Brandon Sanderson may be known for his works of epic fantasy, but they’re certainly not all that he writes. With the release of his Legion omnibus forthcoming, as well as his new science fiction young adult novel, Skyward, due out later this fall, I wanted to highlight those works that exist outside the Cosmere (the name for Sanderson’s inter-connected universe of epic fantasy stories). If you enjoy science fiction, superheroes, strange magic, libraries full of secrets, and multiple personalities, then it’s time to learn about the other side of Sanderson!
The Reckoners is a completed trilogy (Steelheart, Firefight, and Calamity) about murderous superheroes and alternate realities, and features a young man who really doesn’t know how to tell jokes. David was young when the Epics—people with superpowers— started manifesting. Except when they used these powers, they turned bad. And the worst of them all is Steelheart, an Epic who declares himself Emperor of the city once known as Chicago. David lost his father because of Steelheart and has been training his whole life to make him pay. He joins up with the Reckoners, a group of humans dedicated to the same thing he is: resistance, revolution, and ridding the world of Steelheart. Although the original trilogy is completed, Sanderson has been teasing a possible return to this universe in another trilogy called The Apocalypse Guard, though that will be its own separate story.
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Skyward
If you want spaceships instead of superpowers, keep an eye out for Skyward this fall. Spensa is a young girl whose living on a devastated planet, made so by the war machines of the alien Krell. She dreams of being a pilot, but the legacy of her father, a deserter, follows her wherever she goes. When she finds a ship of her own, she’ll have to figure out a way to fly. While this isn’t out yet, it sounds like a great science fiction adventure, with Sanderson’s signature worldbuilding, told through an alien milieu.
If you like fantasy, but aren’t sure you want to dive straight into the Cosmere, then these next two series are right up your alley. Taking place in an alternate America, The Rithmatist follows the adventures of a young boy named Joel who goes to a magic academy, except he’s not allowed to learn magic. Learning Rithmatics, the science behind infusing life into two-dimensional chalk-drawn figures, is forbidden to Joel, who must content himself with sneaking into classes when he can. But when students begin to go missing, he and his friend Melody have to rise up to the challenge, and work together to not only learn the magic of Rithmatics, but find out what’s happening in their school. Sanderson is well known for creating worlds that stand on their own, and here, where Wild Chalkings stalk the world, and magic is just a powerful will meeting a piece of chalk, he gives us one of his quirkiest worlds.
And if this sort of mathematical world isn’t to your tastes, there’s also his middle grade Alcatraz series. Alcatraz is a foster child, and a nebbish sort who one days finds a bag of sand addressed to him in the mail—it’s his inheritance in the fight against the evil Librarians that run the world. When his real grandfather shows up, Alcatraz learns the truth: he’s from a long line of magicians and freedom fighters who work to stop the plots of the Librarians whenever they can. Along the way, Alcatraz will learn the truth about his sand and his family, and may actually save the world. Aimed for a younger audience, and certainly more in the vein of a family movie, the Alcatraz series is five books of fun, adventure, and humor, all with the tell-tale signature of Sanderson’s break neck pace and plot.
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Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds
If you prefer more of an adult science fiction story, let’s steer you towards Legion, collecting the first two Stephen Leeds novellas as well as the brand new one to conclude the series. Stephen Leeds, nicknamed “Legion,” has a bit of a special talent: he can generate different versions of himself, hallucinations, or “aspects,” complete with their own personalities, and with those personalities, skills. He can then utilize anyone he thinks up, which he does often, when on a job, or running from someone trying to kill him. A little more adult, a little more serious, but with plenty of creativity as Sanderson pushes the ideas of Legion’s mental abilities and the aspects he can make of himself. (You can read an excerpt from the first novella here.)
While the Cosmere may be vast, so too, is Sanderson’s creativity, and if the above list is any indication, there’s something for everyone in his lexicon. As we’re between Stormlight books, now is the perfect time to try something new!
Martin Cahill is a contributor to Tor.com, as well as Book Riot and Strange Horizons. He has fiction forthcoming at Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Fireside Fiction. You can follow his musings on Twitter @McflyCahill90.
Sanderson is probably the best in the game right now. Talented, prolific and respectful to his fans – other authors could learn from him.
“The Reckoners is a completed trilogy (Steelheart, Firefight, and Calamity) about murderous superheroes and alternate realities, and features a young man who really doesn’t know how to tell jokes.”
It’s not jokes that David has a problem with, it’s metaphors. “Her expression was so frigid you could use it to liquidcool a high-fire-rate stationary gun barrel. Or maybe some drinks. Chill drinks—that was a better metaphor.”
I’ve read nearly everything he’s released, and am a huge fan of the Stormlight Archive, but Legion is my very favorite. I am a little sad that it’s only 3 relatively shorter novellas. But they are so good! SO GOOD!
Changing comment, since original matter was fixed.
I think most people will like Skyward, if they like military adventures or underdog stories. I know it’s marketed as YA here, but it’s not the Hunger Games. :-D
Alcatraz, if you have a “too smart for your own good” child around – please pick it up. Read it with them. Alcatraz is my 7 year old favorite book character. While the audio book is excellent, there are jokes played with the text in the books themselves that are work having the hard copy to look at. Plus the artwork of the new editions is spot on for the books.
If you want harder sci-fi than you’ll find in Legion, check out his Defending Elysium or First Born.
@@.-@: Updated–thanks, Braid_Tug!
Sanderson also has one-off non-Cosmere short stories, including “Firstborn” – an enjoyable sci-fi !!!! story that was originally published on this very Tor website but does not appear to be easily findable now (but I was able to access it through the miracle of Google).
Personally I’d love to see a sequel to the Rithmatist – as teased in the first book – but I’ve basically abandoned all hope at this point.
@7: It’s coming, but I don’t think it will be written until 2020 at the soonest.
He was younger when he wrote the Rithmatist. Now he realizes that by making all the Native American population of the North American continent disappear – he created a problem. For the next book, he wants to fix that problem. So he started doing research on the Aztecs. Then it exploded. So he needed more time. Last he said, he’s almost done with the research, now he needs the time in his schedule.
He’s currently working on “secrete project” and “Skyward 2” right now, then the final Mistborn Era 2 book from Sept to December. His 2019 is dedicated to writing Stormlight Archive 4.
I’m looking forward to the next part of the Rithmatist story too. Along with the art Ben McSweeny will create for it.
I’m looking forward to Rithmatist it’s been along time to get more of that world. I’m also impatiently waiting for Skyward to arrive.
I’m ALWAYS on board with everything Brandon writes. The characters, the action, the humour, the twists – there is absolutely nothing in his books I don’t like, and I cannot remember a single time I have been disappointed. I think I have read basically all of his works except for “The Rhitmatist” and “Alcatraz” series (which is soon going to be fixed as I just got the latter and ordered my copy of “The Rhitmatist” yesterday), barring “Dragonsteel” and maybe a few novellas. Picking a favourite among these seems an impossible task, but I think I steer towards the “Stormlight Archive” and “Legion” snatching the top spots. And I absolutely adore him as a person, the way he interacts with his fans, his work ethics and outright talent as a writer.
As for non-Cosmere suggestions, I don’t see “Snapshot” mentioned here yet, but that is also definitely worth checking out (also loosely set in the Reckoners universe, if I’m not mistaking)
PS. I adore David’s metaphors. They are so bad they’re almost good. “Potato in a minefield”, indeed …
So Sanderson just straight up ripped-off David Haller aka LEGION, whose different mental identities give him different powers?
@11: the different aspects do not give him powers, like the X-Men.
They are containers for his knowledge and intelligence.
And neither guy was an original idea. That character type has been around for a long time.
It’s about the story they tell with their man of many parts.
As for same titles, those get used by multiple authors all the time.
I think my favorite bizarre simile from the Reckoners series is the opening line of the third book: “The sun peeked over the horizon like the head of a giant radioactive manatee.” If that line doesn’t draw you in, I don’t know what will.
“Best sentences to occur in an sff story” would make a good thread.
@14,
you mean something like that?
(It’s about opening lines, not lines from wherever the text, but close enough, IMHO.)
The Apocalypse Guard has been shelved for the foreseeable future- just to update you! I was one of the proofreaders for Words of Radiance and it was an amazing experience!
Warbreaker.
I started reading Mistborn and loved it.. still finishing up the newer trilogy. But Sanderson has SO MUCH to read that as of now I’m just sticking with that. Wish I had time to read everything, and I believe when people say how great everything else is, I am just overwhelmed by my list of books from all authors that I want to read and what I have time to read ..
When I retire and/or the kids are older I’ll be able to dedicate a few decades to catching up (God willing!).
I’ve read all of these, and I really loved the world he created in Rithmatist, as well as the (again) magic system behind it. I also really like the concept of the character who doesn’t have any magic ability even if he knows all the ‘technical’ aspects and where they go with it.
But oh goodness do I ADORE the Alcatraz series. When I read the first book I wasn’t super impressed – it was fun, but of all his magic systems, this one is a little more absurd/non-explicable (although that also is part of the plot) and the plot itself is a pretty basic plot. But it’s worth it just for the narration and clever asides and fourth wall breaks (there are moments that literally made me laugh out loud and gave me strange looks on the bus). And the end of the fifth book is a complete masterpiece of authorial ballsiness/subversion that I don’t even know how to explain without giving it away but that are literally baked in from the start.
@17: Warbreaker is in the Cosmere. I really, really want a sequel, however.
In the same way that Sanderson’s Legion is not a ripoff of Marvel’s Legion despite some similar ideas, it’s interesting that Reckoners has the exact same concept as Worm by Wildbow. I really do think that both authors just happened to get the same idea, but the similarities are uncanny (and much more pronounced than the Legion similarities–I just don’t want to get into the specifics because of major spoilers for both).
And both share similarities with GRRM’s Wildcards universe.
Anyway, Sanderson’s my favorite author, overall, but I highly recommend Worm, with a warning for violent content of an often horrific nature (it starts off feeling very YA, but it sure gets real rrreeeeaaallly fast). The sequel, Ward, is also underway.
They’re webserials, so you can read a good bit of the sequel already. And since Worm is about as long as three volumes of The Stormlight Archive, there will probably be considerably more of Ward available by the time you get there.
What about the Lock In series?