News

White Sand Volume 3 is out, and so it's time for our last White Sand podcast for a long time. Will it be as salty as our White Sand 1 and 2 podcasts? Well... actually, things end on a reasonably high note!

This week, we're bringing you DragonCon's Words of Brandon, and it's pretty spicy! You'll learn about the future of White Sand, VaxFax, Threnody's perpendicularity (!), and, of course, the... Dawnshords. Yup. Oh, also Argent's very interesting pronunciation of skaze and hoed.

After a long and confusing wait, the much barely anticipated conclusion of the White Sand graphic novels is finally here! Those of you following this thrilling saga will know that the listed release date has been pushed back many times since the listing first went up on Amazon. Well, we finally have confirmation that the listed release date is accurate because you can actually purchase and download the ebook. The hardcover, however, is still listed as October 1 and will not get delivered for a few weeks if that’s what you ordered. 

Recently at DragonCon we got a reading of the Stormlight 4 prologue, and we also got Stormlight 4 Update #5. We go into depth on the Stormlight 4 stuff today!

It's been a busy few weeks here at Area 51 Dragonsteel Entertainment the 17th Shard - you can tell because all weeks are busy for our hardworking, handsome, and horribly hantastic (look, I tried) team - and it's pretty much all Brandon's fault. The highlight of it all, of course, was his visit to DragonCon where he held a panel and multiple signings (only days after he posted the fifth Stormlight #4 Reddit update) and read from the prologue of the storming book.

Today we are talking about the Iriali, the strange gold-skinned people in Iri. We're talking about their religion, the Seven Lands, the One, and more! And you know what we talk about more? Kurth. A lot. You could say we were kurthed to talk about it. Did you think there was enough to talk about a single city? Apparently! 

Today, Brandon posted another update on Stormlight 4 on Reddit. This update includes a visual outline of Stormlight 4's structure as well as a warning that the flashback character may not be who we were expecting! The rough draft is 50% complete, at about 200k words long out of a projected 400k. Brandon is still hopeful for a Christmas 2020 release, but he's still about a month behind schedule with a busy October down the road. Note that this update includes some light spoilers, mostly concerning the structure of book 4. (and major Oathbringer spoilers)

We're finishing up our discussion myths this episode, starting with a bunch of Hoid stories, like Derethil and the Wandersail, Queen Tsa sleeps with the moon, and Fleet. Then we finish off with Parasaphi and Nadris, and briefly mention the Ten Fools and what's up with them.

White Sand: Volume 1 was released today on GraphicAudio! 

In an interview earlier this year, Rik Hoskin revealed he was working with GraphicAudio to adapt Brandon's novel yet again! Rik has prior experience with GraphicAudio, which produces audiobooks that include a full cast of actors, sound effects, and cinematic music. While this new iteration is, at its core, an adaptation of the graphic novels, the script also pulls directly from the prose source material, and even includes scenes that had to be cut from the graphic novels.

Check out the book's page on GraphicAudio's website for a trailer as well as a 4-minute sample of some exciting action set towards the end of volume 1, chapter 1! With the prose novel available via Brandon's newsletter, this means we'll have three very different takes on the same story. Are you excited to see this new rendition of White Sand? Let us know what you think in the comments.

It's time we discussed some myths of Roshar, and let's dive into one of the biggest ones first: The Girl Who Looked Up! We're talking about both versions of the myth--both Shallan's and Hoid's--and then... well. We kind of go off the deep end a bit. How is Allomantic gold relevant to this? You'll find out, sort of.

Time for another round of Coppermind objectives!

First we need to say a big thank you to everyone who helped out in June and July. I'm pleased to announce that we've officially crossed the 1 year anniversary for these objectives! We started these in July of last year. The amount of help we have received and the number of new people contributing to the wiki has been so encouraging, so I can't say enough how thankful we are for everyone who has participated so far!

We've got some exciting news about the state of the wiki as well... We're only 22 articles away from being 2/3 complete! This is a HUGE milestone that we're excited to hit in the very near future! We'd love to have your help getting there!

Now it's time for, shockingly, a podcast that isn't on Roshar! We're heading to Nalthis, the world of Warbreaker, and we're here to discuss some of the most important individuals on that planet: the Five Scholars! These are early cosmere scholars and researchers of Awakening, and you know, one of them created this little thing called Nightblood. I'm sure it's not that important... So refresh yourself on all of what we know on the Five Scholars, the Manywar, and more! 

Here's an interesting news piece from San Diego Comic Con. J. Michael Straczynski--of Babylon 5 and Sense8, and a big time TV writer--is working with Brandon Sanderson on a pilot for the USA Network. The "urban fantasy" was confirmed by Sanderson to be Dark One, and JMS says it "turns many of the standard tropes upside down." 

This week we actually talk about the news, a brand-new Stormlight 4 reading! Then we discuss Cultivation and her plans. We carefully stay on the rails this time, even though we kind of go into the weeds with Cultivation's maybe-magic system. Come join us on this episode and maybe you'll grow some in your knowledge of Cultivation! Hah, get it? Okay, I'm done.

This might actually be the funniest Shardcast yet. This time, we have a random number generator pick a pair from about a hundred cosmere characters. Two teams must argue whether they should be shipped, or we should rip that ship. The best part is making people suffer arguing for really awful ships. Or maybe Alyx judging a certain Renarin ship... You won't be sad tuning into this one.

We got a very short reading from Stormlight 4, courtesy of a video update from Brandon that aired at San Diego Comic Con 2019. (It was delivered via video since Brandon is still in Spain at the moment.) Check it out! 

Legends say it is possible that Shardcast can get through Words of Brandon in a single episode, and this time we do it! We also discuss a Stormlight 4 reading, which you can skip past at 20:30. There are some neats Words of Brandon in this one, too, talking about Shards, the survival Shard, and the purpose of the Rosharan system!? It's pretty fun.

Today, a week after our longest episode ever, here's a bit of a shorter one where we have some fun at Brandon's expense. Let's poke some fun at some things Brandon does, a lot. Like dead moms, assassination attempts, and of course, plenty of arranged marriages.

It's time for some Spiritual Mumbo Jumbo! Today we're discussing the "Spiritual properties": Connection, Identity, Fortune. We also talk about Spiritwebs. Things get weird today, as you imagine. Remember, all disciplines are one in the Spiritual Realm...

You know what you need in life? Spiritual Mumbo Jumbo, and it's time we delivered. This time we focus on a very specific aspect: Language, and how it pertains to the Connection magics that let people in the cosmere speak different languages. Think there isn't enough to talk about here? Hah, you've never seen this show.

Today, Brandon posted another update on Stormlight 4 on Reddit. He's finished Part One of the book (which is 111k words long), which, assuming the book is about 400k words long, is about 28% of the book. Brandon is modestly confident in a 2020 release date, but he did warn that if the book needs more time, he will take it. 

This week we are continuing going through the Words of Radiance Part Two epigraphs and the listener songs, and we're talking about the objectively more spicy ones. We get into history stuff, forms of power, and talking about the Surges themselves.

This week on Shardcast we thought we would talk about another set of epigraphs that we haven't discussed too in-depth: the listener songs from Words of Radiance! And we naively thought we could finish them all in a single episode, because the Song of Listing didn't have that much in it, right? Well turns out there's a lot of mysteries there! Next time we're getting to the spicy songs in the Song of Secrets, though, so stay tuned.

Time for another round of Coppermind objectives!

First we need to say a big thank you to everyone who helped out in April and May. We got a lot done, with help from long-time users and new editors alike. I wanted to give a special shoutout to Stargazer in particular, who showed up in mid-April and ended up in the top of the pack on both objective completions and total contributions! Lots of good work all around, so thank you to everyone who helped. In other news, we've officially reached the lowest stub count in the history of the wiki! This is a huge milestone for us, and we're ecstatic! Thanks for the hard work, folks. Let's keep it up! One more round to go and we'll be hitting our one year anniversary for these objectives!

Today we are catching up on some Words of Brandon from earlier this year in March and April. There was an Orem signing in March and FanX in April that we grind through, and hey, guess what, we did it in a SINGLE EPISODE. Efficiency! In addition, this is Feather's first episode she has edited, and let me tell you, what she did at the ending was amazing! 

Today, Vault Comics have announced the first Dark One graphic novel set to be released in 2020. Jackson Lanzing, one of the writers, also tweeted that the manuscript was 209 pages, and they started work on it eight months ago. He said next year, "you can finally join us in Mirandus," presumably the world of the story, and said "Down with the Narrative. All hail the Dark One." 

Today Brandon revealed on Twitter why the progress on Stormlight 4 didn't go up much during his trip to Germany. He didn't have much time to write, but he said he got through two scenes of a non-Stormlight cosmere novella. We were going to go through a long list of things it could be, but then he revealed on Reddit it was a Sixth of the Dusk sequel.

This week we have a special episode, where we have an episode solely of Who's That Cosmere Character! And this time, we're keeping score! Who will win this duel of fates? Who will be the best at Who's That Cosmere Character? ...It'll be Ian, won't it? Probably! If you want to send one of these in, send it to [email protected]!

After a short break on Shardcast last week due to sickness, we're back discussing the Lord Ruler, and this time its for PedantiCast action with his mechanics, powers, and abilities. And his powerset is absolutely ridiculous! We talk about Investiture, nicrosilminds, Hemalurgic unicorns... it's everything you want. Maybe. 

This week on Shardcast we are done with Roshar. Take that, Roshar, it's time for Scadrial's time in the sun. (Get it? Because they are closer to the sun in Era 1. Hah, jokes.) Anyway, we are talking about one of the most interesting things on Scadrial: the Lord Ruler! We're talking about his character and history, and we'll talk in detail about his powers next week. We talk about the Ascension A LOT, get derailed from talking about the subjugation of Terris, and of course, get annoyed thinking about the Lord Ruler's kids. 

Earlier this week, Dynamite Entertainment, the publisher of the White Sand graphic novels, released an interview with Rik Hoskin about the series' forthcoming third, and final, volume. Hoskin is an accomplished comics writer who was brought in to help adapt Brandon's original prose draft of White Sand into the graphic novel format, and in this interview he talks about his experiences working on the project. The interview also confirms the identity of the new artist, Fritz Casas, the cover art, as well as the release date, June 2019. Perhaps the most notable bit of information however, is the reveal of a Graphic Audio adaptation of White Sand currently in production.

Today, we are launching a Patreon for 17th Shard and our content creation efforts. We have long had a well-hidden donate button on our About page, and it was hidden for a reason: we don't want to beg for money. However, people have asked for an effective way to donate to 17th Shard, and so this is a good way to do that. Nothing with us is changing with our content release schedule. We will not timegate content or paywall content. This will just be a tip jar if you happen to really like the site, or want to support our content. If you're willing to put some of your hard-earned money into this venture, that is extremely humbling and we are insanely grateful for it, but make sure your financial situation is solid before you do. Don't feel obligated to do this; only do this if you really like what we do here and feel in your heart you want to support us.

Last week, we got a cover reveal of the US edition of Starsight. It shows Spensa IN SPAAAACE! Probably due to all the stars or something. We also have a release date of November 26th, 2019, and you can preorder it now. This is later than the previous October release date because of the Starsight revision Brandon did.

On this very Tense (yet Cohesive) Shardcast, we actually do finish talking about every order of Knights Radiant, getting through four orders in just over two hours. So yes, it's long, but technically speaking, shorter than the last one. We also go seriously into the weeds on a matter of Surges. But I'm sure it's no big deal and there will be no Tension in this.

We're back with more Knights Radiant, and this time we go even slower, getting sidetracked with lots of Surgebinding PedantiCast action. How does Progression work? Future sight stuff, Soulcasting mechanics, and Shadesmar and astral projection. Oh, we also talk about some Knights Radiant...

Hey all, Brandon just dropped his third update for Stormlight Four, tentatively entitled The Rhythm of War on Reddit! He's given us a look into the potential release dates for his next few major titles, Starsight and Stormlight 4, as well as a look into how the writing itself is going and the structure of Rhythm of War.

This week on Shardcast, we're going to start a multi-week adventure in discussing all the Orders of Knights Radiant, starting with the Windrunners, Skybreakers, and Dustbringers. You should not be surprised we'll talk about this for three episodes. We go into their oaths, their Surges, and more. Also, space whales and MMO jokes.

It's time for Death Rattles on Shardcast this week! Check out our previous episode for our previous analysis. There are some pretty good ones this week, in addition to us not knowing Words of Radiance chapter titles, apparently.

It's that time again! Objective time!

First we need to say a bit thank you to everyone who helped out in February and March. We completed almost ALL of our objectives the last round, and the work done was first class. Seriously guys, have you seen this new Tindwyl page updated by Ladymxdnight? And solid objective completions aren't the only big news. You may not check out the Editor's Corner very often, but we hit a new milestone on our "Complete to Stub Ratio." We now have 3 fully complete articles for every lowly stub on the Coppermind! In fact, with just a few more stubs updated we will officially have the lowest stub count in the history of the wiki! Thanks for the hard work, folks!

It's been exactly 500 days, one Rosharan year since Oathbringer's release, and so here is an episode where after we reread Oathbringer, we see what we think about the book now that we aren't hyped to oblivion about it. Did our thoughts change? How's the pacing? All this and more this week on Shardcast!