The Stormlight Archive
The Stormlight Archive is an ongoing epic fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson. Set on the planet Roshar, the series forms a core part of the cosmere sequence, and centers around Odium's efforts to escape the ties that bind him to the Rosharan system. The series is estimated to require ten books to complete.[1]
For a summary of the events thus far, see the individual summary pages for each book.
Structure
The novels of The Stormlight Archive follow a consistent internal structure. Each is split into five parts, and Brandon plots each novel as if it were an entire trilogy. The names of each part, when put together, form a ketek. Between each part is a set of interludes, set in different points of view, which show events in other locations on Roshar. Each novel has one character who gets multiple interludes, whose interludes effectively form a novella. The books also feature several pieces of in-world art on the endpages and between some chapters, and epigraphs from in-world documents at the start of each non-flashback chapter.[2][3] Each of the first five books begins with a prologue that shows a different character's perspective of the night of the assassination of Gavilar and ends with an epilogue from Hoid's point of view.[4][5] Each book also includes an Ars Arcanum.
Each novel will focus on one specific order of the Knights Radiant and feature flashbacks from a character tied to that order.[6][7] Brandon has made clear that a character can have flashback point of views, even if he or she is already dead, so the characters scheduled to have flashbacks in an upcoming book might still die before their book.[8] The series will be split into two arcs of five books each, with a time gap of about five to ten years between the two arcs. The second arc will be written after Mistborn Era 3.[9] Brandon has said he also hopes to write novellas in between at least all the remaining arc one novels, though is unsure if he has enough time.[10] These novellas would fill in some details and show parts of the story that wouldn't have otherwise been seen.
Subject to the assumption that characters stay associated with their current order and assigning the Order of Dustbringers to Shalash's book by process of elimination, the following table summarizes these relationships and the order of books:
| Year | Book | Order | Length | Radiant Order | Flashback character | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arc 1 | ||||||
| 2010 | The Way of Kings | 1 | Novel | Order of Windrunners | Kaladin | |
| 2014 | Words of Radiance | 2 | Novel | Order of Lightweavers | Shallan Davar | |
| 2016 | Edgedancer | 2.5 | Novella | NA | NA | |
| 2017 | Oathbringer | 3 | Novel | Order of Bondsmiths | Dalinar Kholin | |
| 2020 | Wandersail* | 3.5 | Novella | NA | NA | |
| 2020 | Rhythm of War | 4 | Novel | Order of Willshapers | Venli and Eshonai | [11] |
| Unknown | Horneater | 3.5 | Novella | NA | NA | [12][10][13][14] |
| 2023 | Unknown | 5 | Novel | Order of Skybreakers | Szeth | [15][16] |
| Arc 2 | ||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | 6 | Novel | Order of Edgedancers | Lift | [17] |
| Unknown | Unknown | 7 | Novel | Order of Truthwatchers | Renarin Kholin | [17] |
| Unknown | Unknown | 8 | Novel | Order of Dustbringers | Shalash | [17] |
| Unknown | Unknown | 9 | Novel | Order of Stonewards | Talenel | [17] |
| Unknown | Unknown | 10 | Novel | Order of Elsecallers | Jasnah Kholin | [17] |
* While Brandon has talked about putting the novella before Rhythm of War, it has yet to be confirmed that this will happen.
Cover Galleries
Publication
- US/Canadian rights (#1-4) with Tor
- Bulgarian rights (#1) to Артлайн Студиос (Artline Studios)
- UK rights (#1-4) to Gollancz
- German rights (#1-3) to Heyne
- French rights to Calmann-Levy
- Polish rights to MAG
- Turkish rights (#1) to Akılçelen Kitaplar (Arkadas)
- Spanish rights (#1) to Ediciones B
- Chinese rights (complex, #1) to 奇幻基地 (Fantasy Foundation)
- Chinese rights (simplified) to 史诗图书 (Epic Books)
- Japanese rights (#1) to 早川書房 (Hayakawa)
- Czech rights (#1) to Talpress
- Italian rights (#1) to Fanucci[18]
- Israeli rights to אופוס (Opus)
- Russian rights (#1-3) to Азбука Аттикус (Azbooka)
- Romanian rights (#1-2) to Editura Paladin
- Danish rights (#1) to Ulven og Ulgen
- Hungarian rights (#1) to Delta Vision
Awards
- Way of Kings #7 NY Times best-seller
- Winner of the 2010 David Gemmell Legend Award for Best Fantasy Novel
- The Way of Kings hit the Times list in mass market, debuts at #25 on the chart
- Named one of the Best of 2010 by Fantasy Faction
- Named one of the Best of 2010 by Ranting Dragon
- Named one of the Best of 2010 by SFF World
- Named one of the Best of 2010 by Goodreads[18]
- Words of Radiance #1 NY Times best-seller[19]
Statistics
The Stormlight Archive consists of three full novels and one novella.
| Word Count | 1,276,934 | |
|---|---|---|
| Page Count | 3,588 | Tor hardbacks |
| Chapter Count | 350 | Including prelude, 3 prologues, 37 interludes, and 3 epilogues. |
| PoV Characters | 44 | |
| PoV Count | 594 |
Trivia
Notes
- ↑ SF Book Review interview
— Arcanum - 2014-03-19# - ↑ Stormlight Three Update #2
— Arcanum - 2016-01-19# - ↑ Stormlight Three Update #8
— Arcanum - 2017-06-15# - ↑ ICon 2019
— Arcanum - 2019-10-15# - ↑ Idaho Falls signing
— Arcanum - 2018-12-29# - ↑ Ad Astra 2017
— Arcanum - 2017-05-05# - ↑ The Great American Read: Other Worlds with Brandon Sanderson
— Arcanum - 2018-10-25# - ↑ Stormlight Three Update #4
— Arcanum - 2016-09-09# - ↑ The Great American Read: Other Worlds with Brandon Sanderson
— Arcanum - 2018-10-25# - ↑ a b General Reddit 2020
— Arcanum - 2020-03-21# - ↑ General Twitter 2019
— Arcanum - 2019-08-22# - ↑ State of the Sanderson 2019
— Arcanum - 2019-12-19# - ↑ General Reddit 2019
— Arcanum - 2019-05-28# - ↑ YouTube Livestream 6
— Arcanum - 2020-04-23# - ↑ Oathbringer London signing
— Arcanum - 2017-11-28# - ↑ General Reddit 2020
— Arcanum - 2020-03-23# - ↑ a b c d e Skyward release party
— Arcanum - 2018-11-06# - ↑ a b Brandon's Awful Agent page
— Awful Agent # - ↑ Words of Radiance debut 1st on NYT bestsellers
— Tor.com - MAR 12 2014# - ↑ YouTube Livestream 6
— Arcanum - 2020-04-23#