The Stormlight Archive

Sanderson's magnum opus — a planned ten-book epic split into two five-book arcs. Set on Roshar, a world scoured by massive hurricanes called highstorms, where ancient warriors called Knights Radiant once protected humanity with magical Shardblades and Shardplate. The first arc (Way of Kings through Wind and Truth) follows multiple POV characters as they rediscover the lost orders of Knights Radiant while an apocalyptic threat looms.

These are BIG books — Way of Kings alone is over 1,000 pages — but the payoff is immense. The world of Roshar is one of the most alien and fully realized settings in fantasy, with unique ecology, cultures, and a magic system (Surgebinding) tied to fundamental forces. The novellas Edgedancer and Dawnshard fit between the main novels and are worth reading in sequence.

Start here if you like: epic scope, deep worldbuilding, long character arcs, or stories where every detail connects to a larger cosmic puzzle.

Reading order: Way of Kings → Words of Radiance → Edgedancer → Oathbringer → Dawnshard → Rhythm of War → Wind and Truth.