The Way of Kings

Did You Know?

• The unabridged audiobook is read by narrator team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading.
• A 5-part GraphicAudio version was released between March and July 2016.
• A VR game, 'The Way of Kings: Escape the Shattered Plains', was released on March 2, 2018.

Setting

The world of Roshar is shaped by recurring disasters called Desolations, in which monstrous Voidbringers threaten human existence. To fight them, the Knights Radiant used magical Shardplate and Shardblades, as well as other powers, but the most recent Desolation occurred thousands of years ago and is now considered myth. The Knights Radiant abandoned their equipment, which remained as priceless heirlooms. Magic in Roshar relies on stormlight drawn from hurricane-force highstorms that sweep from east to west.

Gemstones infused with stormlight serve as currency and lighting, and some artifacts can transform matter, such as stone into grain. Nobility is tied to eye color: blue eyes are considered purest because of their association with the Knights Radiant, who had glowing eyes. Flora and fauna have adapted to the violent highstorms; most animals are crustaceans that burrow, and plants retract into the ground. Life concentrates on the western sides of rocks and mountains, which are sheltered from the storms.

Spren are spirits that appear in response to emotions or environmental conditions—windspren flow with the wind, painspren appear around wounds, and gloryspren form halos around speakers. Spren are so common that most people ignore them, and thousands of types are believed to exist.

Plot

Four thousand five hundred years ago, ten immortal Heralds agreed to eternally battle the Voidbringers, reconstituting in a palace of fire when killed. After one battle, nine Heralds abandoned their Honorblades, leaving only Taln to defend the realm. In the present, the Heralds are worshipped as gods. Szeth, a Shin exile with a Shardblade and gravity-affecting powers, is sent to assassinate King Gavilar of Alethkar. He mortally wounds Gavilar, who reveals that the Parshendi—humanoids with mottled red and black skin—ordered the killing. Gavilar gives Szeth a black sphere and asks him to send regards to his brother Dalinar. After Szeth flees, Gavilar's son Elhokar declares war on the Parshendi.

Characters

The primary chapters are told from the viewpoints of several major characters, with interludes featuring others. Kaladin is a darkeyed slave from Alethkar accompanied by a spren named Sylphrena. Szeth-son-son-Vallano is a Truthless assassin from Shinovar who must serve those who hold his Oathstone. Shallan Davar is a lighteyed woman from Jah Keved whose family has fallen into hardship; she seeks to become the ward of scholar Jasnah Kholin and discovers she can Soulcast without a device.

Dalinar Kholin, highprince of Alethkar and brother to the slain king, is called the Blackthorn and experiences visions during highstorms, leading some to question his sanity. Adolin Kholin, Dalinar's son and heir, is a skilled duelist who respects his father despite fearing his madness. Navani Kholin, widow of Gavilar and mother of Elhokar and Jasnah, is a scientist who loves Dalinar. Jasnah Kholin is the king's sister and Roshar's greatest scholar, viewed as a heretic by the ardentia.

Taravangian is king of Kharbranth. The prelude features Kalak, a Herald. Interlude characters include Axies the Collector, Baxil, Geranid, Ishikk, and Nan Balat.

Development

Sanderson began working on pieces of The Way of Kings in the late 1990s. Some characters and scenes, particularly Bridge Four, originated in Dragonsteel, his honors thesis at Brigham Young University completed in 2000. A finished first draft was completed in 2003, but Tor declined to publish it, feeling something was not quite right. Sanderson then focused on the first Mistborn trilogy from 2006 to 2008.

Returning to the project in the late 2000s, he discarded everything and started from page one. In June 2010, Tor.com released a preview of the prologue and first three chapters. Subsequent chapters were released in audio and text formats through August 2010. The original Dragonsteel text remains at Brigham Young University and was the only undergraduate thesis there that needed rebinding due to frequent reading. The 2003 draft, retroactively titled The Way of Kings Prime, was made available on Sanderson's website in 2020.