News

We have a few short news items for you this week! First up, Brandon has moved the Stormlight 4 and 5 outline to 25%. Brandon wants to make sure the next two books are plotted so he doesn't miss any plot threads at the end of the first Stormlight arc in Stormlight 5, which you can read about in his Stormlight 4 Update 1 Reddit post.

Next up, the amazing Miranda Meeks made a fantastic piece of Vin and Elend for the Hero of Ages Leatherbound, and now you can buy a poster of it for $10.

Bored of Words of Brandon? Don't worry, we're here to spice it up this episode with: more Felt! Dragons! And, one of the craziest Words of Brandon yet. (Go to 1:00:33 for the start of it.) Also this features arguing about Sleepless, what the singers are called, and even more PedantiCast action that you (maybe?) want. 

On this totally on time episode of Shardcast, Eric screwed up recording so he can't put Words of Brandon on screen. Production value! But, we do get some cool stuff with Voidlight. Also, space whales, the Super Cannon, and the UnBae'd. And, lastly, Eric freaks out about the Lord Ruler's children, as usual.

Merry Christmas, everyone! This week we are beginning catching up on Words of Brandon, and we're starting with the Skyward AMAs. So you know what that means: it is time for Shardcast to misread/make fun of people's Reddit usernames! Also, we have Words of Brandon on screen for those of you watching on video! Look at that production value! There's a new working title for Stormlight 4, us arguing over Hemalurgy, and more!

State of Sanderson 2018 is out and here is our podcast talking about the news, Children of the Nameless, and the future for Brandon. We discuss the increasing trend for collabs in Brandon's works. We also talk about our feelings on this year. We have some fantastic memes, and learn Evgeni is sometimes creepy. Lastly talk about Tolkien for no reason, and as usual, are super pedantic.

This week on Shardcast we are returning to Skyward, and we're here to do our predictions for the sequel of Skyward, Starsight! We also get in-depth on the lore of the Skyward Universe. Of course, we additionally discuss... Pacific Rim? Guardians of the Galaxy? Yeah, we talk about a lot here. This episode features probably our longest Who's That Cosmere Character yet, because we're dumb sometimes. 

With Koloss Head-Munching Day still a week away, many of us were managing our hype so it reaches its peak on December 19 when Brandon writes his State of Sanderson annual blog. This year, however, we get an extra present - the reveal of the much-discussed "Secret Project" that popped up on Brandon's progress bars a while back. Well, wonder no longer, as io9 has published an exclusive - and Secret Project is now officially Magic: Children of the Nameless, a Magic: The Gathering novella Brandon wrote for Wizards of the Coast!

This week on this totally not late and definitely on time episode of Shardcast, we are dealing with the Davars! We kept up with the Kholins, the most influential family on Roshar, so it's time to look into the most influenced family. We talk about all the Davars, the weirdness and mysteries still to be determined, and some ideas for the future. Also, the Seduction Vector and Pokespren.

Happy holidays! We're back with another set of Coppermind objectives! What better way to enjoy the holidays than to complete a Coppermind objective or two?! November brought with it the release of Skyward. A number of awesome editors have helped get these articles moving, but we're going to put an emphasis on these for this set of objectives to keep it moving. If you're more of a cosmere person, have no fear! We've also got several wintery, holiday-themed cosmere articles that need attention! As always, we're happy for any help we can get, so don't be shy. If you're new to editing the Coppermind, don't worry; we'll help you out with guides and plenty of assistance. You don't need experience, just the will to help out! We'll also provide awards, because everyone loves fake internet points.

This week on Shardcast, you learn perhaps way, way too much about us. We're talking about our biggest crushes in the cosmere; our baes, our beefcakes, regardless of how irrational they may be. I almost spat out water. We also discuss the pronunciation of "duchy" and try to kick each other from the call. Who is your biggest cosmere crush? Comment below!

It's the fall, and as usual a new 10th Anniversary Leatherbound is nearly upon us, this time, with the Hero of Ages. We say nearly upon us, because it turns out there is a paper shortage, so Dragonsteel doesn't have the books yet. They can't guarantee anything before Christmas. But, regardless, preorders for numbered copies are starting Monday 11/26, 12:01am (Mountain time) via Subterranean Press, Mysterious Galaxy, and the BYU Bookstore.

This week on this Thanksgiving's Day Shardcast, it's time for us to dig into pronouncing so many things in the cosmere. Friendships will be shattered on this episode (just like perhaps your family arguments will today!). We actually will have each word we are pronouncing displayed on screen so you can see all the action, and then watch our reactions as people do... interesting things. Put how dumb we are at pronouncing things in the comments, snootiness fully allowed! 

This time on Shardcast, not only are we talking about our Skyward reactions (short answer: it was really good), but also we are on VIDEO for the first time. So please, comment below on our ugly/extremely attractive mugs, the quality of video editing, and anything else. I'm very new to editing! All future Shardcasts will be on video, but the audio only version will always be available on Soundcloud and the RSS feed as usual. I think you get a lot out of video in this one, from seeing Grace's deep love for Jorgen, and me looking completely perplexed at something Ben says about the ending.

There's been an update to BrandonSanderson.com's store for the holidays with a few new items. There are signed Oathbringer hardcovers (personalizations will start again in January), a Doomslug shirt (which is absolutely adorable), and some new lanyards. The two new lanyards are a cosmere one and a Skyward one, and you can get both of the new ones for $12. There's also a Glowing Kaladin t-shirt.

This week on Shardcast, we are discussing one of the mysterious figures in the cosmere: Frost, a real life cosmere dragon. We discuss the letters involving him, the Traveler, the Dragonsteel sample chapters, and the in-world Seventeenth Shard. Also, Pokemon and quantum mechanics. For some reason.

Skyward is the first of a quadrilogy of books by Brandon Sanderson. This Top Gun/How To Train Your Dragon mashup is a YA sci-fi story that tells the story of Spensa, the daughter of a coward, and her battle against both the alien Krell and the very Defense Force she is trying to fight for.

Until Brandon Sanderson, I was mostly a sci-fi guy, with Brandon being my first foray into fantasy. As such, I was very excited for my first ever Brandon sci-fi (I haven’t read much outside of the Cosmere). Brandon has said before that he doesn’t see much difference in the way he writes his fantasy and his sci-fi, and I have to agree, Skyward is a Brandon Sanderson novel through and through.

Badali Jewelry, makers of all sorts of amazing jewelry from the cosmere, from Stormlight, Mistborn, and Elantris, is having a fall sale until November 22nd. Not everything is on sale, but a lot is, from the Steel Alphabet rings we reported on, Aon pendants, Cosmere symbol pendants (which I am currently lusting about), and also some pins. There's a huge variety of things there. Be sure to check them out.

This week on Shardcast, not only do you get to continue getting some spicy Words of Brandon from the Legion release--which remind us of how crazy these weird stormstrider things are--but you also get some bonuses. That's right, you also get a special edition podcast of Tasercast, as well as Dresden Files Cast. Did we know where that would lead us today? Not even remotely. We also learn about Heralds and their bodies (which is a great sentence to say out of context), the classics of Gavilar's black spheres, and also... bears. 

We're back with another set of Coppermind objectives and a special award up for grabs this month! We've made some terrific progress on all things Stormlight Archive since Oathbringer released nearly one year ago, and much of the thanks for this goes to all of you who chipped in on objectives--both big and small--over the last few months. As always, we're happy for any help we can get, so don't be shy. If you're new to editing the Coppermind, don't worry; we'll help you out with guides and plenty of assistance. You don't need experience, just the will to help out! We'll also provide awards, because everyone loves fake internet points.

So, apparently last week on Instagram (the... place for your book news?) Brandon posted that last week's batch of chapters would be the last of them. My apologies for being misinformed and getting your hopes up last week in the last release that you might get Chapter 17 today. Indeed, more chapters did not arrive this morning, but yesterday we did get a short bonus chapter, Chapter 15. 

If you are looking for a new series to read, have you heard of this Brandon Sanderson guy? He writes some pretty great stuff. We're fans. Among his best and most popular is his Stormlight Archive series, and if you're in the US and Canada, you can get the first three books, The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and Oathbringer for $2.99 a piece. This sale will end November 5th, but what a killer deal. 

Today on Shardcast, there's yet more Words of Brandon, this time from the Legion release party, and boy do we have some real good ones. We get some actual, real-to-goodness confirmations about Nightblood, including some longstanding mysteries being discussed. It's exciting! This Word of Brandon episode is not one to miss. We also get upper and lower bounds on how many Desolations there are! Are you not entertained! Some theories are also destroyed in this one. 

It's Wednesday, so you know what that means: more Skyward! This time we're back to three chapters, Chapters 12-14! As usual you'll need to scroll down to the newest stuff. One's a short chapter but this is still a meaty week for Skyward. Discuss it in our discussion topic! There's only one more week of Skyward previews left, because Skyward comes out November 6th!

It's the last bit of our "short," "surface-level," and "one-episode" series on the Kholins. We're finishing up Dalinar's family unit, and we have to talk about Adolin and Renarin and their family dynamics! And, of course, how it evolves after Dalinar's visit to the Valley or not. Guest starring: Kaves Kholin. This is also our 50th episode! How crazy is that?