LazarusRises Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 (edited) Hi, all. I had been out of the Sanderson loop for quite a while, so I decided to hop back in. I ordered Legion and The Emperor's Soul and started doing some research to see if any new, fun answers had popped up. In my search, I got excited about Dragonsteel, so I decided to do some Googling regarding that. I found a Dragonsteel page on Goodreads which claims the book is Mr. Sanderson's undergraduate Honors Thesis in English from BYU. In the comments, someone claims to have read it and gives a partial plot summary and a whole bunch of information. I didn't really know what to do with this, so I figured I'd leave it in what looks to be a particularly spoilerific place. If this isn't in the right place, by all means move it/take it down. Have a look. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5968736-dragonsteel Edited November 22, 2012 by LazarusRises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inkthinker Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 It's something the long-term fans know about. For a while there you could, with the right connections, check it out from BYU. Does anyone know if the BYU copy is still moving around, or if it was officially "stolen" (at best, not returned or lost in the post)? Seems like last I'd heard it had went missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazarusRises Posted November 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Hmm. Alright then. I wonder if the library can be called and asked about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstRainbowRose Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 It was rebound (which I believe is why it vanished) and is back to being avilable for an Inner library loan. But be warned it's going to be a very long wait. Also, for the site's purposes anything in dragonsteel is kept to private conversations for a couple of reasons. One is so there isn't the elite group who have read it making those who haven't/can't feel bad. Also, everything in iit is subject to change so we can't say it's absolute cannon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Didn't Brandon say that he was completely rewritting Dragonsteel in the Q&A? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windrunner Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 He said it was "scrapped" in the Q&A. Lance inquired further at HalCon and Brandon said that he'll be rewriting it from scratch, much like he did for Kings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Alvein Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Actually - it was Liar that was scrapped & will be re-written. He didn't specifically mention Dragonsteel, other than that it is eventually planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nepene Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 From what I hear, Dragonsteel is book 3 or 4 in the series. He wants to write book 1 and 2 first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yados Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Wow, yeah that does sound like it will need a significant rewrite now that Stormlight exists. A (non-spoiler) question for people who have read it: Is this review a fair estimation? For a 300,000 word book, the information seems sparse, especially around the second half. The world and specific politics of the situation are barely touched on. There's more to it, yeah? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riddlesinthedark Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 (edited) One thing, in particular is that the Shattered Plains was very much lifted from Dragonsteel, and plays a fairly important role in the book. This has been mentioned in interviews, so despite the tag, no real spoilers there. The mechanics are different, though, so it will likely reappear in some form or another in neu-Dragonsteel.(Though it does raise some interesting questions about gemhearts, now that I think about it), but it will definitely require a rewrite unless some awesome world hopping is going on with the landscape. Per fRR's direction, anything else can be done in PM's, I guess. That said, good luck getting the book, because I cannot help but feel that the BYU library is not being a competent steward of the book. For instance, I had it last May. Knowing that they had lost the book frequently in the past, I returned it directly to a library aide, explained the recurring situation, and gave it directly back to them. I wish I had babysat that (likely bored student) employee until they scanned it back in, because I eventually got an overdue notice, which I ignored, and eventually in late summer got a billing statement, at which point I called in and climbed through the phone tree until I found some salaried person incompetent enough that I didn't feel bad about jumping down their throat. It then quickly and "magically" reappeared on their catalog system, and I believe was soon checked out by someone else. I imagine, that the year-long, on&off "missing" status before I got it was a similar case. Often the book will be listed as present on the catalog, only to be missing from the shelf, and laughably this fall I noticed the reverse case was true when I was on campus and checked. So odds are, it will be a beast to get a hold of, especially out of area. I'm local, and it still was. I cannot imagine the headache an interlibrary loan will take. Edited November 26, 2012 by Voldy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yados Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 One thing, in particular is that the Shattered Plains was very much lifted from Dragonsteel, and plays a fairly important role in the book. This has been mentioned in interviews, so despite the tag, no real spoilers there. The mechanics are different, though, so it will likely reappear in some form or another in neu-Dragonsteel.(Though it does raise some interesting questions about gemhearts, now that I think about it), but it will definitely require a rewrite unless some awesome world hopping is going on with the landscape. Per fRR's direction, anything else can be done in PM's, I guess. That said, good luck getting the book, because I cannot help but feel that the BYU library is not being a competent steward of the book. For instance, I had it last May. Knowing that they had lost the book frequently in the past, I returned it directly to a library aide, explained the recurring situation, and gave it directly back to them. I wish I had babysat that (likely bored student) employee until they scanned it back in, because I eventually got an overdue notice, which I ignored, and eventually in late summer got a billing statement, at which point I called in and climbed through the phone tree until I found some salaried person incompetent enough that I didn't feel bad about jumping down their throat. It then quickly and "magically" reappeared on their catalog system, and I believe was soon checked out by someone else. I imagine, that the year-long, on&off "missing" status before I got it was a similar case. Often the book will be listed as present on the catalog, only to be missing from the shelf, and laughably this fall I noticed the reverse case was true when I was on campus and checked. So odds are, it will be a beast to get a hold of, especially out of area. I'm local, and it still was. I cannot imagine the headache an interlibrary loan will take. I tried an inter-library loan about two years ago. ... did not work. I got an frank email a year later from the library loan people to that affect, I believe. Long after I'd forgotten about the request. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazarusRises Posted November 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 I emailed a BYU librarian. These were the responses I got: Hello [LazarusRises] According to the library catalog the "University Scholar Project" by Brandon Sanderson is currently checked out and due on Dec 4 2012. When I return to the library on Monday I can check to see if it is checked out to Lost and Found or checked out to a patron. I will send you more information on Monday. Thank you for your patience -[Librarian] And then today: Hello again [LazarusRises] I checked Workflows today and found the text is checked out. I placed a hold on it so the person who currently has it checked out cannot renew the item. When I receive notice it has come in and is being held for me I will notify you. At this point you could place an Interlibrary Loan request to have the volume sent to you at Berkeley. -[Librarian] So... I suppose we shall see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yados Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Oh wait. I didn't put this together after reading the review, but are there no Dragons? I thought this was the one with Dragons. Did the review just give hem a wide berth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riddlesinthedark Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Oh wait. I didn't put this together after reading the review, but are there no Dragons? I thought this was the one with Dragons. Did the review just give hem a wide berth? Check your pm'es Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyabi Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 In reality reading Dragonsteel isn't too much worth the effort in its current state for a few reasons. ((And I'll try to avoid any type of spoiler here)) 1) It was written a long time ago and is very, very rough. 2) More than a couple things were cannibalized from it and moved to other books. 3) There are some things which could be considered spoilers for future books, but they are so likely to change in such a magnitude that it would just be more of a distraction as you read other things that it would be bothersome. E.G. - (Note both examples may be slightly off as I read Dragonsteel probably 6 years ago and my memory of its exact text is foggy) The Shattered Plains and the bridge crews were a huge part of the book, much as they are in the The Way of King. However, the things that appeared on the plains the people wanted to acquire were very different. There also (This is the part where my memory is foggy) was something similar in nature to Soulcasting, but it was quite a bit different. Similar in a way that it appears that Soulcasting may have originated from the idea, but different enough it might be its own system of magic. It also speaks much about Hoid, but the thins you learn about him could be right on or they could be extremely far off at this point. There is also the fact, which has been mentioned in previous posts, that it is not the first book in the series it belongs to, but is a few books down the road, so much of the story which sets up for the book is missing. Really it is not worth the effort to find and read as it will be so overtly distracting that it could potentially ruin further reading experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nepene Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 Oh wait. I didn't put this together after reading the review, but are there no Dragons? I thought this was the one with Dragons. Did the review just give hem a wide berth? Brandon has made public comments on the existence or absence of dragons in the book i believe. I am absolutely intrigued to learn any details of the book. It is rough as people have said but I love all of Brandon's work and would love to read more. I am good at compartmentalizing and would be quite able to read it while being aware that it will not be finished for a long time and that several of the elements have been cannibalized. Sadly I am from the UK, so there is no chance of me ever being able to read it ;( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 There is a dragon in that version of Dragonsteel, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyabi Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 You could email Brandon and ask him. If I remember correctly he once said he'd be semi-likely to send out copies of it via email after the release of Way of Kings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubix Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 He was thinking about it, but has since decided that he doesn't want to be sending out Dragonsteel, just because it's a little too spoilery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asperity Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 He will send out White Sand and Aether of Night though but you have to wait a few months for a reply. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yados Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 He will send out White Sand and Aether of Night though but you have to wait a few months for a reply. I think I also heard tell of him sending out the original Mistborn and/or Final Empire. Fun fact about White Sand: If you convert it into an epub, it self-titles "Dragonsteel". I have no idea what that's about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nepene Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 I know about the White Sand and Aether thing, yeah. I have emailed him about that. One day I hope he replied. As you have said, Dragonsteel will likely remain beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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