Will the Cosmere Be Completed?

[VirtuousTraveller]

As I've been combing through old quotes from Brandon over the years (some of which go back over a decade!) I was wondering if anyone could give me a clear answer to Brandon's plans for his greater cosmere story line.  It sounds like a part of his writing strategy (brilliant, might I add) is that he writes stand alone series that are works of art in their own right, but won't require people to read all of his books to understand them.

 

Some quotes, especially older ones, seem to indicate that his plans for the greater cosmere story line will "come together eventually," but for now any hints of this in the books will only be easter eggs for dedicated fans (easter eggs that eventually show connection to everything, but nothing relevant until that point).

 

That said, does Brandon have concrete plans to finish/explain the cosmere mythos or does he seem more dedicated to the separate stories/series that take place within it, leaving the cosmere as an enduring mystery?  Letting the cosmere and the history of The Shattering and the events thereafter in a nebulous place that he'll only explain once he's written everything else?

 

I've only been reading his work for the past year or so, but I'm not sure how his plans have changed since he started writing all of these wonderful books.  Thanks for your info everyone! =)

[tobar14]

There is a plan. Off the top of my head I believe the ending of the Cosmere series as a whole will be with the final futuristic Mistborn series. He will also be doing the prequal series on Yolen.

 

There will be a total of at least 40 books.

Edited May 26, 2016 by tobar14

[Chaos]

There are other quotes which do state that there is an ending to the cosmere sequence, and he said it is awesome.

Considering how much Brandon loves endings, I do sincerely hope it is ridiculously awesome.

[Pagerunner]

Brandon has been very open about his future plans for the series, and has given us the names and extimated lengths of a number of Cosmere series. For example, Stormlight is going to be 10 books, and Mistborn was originally going to be three trilogies (Wax and Wayne will have 4 books, bringing the total to 13 Mistborn novels... for now.) 

 

As Tobar said, there will be two big Cosmere series, ones where Hoid is a main character: the Dragonsteel trilogy (earliest Cosmere series), and the fourth Mistborn trilogy (described as the 'grand finale'). As the 'bookends' to the rest of the books, these will most likely contain a lot more general Cosmere worldbuilding than usual.

 

Dragonsteel is especially interesting, since it actually occurs before the Shattering of Adonalsium, and features all of the Shardholders as characters. I don't think it's been confirmed, but I know a lot of people speculate that the Shattering happens in the Dragonsteel series. Brandon's plan has changed over the years - at one point, it was 7 books, 2 of which were a Hoid-centric prequel duology (Liar of Partinel) a 5-book main Dragonsteel sequence. The rough draft of Dragonsteel was Brandon's thesis project, and one of the earliest Cosmere stories he plotted.

 

Now, unfortunately, both of these series are a long way off, according to Brandon in his yearly State of the Sanderson update. Dragonsteel won't be published until Stormlight is finished. A few years ago, he wanted to write the third Mistborn trilogy between writing Stormlight 5 and Stormlight 6, but it sounds like he's pushed it back to make room for Wax and Wayne, so the third trilogy might also have to wait until the end of Stormlight, which means we'd have to wait even longer for the last Mistborn trilogy.

 

Fun fact: in 2007, Brandon was going to kick off the Dragonsteel series after writing Warbreaker. He had a draft of the first book (Liar of Partinel), that didn't turn out great, and then when he was approached to finish Wheel of Time, he stopped working on Dragonsteel. When that one WoT book turned into three, Brandon's editor felt that Brandon needed to publish something of his own during that time, as well. Brandon, feeling that Liar wasn't ready, turned to another one of his old drafts - The Way of Kings. So, if things had turned out differently, we'd be getting Dragonsteel now instead of Stormlight.

 

EDIT: Here come the sources!

Shardholders are Dragonsteel Characters: http://theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=977#127

Dragonsteel is first, Mistborn is last: http://theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1112#30

    Also relevant: http://theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1042#4

Dragonsteel has the Shattering in it: http://theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1094#39

Hoid is a main character in Dragonsteel and Mistborn: http://theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1076#2

Dragonsteel and final Mistborn will be Cosmere-centric: http://theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1076#7

Liar of Partinel history: http://theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=995#2

Edited May 26, 2016 by Pagerunner

[king of nowhere]

i'd say the only thing that could stop the cosmere being completes is brandon dieing first. mind you, with the number of books he has to write, he will already be quite old by the time he get to the ending, and it won't help that every once in a while he get some new idea and write some more trilogies (like the reckoners). if worst comes to worst, i suppose there are enough notes, timelines, and half-finished rough draft that somebody else may complete the cosmere, though.

[Stormgate]

Given how so many of the Cosmere books revolve around it, the main plot is probably of Hoid carrying out his master plan. Whatever that is.

[CaptainRyan]

[...] somebody else may complete the cosmere, though.

 

The God Beyond forbid!

[Sunbird]

i'd say the only thing that could stop the cosmere being completes is brandon dieing first. mind you, with the number of books he has to write, he will already be quite old by the time he get to the ending, and it won't help that every once in a while he get some new idea and write some more trilogies (like the reckoners). if worst comes to worst, i suppose there are enough notes, timelines, and half-finished rough draft that somebody else may complete the cosmere, though.

 

My dearest wish is for Brandon to live forever so he can keep writing forever.

[VirtuousTraveller]

Brandon has done an amazing thing with the hidden story behind the story.  He'll keep my attention for decades to come!

 

May the God Beyond grant you great health and a continued passion for writing, Brandon! =)

[Adderbane]

On May 26, 2016 at 3:24 PM, king of nowhere said:

i'd say the only thing that could stop the cosmere being completes is brandon dieing first. mind you, with the number of books he has to write, he will already be quite old by the time he get to the ending, and it won't help that every once in a while he get some new idea and write some more trilogies (like the reckoners). if worst comes to worst, i suppose there are enough notes, timelines, and half-finished rough draft that somebody else may complete the cosmere, though.

Considering the Wheel of Time, this would be incredibly ironic.

[Asperity]

2 hours ago, Adderbane said:

Considering the Wheel of Time, this would be incredibly ironic.

Honestly, noticing how Brandon has literally grown over the past recent years, I'm starting to become a bit worried.

[CaptainRyan]

14 hours ago, Kythis said:

Honestly, noticing how Brandon has literally grown over the past recent years, I'm starting to become a bit worried.

Is that... is that a fat joke?

[Argent]

I've grown... disturbed by how morbid the fantasy fans in general have become in recent years. Ever since Robert Jordan's passing, famous authors have started getting barraged with questions about who would finish their series if they too die, and while I understand that those questions are coming from a place of concern and love (for the series), it's still an incredibly morbid thing to ask an author, or even discuss. Not to mention that it paints a picture very much focused on the fate of the books, and not the author. 

So please reconsider the merits of a conversation like this. I know the thread didn't start on this topic, but it's going there, and I don't think it should.

[Asperity]

7 hours ago, CaptainRyan said:

Is that... is that a fat joke?

Not at all. It's an observation. Being overweight is not healthy and I am legitimately worried as to the continued health of one who plans to complete a ~30 year series.

[Orlion Blight]

8 hours ago, Argent said:

I've grown... disturbed by how morbid the fantasy fans in general have become in recent years. Ever since Robert Jordan's passing, famous authors have started getting barraged with questions about who would finish their series if they too die, and while I understand that those questions are coming from a place of concern and love (for the series), it's still an incredibly morbid thing to ask an author, or even discuss. Not to mention that it paints a picture very much focused on the fate of the books, and not the author. 

So please reconsider the merits of a conversation like this. I know the thread didn't start on this topic, but it's going there, and I don't think it should.

Correct, and I think you hit it right where the concern started.

We, as readers, are not entitled to get any book. Or any series. We are not entitled to get installments in whatever we consider a timely fashion. We are not entitled to compel an author to work on one project instead of another.

There's nothing wrong with grousing or excitement, but come on! There are healthier ways to direct your energies then to play doctor on a fan forum.