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.

"The Way of Kings is epic in every sense" - The Guardian

"I loved this book. What else is there to say?" - Patrick Rothfuss

"Sanderson has created a fascinating world here, one that deserves a sequel" - The Washington Post

"An epic worthy of the name - and a real treat for fantasy fans" - Kirkus Reviews

"The Way of Kings is the very definition of epic" - FanFiAddict

"There is truly something enchanting, majestic, and magical about this series" - Grimdark Magazine

"Brandon Sanderson's reputation is finally as big as his novels" - New York Times

"Brandon Sanderson is the most immersive fantasy writer I've ever encountered" - Ben Aaronovitch, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author

"This is a story of the indefatigable human spirit. It is an empathetic tale of courage, compassion, loyalty and honour" - Novel Notions

"Sanderson creates the most intricate and fleshed out magic system I've read since The Wheel of Time" - The Fantasy Hive

"The Way of Kings is epic in every sense. Sanderson has built a world that leaps to life, a cast of varied characters and a vast history that slowly unfolds. While Sanderson cuts from the familiar cloth of fantasy, his narrative impetus and meticulous world building bode well for future volumes." - Eric Brown, THE GUARDIAN

Brandon Sanderson is a bestselling American fantasy and science fiction writer. Sanderson first studied biochemistry at Brigham Young University, but changed his major into English Literature and went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Creative Writing in 2005. His first novel Elantris came out the same year, and between 2006 and 2008, Sanderson published the first three novels of his Mistborn series, set in the Cosmere universe in which many of his subsequent novels also take place.