The Way of Kings
On the Shattered Plains, Kaladin fights for survival as a slave soldier. Shallan seeks forbidden knowledge. Dalinar pursues visions of an ancient past. Their paths will reshape a world at war.
Where The Way of Kings keeps showing up
Nine of our editors' lists feature this novel.
Also by Brandon Sanderson
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A few of the closest reads from our full list.
What you might want to know about The Way of Kings
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
On the storm-battered planet of Roshar, a war on the Shattered Plains has dragged on for years. Bridge crewman Kaladin runs wooden bridges across chasms under arrow fire. Scholar Shallan Davar arrives at the king's sister's court to steal a Soulcaster. Highprince Dalinar Kholin keeps having visions.
Brandon Sanderson has published five main Stormlight Archive novels: The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War, and Wind and Truth. The series is planned as ten books, with the second half to begin after a hiatus.
The Way of Kings is around 1,000 pages with multiple narrators, an invented vocabulary, and a complex magic system. Most readers find the first 200 pages slowest before the world clicks into place. The payoff is widely considered worth the commitment.
The Way of Kings was written by Brandon Sanderson, published in 2010 by Tor Books.
The Way of Kings is 1008 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Way of Kings takes most readers 15 to 22 hours to finish.
The Way of Kings is a standalone novel by Brandon Sanderson, not part of a series.
The Way of Kings is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
