Fantasy · Book club
The Way of Kings book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
The Way of Kings is the first volume of The Stormlight Archive, Brandon Sanderson's most ambitious project: a ten-book epic set in Roshar, a world of continent-wide storms, symbiotic armor, and an ancient catastrophe that everyone has forgotten.
Brandon Sanderson · 2010 · 25h 45m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 12 questions
- 1.
Kaladin's depression is depicted in sustained, specific detail. Did you find that a strength of the book — a fantasy novel taking mental health seriously — or did the extended darkness make it difficult to continue reading?
- 2.
The Way of Kings is nearly 400,000 words and the series is planned at ten volumes. Is that scale a feature or a flaw? What does a story need that length to do?
- 3.
Dalinar receives visions during the Highstorms that he cannot share with anyone around him without appearing mad. How does the book use that isolation to develop him as a character?
- 4.
Kaladin begins the book having given up on hope because hope has always led to catastrophic loss. At what point in the narrative did you believe his recovery was genuine rather than temporary?
- 5.
The Alethi warrior culture has a codified system of honor — the Way of Kings — that Dalinar follows. The book presents it as both admirable and complicit in an unjust system. Does it resolve that tension?
- 6.
Shallan's chapters function quite differently from Kaladin's — lighter, more intellectual, with a different kind of moral peril. Do the two narrative threads feel like parts of the same book, or do they pull in different directions?
- 7.
The Spren — semi-sentient manifestations of natural forces and emotions — are a distinctive element of Roshar's world. How do they change the way the magic feels compared to more standard fantasy power systems?
- 8.
Sanderson has said he wanted The Way of Kings to be a book about a character who has hit absolute bottom. Does the length of time Kaladin spends at bottom feel necessary, or does it overstay its welcome?
- 9.
Compare Sanderson's approach to depicting warfare — the bridge runs, the logistics of the Shattered Plains — with Martin's or Tolkien's. What does each author think war is, based on how they write it?
- 10.
The Stormlight Archive has a very strong online community of readers who theorize about the cosmology. Does knowing that a fandom of that kind exists change how you read the book, or does it feel irrelevant?
- 11.
The book ends with a significant revelation about Szeth and the nature of the larger threat. Was that ending satisfying as a conclusion to this volume, or did it feel like a commercial hook?
- 12.
Who was your favorite character at the end of the book, and who surprised you most? Were those the same person?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for The Way of Kings?
Here are 12 book club questions for The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on duty and sacrifice, mental health and survival, ancient knowledge and lost history.
How long should a book club discussion of The Way of Kings last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in The Way of Kings?
Duty and sacrifice, Mental health and survival, Ancient knowledge and lost history, Leadership and responsibility, Transformation through suffering. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like The Way of Kings or questions for other book club picks.
