[1] The second novel, Words of Radiance, was published in 2014 and debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller List.

Sanderson has indicated that he will start drafting the latter half of the series after he finishes writing the upcoming Era Three Mistborn trilogy and the two Elantris sequels.

[7] The published book is significantly different from the original manuscript because of a substantial rewrite prior to its 2010 publication.

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.

[20] The title, Rhythm of War, was announced on the Tor website on February 10, 2020,[21] and the cover was revealed six months later.

The first novella, titled Edgedancer and featuring the character Lift, is set between Words of Radiance and Oathbringer and was originally published in Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection in 2016.

[46] The second novella, Dawnshard, featuring the characters Rysn and Lopen, was published in November 2020 and takes place in the one-year gap between Oathbringer and Rhythm of War.

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.

Highstorms come frequently and, though they do not appear to follow a simple pattern, storm wardens are able to accurately predict their schedule through complex mathematics.

Some of these races include: Much of The Way of Kings takes place within the nations of Alethkar and Jah Keved.

As revealed in the second book, Spren are "concepts and ideas" given physical form by the human collective subconscious.

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.

These weapons do not appear to be physical manifestations of spren, dead or alive, and were wielded by The Heralds until nine of them were abandoned at the end of Aharietiam, or the last desolation.

Surgebinding refers to a group of ten magic systems that stem from Honor and Cultivation, two of the three Shards of Adonalsium present on Roshar.

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 (Transformation - Soulcasting and Illumination - illusions), described most thoroughly.

It has proven able to turn rock into smoke, purify blood of poisons, and create food, among many other applications.

[63] This book does not go into great detail, but the magic involves mentally communicating with an unknown source to enter a place called Shadesmar.

[65] Similar to Surgebinding, Voidbinding has a collection of surges that the third god of Roshar, Odium, makes available to his selected servants, called Fused.

Unlike Knights Radiant, each Fused can only access a single surge, from a list of nine: Gravitation, Division, Abrasion, Progression, Illumination, Transformation, Transportation, Cohesion, and Tension.

Supplicants will often find that a boon is not granted as they expected it to, as the Nightwatcher does not always understand human desires and customs; poorly-worded requests can have unsatisfactory results.

[68] 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.

[69] 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.

"[70] 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.

A review written by io9 called the book "an old-school, '90s fantasy-style behemoth",[73] also commenting, "While Sanderson continues to build his characters and reveal who they are (especially in the case of Shallan's past) it still clings to one overarching plot that drives relentlessly to an ending that can only be described as 'epic'.

"[73] 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.

Club, Samantha Nelson commented that "Oathbringer shows that Sanderson’s story might not be powerful enough to last the 10 books the author has planned.

The book does have some surprises, with heroic deeds not always going as well as planned, and there’s a lot of great humor",[76] concluding that "Sanderson needs to keep things fresh if their battle is going to be worth continuing.

"[76] Aidan Moher for Barnes & Noble said, in a more positive review, that "Three volumes deep into the Stormlight Archive, Sanderson continues to deliver on every promise the genre has ever made.

[104] In October 2016, the rights to the entire Cosmere universe were licensed by DMG Entertainment which was working on an adaptation of The Way of Kings.