Songs of the Dead (Death by Pizza)

[Snorkel]

Looks like Brandon did another revision of that after Rhythm of War!  Not sure how many revisions he expects to do in this collaborative format.  Maybe it's not very far off done now :-O

[Use the Falchion]

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I'm almost through with my revision of Songs of the Dead. Takes a lot less time for me to do a revision on that, because basically instead of fixing problems, because I'm co-authoring with Peter Orullian, I get to say, "This is working. Maybe change this to be like this." And give Peter the chance to make the changes. The book is looking really good, this last revision.

From Thursday's Q&A. 

I assume there will be one or two more revisions. Brandon isn't doing the heavy lifting on this project at this point, and it's probably far easier to get through than a Stormlight revision (in both length, content, and continuity), so it didn't need nearly as much time. 

I think we'll see this book on shelves by the end of next year, being completely honest (probably closer to a late-summer, early-fall release date, but not too late to interfere with Skyward 3). 

I'm sure we'll hear more about it in the November newsletter or in the State of the Sanderson. 

[Use the Falchion]

Sorry for Necro-ing a thread, but we've got some tangible updates for Songs of the Dead! 

Updated February 27, 2025:

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Just a quick note to let folks know that the new contemporary fantasy series that I conceived and wrote with #1 New York Times Bestseller Brandon Sanderson has multiple offers and we've signed deals with U.S. and U.K. publishers on the trilogy. Our agent is taking the trilogy to the London and Frankfurt Book Fairs this year, for further foreign rights sales. The announcement on series title, book title, publishers, and release dates are immanent.

 

As we work through details, it looks likely that the first book will see a 2026 release. I'm stoked!

 

I'll write more as we get closer and have more details. But I can't wait for folks to read this series. It's so unique, and so much fun! And, of course, per the reason we started it in the first place is it's also got quite a lot of music and heavy metal in it? Folks who don't know or like rock and metal music will still want to come along for the ride. But if you know a few tunes, it'll have some extra kick fer ya!

 

More soon!

 

Peter

 

Now, to be fair, when Peter says "immanent," that can mean anything from a couple of weeks to 6-8 months. We were supposed to have more news about Book 1 LAST YEAR with Peter at the time saying "soon," and Brandon saying "near future." But we'd all rather have a good book than a rushed one. As you can see, it's looking like a 2026 release date, with Peter still working on revisions as of the 2024 State of the Sanderson. Still, with this much of a lead time, here's to hoping that Peter can start on Book 2 while we wait for Book 1 to come out. 

Overall, it's looking like we'll see 3 coauthored releases in 2026:

1. Skyward Legacy Book 1 (Blightfall?)

2. Songs of the Dead Book 1 

3. Dark One Novelization - I'm putting this one here instead of Isaac Stewart's Mistborn book because Dan seems to be a lot farther along in the revision process, and I think both Dan and Brandon are eager to release it so that Dan can work on his Cosmere story.