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+ Click to View all Anthologies Brandon Sanderson was born in the year 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. He joined Brigham Young University as a biochemistry major and consequently took a break to do mission work with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
One of such missionary work was based in Seoul, South Korea. It is in this period that he realized that his interest was not in biochemistry but rather in writing. Upon his return to BYU, he enrolled for an English major instead of pursuing biochemistry.
In 2005, he graduated with a masters degree in Creative Writing from BYU. He currently lives in America Fort, Utah. Sanderson’s writing career was nurtured in a rather challenging way. When he was young, he enjoyed reading a lot. However, he was not at ease with the titles that were suggested to him and therefore he ended up losing interest in reading them.
However, his meeting with an astute teacher by the name Mrs. Reader who gave and encouraged Sanderson to read the book Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. This aroused an interest in fantasy literature. His passion for reading did not end with the book. Rather, he read the work of David Eddings, Ann McCaffrey, Orson, Scott Card, and Melanie Rawn.
He started writing epic fantasy genre but he was unsuccessful. Sanderson took a job as a night desk clerk in a hotel. He was motivated by the provision that he was allowed to write in his hours of duty. His typical day comprised of working during the day, working at night, and writing as much as he could. Sanderson received quite a number of rejections in his writings.
However, this did not stop him from being a dedicated writer. His writing career was transformed by his experience as a volunteer for The Leading Edge, a BYU’s science fiction/fantasy magazine. During his senior year, he served as an editor in chief of the magazine where he established a solid network of people interested in writing.
Literary Style
Sanderson’s most dominant writing style is fantasy literature. Sanderson creates a new magic system for each book he writes. These could include assassins, nighttime exploration, and sneaking thieves. His works capture an industrial age science (a hybrid of science and magic).
Put differently, one foot is in science and the other foot is in wonder. Sanderson shows what the characters are doing and his stories move forward in a concise way. He writes excellent scenes that are vivid in their description. In addition to that, Sanderson has different worlds for different works, each with its unique features and characteristics.
Elantris
Sanderson’s first book Elantris is a 496 page book that was first released in 2005 in the United States. The book is named after a city where the lucky and chosen ones were going to live. It was a city that has full of fame and glamor. The men and women in the city had become like Gods.
However, a misfortune struck the city where a terrible disease afflicted the city. The book has three main characters. To start with, Raoden, the prince of Arelon, catches the disease and is thrown into the city by his father. He finds that Elantrians treat outsiders as they are dead people.
In this regard, he helps Elantrians to improve their lives. Second, Sarene is the princess of Teod and Raoedn’s fiancee (though he has never met him). Her main focus is better performance of the monarchy and the prevention of a revolution. Lastly, Hrathen, a high ranking priest goes to Arelon in order to improve the Shu Dereth religion. He uses political maneuvering in order to achieve his goals.
The book Elantris is a traditional fantasy novel. The book is characteristic by political machinations, feuds, swords, sorcery, and romance. The author offers the reader an interesting and memorable story that is full of suspense.
Mistborn: The Final Empire
This is a book by Sanderson that was published in 2006. It is the first novel in the Mistborn trilogy series. The book is set on a land plagued by volcanic ashfall. The Lord Ruler has administered a millennium old tyrannical rule that has burdened the subjects.
It is an intriguing tale of love, despair, and hope. This is because a new kind of magic has entered the stage- Allomancy, the magic of the metals. It is an adventure that is full of fantastic characters as well as action-packed scenes. The book forms the basis of further exploration in future books.
The book has two main ideas. The first one is a heist story involving a gang of gentlemen thieves who were endowed with distinctive magic powers. The second one was an unexpected scenario where the good guy loses. In this regard, a prophesied hero took a bold step of overthrowing an evil ruler but failed terribly.
Books Turned Into Movies/Film
So far, there has not been successful attempts of turning Sanderson’s books into movies. However, Sanderson believes that Mistborn should be turned to a film. He further approached a number of studios concerning the same.
In connection to this, Sanderson had announced that the book Mistborn had been optioned with Paloppa pictures. However, that arrangement lapsed and the author has continued to seek interested partners concerning turning the book into a movie. Reliable information has it that Sanderson wants to wait for a little further into the story so that film developers have something more concrete to work with.
Awards and Honors
Brandon Sanderson has won a number of awards and honors. To start with, the Romantic Times offered him the Reviewer’s Book Best Choice Award and the Best Epic Fantasy Award for his novel Elantris in 2005.
Second, in 2007, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia awarded him the UPC Fiction Award for his book Defending Elysium. Lastly, he won Whitney Awards under the Best Speculative Fiction Award and the Best Novel of the Year Award.
Conclusion
There is no doubt whatsoever that Brandon Sanderson is one of the best writers in epic fantasy. The good thing with him is that he tirelessly continues to write. The advantage with this is that readers can follow both the old and the new works of the author. Overall, Sanderson’s books are unique and thrilling.
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3 Responses to “Brandon Sanderson”
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Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Or is there an author or series we don’t have? Let me know!
Is there no where on the whole damn web that has a list of Sanderson books in publication order, not grouped by series? I’ve been searching for hours now.
Any one know where the “The Bands Of Mourning” its in the list?
In the Mistborn Series at the top- Book 6.