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The Way of Kings
- The Stormlight Archive, Book 1
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer, Kate Reading
- Length: 45 hrs and 29 mins
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The Way of Kings
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Summary
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
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What listeners say about The Way of Kings
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M
- 01-02-14
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)
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43 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Locke
- 04-08-16
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.
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- loke
- 08-09-17
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.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- caleb pakeman
- 16-01-22
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
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adam Bennett
- 24-04-19
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Kexin
- 07-04-13
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mike Hancock
- 20-09-19
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 22-06-18
amazing!
from story to performance an a amazing journey I'm sticking to this book series simply fantastic
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mattias
- 29-01-19
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!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 24-02-19
Epic fantasy story
An epic story that I would recommend to anyone and everyone 10 out of 10
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