Is it worth it?

[Storming_Misting]

This may be a somewhat obvious question as all of Brandon's books are amazing, but as someone who has never been that into graphic novels just how much does white sand add to cosmere? 

The other question is price point. I've looked it up and the graphic novel seems pretty slim compared to a full book, is it worth the money spent?

[Ammanas]

I usually just buy Brandon's books soon after the release date, but the White Sand graphic novels are the only thing he produces that I wait to receive for a Christmas or Birthday present. It is worth it to me to have a complete cosmere collection to me, but it is not worth me spending money on it if that makes sense. I normally do not like graphic novels, but I love the Bone series by Smith (now can be collected in one volume). It is basically a mixture or Lord of the Rings and Calvin and Hobbs. If you wanted a better investment in a graphic novel I would recommend that series over White Sand. Here is a link to it:

https://www.amazon.com/Bone-Complete-Cartoon-Epic-One/dp/188896314X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1519103174&sr=8-1

Edited February 20, 2018 by Ammanas

[Jofwu]

These graphic novels are somewhat controversial among 17th Shard members...

First, realize that the graphic novel is being adapted into 3 volumes from a single novel. And you can tell. Volume 1 doesn't tell a complete story and volume 2 will probably be no different. And for that reason it's hard to say how much White Sand adds to the cosmere at this point. We've only got one (well, now two) parts of the story. White Sand doesn't get a lot of attention in the fandom. The unpublished prose novel probably gets more attention, honestly. So you won't be missing anything huge if you want to skip it or wait for volume 3 to be released.

It IS expensive for the amount of content you're getting. From what I hear, it's not an outrageous price compared to the industry standard for graphic novels. But as somebody who's not much of a graphic novel reader, you'll probably find yourself comparing the price to what you get out of a full Sanderson novel. You're dealing with something very different here, so you have to realize you're comparing apples and oranges.

I'm the kind of person who wants to get everything cosmere-related no matter what, and I've enjoyed White Sand so far. Can't wait to open up volume 2 when I get home today. The first one had problems, for sure. I'm curious to see if volume 2 will improve on those or not. Either way, I'll probably preorder volume 3 as soon as I hear about it.

IF you love the cosmere, don't mind the cost, and are able to keep your expectations in check then I'd definitely recommend White Sand.

[marles]

Jofwu is on point with their response. Of course, being part of the Cosmere, White Sand is another piece to enjoy and think about as we get more glimpses into the inner workings of the universe. I don't ever read graphic novels but I did enjoy my time reading and looking through White Sand volume 1 and would certainly recommend it if you can afford the price compared to a standard novel. However, as mentioned, it is not a complete story. Volume 1 drops out kind of suddenly if I remember correctly, and volume 2 is still not released (edit: it was just released). There are supposed to be 3 volumes for this story, so you will still be waiting awhile for the conclusion.

With that said, there is a prose version of White Sand available through the newsletter if you sign up on his website. Since the prose version is not published there are some typos and things throughout it, but nothing that makes it unreadable. It's been a little bit since I've read the prose version and looked through the graphic novel so I'm not sure if there are any major differences but I don't really remember there being any (but there could be some in volume 2 and 3 I suppose).

I would recommend giving the graphic novel a shot with volume 1 first since that's a published version of the story and it supports the work involved to bring it to the readers. If you find that you can't stand the graphic novel format or can't wait to find out what happens next then I would move over to the prose version and maybe come back to volume 2 and 3 later when you get a chance.

Edited February 20, 2018 by marles

[Govir]

Price point is definitely an issue, and the reason it feels like they're more expensive for what you get is because you also get the artist's talents. So unfortunately, if you just want the story, you still have to pay for the pretty pictures. I am one such as that...comics and graphic novels move too slowly for my tastes, and the graphics don't grab my attention (which is not me saying anything about the quality of the drawing, just that I personally don't spend much time looking at the graphics).

If you're worried about the price, you can probably wait until Vol 3 is out, but I'm not sure it'll come down too much for a long while. With only Vol 1 and Vol 2 out right now, I do think it is skip-able. To @Jofwu's point of it not being talked about much, I think that is partly because the story isn't done yet *and* partly because in the grand scheme of things, it's a pretty isolated Cosmere story for right now. While it is the origin of a player in the Cosmere that we know about, it's the very early stages. It's very much a White Sand story first and a Cosmere story second.

[ccstat]

I agree with what been said so far. These aren't the best examples of graphic novels, and I don't feel the need to own them. But that is partly because my public library has physical and digital copies that I can borrow. I definitely recommend trying it if you can read the story for free.

[Storming_Misting]

Thank you everyone for your input. I also appreciate the reccomendations I'll have to look into that.

I'm also a cosmere nut and want to get my hands on all aspects of the story so I probably will get them at some point or just ask for birthdays/holidays.

Again thank you all for your input here

[Walkerxes]

I actually just ordered WS1 and pre-ordered WS2  last week.. I'm not disappointed, but there's obviously a lot that's missing from the original pre-adaptated story. So far, it think it's done a good job, but after reading Arcanum Unbound, which has a White Sand excerpt, I'd much rather read Brandon describe it, than see a comic book rendering. The way he writes action clicks for me and I can visualize it vividly.. comic book pannels just can't do that justice. Even so, I'm not disappointed with the purchasses.