The Most Popular Bestsellers Books - Epic Fantasy - Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings Info, Plot Summary, Review and Brandon Sanderson Biography
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Book: The Way of Kings (1007 Pgs.)
Book #1 of The Stormlight Archive
The story rotates between the points of view of Kaladin, Shallan, Szeth, Dalinar Kholin, and several other minor characters, who lead seemingly unconnected lives. Szeth, a Shin man cast out by his people and condemned to do the bidding of his constantly changing masters, is sent to murder the king of one of the world's most powerful nations, Alethkar. As the story progresses, he continuously changes hands, doing his best to hide the fact that he possesses a Shardblade, a magical blade given to the Knights Radiant that can cut through any material and end lives with a single cut. He also possesses an ability to control gravity and to bind things together for a certain amount of time (“Surgebinding”), once possessed by the Knights Radiant and thought lost, making him incredibly difficult to defeat in battle.
When Szeth was sent to kill the Alethi King Gavilar, the Parshendi, a race similar to the docile servants of other nations, Parshmen, claim responsibility for the assassination. Gavilar's son then goes to war with the Parshendi both for vengeance and to help stabilize the political situation. The story then shifts to the stories of Highprince Dalinar Kholin, the brother of the King who was murdered. Before he died, his brother directed Dalinar to an ancient tome called The Way of Kings, which leads Dalinar to start questioning the warlike and competitive Alethkar way of life. He also begins to experience visions in which he sees the ancient Knights Radiant. For Dalinar, these visions not only cast doubt on the mistaken history of the Radiants, they also begin to reveal the truth about the Voidbringers and the current state of the world. All of these events make Dalinar reluctant to do battle. Dalinar's conviction is questioned by those closest to him, casting heavy doubt on his sanity and bringing into question his entitlement to leadership. In the political unrest of the age, perceived weakness is cause for others to try and eliminate him.
Meanwhile, the story also follows Kaladin, a darkeye peasant with a burning hatred for lighteyes nobles. Trained in his youth as a surgeon, Kaladin volunteered to go to war for the army of a local lord to watch over and protect his brother on the field of battle. In his third battle Kaladin fails to protect his brother, who is killed. This drives Kaladin to become a better fighter, resolving to protect others from the same fate. During a later battle, Kaladin succeeds in killing an enemy Shardbearer, and by right could claim the enemy's Shardblade and Shardplate, becoming a lighteyes himself. However, he rejects the Shardblade and Shardplate and is then betrayed by Brightlord Amaram, who takes the weapons for himself and makes Kaladin into a slave to hide the theft. This event not only cements Kaladin's hatred for nobles, it also leaves deep emotional scars. After a number of escape attempts, he is forced into service as a bridgeman in an army battling the Parshendi on the Shattered Plains. Bridgemen are used strategically as easy targets for the opposing armies' archers, allowed to die so that the trained army can attack more easily. Kaladin manages to rally the other men in his group and turn them into a team that can survive. However, after he accidentally ruins a battle by changing tactics, he is beaten violently and left outside during a Highstorm to die. He manages to survive. As a result of his unlikely survival, he begins to discover that he possesses the Surgebinding ability. As he struggles to find a way for his men to escape their lives as bridgemen, he comes to terms with his powers and begins to learn how to use them.
Shallan, a minor lighteyes whose family and lands are in danger, hatches a daring plot to switch a broken Soulcaster (a device that allows people to change objects to other things) with a working one belonging to Jasnah Kholin, sister of the Alethi King. She petitions Jasnah to become Jasnah's apprentice, and through persistent effort she manages to get Jasnah's confidence and becomes her apprentice. After successfully stealing the Soulcaster, she is frustrated by her inability to use it until one fateful day, when she accidentally turns a goblet into blood. Jasnah comes in at that exact moment, and Shallan breaks a pitcher and cuts herself to make it seem as though the blood was hers, which Jasnah mistakes for a suicide attempt. Shallan soon discovers that Jasnah's Soulcaster does not possess the ability to transmute, but is instead simply a distraction from her uncommon natural ability to soulcast. When Jasnah learns that Shallan can transmute she forgives the girl for trying to steal her Soulcaster and begins instructing her in the proper use of their shared power. She also reveals her researching into the origins of the Knights Radiant and Voidbringers and prepares Shallan and herself to travel to the Shattered Plains to meet with Jasnah's uncle Dalinar.
Source: Wikipedia
Brandon Sanderson: The Way of Kings
Years ago a hireling of the Parshendi assassinated the Alethi king, Gavilar, resulting in the Vengeance Pact among the highprinces of Alethkar and the War of Reckoning against the Parshendi. Now the Assassin in White is active again, using powers that were long thought lost, and tries to kill Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne.