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The Way of Kings
The Way of Kings is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and the first book in The Stormlight Archive series.[2] The novel was published on August 31, 2010, by Tor Books.[3] The Way of Kings consists of one prelude, one prologue, 75 chapters, an epilogue, and nine interludes.[4] It was followed by Words of Radiance in 2014,[5][6][7] Oathbringer in 2017, Rhythm of War in 2020 and Wind and Truth in 2024. A leatherbound edition was released in 2021.[8] The story rotates between the points of view of Kaladin, Shallan Davar, Dalinar Kholin, Adolin Kholin, Szeth-son-son-Vallano, and several other minor characters, who lead seemingly unconnected lives. In 2011, it won the David Gemmell Legend Award for best novel.[9] The unabridged audiobook is read by narrator team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. Setting
The backstory of the novel revolves around recurring disasters known as Desolations, where monstrous Voidbringers ravage the world and human survival hangs in the balance. To counter the threat, the Knights Radiant (so named for their glowing aura and eyes) battle against the Voidbringers using magical armor and swords known as Shardplate and Shardblades, as well as magical powers. The most recent Desolation, which occurred thousands of years before the main events of the novel, was believed to be the final one, and has become a time of myths and legends. The Knights Radiant are of particular note within the backstory, as they left behind their weapons and armor and disappeared into obscurity at the time of the last Desolation. Their discarded armor and swords remain as some of the most priceless heirlooms. The magic of the world is based on gemstones that glow for many weeks after they are imbued with "stormlight" from recurring, hurricane force magically powered storms known as highstorms. These commonplace gemstones are also used as mundane currency in merchant transactions, as well as interior lighting at night in wealthy houses and palaces. Drawing in this "stormlight" energy from gemstones is what fuels the magical talismans of priest-wizards - gem encrusted gloves called Soulcasters - that convert matter into another form, such as stone into grain. Stormlight also powers gemstone constructs known as fabrials with various labor- or time-saving applications, such as a fabrial that creates red light and heat to replace wood in a fireplace. Soulcasters and fabrials are devices typically owned only by nobility. In Alethkar, nobility is also based on eye color, blue eyes being seen as the purest royalty due to the association with the legendary Knights Radiant, who had glowing eyes. The world itself has flora and fauna which have adapted to the common and extremely powerful highstorms. Most animal life is based on crustaceans, many of which can burrow into the ground to survive a highstorm. Plant life is also mobile, in that it retracts into the ground to survive highstorms. Because all highstorms come from the eastern ocean and travel west, the western side of rocks and mountains harbor plant and animal life. Also, spirits called spren exist and react to the emotions of people and the environment. High wind will have windspren in the form of ribbons of light that flow with the wind and can change their shapes. Suffering from pain will cause red painspren to appear around the wound, and giving a noble, heartfelt speech or completing a hard task will have gloryspren of golden, twinkling lights form a halo around the head of the speaker. Spren are so common that many people pay no attention to them. Plot
PreludeFour thousand and five hundred years ago, a catastrophic war known as the Last Desolation ended when mankind fought victoriously against their enemies, the Voidbringers. Devastated by the war and mass casualties, the Herald Kalak rendezvous with the king of the Heralds, Jezrien. All other Heralds have renounced their Oathpact and abandoned their Honorblades. Determined to keep their departure a secret, Jezrien and Kalak leave their legendary swords, Honorblades. Kalak feels guilt for abandoning the tenth and last Herald, Taln, who’s honorblade is missing. PrologueSzeth, a Shin man cast out by his people and condemned to obey his constantly changing masters, is sent to assassinate the king of one of the world's most powerful nations, Alethkar. Uniquely, he possesses an Honorblade, a mythical blade used by the Heralds that can cut through any material. He also has access to powers that are no longer available to normal humans (“Surgebinding”), once possessed by the Knights Radiant and thought lost. Within the king's chambers of Kholinar, Szeth confronts and kills King Gavilar covered in armoured Shardplate, before revealing to the King that he was sent by his Parshendi masters to kill him. A dying Gavilar gives some black Spheres to him and informs him to send his last regards to his brother Dalinar, before passing out. After Szeth flees the scene, Gavilar's son, Elhokar, declares war on the Parshendi for their betrayal and violating their peace treaty. Part OneSix years later, Kaladin, a dark-eyed Alethi villager with a burning hatred for light-eyed nobles, and trained in his youth as a surgeon by his father, volunteers to go to war for the army of a local lord named Meridas Amaram, to protect his brother, Tien, on the field of battle. In his third battle, Kaladin's brother is killed, driving Kaladin to become a better fighter, resolving to protect others from the same fate. During a later battle, Kaladin succeeds in killing an enemy Shardbearer and is given the chance to claim the enemy's Shardblade and Shardplate by right, becoming a Lighteyes himself. However, he rejects the Shardblade and Shardplate, fearing the person he may become, and is then betrayed by Brightlord Amaram, who takes the treasure for himself and brands Kaladin a slave to hide the theft. After numerous escape attempts, Kaladin is later branded as a deserter and is forced into service as a Bridgeman - a soldier who helps carry massives bridges for an Alethi army battling the Parshendi on the Shattered Plains. Along the way, he meets and befriends an amnesiac spren named Sylphrena, who serves as Kaladin's emotional support. Having felt depressed about his past failures, Kaladin decides to cast himself off a cliff to end his life until Syl returns and convinces him to continue his efforts to protect the Bridgemen. Meanwhile, Shallan, a minor light-eyed Veden whose family's inheritance is in danger, hatches a scheme to switch a broken Soulcaster (a device that allows the user the power of transmutation) with a working one belonging to Jasnah Kholin, sister of the Alethi King Elhokar. Shallan travels to the coastal city of Kharbranth, where Jasnah conducts her research following King Gavilar's death. During a meeting with Kharbranth's King, Taravangian, Shallan petitions Jasnah to become her ward, and through persistent effort, she manages to gain Jasnah's confidence and becomes her apprentice. Part TwoHighprince Dalinar Kholin, brother to the late King Gavilar and uncle to current king Elhokar, serves his duty as the King's bodyguard, with fellow prince Torol Sadeas serving as the king's advisor. During a hunt for a Chasmfiend - a massive creature whose hearts can be used as a resource - Elhokar's saddle suddenly breaks, causing him to fall to the ground before getting crushed, only surviving due to his Shardplate and a heroic rescue by Dalinar. Later, Dalinar speaks with his son, Adolin, about his time with Gavilar long before his death. Before he died, his brother directed Dalinar to review an ancient tome called "The Way of Kings", which leads Dalinar to start questioning Alethekar’s warlike and competitive nature. He also begins to experience visions during highstorms, in which he sees the ancient Knights Radiant and receives a cryptic message to unite his allies. All of these events make Dalinar reluctant to fight in battle. His conviction is questioned by those closest to him, casting heavy doubt on his sanity and bringing into question his leadership role in the king's army. Having no other options to uncover his visions, Dalinar plans to abdicate his position as Highprince to Adolin. Kaladin is full of despair and intends to commit suicide by jumping into a chasm, but Syl helps him rediscover his oath to save lives and gives him hope. Kaladin is determined to become the leader of Bridge Four in order to train and protect them. He threatens the bridge Sergeant Gaz into naming him bridge leader, but the bridgemen are reluctant to follow his orders. Kaladin makes a deal with Gaz, giving him a portion of his meager pay, and spends the rest on medical supplies and food for injured bridgemen. Kaladin gains respect from his fellow bridgemen by taking the dangerous front position on the follow bridge run, leading by example, and performing battlefield medical treatment on wounded bridgemen. Gaz assigns Bridge Four to chasm duty where they might recover remnants of scraps of armor, spheres, and weapons while evading predatory chasmfiends. During their collection, Kaladin stumbles upon a spear and reluctantly performs a Kata technique which surprises the entire bridge crew. Kaladin and fellow bridgeman Rock decide to provide a stew for the night which wins over the rest of the bridge crew by fostering comradery. The following day, most of the bridge crew join Kaladin and accept him as their leader. Following his killing spree, Szeth follows his master's instruction until he encounters a dark figure who manages to kill his former master and take Szeth's Oathstone, the object by which Szeth is controlled. As the figure departs, he gives Szeth a list of high-ranking noblemen to assassinate. Part ThreeKaladin manages to rally the other men in his group and trains them into a team that can survive bridge runs. After he accidentally ruins a battle by using a creative new bridge tactic, he is beaten violently and left outside during a high storm to die under Sadeas' orders. However, he manages to survive thanks to a sphere (currency that can be charged with Stormlight through highstorms) Teft gave him for good luck. During the storm, Kaladin sees a vision of the Stormfather speaking to him. Unconcious after the sotmr, bridgeman Teft witnesses Kaladin's wounds quickly healing via the sphere's Stormlight. Kaladin learns from Sigzil, another member of the crew, that Sadeas has planned to strategically use Bridgemen as bait for the opposing armies' archers, allowed to die so that the trained army can attack more easily. Kaladin begins to lose hope again, but, with Syl's and Teft's encouragement, he decides to secretly train the bridge crew to fight with the spear. Living as a ward, Shallan grows comfortable while focusing on her mission and aiding Jasnah with her studies. During her spare time, she meets a friendly ardent named Kabsal who secretly opposes Jasnah's research on the Voidbringers, which the Ardents - priests of the Vorin religion - refuse to speak about. Shallan begins to grow paranoid while drawing, when she accidentally discovers strange creatures, invisible to the human eye but appearing around her in her sketches. Shallan is conflicted between her original plan to save her family by stealing Jasnah's soulcaster, and her growing respect for Jasnah and the interesting life of scholarship as her ward. While walking with Jasnah through a dangerous part of town, Jasnah uses her soulcasting to kill four thugs in self-defence. Furious and shocked by Jasnah's lethal use of power, Shallan finally decides to swap Jasnah's soulcaster with her own, broken one. Shallan is frustrated by her inability to use the soulcaster until, in a state of panic brought on by the invisible creatures in her sketches, she accidentally transmutes a goblet into blood. Knowing Jasnah will soon arrive and discover her deception, she breaks a pitcher and cuts herself to make it seem as though the blood is hers, which Jasnah mistakes as a suicide attempt. Upon awaking, Shallan is visited by Jasnah and Kabsal. After Kabsal encourages Shallan and Jasnah to try a sample of jam and bread, he and Shallan begin to die of poison. As Jasnah prepares to soulcast the poison out of Shallan's blood, using the broken soulcaster, Shallan realizes she must reveal her deception to Jasnah and gives her the original soulcaster as she goes unconscious. When Shallan awakes, a disappointed Jasnah reveals to Shallan that Kabsal was an assassin sent to kill Jasnah, but Kabsal died from eating the poisoned bread. Shallan confesses that she planned to take Jasnah's soulcaster to relieve her family's debts. Jasnah expresses her disappointment for Shallan's deception and leaves Shallan in tears. Szeth arrives at the banquet hall of Jah Keved, successfully defeats the Shardbearers and guards, and assassinates the king. Part FourAs a result of his unlikely survival from the Highstorm, Kaladin begins to discover that he possesses the Surgebinding ability that grants him enhanced strength, speed, and healing every time he consumes Stormlight from spheres. He experiments with his abilities by jumping through the chasm canyons, until he encounters the King's Wit, who introduces himself as Hoid. Hoid begins to narrate the story of Derethil and the Wandersail, by which Kaladin concludes that the moral of the story is taking responsibility. Hoid then gives Kaladin his flute and asks him to take care of Sigzil, his pupil. before running off into the darkness. As he considers Hoid's story, he comes to terms with his powers and resolves to do whatever he can to save Bridge Four. Kaladin returns to the group and asks Teft and Sigzil about their knowledge of the Radiants. Dalinar and Adolin argue about their decision to focus on the war, Dalinar's visions, and the stability of Alethkar while Renarin suggests they continue their research of learning the purpose of Dalinar's visions and the history behind the Radiants' betrayal. Having been troubled by his mental stability, Dalinar pushes Gavilar's widow Navani away out of shame. During a gala, Wit plans to depart in secret and privately informs Dalinar that Sadeas is announcing the results of his investigation into the broken saddle. Dalinar and Adolin prepare for Sadeas's false accusation only to discover that Sadeas proclaims Dalinar is innocent and exonerated from any involvement. Feeling grateful for his innocence, Dalinar discusses with Sadeas their plans to unite the Highprinces by setting up a trap for the Parshendi at a Tower in the Shattered Plains, to which Sadeas agrees. During one of Adolin's duels, Dalinar discusses with the king his plans to withdraw from the Vengeance pact and focus more on stabilizing the Alethkar society. Navani confesses her feelings towards Dalinar, and they begin a courtship. During the Battle of the Tower, Dalinar and his troops easily overpower the first wave of Parshendi hordes only to be ambushed and outnumbered by a second army. Sadeas betrays Dalinar by retreating with his bridges, leaving Dalinar and Adolin stranded on the plateau with their army. As Sadeas and his armies retreat, Kaladin and his bridge crew remain behind until he realizes that they are free to escape. Syl's memories are restored, and she explains she is an Honorspren. Syl pleads with a reluctant Kaladin to save Dalinar. Overcoming his desire to escape with his crew, and remembering the Radient's first ideal and his father's words about honor and saving lives, Kaladin decides to attempt a daring rescue of Dalinar's army. Kaladin attempts to get the attention of the Parshendi archers, unleashing a surge of Stormlight to lure an entire volley of arrows to himself, blocking dozens of arrows on his shield and causing him to collapse from the effort, but momentarily stunning the Parshendi. As Bridge Four continue their rescue mission, Kaladin goes unconscious and remembers the loss of his brother Tien during their first major battle in Amoram's army. He awakens, charging the Parshendi army and unleashing his Surgebinding abilities as he speaks the Radiants' second ideal for the first time. With the power of Surgebinding and Bridge Four's aid, Kaladin cuts a path through the Parshendi forces, allowing the Kholin army to retreat, albeit gravely weakened. Dalinar, his armor weakened from the battle, engages a Parshendi shardbearer. Kaladin instructs Adolin to evacuate the army, as he rescues Dalinar from the Parshendi champion. As they flee, Dalinar and the injured Parshendi shardbearer raise their blades in a respectful salute. Dalinar thanks Kaladin for his rescue, offering his protection in return. Navani is concerned for Dalinar's safety and gives a prayer for justice. Arriving in Sadeas's camp to confront the highprince over his betrayal, Dalinar speaks privately to Sadeas, aware that neither of them wants a war which would destroy Alethkar. Sadeas privately confesses to Dalinar that he chose to betray Dalinar because of his worry that he was walking the same path as his brother Gavilar. Accusing him of killing the king or attacking him outright would have turned the highprinces against each other, destroying what Sadeas desired to preserve. Sadeas also reveals that he believes Elokhar knows who tried to kill him. Now aware of their intentions, Dalinar and Sadeas part as enemies and end their alliance. When Sadeas refuses to grant him the bridgemen, Dalinar trades his Shardblade, Oathbringer, in exchange for the thousand bridgemen under Sadeas' control, later claiming to Kaladin that he considers it a worthy exchange, having paid with one priceless weapon for the thousands of priceless lives saved by the bridgemen during the rescue. Dalinar confronts Elhokar, disarming him and pummeling him until the king is helpless. Dalinar correctly deduces that Elhokar rigged his own saddle to prompt an investigation into possible assassins, clearing himself of any responsibility, stating that he would have killed Elhokar himself if he wanted to, then halting his attack and proving his loyalty to the king. Having grown distrustful of the Highprinces, Dalinar forces the king to declare him the Highprince of War and sets forth plans to enforce the Codes to unite the army, likely earning the ire of the other factions in the king's army. Part FiveShallan correctly deduces that Jasnah's Soulcaster does not possess the ability to transmute, and Jasnah has been hiding her uncommon ability to Soulcast without the need of a soulcaster. Since Shallan Soulcasted the goblet into blood, also without touching the stolen soulcaster, she reasons that she also has this ability. Shallan confronts Jasnah with these facts, and subsequently pleads with Jasnah to take her back on as her ward, to which Jasnah agrees. Jasnah plans to start instructing her in soulcasting. She also reveals her research into the secrets of the Knights Radiants' desertion and the enslavement of the Parshmen. Jasnah's father, King Gavilar, had started researching their origins when he had encountered the Parshendi in the Shattered Plains, surprised by the existence of a culture of warrior Parshmen and concerned that the whole of humanity's servant class could turn against them. Jasnah's research had subsequently revealed that Gavilar's fears were founded: stories of the ancient Voidbringers seemed to point to the fact that the now-docile Parshmen were the Voidbringers, enslaved by humanity. Jasnah also reveals the existence of the Ghostbloods, a secret organization searching for the same answers she is, but for different reasons. Kabsal was a member of the Ghostbloods, their symbol having been found on his body after his death. When Shallan recognizes the symbol, she realizes that her father was a member of the Ghostbloods. In the Shattered Plains, Dalinar appoints Kaladin and the men of Bridge Four to serve him, his family, and the king as bodyguards, convinced that they will never side with Sadeas or any of the other Highprinces in the game of spies and saboteurs that they are inevitably going to start once his appointment as Highprince of War is announced. Kaladin asks that all thousand bridgemen become soldiers, though they will not be fighting the Parshendi directly, as Kaladin is doubting the ethics of the war. Kaladin is appointed captain of the guard and Dalinar gifts him his old cloak as a symbol of gratitude and favor. Kaladin, in exchange for time to accomplish his goals, promises to train his bridgemen well and even begins to entertain the idea of teaching Surgebinding to some of his men. Szeth arrives in Kharbranth to assassinate King Taravangian. However, the king reveals himself as the figure responsible for the assassinations Szeth carried out. Taravangian deliberately added his name to the list to avoid suspicions if Szeth was captured. He escorts Szeth to a secret hospital where he and his followers conduct a brutal experiment on people dying from blood loss. Much to Szeth's horror, Taravangian explains that he was recording their dying words, prophetic visions about the past Desolations and the upcoming cataclysm Roshar will face. Desiring to remove the existing rulers to rebuild a more stable governing foundation, Taravangian orders Szeth to kill Dalinar Kholin before he can unite the Alethi Highprinces. Dalinar receives a vision, encountering the stranger he had seen in the very first of his visions: the Almighty of Roshar, the recognized God of Vorinism. Dalinar realizes that the Almighty cannot hear him and that his previous assertions that he could trust Sadeas had been based on Dalinar's assumptions. Dalinar learns of the existence of another entity named Odium, who destroyed the Almighty. The visions Dalinar has been seeing are echoes the Almighty sent out before His death to warn Roshar that the Everstorm is coming, an event capable of destroying the world. He instructs those who hear Him find the lost secrets of the Knights Radiant to ensure that Roshar will survive the coming cataclysm. EpilogueIn Kholinar, Hoid waits for an event to happen, suddenly, a darkeyed Shardbearer breaks through Kholinar's gates, stunning the guards. The Shardbearer identifies himself as Talenel’Elin, or Talenel, a Herald who disappeared along with the others thousands of years earlier (during the events of the prelude) and who the Vorins now remember as a god. He announces that the Everstorm is coming, before collapsing on the ground along with his Honorblade. Having witnessed this event, Hoid worries that the warning has come too late. Viewpoint characters
The primary chapters within the book are told from the viewpoint of several major characters, while the book's interludes are told from the viewpoint of other characters (not all of which repeat). As with each Stormlight Archive book, particular characters are given a series of chapters detailing their backstory; Kaladin's backstory is detailed in The Way of Kings. Main
Prologue, epilogue and interludes
DevelopmentSanderson started working on pieces of The Way of Kings in the late 1990s. Some characters and scenes, particularly Bridge Four, originated in Dragonsteel, Sanderson's honors thesis at Brigham Young University that was completed in 2000. The finished first draft of The Way of Kings was completed in 2003.[11] Sanderson approached Tor (later renamed Reactor) with the book at this time. Although the publisher was interested, it decided that "something wasn’t quite right" and declined to publish it.[12] Its further development was delayed when Sanderson instead decided to focus on the first Mistborn trilogy, which was published from 2006 to 2008.[13] Returning to the task in the late 2000s, Sanderson indicated that he "threw away everything, and started on page one again."[14] On June 10, 2010, the prologue and the first three chapters of the book were released along with an introduction by Sanderson as a preview on Tor.com.[15] On July 8, 2010, the next three chapters (4–6) were released in audio format.[16] On August 5, 2010, chapters 9 and 11 were released. Chapters 7, 8, and 10 were not released on that date as Tor desired the contemporary focus to be drawn toward Kaladin, a main character.[17] On August 26, 2010, chapters 12 and 13 were released.[18] Some of the early drafts have been made available in the years since. The original Dragonsteel text from 2000 is still in the possession of Brigham Young University.[19] It was formerly available only via inter-library loan, and was the only undergraduate thesis in BYU history that needed to be rebound because it had been read so frequently.[20] Several Dragonsteel-era Bridge Four chapters were released on Sanderson's website in 2017.[21] The full text was ultimately made available as a bonus for the Words of Radiance leatherbound edition Kickstarter,[22] as well as on Sanderson's website in 2024.[23] The 2003 draft, retroactively entitled The Way of Kings Prime, was made available in its entirety on Sanderson's website in 2020.[24] ReceptionCritical response and salesIn its first week of released, the book was #7 on The New York Times Best Seller list.[25] In subsequent weeks, the book was #11,[26] #20,[27] and #25.[28] The Way of Kings received critical acclaim and received praise for its extensive world-building. An early review from the website Unshelved gave the book a positive review.[29] A review from Elitist Book Reviews pointed out some problems with the book (black-and-white characters, too much exposition), but gave an overall positive opinion of the book.[30] The website SFReviews.net gave the book a mixed review, praising Sanderson's writing and creativity, but criticizing its extreme length and overall dearth of action.[31] SF Reviews pointed out, "The ride is luxurious, the scenery is often breathtaking, but The Way of Kings is truly a long and winding road."[31] KeepingTheDoor.com commented, "The Stormlight Archive is a series that, like Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Robin Hobb's The Realm of the Elderlings epics, every fantasy fan worth their salt must read and be familiar with. This will be one of the giant series that will help shape the entire scene."[32] Awards and nominations
AdaptationsAudiobookAn audiobook version was released in August 2010 by Macmillan Audio, read by narrator team Kate Reading and Michael Kramer, who have also read several other books written by Sanderson, including The Wheel of Time series.[36] A 5-part GraphicAudio version of The Way of Kings was released from March to July 2016. Reading and Kramer also recorded an audio version of the 2002 draft, The Way of Kings Prime. That version is freely available on the Dragonsteel website.[37] FilmIn October 2016, the rights to the entire Cosmere universe were licensed by DMG Entertainment, though the rights on all Cosmere works besides The Stormlight Archive have since lapsed.[38] DMG is fast-tracking an adaptation of The Way of Kings.[39] Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan were hired as screenwriters. DMG founder Dan Mintz will produce the film, with Sanderson and Joshua Bilmes serving as executive producers.[40] Video gameA VR game, "The Way of Kings: Escape the Shattered Plains", developed by Arcturus VR, was released on March 2, 2018. References
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