Jump to content

What to do with White Sand and Aether of Night?


nechmo

Recommended Posts

Hi guys. So the story goes like this, I have acquired both White Sand and Aether of Night (in the prescribed ways) and was super pumped to read them, but then I started thinking. I'm not sure if I want to read them on the off chance that Brandon will eventually publish them as full fledged edited and Cannon novels. I know that White Sand is out as a graphic novel, but I read some of it and I didn't like it much - the plot felt disorienting while jumping from picture to picture, and the dialogue awkward - I feel as though it would be better as a novel. I'm also aware of the fact that Aether of Night was on state of Sanderson 2016 as a tertiary project but that means that it might be awhile until it arrives (if ever). Therefore I wanted to know if there is any recent official statement from Brandon regarding these two stories on if or when they might be published as novels. I was also wondering what any of you that have read either of these think, should I read them now or wait on the off chance that they will be published as novels?

Edited by nechmo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally I don't think they are going to be published as novels; might as well read it. Never say never though; the last book of Glen Cook's Dread Empire series, Path to Coldness of Heart, was published about 30 years later than the previous one. So strange things do happen.

Edited by Ammanas
Link to comment
Share on other sites

White Sands is pretty solid all by itself. If it ever does get published I imagine it would only be a slightly more polished version of the current prose.

Aether of Night, if it ever gets published, will be reworked substantially. So much has been cannibalized from that story for other Cosmere works that I honestly doubt it will ever be published in its current form. My best guess is that the magic system of Aethers will eventually show up somewhere but that the story won't match Aether of Night. 

 

*Disclaimer: Just my guesses

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, CaptainRyan said:

My best guess is that the magic system of Aethers will eventually show up somewhere

The magic of Aethers is already canon, there is a WoB about it out there. I'll go check.

I say you can read White Sand since it is currently getting published as graphic novel... but Aether of Night could be someday rewritten and it will be a different book. So this is sort of thing like reading Way of Kings Prime... except there is no current, canon version of it. I personally intend to stay away from Aether.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Oversleep said:

The magic of Aethers is already canon, there is a WoB about it out there. I'll go check.

Sorry, I was unclear. I meant that there will probably be a book/novella that uses Aethers as the main magic system in the future but that it will not be the same story as the unpublished Aether of Night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the Shard! My approach it's actually the opposite of what @Oversleep suggested.

Because Aether is non-canon, and because so many pieces of it have appeared in other stories (not just plot points or cosmere elements but also various creature, character, and world designs), I don't think there is any reason not to read it as long as you are current with the published cosmere works. So much will have to change if it does become the basis for a new story that you are unlikely to be spoiled for anything when that book eventually arrives. At the very least, though, you must read the original Mistborn trilogy first.

In contrast, I don't want to be spoiled for the graphic novels, so I am avoiding the prose version of White Sand until the canon version is complete. HOWEVER, I can totally understand the complaints of those who are dissatisfied with the published version of White Sand. If I had not started reading graphic novels a couple years ago, I definitely would not have liked it. There is a very real learning curve to reading and enjoying that medium, which is something I didn't expect when I first started exploring. Beyond that, White Sand (volume 1, at least) has some deficiencies that make it both confusing and bland. If you don't see yourself appreciating the graphic novels, then go ahead and jump into the prose instead. I hear good things about it, though for myself I wasn't super impressed with the selection in Arcanum Unbounded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...