Free Audiobook : The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, Book 1), by Brandon Sanderson

From the pen of renowned author Brandon Sanderson, who topped the New York Times bestseller list, comes The Way of Kings, the first book of the Stormlight Archive—an extraordinarily ambitious new saga.

Roshar is a realm of stone and tempests. Powerful storms of an eerie nature sweep across its rocky expanse so often that they have molded both its ecology and civilization. Creatures seek shelter in shells, trees retract their branches, and grass withdraws into the barren earth. Cities are constructed only where the landscape provides refuge.

Centuries have passed since the collapse of the ten hallowed orders known as the Knights Radiant, yet their Shardblades and Shardplate persist: mystical weapons and armor that metamorphose ordinary men into nearly invulnerable warriors. Kingdoms are bartered for Shardblades. They are the cause and the prize of wars.

One such conflict persists on a desolate landscape known as the Shattered Plains. Here, Kaladin, who exchanged his medical training for a spear to safeguard his younger brother, finds himself enslaved. In a war that defies logic, where ten armies battle separately against a singular enemy, he fights to preserve his men and comprehend the leaders who deem them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin leads one of the other armies. Much like his late king brother, he is captivated by an ancient manuscript titled The Way of Kings. Haunted by overwhelming visions of bygone eras and the Knights Radiant, he starts to question his sanity.

Across the sea, an inexperienced young woman named Shallan aims to study under a renowned scholar and infamous heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. While Shallan has a genuine passion for learning, her intentions are not entirely noble. As she plots a bold theft, her research for Jasnah suggests secrets about the Knights Radiant and the true origin of the war.

A product of over a decade of planning, penning, and world-building, The Way of Kings is merely the introductory part of the Stormlight Archive, a daring masterpiece in progress.