THE WAY OF KINGS IS OUT

Hello! This is Brandon writing the newsletter this time around. (Sometimes, my assistant Peter does it, sometimes my wife Emily does it.) You’re receiving this because you signed up or sent me fan mail. If you’d prefer not to get emails like this in the future, just reply and ask to be taken off the list.

Let me preface by apologizing for this one being mostly about the book launch. We’ll do a more “Here’s what’s going on in my life”-type newsletter later in the year. Today, though, the news is that I have a new book out. And not just any book—a book I’ve been working on and trying to get published for some twenty years now. The grand epic I’ve always wanted to do, and have been positioning myself for all of my published career to finally release. It’s here! Huzzah!

ABOUT THE BOOK

In case you don’t know about it, THE WAY OF KINGS is a new epic fantasy novel set in a world where massive hurricane-like storms blast the land every few days. It is over 1000 pages long, and is the start of a new series, though hopefully it stands on its own as a story. I’m ridiculously excited about it being launched, and think it is by far the best solo book I’ve written. Tor has taken a big chance on this book, putting a lot of resources into it, and first-week sales are a big deal for books. In this case, a lot of how the rest of the series will get distributed, stocked, and sold will depend on the first week of the first volume.

As always, if you prefer paperbacks or library copies, that is perfectly all right—I don’t mind at all. Thank you for reading. But if you were thinking of picking up the hardcover, I’d like to suggest going out and having a look at it this week. Be certain to pay special attention to the art, both on the cover and on the inside. We have beautiful full-color illustrations on the inside of the front and back cover, and wonderful in-world illustrations through the entire novel (pages from illuminated manuscripts, sketches from one of the character’s sketchbook, pieces of art mentioned in the story). There’s even a symbol pressed into the cloth of the cover beneath the jacket. I think you’ll find that visually, it looks like no other epic fantasy you’ve ever seen.

Anyway, you can find a synopsis (and review) of the book here at one of the following websites. I’ve proven terrible at pitching this novel myself, since it doesn’t boil down easily to a one or two sentence explanation. It’s about characters I love, that I’ve been wanting to tell you about for two decades, set in a story I’ve been planning for years and years.

Review at Grasping for the Wind
Review at The Wertzone
Review at The Book Smugglers

BOOK TOUR AND WHERE TO GET SIGNED COPIES

It should be in stores across the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In the UK it isn’t getting released until later this year. For those in the US, here is my book tour schedule for the next few weeks. (And note, if I have the city where you live in my database, you’ll probably get another email later if I come to a place near you.)

I should be doing readings at each stop, and I think I’ll be reading from Towers of Midnight, the upcoming Wheel of Time book. (That’s not confirmed yet, though.) If you are a Wheel of Time fan, however, you might want to watch my Twitter/Facebook over the next few weeks, as there is something special and secret happening there. You don’t have to join Twitter or Facebook to see either page.

As always, I recommend that readers support their local booksellers, wherever they may live. At Barnes & Noble, however, know that THE WAY OF KINGS will probably be out on the front octagon, rather than in the SF/F section. At Borders, it will also likely be at the front of the store, so you may want to look there first. Indie bookstores will each do things differently, but I’m sure the helpful staff can direct you to where the book has been placed.

If you really want a signed copy, but can’t get to any of my booksignings, you can call the BYU Bookstore, which has a limited number of signed/numbered copies I left there yesterday after the launch party. I’m certain they’ll be willing to send some to you. Also, you can call Mysterious Galaxy, the bookstore in San Diego where I will be signing later in my tour, and order a copy there—they often have a stack of books for me when I come in to sign and personalize, then be sent to people around the world. They have excellent service, and are one of my favorite bookstores ever. Other options include Powell’s Beaverton, where I’ll be signing (ask for Peter; I’m pretty sure he could hook you up), Ubooks in Seattle, or Shawn Speakman’s The Signed Page, all of which are excellent booksellers who frequently stock signed copies of my novels. (You can order through The Signed Page online, I believe, and then I’ll sign those when I pass through Seattle, and Shawn will send your copy to you.)

Demand for the book has caught the publisher a little by surprise, and they had to go back to press before the book was even out. So if you’re a collector, be sure to check that your copy is a first printing. There shouldn’t be TOO many other printings out there quite yet (mostly, they will be filling holes in warehouses for the moment), but it would be wise to check.

As always, thank you so much for reading and for your support. A few links follow that talk more about THE WAY OF KINGS and the Stormlight Archive. Hope to see as many of you as I can on tour.

Best,

Brandon

For your reading pleasure, here are a few cool posts you can read about the book:

It’s Here
Introduction
Michael Whelan, an appreciation
Thoughts
Done
Long-Winded Explanation

And here, on Tor.com, are about ten sample chapters, including a few audio ones. (Note that you do have to log on to Tor.com to read them, though registering is free and painless.)