Recent entries

    Stormlight Three Update #4 ()
    #13802 Copy

    NeedsAdjustment

    Would a kandra be able to imitate a chasmfiend, given enough time?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's not about time, it's about mass. A little one, sure. A full grown one? They'd crush themselves. They'd need to be able to make use of symbiotic spren bonds from Roshar, which isn't just a matter of digesting a body.

    Stormlight Three Update #4 ()
    #13803 Copy

    mathota123

    Does being filled with Stormlight make your skin glow, or are they just leaking mist which is glowing and not glowing themselves?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The glowing is from the Stormlight, which leaks from the skin. Even any glowing you think is coming from the skin is actually from the Stormlight leaking out.

    mathota123

    So if a kandra Radiant were to go transparent, but had little bubbles of skin under their surface, would the bubbles of skin inside them leak Stormlight and light up, or does Stormlight only leak from outside surfaces?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Honestly, while what you say is plausible, I'm not sure I want to start down this path and the directions it might end up leading...

    Stormlight Three Update #4 ()
    #13804 Copy

    Argent

    You've dropped a few tidbits about the plot of the next Mistborn series over the years. Putting all those things together, we have a nicrosil Ferring Terriswoman hacker recruited for fieldwork in an "Allomancer SWAT team" to chase a Mistborn serial killer. Could you give us a more recent and concise pitch/blurb if the above is no longer accurate?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ha. That's not far off, as all of those things still exist in the series, though the weight I'll give them is relative. With the Alloy series covering some of the police procedural aspect of storytelling, I'm inching the outlines slowly away from the SWAT idea and toward more spy thriller--but the SWAT team isn't not gone completely. (Of course, who knows what will happen in the intervening years between now and when I write it.)

    Stormlight Three Update #4 ()
    #13805 Copy

    nnneeeerrrrddd

    Over a long enough timeline would Roshar's "random" seasonal pattern show an actual predictable pattern, or is it truly random?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think I know what you're getting at, and if so, you're right. But just to answer the question: temperature variation on Roshar doesn't follow much of a pattern, and is relatively small in variance. It's caused by the blowing of the storms, so over the long term, looking VERY hard, you could probably find some patterns. They'd be related to the frequency and strength of storms during that time of year.

    Stormlight Three Update #4 ()
    #13806 Copy

    Phantine

    If a heroic guy was also an organ donor, what happens to his original organs when he Returns?

    Will the recipient's heart grow three sizes that day?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ha. Not a question I'd anticipated, but the body is healed when made Returned, so anything missing would be regrown. So everything is fine.

    Stormlight Three Update #4 ()
    #13807 Copy

    Argent

    I was talking with someone about the woman on The Way of Kings endsheet, and I wondered about her identity - could you reveal whether she is supposed to depict a someone/something specific, or is it just a somewhat generic image of a woman?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The woman on the border of the maps isn't meant to be anyone specific, I don't believe. I've never asked Isaac about it, actually.

    Stormlight Three Update #2 ()
    #13810 Copy

    gabbim

    I was just wondering if any of your characters from Cosmere is interested in same-sex relationships, romantically speaking. Jasnah perhaps?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are some, but I have left main character relationship issues to be discussed until characters have progressed further in their stories. Jasnah, in particular, is complicated.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13812 Copy

    ConserveGuy

    Hi Brandon I don't know if you will answer, but. Did "earth" ever exist in the cosmere? There seems to be humans on all the planets. so where did humans come from? or even the idea of humans?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Earth did not exist in the cosmere. Humans existed on Yolen (and other planets) before the shattering of Adonalsium, and it is assumed Adonalsium created them.

    From a writing perspective, stepping back, I feel like other book series (like the Wheel of Time, Pern, Shannara) really covered the idea of, "This is Earth and/or earth people in another dimension/after an apocalypse/or far in the future." It's been a common enough theme in fantasy that I felt I wanted not to touch on it. So there are no plans to connect the cosmere to Earth in any way.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13814 Copy

    unknown

    Is it possible to make an artificial shard? And not in an easy manner but if one had the resources and time could they make one?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm not sure what an artificial shard would be. You'd be using the power from Adonalsium to do it--so it wouldn't be 'artificial,' by cosmere terms. You'd just be collecting power. The question becomes if you gather enough of it, would it combine back together--which is a RAFO in the world. Nobody knows.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13816 Copy

    Oversleep

    I know the Fourth Mistborn Era is to be sci-fi and FTL... but would we get some cyberpunk Scadrial at all? Because from what I gather it sounds like only space faring and travelling to other worlds.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I've toyed with a cyberpunk era Mistborn. It will depend on how quickly I move getting through the series.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13822 Copy

    zuriel45

    What worlds within the cosmere are you excited to write about that you haven't yet touched on (or touched significantly enough on)?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I do want to do a Threnody novel. The world of Dark One, if I manage to get it into the cosmere, is cool. Silence Divine. There are a lot of them.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13824 Copy

    Job601

    Your books are unusual for the fantasy genre in that they are interested in exploring traditional Christian values, usually coming down in their favor (especially faith in providence and the willingness to believe in a divine plan for the world and the individual, something which comes up again and again in your work.) At the same time, your characters have reason to be suspicious of the specific forms of religious practice in their worlds, and the cult of the survivor in particular can be read as a conflicted portrayal of religion: it's a kind of religious belief which works in some way for its faithful despite being based on a falsehood, and Kelsier is a kind of dark parody of Christ. The cosmere seems to have an implicit theology which separates the truly divine, which is fundamentally inaccessible even to the most knowledgeable characters, from the apparently divine shards and splinters. I guess my question is, how do you think about integrating religious themes into a fantasy universe, particularly given your systematic style?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are a lot of things mixing here--more, probably, than I'm aware of myself. (This is the sort of area where I let reader analysis and criticism do the work, as they're probably going to be able to notice connections more explicitly than I will. Like most writers, I'm working by instinct much of the time.)

    One element I can talk about is the need for the cosmere to have questions that will go unanswered. This is most expressly manifest in the "big" questions. Is there a God? What is the actual afterlife like, if there really is one? Is there such a thing as a soul, and are cognitive shadows the actual person, or a manifestation of the magic imitating a person's thought processes?

    The reason I don't answer these as myself (though characters certainly have ideas) is because I feel it important the text not undermine the characters who choose not to believe in these things. Though I think I've found answers in life, people rationally disagree with me--and to express only my worldview in the books would severely hamper my ability to have characters who disagree with me, and other characters.

    In short, if I were to say, "Yes, there's an all-powerful God" then it would directly undermine characters like Jasnah, who argue otherwise. At the same time, I want characters like Kelsier to develop naturally, and do things that are in line with how sometimes, religions develop on our world, without having it be a statement. (Or, at least one other than, "Hey, this happens some time on our world. It happened here too.")

    Fantasy offers some unique opportunities to explore the human condition with religion, and I want to take advantage of that, to see where it takes me and to see what I can learn from the process.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13825 Copy

    unknown

    As silly as this may sound, one of my favorite things about The Stormlight Archive thus far has been the flora you describe in the world.

    What inspired you to spend time developing unique and world-appropriate plants? I feel like plants are so often an overlooked detail, even in books with heavy world-building.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I knew that I wanted some worlds in the cosmere to be truly strange. Fantasy tends to shy away from very odd ecosystems, but I think it shouldn't. (Even in Mistborn, we started with strange flora.)

    For Roshar, I started with the storms, then worked toward what I think would have evolved there (erring on the side of the fantastical.) The primary inspirations were tidal pools and coral reefs.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13826 Copy

    unknown

    How come they're still called EARTHquakes in Mistborn?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I know it's a joke, but I actually have an answer! One I stole from Tolkien, who mentioned all his books are "in translation" to English from an original language--so the translator takes liberties. They're called earthquakes for the same reason that Shallan's puns work in English--the one taking them from the original language to English came up with something that works for us, even if it isn't a one-to-one translation. :)

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13827 Copy

    Glorious_Infidel

    Are any of the characters in your books strongly influenced by people you know in real life? Would you be able to share a few if so?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Sure! Most are cameos. Many people in Bridge Four are based on friends/family members. Skar, Peet, Drehy, Bisig, Yake, and a few others are friends or family.

    Sarene was loosely based on a friend of mine from college.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13828 Copy

    HiuGregg

    I came across something about your planned "Dark One" series, and was wondering if you could tell us anything about the planned world or magic system for that book? Me and my friends are electric/electronic engineers, and we've wasted far too much time debating how people could theoretically channel electricity from a planet (I've even dragged some professors into the discussion), so I'm very interested to see what you've came up with!

    Brandon Sanderson

    The honest truth is that I haven't gotten past the, "Okay, here's the concept" stage. For Roshar, that was the storm--and then it took research and work (which I haven't done yet) to get the science to work. I haven't had the time to do that for Dark One yet.

    I'd love to hear what you have to say on the topic, maybe use you and your friends as consultants. I'd say DM me, but that will get lost in the replies to this thread. So maybe DM me in a month? Or, better yet, drop me an email through my website with your suggestions?

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13831 Copy

    Raptori

    Something I've always noticed is missing from your State of the Sanderson updates is any mention of a sequel to The Emperor's Soul. Is that something you might eventually get around to (after the Elantris sequel for example), or do you feel that story has been told?

    TES is easily my favorite of your stories, with a depth of character and theme which really surprised me. Would love to read more - especially if it were more novella-length works!

    Brandon Sanderson

    I've been hesitant to do a sequel, as I don't want to "George Lucas" the story. Emperor's Soul is one of those stories that turned out very well on its own, and I worry that doing another story could take away from how well it works on its own now. I might have Shai do cameos in other stories, though.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13832 Copy

    sherlockeb

    Why did Rashek feel the need to create skaa and nobility, why not alter all humanity to be nobles if you have the power?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Rashek, particularly back then, was a petty man. This caused him to do many things that, strictly speaking, were not best for his empire.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13834 Copy

    Arthrine

    I remember reading some time ago that a fan told you about a dream of hers to be a minor character in one of your books, and that you fulfilled this dream for her.

    Any chance of you doing a raffle on /r/fantasy, and letting the winner get the same opportunity?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I should totally do this. In the past, I've done it for charity, so maybe during a drive for Worldbuilders?

    The character, by the way, is Lyn the scout from Words of Radiance.

    /r/fantasy AMA 2017 ()
    #13835 Copy

    gauzemajig

    Do you think you'll ever go outside of the established raunchiness of your books? I don't mean a murder sex party, but you know, straying a bit into the dark and gritty. It's just my opinion but I feel like you play it a little safe. Not necessarily a bad thing though!

    Brandon Sanderson

    I don't think I've crossed the line where I'm personally comfortable doing, but I think I'm close. Usually, I give a few characters (like Wayne) the ability to go further than others, as an acknowledgement that there are good people out there who don't happen to have my same prudish nature.

    I think the thing you'll see that is the closest is when (and if) I write the Threnody novel.

    For everything else, you'll have to settle for knowing that one of my quirks as a writer is that I do indeed play it a little safe--and probably will always do so. I'm very aware that my children, nieces, and nephews read my books. Beyond that, I feel that I'm an intentional and specific contrast to other writers in the genre--I consider it my duty to prove that (like many of the classic movies) you can write something that is for adults, and has depth, without delving into grittiness.

    This is not a disparagement of people like Joe Abercrombie, who I think is an excellent writer, or others like him--and I'm glad we have them in the field. However, my own path goes a different direction, and I think it's important that I also publish, proving to those who perhaps wish to be more circumspect in these areas that there is a place for them in the genre too.

    Xluxaeternax

    Does that mean that you recognize that the stories that take place on Threnody, a world of your creation, are stories that you are uncomfortable exploring because they are too harsh or intense? If that's the case I find that absolutely fascinating and very impressive- it's almost as if the cosmere is a real place with real people and you're just communicating their stories to us. I personally would rather you never told those stories instead of forcing them to be something that is untrue to what you created them to be.

    Brandon Sanderson

    A writer must be willing to do uncomfortable things; I fully believe that. Stories like Snapshot (my most recent novella) have done this before, and if I write the Threnody novel, I intend to do it well. (But also be very clear to audiences that it's darker than other cosmere books.)

    It's not about intensity--I feel other books are intense. Or even about violence or darkness. It's about how far the narrative needs to delve into these things, or the relationship of light and hope to the darkness.

    Dalinar's backstory in Stormlight is uncomfortably dark, and I won't pull punches from it. But it's balanced by the man he has become. In Threnody, some of the stories don't have that balance.

    /r/books AMA 2015 ()
    #13836 Copy

    pat_skelly

    What are your thoughts on Kramer's depiction of a Herdazian accent? Is it what you were trying to go for or no? When I read WoK I thought they had more of a Mexican accent but Kramer has brought me over to his, what I believe is, Australian accent.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It makes me laugh, and I like that there are other interpretations out there--since it's a fantasy world, and their accent doesn't have a 1-to-1 correlation with our world. That said, the were originally Hispanic inspired, so you were on the right track.

    /r/books AMA 2015 ()
    #13837 Copy

    neart_roimh_laige

    First of all, it seems that when Returned give their blessing that requires their life, to do so is to give up all of their BioChroma. Well, there was a time where Vivenna can't sense Vasher because he was a drab. Since that would mean he put all of his BioChroma somewhere and is SPOILER one of the Returned, why isn't he dead?

    Also, it seems as if only the royal family has the ability to change their hair color. However, when Vasher kills Denth, his hair flashes through a ton of colors before he dies. What are his ties to the family? Is there something I missed? Will there be another book explaining this?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I did mention these things in the annotations, as has been pointed out, but boy--it's been a while. I don't remember what I wrote in the annotations and what I didn't.

    All Returned are, in a way, "related" to the royal family in their Investiture. (The magic they hold.) Vasher has some specific and powerful control over his own powers, which I didn't go into much in the book. But if you delve into the annotations, you'll get more.

    /r/books AMA 2015 ()
    #13838 Copy

    Windrunner

    Threnody and Scadrial are both noted as having unusally bright patches of stars in their skies. Are these two planets near to one another?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They are both seeing the same thing, yes.

    Windrunner

    Does this mean that Threnody and Scadrial are part of the same system, or are these bright patches visible from other worlds as well?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Visible from other worlds as well. The cosmere is a relatively small place (on a galactic scale, that is.) We'll publish the star map when that becomes relevant in a decade or so.

    Footnote: It took approximately a year and a half to publish the star map.
    Sources: Reddit
    /r/books AMA 2015 ()
    #13841 Copy

    zuriel45

    1)Would it be possible to invest a metal such as bendalloy so that it's "active" and create a time bubble? 2)Would an invested object creating a bubble move about the bubble like Wayne does inside his? Or would the bubble move with the invested object? 3)Wayne implies that it takes a couple seconds between dropping a time bubble and creating a new one. Is this a biologically related limit, or magically related limit? 4)Would more powerful allomancy/investment increase the size of the bubble, or change the time differential?

    My theory is that if someone created a large bubble that sped up time inside of it (so time outside seems slower) You would cross the bubble faster than light would cross the same difference outside of it. Of course the journey would take the same time inside as it would without the bubble which would mean the need for a generation ship. To compensate someone could then create a smaller pocket of slowed down time (cadmium) which would cancel the sped up time and create a normal time flow. This would allow living humans to experience the same flow of time as someone on scardial itself while the ship still travels are FTL speeds. If the bubbles traveled with the ship then there wouldn't be any additional strain the structure. If the bubbles couldn't travel with the ship but if the time it takes to create a new bubble could be overcome you could theoretically turn on/off the bubble maker at a very high frequency to allow the bubble to be re centered with the traveling ship.

    So I'm curious if my theory is feasible?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You've got some serious RAFOS in there, I'm afraid, but let's see what I can answer.

    First, I'd love to have your contact info through my website for running calculations. We've got some people, like Eric, who know their stuff--but having more physicists to help out is important when I start figuring things like red shift and what not.

    As for the other questions, I'm digging out answers for you, where i can. Might take me a little longer, though.

    /r/books AMA 2015 ()
    #13845 Copy

    mysteriouspenguin

    What is the structure of the Cosmere like? i.e. What planets are in which systems orbiting what stars in what galaxy. 

    Brandon Sanderson

    We'll produce a map of this eventually. Right not, it's not terribly relevant. (Though in books, you can occasionally pick out some cosmological feature seen from different planets.) The stars are very close on a galactic scale--part of a dwarf galaxy.

    /r/books AMA 2015 ()
    #13847 Copy

    sjhock

    The stars Vin sees from Scadrial are the same as the stars as can be seen on Threnody, yes? Would Taln's Scar or the Tear from Roshar also be visible from other Cosmere worlds?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. But remember that on Scadrial, stars weren't an oft-seen feature in the original trilogy.

    /r/books AMA 2015 ()
    #13850 Copy

    Yata

    If a Ferring creates a metalmind and then loses his power (for example through Hemalurgy), could he still use his previous-made metalmind ?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, he could not. And, unfortunately, the person who stole a bit of his soul would probably be keyed with enough Identity to use his metalmind. :( (This is uncertain, though, based on how much of the soul got ripped off, and how much the spike has decayed.)