The Way of Kings: Book One of the Stormlight Archive (The Stormlight Archive, 1)

The Way of Kings begins an epic saga set on Roshar, a world shaped by powerful, frequent storms. The ecology and civilization have adapted to these tempests: animals hide in shells, trees retract their branches, and cities are built only in sheltered locations. Centuries ago, the Knights Radiant fell, but their Shardblades and Shardplate—mystical weapons and armor that make warriors nearly invincible—remain. These artifacts are so valuable that kingdoms have been traded and wars fought for them. On the Shattered Plains, a ruined landscape where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, Kaladin has been enslaved after trading his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his brother. He struggles to save his men while questioning leaders who treat them as expendable. Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands another army and is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he questions his own sanity. Across the ocean, a young woman named Shallan seeks to train under Jasnah, Dalinar's niece and an eminent scholar. While genuinely interested in learning, Shallan has hidden motives and plans a daring theft while researching secrets of the Knights Radiant and the war's true cause. The result of over ten years of planning and world-building, this novel opens the Stormlight Archive series.