Narrated by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson has a runtime of 45 hrs 30 mins on Audible.
Publisher’s Summary
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, Book One of the Stormlight Archive begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.
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 result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.
Speak again the ancient oaths:
Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.
and return to men the Shards they once bore.
The Knights Radiant must stand again.
Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson
The Cosmere
The Stormlight Archive
The Way of Kings
Words of Radiance
Edgedancer (Novella)
Oathbringer
The Mistborn trilogy
Mistborn: The Final Empire
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages
Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series
Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
Bands of Mourning
Collection
Arcanum Unbounded
Other Cosmere novels
Elantris
Warbreaker
The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
The Scrivener’s Bones
The Knights of Crystallia
The Shattered Lens
The Dark Talent
The Rithmatist series
The Rithmatist
Other books by Brandon Sanderson
The Reckoners
Steelheart
Firefight
Calamity
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer and Kate Reading
- Length: 45 hrs 30 mins
- Publisher: Macmillan Audio
- Release year: 2010
- Audible category: Science Fiction & Fantasy / Fantasy / Action & Adventure
Listener Ratings
The Way of Kings holds an average listener rating of 4.8/5 from 114178 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.8/5
- Story: 4.8/5
- 5-star ratings: 88% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “Best fantasy book EVER written!!!”
If I could give more stars I would. I am a fan of Brandon Sanderson’s other works, along with the wheel of time series. I also have listened to ‘A Song of Fire and Ice’ series, ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Twilight’, ‘The Dark Tower’, ‘The King Killer Chronicles’ and several other fantasy series type books. This one is by far the very best. There is not even a close second. Can’t wait for book 2 to come out.— Nicolas, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Genius. And I usually HATE the fantasy genre!!”
Ok, this will be quick, since there are something like five MILLION reviews of this book on here, and the odds are good that NO ONE will read this mine.Truth is, I felt obligated to write this because I usually can’t stand fantasy stories… I LOVE sci-fi, but for some reason I could just never get into an fantasy pieces, and believe me, I’ve tried.
This book, however, just converted me!
To say this book is "genius" for a fantasy book is an understatement. This book is genius, period. I rank it with the greatest books EVER written… EVER. I’m not kidding. It’s up there with War and Peace, Ulysses, Winds of War, Lolita, and the Bible.
Sanderson’s mind is capable of creating worlds and characters which I could not even conceive of being possible to create. So much depth in every little thing; from the rocks to the clothing. This guy is incredible.
Here’s to hoping you never die, Mr. Sanderson. May the world be blessed with your incredible works of literary art for decades to come!
— aaron, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Struggled through narration”
Loved the story but struggled through narration. Eventually, discovered that I enjoyed it significant more after increasing the speed to 1.25. Also Kate Reading changed the pronunciation of a key character towards the end of the book which bothered me.— Jonny Quest, Audible listener
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