The Stormlight Archive


The Stormlight Archive is an ongoing epic fantasy novel series written by American author Brandon Sanderson. The first of ten planned volumes, The Way of Kings, was published on August 31, 2010. The second, Words of Radiance, was published on March 4, 2014. The third, Oathbringer, was published on November 14, 2017. The fourth book, Rhythm of War is set to be released on November 17, 2020.

Publication history

Sanderson completed the first draft of The Way of Kings in 2003, though the original manuscript differed significantly from the published text. Sanderson referred to the prospective series in 2004 as "The Oathshards Series". The draft book was among over a dozen books written before his debut publication Elantris. The book was substantially rewritten between then and its 2010 publication. Six chapters of this early version were included in the anthology Altered Perceptions.
From June to August 2010, Tor Books published sample chapters from The Way of Kings on its official website, along with an introduction by Sanderson. In its first week of release, The Way of Kings was No. 7 on The New York Times Best Seller list. In subsequent weeks the book was No. 11, No. 20, and No. 25.
In October 2010, Brandon Sanderson revealed that his tentative plan was to release the second book in the series in 2012, approximately two years after the release of the first book, due to writing the final book of The Wheel of Time, followed by the third book about a year later. However, after completing the first draft of A Memory of Light, Sanderson revealed the book would be pushed back to a 2014 release, almost four years after the first book. The second book was initially titled Highprince of War, but Sanderson decided to focus the second book on Shallan, tentatively titling it The Book of Endless Pages and eventually settling on Words of Radiance with Highprince Dalinar's book as the third novel, titled Oathbringer.
The first draft of book 4 was completed in December 2019.

Books

Ten books are planned in the series, broken down into two sets of five books each. Sanderson describes the planned story arc of the second set of five books as a "sequel" to the first set, with some appearances of characters from the first set. The fourth book is planned to take place a year after the events of Oathbringer. The biggest timeskip in the series will occur between the fifth and sixth book.
The Stormlight Archive novella Edgedancer about Lift, set between Words of Radiance and Oathbringer, was originally published in on November 22, 2016. A standalone edition of Edgedancer was published on October 17, 2017.

Concepts

World

Roshar is the native name for the planet on which The Stormlight Archive is set. It is also the name of the supercontinent on which the main events of the series take place. People from Roshar are called Rosharans. Roshar is the second planet from its sun and has three moons, each of which waxes and wanes separately from the others. The world is periodically assaulted by highstorms, storms characterized by a very violent storm front traveling from east to west, followed by weaker rains. The lands in Shinovar, farthest west on the main continent of Roshar, are mostly protected from the highstorms by the high peaks of the Misted Mountains. Most plants that grow in Shinovar, which resemble real-world plant life, cannot grow in other parts of Roshar. Highstorms come frequently and, though they do not appear to follow a simple pattern, stormwardens are able to accurately predict their schedule through complex mathematics. Flora and fauna have evolved to cope with this condition.

Nations and regions

During the Heraldic Epochs, Roshar was ruled by a coalition of ten nations known as the Silver Kingdoms. In the Era of Solitude, following the departure of the Heralds and the demise of the Orders of Knights Radiant, those kingdoms split into smaller ones:
The Stormlight Archive features several different races, although most are often portrayed as different ethnicities of humans. Some of these races include:
Much of The Way of Kings takes place within the nations of Alethkar and Jah Keved. Both of these nations divide their people into classes, primarily based on the color of their eyes. Those with dark eye colors are mostly peasants. Those with light eye colors are the nobles and generally more educated ruling class. Within these classes, there are further class distinctions known as nahn and dahn. Both have ten levels within. For the nahn, they range from slaves in the 10th nahn to full citizens with the right to travel in the second and first nahn. In the dahn system, lighteyes in the 10th dahn are considered only slightly better than darkeyes, and a very rich darkeyed man or woman may marry into an extremely poor lighteyed family, in very rare cases. The first dahn is composed of the king and his family. Any person above fourth dahn is a Brightlord/Brightlady, owners of swaths of property, servants, estates, etc. It has been known for dark eyed individuals to obtain light eyes through feats performed in the world, however this is exceptionally rare.

Spren

Spren are spirits in the land of Roshar which either cause, or are drawn to, different conditions or emotions. There are thousands of them. One character, Hesina, the mother of Kaladin states, "Spren appear when something changes - when fear appears, or when it begins to rain. They are the heart of change, and therefore the heart of all things." Their intelligence varies, with liespren and honorspren among the most intelligent, and more common spren, seen as forces of nature/emotion having little to no intelligence. Jasnah Kholin also mentions that the 10 orders of the Knights Radiant drew their power from spren. Some examples are Syl, an Honorspren who shares a bond with Kaladin, giving him surgebinding powers of Windrunner; Pattern, who created a bond with Shallan, allowing her to surgebind and soulcast; and Wyndle, who bonded with the thief Lift, allowing her to surgebind. Dalinar Kholin also binds a spren, the Stormfather, though he does so in an unconventional manner. Jasnah bonded an inkspren named Ivory.
Some spren, such as flamespren, share characteristics with current observations in quantum mechanics, and are based on them. For example, when they are observed they remain stable in the recorded state, but when tested more thoroughly, they change as though at random.
As revealed in the second book, Spren are "concepts and ideas" given physical form by the human collective subconscious. Among the many forms of spren, some are intelligent, possess self-awareness, and have even built their own cities. They reside naturally in Shadesmar, and often cross over into the physical realm. This comes at the cost of most of their self-awareness for the higher, more exalted spren, which they can regain by making bonds with humans. The sea and land are reversed in Shadesmar—what would be land on Roshar is a sea of black beads in Shadesmar, each representing a physical form on Roshar. Shadesmar also contains cities and a strange type of flora.

Surgebinding

Surgebinding refers to a group of ten magic systems that stem from Honor, one of the three Shards of Adonalsium present on Roshar. Each of Surgebinding's ten systems revolves around 'binding' two natural 'Surges,' for instance Gravity and Adhesion, to the Surgebinder's will. Surgebinding is powered by Stormlight, and the ability is granted to humans through bonding with a Spren, a type of elemental spirit native to Roshar. There are ten Surgebinding's branches, with Windrunning and powers of Lightweavers, described thoroughly.
Windrunning is an ability where the wielder uses the power of Stormlight to affect gravity and adhesion. It is described in three methods known as the "Three Lashings". A Basic Lashing changes the direction of gravitational pull for an individual. A Full Lashing is described as creating an almost unbreakable bond between two objects until the Stormlight dissipates. A Reverse Lashing causes an object to have a much stronger gravitational pull, causing other objects to be pulled towards it.
The only individuals in the book seen to use Windrunning are Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Kaladin, the squires of Kaladin in Bridge Four, and through the visions of Dalinar, members of the Knights Radiant.
There are a total of thirty different magic-systems on Roshar, with ten tied to each of the three Shards of Adonalsium present on the planet; the ten branches of Surgebinding to Honor, ten as yet unseen systems associated with Cultivation, and the ten levels of Voidbinding thought to be tied to Odium.

Soulcasting and Shadesmar

Soulcasting is a practice where objects are changed from one form to another. It has proven able to turn rock into smoke, purify blood of poisons, and create food, and it has many other applications as well. Soulcasting is done by means of a device called a soulcaster that is powered by gems imbued with Stormlight. The type of gem placed inside the soulcaster determines what the caster can transform. With each use of a soulcaster, there is a chance of the gem cracking and being destroyed, especially when a large amount of matter is changed. The main practitioners of soulcasting are the Ardents of the Vorin religion, however there are a few exceptions. Shallan's father's steward knew how to use a soulcaster, as he used Shallan's father's soulcaster.
Jasnah Kholin and, by the end of The Way of Kings, Shallan are capable of doing magic that has very similar effects to Soulcasting but does not require a soulcaster to be used, and does not require that the magic user be in physical contact with the object they transform. This book does not go into great detail, but the magic involves mentally communicating with an unknown source to enter a place called Shadesmar. Shadesmar is described in detail in the book but mostly consists of a world made from tiny glass beads. Once within Shadesmar the power from a Stormlight infused gem can be used to manipulate objects.
In an interview with Brandon Sanderson, Shadesmar is described as a Cognitive Realm connecting all the worlds in the Cosmere. Sanderson has confirmed that Hoid is very good at using Shadesmar, that this is how Hoid moves between worlds, and that people on other worlds within the Cosmere have ways of accessing Shadesmar which are different from those the characters in this book use.

Shardblades and Shardplate

Shardblades are powerful swords which have the ability to cut through any non-living matter with ease. When used on living creatures, they can kill or maim with a single cut by the blade passing through the living soul. They can also render limbs useless, when they cut through them. The only known defenses against a Shardblade are Shardplate, shields called "half-shards", and another Shardblade. Those who own a Shardblade can summon their blade from thin air in ten heartbeats, and can make their blade disappear at will. The blades are rare and highly valued, and there are estimated to be fewer than one hundred known blades in the world.
Shardplate is full plate armor which both protects and strengthens their wearer. The armor provides protection against Surgebinding, as one wearing the armor cannot be "lashed" directly. Repeated strikes at the same spot on the armor by regular weapons or Shardblades can cause the armor to crack and break. The armor can be repaired or "regrown" though it takes a long time.
A full shardbearer, one wielding both Shardblade and Shardplate, is a force capable of turning the tide of battle on their own. Kaladin and Syl express a revulsion to the Shardblades wielded by the Alethi. During Dalinar's visions he sees the Knights Radiant wearing Shardplate and wielding Shardblades, but he notes that the plate when worn by the Radiants glow. Additionally, the number of Blades and Plate worn by the Radiants is much greater than the number left in the world at the main timeline of The Way of Kings. Most Shardblades are actually dead spren that come alive for a period of time by attuning themselves to their owner's heartbeat.
Shardblades wielded by the Knights Radiant are the Knight's spren taking the physical form of a weapon, hence these Shardblades are a physical manifestation of a living spren. 'Living' Shardblades can be summoned instantly, and do not require the summoning period of ten heartbeats. There are also ten Honorblades that each grant the powers of one order of Radiants. These weapons don't appear to be physical manifestations of spren, dead or alive, and were likely wielded by The Heralds until nine of them were abandoned at the end of Aharietiam, or the last desolation. Szeth, the assassin in white, uses an Honorblade of Jezrien in the first two books, and the Herald, Nalan, wields the honor blade of the Skybreakers.

The Knights Radiant

The Knights Radiant originated through spren copying the abilities which the Heralds obtained through their Honorblades. The Knights Radiant gained their power through spren by creating a bond with them called the Nahel bond. The bond gives the spren sentience while giving the human Surgebinding abilities. Two examples are Sylphrena, an Honorspren, that shares a bond with Kaladin, giving him the power to Surgebind, and Shallan, who created a bond with Pattern, a Liespren to Soulcast and create Illusions. The Knights Radiant lived by their order's Five Ideals, called The Immortal Words, with the First Ideal being the same for every order: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination. The other four Ideals are different for each order, with the exception of the Order of the Lightweavers, having only the First Ideal. Lightweavers instead must admit truths to themselves in order to progress. Towards the end of The Way of Kings, Kaladin utters the Second Ideal for the Order of Windrunners: "I will protect those who cannot protect themselves". Near the end of Words of Radiance, Kaladin whispers the Third Ideal for the Order of Windrunners: "I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right". It is hinted at the end of Oathbringer that the Fourth Ideal is, "I will let go of those I cannot save", although this Ideal is not sworn.

Orders of the Knights Radiant

Much of the world follows the Vorin religion. Vorinism tells of a struggle between forces of the Voidbringers and humanity. The Voidbringers forced humanity out of its afterlife, called the Tranquiline Halls. They believe that upon death the soul continues in its past role, but towards the regaining of the Tranquiline Halls. In Alethkar, a man's highest calling is as a warrior in life to remain a warrior in the afterlife. The religion also tells of the Lost Radiants, an order who once fought against the Voidbringers during the wars against them on Roshar. Vorinism gave the Knights Radiant the moniker "Lost Radiants" after they apparently betrayed humanity at some point in the distant past. Vorinism is arranged in devotaries, whose ardents aim to assist people in advancing their Callings, which are tasks to which one dedicates their life as a method of worship. Each person selects a devotary based on variances in beliefs, talents or personality traits, and may change their selection at any point in their life. Some examples are the Devotary of Sincerity, who are encouraged to learn and ask questions, and the Devotary of Denial. Adolin Kholin's calling, for example, is Dueling. The priesthood of the Vorin religion are referred to as ardents.
Those who reject the existence of the Almighty, such as Jasnah Kholin, are referred to as heretics. Followers of other religions mentioned in The Way of Kings are Stone Shamans, Ysperists and Maakians.

Reception

Critical response and sales

''The Way of Kings''

In its first week of release The Way of Kings was No. 7 on The New York Times Best Seller list. In subsequent weeks the book was No. 11, No. 20, and No. 25.
An early review from the website Unshelved gave The Way of Kings a positive review. A review from Elitist Book Reviews pointed out small problems with the book, but gave an overall positive opinion of the book. The website SFReviews.net gave the book a mixed review, praising Sanderson's writing and creativity, but criticizing its extreme length and overall dearth of action.
SF Reviews pointed out, "The ride is luxurious, the scenery is often breathtaking, but The Way of Kings is truly a long and winding road." KeepingTheDoor.com commented, "The Stormlight Archive is a series that, like Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Robin Hobb's The Realm of the Elderlings epics, every fantasy fan worth their salt must read and be familiar with. This will be one of the giant series that will help shape the entire scene. Take a week off work now and go and buy The Way of Kings. You won't regret it."

''Words of Radiance''

In its first week of release, Words of Radiance debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller list. It also reached No. 1 on the combined print/ebook bestseller list and the Kobo Bestseller list. It was at No. 3 on the National Indie Bestseller list, and at No. 6 on the Southern California Independent Bookseller Association bestselling hardcover fiction list. The UK publisher of the book, Gollancz, debuted with Words of Radiance at No. 2 on the Sunday Times of London Bestseller list.
A review written by io9 called the book "an old-school, '90s fantasy-style behemoth", also commenting, "While Sanderson continues to build his characters and reveal who they are it still clings to one overarching plot that drives relentlessly to an ending that can only be described as 'epic'."
Another review published by Tor Books commented, "Words of Radiance capitalizes on the groundwork provided by The Way of Kings, building up the world and system while revealing many more potential points of speculation." It also said, "So to you, lucky reader, who have the choice of whether or not to buy the book, I give this advice. The journey will be worth it. Yes, you should buy this book. Yes, this is a series worth following to the end. I'm glad to be taking this journey, and I hope you will as well."

Awards and nominations

Adaptations

Audiobooks

Unabridged audiobook versions of the first three books were released by Macmillan Audio and read by narrator team Kate Reading and Michael Kramer. The Way of Kings was released in August 2010, Words of Radiance in March 2014, and Oathbringer in November 2017.
GraphicAudio published a five-part version of The Way of Kings from March to July 2016, and a five-part version of Words of Radiance from September 2016 to January 2017.

Films

In October 2016, the rights to the entire Cosmere universe were licensed by DMG Entertainment. DMG is fast-tracking an adaptation of The Way of Kings. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan were hired as screenwriters. DMG founder Dan Mintz will produce the film, with Sanderson and Joshua Bilmes serving as executive producers. DMG also intends on simultaneously adapting the first book in Sanderson's Mistborn series.

Video game

A VR game, "The Way of Kings: Escape the Shattered Plains", developed by Arcturus VR, was released on March 2, 2018.