On November 22nd, fans of Brandon Sanderson’s books get to find out how they’re all connected.
Arcanum Unbounded is a collection of stories that take place within the “Cosmere,” the overarching universe that houses the author’s many epics. In Arcanum, readers will find stories from the expansive Mistborn series and the vast Stormlight Archive, as well as smaller tales from distant planets, forests of hell, and white sands. New readers will find a wealth of exciting introductory stories into Sanderson’s myriad worlds, and established fans will get to enjoy a new multi-chapter Stormlight Archive story before the next book, Oathbringer, arrives.
But…what else may be awaiting readers in Arcanum Unbounded? Check out the Table of Contents:
As we can see, each collection of stories appears to be sectioned out based on the planetary system that those stories take place within. (Each story also features new original art!) Further, each of those sections is prefaced with a report, of sorts, on that system. Some of these planetary systems are familiar to the reader, some are almost entirely new, and some have apparently been hiding a great deal from their observers…
Tor.com will be digging further into the Arcanum in the days leading up to the collection’s November 22nd release. Keep an eye on our Arcanum Unbounded tag for the latest news and excerpts. We’re just getting started!
The stories are awesome, but I bet the reports will be literary gems as well since they are coming from Khriss …
The White Sand entry seems rather short… I assume this isn’t his full ‘unpublished’ novel and just an excerpt from it? Or is it something different from that novel?
@2 It’s the first 12 pages of the graphic novel, plus the prologue and first chapter from the unpublished prose.
And man, I cannot wait to get those Khriss intros…
Yay!!! I can’t wait. I already have it on pre-order in Audible. I’m holding off buying the hard copy with the hope of going to a signing event. :-)
But you’ll definitely want the hard copy soon, because of the artwork. Gonna love it!
Bring on the teasers! And the whole book.
I’m looking forward to spending quality time with this work during the long holiday drives!
Does anybody know the page-count for Edgedancer?
@7: It’s a 40K to 50K story. About the same as MB: SH, I think.
Technically, 132 pages. For whatever that tells you. 20 chapters.
Even though I’ve already read most of these stories – some of them twice, I’m really looking forward to all the new tidbits and especially Edgedancer!
AWESOME!
I need this!!
Is there anything from Nalthis system? (The system in which warbreaker takes place?)
Just curious if we’d at least get an intro to the system, even though there isn’t a short story set there.
I’ve been waiting for all of these to be put into one volume. Can’t wait to read it.
James @14 – No, unfortunately there’s nothing from or about Nalthis.
Lovely!
I’m very much looking forward to this. Mainly for Edgedancer an the system write ups.
And Emperor’s Soul has my favorite Cosmere character.
Fun story collection.
I want in!
you can never have enough of Sanderson’s cosmere
I like winning things
Oh man oh man oh man, I can barely contain my excitement! :D The reports and Edgedancer are HUGE.
So I have only read the Mistborn series (which I love) but have never heard that all of his series are part of his “Cosmere”. Does that mean the same universe, as in the physics of the Mistborn series is the same as in his other series? Or is this just a way of saying “Brian Sanderson wrote all these.”?
Mike, they are all in the same universe, and there are ties between them, but each world has its own magic system.
Hi. Not everything Brandon has written is in the Cosmere (though most are). The Cosmere contains Elantris, Mistborn, Warbreaker, The Stormlight Archive, White Sand (graphic novel) and the short stories in Arcanum Unbounded.
Though the stories are separate they are in a shared universe and some characters cross over. It’s fab. Have fun!
Very interesting. The table of contents alone provides a bit of new info. Over at Coppermind (the wiki for all things Sanderson), some of us theorized that Threnody (the world where Shadows for Silence takes place) was in the same solar system as Scadrial (the Mistborn world). Apparently they are in different systems.
Jeff @27 – VERY different. It was a neat theory, but AU blows it completely out of the water.
Hi, I wanted to know whether or not I have to read the Stormlight Archive to read the short story on it? It’s the only of Sanderson’s works I have not yet gotten to, but I don’t want to spoil those books with this short story. Thanks in advance if anyone knows!
Noa, I would definitely recommend that you wait to read Edgedancer until you’ve read both of the current SA books. For one thing, a lot of it won’t make sense. For another, it’s got ENORMOUS spoilers. Plus, it’s much better to get to know the character in the book first.
@30: Wetlandernw: Did you just imply that we get to meet the characters from the books? Not just Lift in Edgedancer?
(Raising an eyebrow at you.) Lucky beta reader, you.
Then again, since this story takes place after the events of the second book, there are weather forces at work, that are their own type of spoiler.
@mike & Noa: Anything Sanderson sets on an alternate Earth, is not Cosmere. Currently this is his YA, Alcatraz, and Legion books.
Avoid Mistborn: Secret Histories and Edgedancer. And really the Scadrial system until you read all the Mistborn books.
Shadows and Sixth are stand alone stories. Set in worlds he needed for the Cosmere, but not ones he plans to do more with – as of right now. The Emperor’s Soul is also a stand alone, but set on the same world as Elantris.
Braid_Tug… Umm… I don’t think so? I mean, obviously Lift and Wyndle are in it. And as you say, since it’s set between books 2 & 3, some of the events of book 2 have repercussions which carry into Edgedancer. Beyond that… I’m not saying. :P If I did leak anything, you’ll have to wait and see what it was!
Whew!!! Braid_Tug and Alice – both of you are killing me!!! LOL I can’t wait for November 22!!!