the Wheel of Time books on audio and I wasn't that attracted to her then - I have only listened to the first one. Her intonation is quite annoying at times. Perhaps not to the north american ear but it is to mine. I get through 3-4 audio books a month so I've listened to a few now.
Otherwise, it's a great book and worthy of the David Gemmell Legend Award for fantasy. It's high fantasy with a broad sweep and a different feel with Shardblades, light-eyes, great use of the stormlight in allowing wielders of it to 'lash' themselves to walls and ceilings such that 'up' becomes 'down' and so on. Great world building and vision with some truly memorable characters. High fantasy at its best.
If it wasn't for Reading, I would have given it a 5.
Recommended
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Kate Reading
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.