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Series · 5 books

The Stormlight Archive

Brandon Sanderson · read by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer

They tell a story. Hardcover files every book in this run as fiction, and their readers there call them tense. Facts, not factors: neither plays any part in our call.

Read it

Every book we have judged on how far the recording outruns the page: 201 of them, the page's answer at the left-hand end and the recording's at the right. Marked for scale: All the Light We Cannot See, To Kill a Mockingbird and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This one sits in the bottom 15% of our shelf of books for how far the recording outruns the page. −0.40, where we start backing the page; 0.40, where we start backing the recording.The Stormlight Archive
ordinary · 0.69 clear of the line where this would stop being a read

Audio is doing this one no favours: 144 readers call it slow and 12% of the reviews we read called it demanding. That is a book that wants a page you can turn back to.

Length does not decide this

269h 20m to listen, at 1×215h 28m to listen, at 1.25×179h 33m to listen, at 1.5×153h 54m to listen, at 1.75×134h 40m to listen, at 2×about 197 hours to readabout 148 hours to readabout 118 hours to readabout 91 hours to readabout 74 hours to read

The runtime is Audible’s, 5 recordings added together, shown at the speed beside it. The reading time is our estimate: 5,919 pages in total at 30 pages an hour, the pace you told us. Ours is 50, about 300 words a page, read at 250 a minute. Treat the reading estimate as a floor on this one: this one runs 2.7 minutes of narration a page against a shelf median of 1.9, so there is more on each page than our 300-word average assumes and it will take you longer than we say.The runtime is Audible’s, 5 recordings added together, shown at the speed beside it. The reading time is our estimate: 5,919 pages in total at 40 pages an hour, the pace you told us. Ours is 50, about 300 words a page, read at 250 a minute. Treat the reading estimate as a floor on this one: this one runs 2.7 minutes of narration a page against a shelf median of 1.9, so there is more on each page than our 300-word average assumes and it will take you longer than we say.The runtime is Audible’s, 5 recordings added together, shown at the speed beside it. The reading time is our estimate: 5,919 pages in total at 50 pages an hour, which is about 300 words a page, read at 250 a minute. Treat the reading estimate as a floor on this one: this one runs 2.7 minutes of narration a page against a shelf median of 1.9, so there is more on each page than our 300-word average assumes and it will take you longer than we say.The runtime is Audible’s, 5 recordings added together, shown at the speed beside it. The reading time is our estimate: 5,919 pages in total at 65 pages an hour, the pace you told us. Ours is 50, about 300 words a page, read at 250 a minute. Treat the reading estimate as a floor on this one: this one runs 2.7 minutes of narration a page against a shelf median of 1.9, so there is more on each page than our 300-word average assumes and it will take you longer than we say.The runtime is Audible’s, 5 recordings added together, shown at the speed beside it. The reading time is our estimate: 5,919 pages in total at 80 pages an hour, the pace you told us. Ours is 50, about 300 words a page, read at 250 a minute. Treat the reading estimate as a floor on this one: this one runs 2.7 minutes of narration a page against a shelf median of 1.9, so there is more on each page than our 300-word average assumes and it will take you longer than we say.

If you must listen → dedicated listening only

About as demanding in audio as The Handmaid's Tale.

All the books we hold · 222

Harder work in audio than 87% of the books we hold.

Fiction · 176

Harder work in audio than 86% of the fiction we hold.

Doorstoppers · 54

Harder work in audio than 74% of the doorstoppers we hold.

  • The books do not agree with each other (spread 1.07 around -1.09); the odd ones out are The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) (-2.43), Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5) (0.53).

Reading load against listening load

Every book we hold placed by how much work it asks on the page, left to right, against how much it asks in your ears, bottom to top: 222 of them. Easy both ways is the bottom left corner, hard both ways the top right; above the dashed line the ears work harder, below it the page does. Marked for scale: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Diary of a Young Girl. This one is in the top 27% of our shelf of books for effort on the page and in the top 20% of our shelf of books for effort in your ears.
The dashed line is where a book would be same effort either way. This one sits above that line (audio asks more of you here than the page does), in the top 13% of our shelf of books for extra work in audio.
On the page0.32
In your ears0.72
Audio disadvantage1.06

Where that puts this one among the books we hold: in the top 27% of our shelf of books for effort on the page and in the top 20% of our shelf of books for effort in your ears. The middle of the scale is not the middle of the shelf (most books sit below the average on both), so a book at 0.00 is already in the top 43% for effort on the page. Each of the three is measured against the whole shelf separately, so the bottom figure is not the top two subtracted. It is this book’s own distance from the middle.

What the audio disadvantage is made of. Two things and no others: how fast readers say this one moves, and how demanding the reviews we read found it. There is no third: the structural one has no data source, so it contributes nothing rather than being guessed at. Both directions are declared priors we have never fitted against a real verdict, which is the weakest-evidenced part of the whole model.

Every book we could measure both features on placed by pace, fast to slow, against how demanding the reviews we read found it, plain to demanding: 166 of them. The easiest listens are the bottom left corner and the hardest the top right, which is the shaded one. Marked for scale: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Diary of a Young Girl. This one reads at about the pace of most books we hold and about as demanding as most, which is what leaves the format leaning towards the page.
This one reads at about the pace of most books we hold and about as demanding as most, which is what leaves the format leaning towards the page.

How the call was made

Where a bar carries ticks, the grey one is the middle of our shelf and a coloured one is a line we publish, cool where we start backing the page, warm where we start backing the recording. The evidence squares at the foot are a different thing: how far each of our four sources went, hatched where there was nothing to measure at all.

The audio case
−1.09It sits in the bottom 15% of our shelf of books for how far the recording outruns the page. Past the line where we start backing the page.
Narration payoff
−0.03Kate Reading and Michael Kramer’s reading and the book are received about equally well: in the middle 40% of our shelf of books, on 41,652 ratings of the narration. This is a difference, not a score: it sets the reading against its own book, so a much-loved book with a merely good reading sits low on this shelf even where nobody disliked either.
What is at stake
2.01It sits in the top 2% of our shelf of books for how well the print crowds think of a book: well enough regarded that a wasted first encounter costs more, so we lean towards protecting the page. Blended across 2,081,303 Goodreads ratings and 12,475 on Hardcover, each scored inside its own population first, and never added together.

For the page

  • A hard text to follow by ear
  • The print crowds think highly of it

For the recording

  • The voice and the book are received about level
  • 41,652 listeners behind it

So the case for the page won it.

A bigger dot counted for more: the voice and the ear are sized by their share of the sum above, the other two by how much stands behind them. A hatched square is a reason that did not apply here, which is not the same as one that counted for little.

Evidence
1.00How much of the picture we actually have, out of 1.00: four questions, each answered as far as the source could answer it, less anything taken off for reading fewer reviews than we aim to.The reading41,652 people have rated this reading: as good as it getsThe second sourceHardcover knows this book, with 12,475 readers there: as good as it getsThe matchHow sure we are that the recording we scored is this book: as good as it getsThe reviewsWe read 1,500 reviews to judge how demanding it is: as good as it gets

What each crowd complains about

In the reviews we read, how often readers brought it up and how often listeners did, each against what is usual for that same crowd across our whole shelf, which is the grey tick. The track stops at 4×. Listeners are only ever compared with listeners.

Listeners of this book bring up keeping the names straight about 2.2 times as often as listeners usually do, while readers of it bring it up about as often as readers usually do.

The books in it

Showing the stars as each shop prints them. The two crowds are not measured from the same place: on our shelf Audible’s listeners average 0.35 of a star above Goodreads’ readers, so a recording that is ordinary for Audible can still out-star a book that is genuinely well liked for Goodreads. Switch the toggle to take that difference off.Showing each figure as its distance from its own crowd’s middle on our shelf, in standard deviations, so 0 is a typical book for that crowd. Listeners start 0.35 of a star up, partly because anyone who finishes a twenty-five-hour recording chose it deliberately, and this takes that off. It is not a claim that audio is better, the story figure is still Audible’s own (people rating a story they heard), and none of it moves the verdict above.

One row per book: who reads it, how long it runs, then Audible’s listeners on the story and Goodreads’ readers on the book.

The Way of Kings
Kate Reading and Michael Kramer45h 29m36h 23m30h 19m25h 59m22h 45mAudible 4.81+1.12Goodreads 4.66+2.13
4.79·Audible
overallAudible
overall, pooled by the shop, so we hold no ruler for it
85%5 stars: 85 per cent, 14,881 ratings
12%4 stars: 12 per cent, 2,082 ratings
2%3 stars: 2 per cent, 353 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 130 ratings
1%1 stars: 1 per cent, 137 ratings

17,583 ratings · performance and story, as the shop pools them

4.66+0.16 sdAudible
the performanceAudible
the performance, against Audible’s own crowd
76%5 stars: 76 per cent, 11,730 ratings
18%4 stars: 18 per cent, 2,796 ratings
4%3 stars: 4 per cent, 633 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 153 ratings
1%1 stars: 1 per cent, 188 ratings

How often this goes badly2.2% of the people who rated the performance gave it one or two stars. About typical for the shelf. The middle of our shelf is 2.0%, and half of it falls between 1.0% and 3.1%.

341 of 15,500 listeners gave the performance one or two stars

The shape of the room

  • United, this one
  • Warm
  • Split
  • Lukewarm

A united room: 76% of the listeners gave the performance five stars. A room that agrees this far leaves little to gamble on.

15,500 ratings

4.81+1.12 sdAudible
the story, as heardAudible
the story, as heard, against Audible’s own crowd
86%5 stars: 86 per cent, 13,359 ratings
10%4 stars: 10 per cent, 1,608 ratings
2%3 stars: 2 per cent, 308 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 93 ratings
1%1 stars: 1 per cent, 92 ratings

15,460 ratings

4.66+2.13 sdGoodreads
the book itselfGoodreads
the book itself, against Goodreads’ own crowd
74%5 stars: 74 per cent, 537,686 ratings
20%4 stars: 20 per cent, 147,425 ratings
4%3 stars: 4 per cent, 30,176 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 6,966 ratings
1%1 stars: 1 per cent, 4,226 ratings

726,479 ratings

Words of Radiance
Kate Reading and Michael Kramer48h 13m38h 34m32h 09m27h 33m24h 07mAudible 4.87+1.32Goodreads 4.76+2.57
4.87·Audible
overallAudible
overall, pooled by the shop, so we hold no ruler for it
89%5 stars: 89 per cent, 10,916 ratings
10%4 stars: 10 per cent, 1,189 ratings
1%3 stars: 1 per cent, 141 ratings
0%2 stars: 0 per cent, 30 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 20 ratings

12,296 ratings · performance and story, as the shop pools them

4.82+0.84 sdAudible
the performanceAudible
the performance, against Audible’s own crowd
85%5 stars: 85 per cent, 9,167 ratings
12%4 stars: 12 per cent, 1,329 ratings
2%3 stars: 2 per cent, 199 ratings
0%2 stars: 0 per cent, 38 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 26 ratings

How often this goes badly0.6% of the people who rated the performance gave it one or two stars. Fewer than most recordings here. The middle of our shelf is 2.0%, and half of it falls between 1.0% and 3.1%.

64 of 10,759 listeners gave the performance one or two stars

The shape of the room

  • United, this one
  • Warm
  • Split
  • Lukewarm

A united room: 85% of the listeners gave the performance five stars. A room that agrees this far leaves little to gamble on.

10,759 ratings

4.87+1.32 sdAudible
the story, as heardAudible
the story, as heard, against Audible’s own crowd
89%5 stars: 89 per cent, 9,548 ratings
10%4 stars: 10 per cent, 1,030 ratings
1%3 stars: 1 per cent, 131 ratings
0%2 stars: 0 per cent, 30 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 15 ratings

10,754 ratings

4.76+2.57 sdGoodreads
the book itselfGoodreads
the book itself, against Goodreads’ own crowd
80%5 stars: 80 per cent, 424,344 ratings
17%4 stars: 17 per cent, 91,462 ratings
3%3 stars: 3 per cent, 13,375 ratings
0%2 stars: 0 per cent, 2,086 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 907 ratings

532,174 ratings

Oathbringer
Kate Reading and Michael Kramer55h 24m44h 19m36h 56m31h 39m27h 42mAudible 4.74+0.84Goodreads 4.60+1.86
4.78·Audible
overallAudible
overall, pooled by the shop, so we hold no ruler for it
83%5 stars: 83 per cent, 6,747 ratings
13%4 stars: 13 per cent, 1,038 ratings
3%3 stars: 3 per cent, 227 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 65 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 22 ratings

8,099 ratings · performance and story, as the shop pools them

4.85+0.97 sdAudible
the performanceAudible
the performance, against Audible’s own crowd
88%5 stars: 88 per cent, 6,082 ratings
10%4 stars: 10 per cent, 694 ratings
1%3 stars: 1 per cent, 93 ratings
0%2 stars: 0 per cent, 30 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 21 ratings

How often this goes badly0.7% of the people who rated the performance gave it one or two stars. Fewer than most recordings here. The middle of our shelf is 2.0%, and half of it falls between 1.0% and 3.1%.

51 of 6,920 listeners gave the performance one or two stars

The shape of the room

  • United, this one
  • Warm
  • Split
  • Lukewarm

A united room: 88% of the listeners gave the performance five stars. A room that agrees this far leaves little to gamble on.

6,920 ratings

4.74+0.84 sdAudible
the story, as heardAudible
the story, as heard, against Audible’s own crowd
82%5 stars: 82 per cent, 5,638 ratings
13%4 stars: 13 per cent, 930 ratings
3%3 stars: 3 per cent, 241 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 73 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 34 ratings

6,916 ratings

4.60+1.86 sdGoodreads
the book itselfGoodreads
the book itself, against Goodreads’ own crowd
68%5 stars: 68 per cent, 267,644 ratings
25%4 stars: 25 per cent, 98,013 ratings
6%3 stars: 6 per cent, 22,422 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 3,516 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 1,271 ratings

392,866 ratings

Rhythm of War
Kate Reading and Michael Kramer57h 26m45h 57m38h 17m32h 49m28h 43mAudible 4.73+0.78Goodreads 4.56+1.68
4.78·Audible
overallAudible
overall, pooled by the shop, so we hold no ruler for it
84%5 stars: 84 per cent, 5,332 ratings
11%4 stars: 11 per cent, 726 ratings
3%3 stars: 3 per cent, 189 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 51 ratings
1%1 stars: 1 per cent, 39 ratings

6,337 ratings · performance and story, as the shop pools them

4.87+1.08 sdAudible
the performanceAudible
the performance, against Audible’s own crowd
90%5 stars: 90 per cent, 4,843 ratings
8%4 stars: 8 per cent, 402 ratings
1%3 stars: 1 per cent, 73 ratings
0%2 stars: 0 per cent, 14 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 21 ratings

How often this goes badly0.7% of the people who rated the performance gave it one or two stars. Fewer than most recordings here. The middle of our shelf is 2.0%, and half of it falls between 1.0% and 3.1%.

35 of 5,353 listeners gave the performance one or two stars

The shape of the room

  • United, this one
  • Warm
  • Split
  • Lukewarm

A united room: 90% of the listeners gave the performance five stars. A room that agrees this far leaves little to gamble on.

5,353 ratings

4.73+0.78 sdAudible
the story, as heardAudible
the story, as heard, against Audible’s own crowd
82%5 stars: 82 per cent, 4,360 ratings
13%4 stars: 13 per cent, 673 ratings
4%3 stars: 4 per cent, 198 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 63 ratings
1%1 stars: 1 per cent, 44 ratings

5,338 ratings

4.56+1.68 sdGoodreads
the book itselfGoodreads
the book itself, against Goodreads’ own crowd
65%5 stars: 65 per cent, 174,342 ratings
27%4 stars: 27 per cent, 73,153 ratings
6%3 stars: 6 per cent, 16,847 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 2,490 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 581 ratings

267,413 ratings

Wind and Truth
Kate Reading and Michael Kramer62h 48m50h 14m41h 52m35h 53m31h 24mAudible 4.62+0.32Goodreads 4.36+0.79
4.67·Audible
overallAudible
overall, pooled by the shop, so we hold no ruler for it
80%5 stars: 80 per cent, 2,761 ratings
11%4 stars: 11 per cent, 390 ratings
5%3 stars: 5 per cent, 167 ratings
3%2 stars: 3 per cent, 89 ratings
1%1 stars: 1 per cent, 41 ratings

3,448 ratings · performance and story, as the shop pools them

4.84+0.91 sdAudible
the performanceAudible
the performance, against Audible’s own crowd
88%5 stars: 88 per cent, 2,811 ratings
8%4 stars: 8 per cent, 270 ratings
2%3 stars: 2 per cent, 68 ratings
1%2 stars: 1 per cent, 22 ratings
0%1 stars: 0 per cent, 13 ratings

How often this goes badly1.1% of the people who rated the performance gave it one or two stars. About typical for the shelf. The middle of our shelf is 2.0%, and half of it falls between 1.0% and 3.1%.

35 of 3,184 listeners gave the performance one or two stars

The shape of the room

  • United, this one
  • Warm
  • Split
  • Lukewarm

A united room: 88% of the listeners gave the performance five stars. A room that agrees this far leaves little to gamble on.

3,184 ratings

4.62+0.32 sdAudible
the story, as heardAudible
the story, as heard, against Audible’s own crowd
78%5 stars: 78 per cent, 2,494 ratings
12%4 stars: 12 per cent, 374 ratings
5%3 stars: 5 per cent, 159 ratings
3%2 stars: 3 per cent, 96 ratings
2%1 stars: 2 per cent, 61 ratings

3,184 ratings

4.36+0.79 sdGoodreads
the book itselfGoodreads
the book itself, against Goodreads’ own crowd
56%5 stars: 56 per cent, 91,119 ratings
29%4 stars: 29 per cent, 46,475 ratings
11%3 stars: 11 per cent, 18,048 ratings
3%2 stars: 3 per cent, 5,066 ratings
1%1 stars: 1 per cent, 1,663 ratings

162,371 ratings

The verdict is for the series as one commitment (269h 20m215h 28m179h 33m153h 54m134h 40m of it), because that is the decision you are actually making.

The series

The Stormlight Archive

Still running · One voice throughout

5 books numbered on Goodreads’ list, with 4 novellas or companions filed between them. Book 4.5, Horneater, is due in 2026.

Kate Reading reads all of the 7 volumes Audible names in our records, with other voices joining on some of them — a cast, not a change of narrator.

From Goodreads’ own series index, checked on 7 September 2026.

Every reading we hold

One complete reading of The Way of Kings, and it is the reading the call above leans on. If there is another, we have not found it. The shelf grows in reviewed batches, never because somebody searched for a book.

  • Kate Reading, Michael Kramerour pick45h 29m36h 23m30h 19m25h 59m22h 45m · Two voices · Audible UK and US
    • The same voice all through

    Performance 4.66 · Story 4.81 · 15,460 rated the reading · 2.2% of the people who rated the performance gave it one or two stars

    Hear it · Audible’s clip, its length read from them on load

The recording we mean · The Way of Kings

Runtime
45h 29m at 1×
Read by
Kate Reading and Michael Kramer
Kind
Two voices
ASIN
B0052EFCH0 · Audible UK
Rated in
Audible UK and US · 12,205 + 3,295 ratings of the performance
Judged on
41,652 ratings of the narration
Published
Gollancz · 2011

Audible sorts a search by newest, so ours may not be the first one you are offered. The runtime is the check: if the one in front of you says 45h 29m, that is the reading these numbers describe. “Judged on” is the crowd behind every judgement we make about this reading: the smaller of the performance and story counts, which is why it is a little under the two shop counts added. We do not link out to a shop, and we take nothing if you buy there.