The Way of Kings
core novel 2010 Cosmere
Record
| First published | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.66 (725,247 ratings, collected 2026-09-11) |
| Page count | 1007 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765326355 |
Synopsis
The Way of Kings is set on the war-torn world of Roshar, threatened by ancient catastrophes called Desolations and regularly scoured by devastating highstorms, its magic drawn from stormlight. Kaladin, once a promising young surgeon's apprentice, has been reduced to slavery and forced into a suicidal bridge crew after a betrayal by a superior officer. Shallan Davar, an impoverished young noblewoman, seeks an apprenticeship with the renowned scholar Jasnah Kholin, hoping to secure her family's survival by any means necessary. Meanwhile Dalinar Kholin, a highprince fighting a war on the Shattered Plains against the Parshendi in retaliation for the assassination of his brother the king, begins experiencing strange visions that leave him questioning the endless war and the old legends of the Knights Radiant. As each of them navigates loyalty, ambition, and survival, ancient signs suggest that a far greater danger may be stirring.
Where it sits
- Universe: Cosmere
- Series: The Stormlight Archive core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Brandon Sanderson
Awards (verified)
- David Gemmell Legend Award (Best Novel), 2011: won
Notes
- From the series record (The Stormlight Archive): Planned as 10 novels; 5 published through Wind and Truth (2024).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Stormlight Archive: position 1 of 5: next Words of Radiance (2014)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmere
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_Kings
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stormlight_Archive
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