Posts Tagged: Brandon Sanderson

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

In a post-Wheel of Time world, Brandon Sanderson is king. Hot off the heels of A Memory of Light, the final volume of Robert Jordan’s long-running series, Tor turned to Sanderson to fill the huge, gaping void left behind. Jordan’s are big shoes to fill, but Sanderson already proved his gumption, and cemented his place as Tor’s successor to Jordan, by completing the Wheel of Time to much critical success after Jordan’s passing in 2007. Words of Radiance the second volume in Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archives is set for release on March 4th, 2014, and promises to be one of the biggest (literally, critically and commercially) fantasy releases of the year.

Tor.com reveals what Stormlight fans have to look forward to with the upcoming sequel to The Way of Kings:

In The Way of Kings, we were introduced to the remarkable world of Roshar, a land both alien and magical. Roshar is shared by humans and the enigmatic Parshendi, who have been at war with each other for five years. The war has revealed the worst of humanity to Dalinar Kholin, a powerful general, and Kaladin Stormblessed, a troubled slave. But there is more at stake in this conflict than the fate of the peoples involved. As Jasnah Kholin and her ward Shallan Davar discover, their entire world is rushing towards a cataclysm, one that only a long-lost order called the Knights Radiant could possibly prepare them for.

In Words of Radiance these stories will intertwine and develop in thrilling and unexpected directions. The war with the Parshendi will move into a new, dangerous phase, as Dalinar leads the human armies deep into the heart of the Shattered Plains in a bold attempt to finally end it. Shallan is set on finding the legendary and perhaps mythical city of Urithiru, which Jasnah believes holds a secret vital to mankind’s survival on Roshar. Kaladin struggles to wear the mantle of the Windrunners as his old demons resurface. And the threat of the Voidbringers’ return hangs over them all.

Additionally, Tor.com has published the prologue and first two chapters of Words of Radiance for eager fans to read, read again, devour, and analyze. March 4th can’t come soon enough, can it?

Every once in a while, an artist nails the artwork from the book they are covering. Marc Simonetti does it on an alarmingly regular basis.

Marc Simonetti's Artwork for MistbornMarc Simonetti's Artwork for MistbornMarc Simonetti's Artwork for MistbornMarc Simonetti's Artwork for Mistborn

This artwork, created by Simonetti for the Brazilian edition of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn: The Final Empire, is gorgeous, and the most accurate to imagery that I had in my mind’s eye when reading Sanderson’s trilogy. That Mistcloak! Those Inquisitors! Kelsier’s grin!

Known among fantasy fans for his work on foreign-language versions of many of fantasy’s biggest series, like Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicles or Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, it’s about time that Simonetti makes the leap to working with some of the big North American and British publisher on the first run major fantasy releases from those authors. The guy’s good enough that his art should be on bookstore shelves everywhere.

mistborn

Tor Books announced today that they have acquired two more Mistborn novels from Brandon Sanderson. These two novels will be set in the same timeframe as The Alloy of Law, the standalone sequel to Sanderson’s popular trilogy, and will likely be of similar length. The first of these novels is titled Shadows of Self. According to Tor, the series is about “a team of cowboy detectives who investigate crimes that arise in a Scadrial that is rapidly approaching modernity.”

Sanderson on the upcoming Mistborn novels:

[O]ne thing I’ve wanted from the beginning of the Mistborn series was to show the interactions of magic with technology and society through different eras of that world’s development. There is much more to explore with Waxillium Ladrian, his comrade Wayne, and their time period, so we’re going to stay with them for a couple more books. I think you’re going to like what’s coming.

Moshe Feder, Sanderson’s agent, describes the deal as ‘the biggest’ they’ve done with Sanderson, and reconfirmed that these books are not part of the ‘trilogy of trilogies’ that Sanderson has described on several occasions. Instead, they are ‘bonus books.’

Feder describes the ‘trilogy of trilogies’:

The Mistborn series was conceived as a trilogy of trilogies. The first was set in what will eventually be thought of as Scadrial’s mythological past. The second will be set in Scadrial’s equivalent of Earth’s 20th century. The third will be in its high-tech future, roughly the Mistborn equivalent of Star Trek’s world. Obviously, the second and third trilogies are going to offer exciting opportunities for science and magic to combine and clash. I can’t wait to see what Brandon will do with that!

The Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self take place about 75 years before the second trilogy in the planned ‘trilogy of trilogies.’ There is no release date for the second trilogy.

Shadows of Self is tentatively scheduled for release in Fall, 2014. The third novel will follow in 2015.

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

So, let’s talk about the recently revealed cover for The Way of Kin— err… wait, I mean Words of Radiance, the second volume in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive. I won’t ever blame you for mistaking the two books, so, please, afford me the same luxury.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about one of publishing’s biggest catch-22 arguments. Fans have cried ‘foul’ time-and-again when publishers step in and change the style of a series’ covers midway through. It’s great when a completed series gets a re-issue, but, I think I can speak for most fans when I say that it’s nice to have a matching set of books on your bookshelf. On the flip side, though, there are a lot of cases of lazy design work, with the publisher, or at least the art department, jumping on board with what worked in the past and riding it until it keels over from exhaustion. A good example of this is the early cover for Brent Weeks’ The Black Prism. Orbit found huge success with Weeks’ first trilogy, in large part because of the striking covers. Back then, the hooded dude was still waiting tables, just trying to catch a break. Now, he’s everywhere, we’re sick of him, but he established a strong brand for Weeks and his Night Angel Trilogy. The first cover leaked to the public looked like a sequel to Weeks’ first trilogy even though it was an entirely new series. The cover was changed before publication. And then a new cover was issued for the recent trade paperback edition of the novel. It’s gorgeous. Orbit has done a great job of recognizing the need to create a strong brand for Weeks, but not at the expense of driving the concept into the ground. Read More »

Unfettered, edited by Shawn Speakman
Herding Cats

Ever hear the expression, ‘herding cats?’

I’ll tell you something: All anthologists know it!

I know it now too. I am the editor for Unfettered, a fantasy short story anthology that features some of the best writers working in the field. It is newly released as an eBook and a hardcover, the proceeds from sales going to alleviate medical debt I accrued after treating Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011.

In that regard, it is a special book. At least it is to me. I lacked health insurance due to a pre-existing condition and racked up one helluva medical bill. I could have easily taken the medical bankruptcy route and become another statistic. No one would have begrudged me that course. I decided to take a different path though. And in so doing, be free of the crushing debt that increased day by day by day…

To start, I had lunch with Terry Brooks, author of the bestselling Shannara series. I have been Terry’s webmaster for thirteen years and we are close friends. I asked him to donate a short story to my cause, the proceeds to go against that debt. He agreed. But he added more advice, advice that led to Unfettered:

‘Shawn, you should ask your other writer friends for the same thing,’ Terry said. Read More »