Use the Falchion

Great episode! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Brandon has yet another Secret Project lined up for 2027 lol.* 

In terms of the series that have gone in-and-out of the Cosmere over the years, I can think of about four to five off the top of my head:

Skyward - Started as Cosmere, ended as its own shared universe. (There is speculation that Starling is who Spensa was based off of, but no confirmation yet.)

Rithmatist - Started as Cosmere, ended as its own book series. 

Dark One - Started as its own thing, moved to the Cosmere, and back and forth until it ended as its own multimedia project that really hasn't had much movement. (A first volume of a graphic novel with no promise or updates on Volume 2 since around 2022/2023, an audio-novella, and a book that's been in revisions for 4-5 years now. (More on that later.)

Adamant - Like Dark One, started as its own thing, then moved into the Cosmere and out again IIRC. This is what I thought y'all were referring to. 

Moonbreaker aka Soulburner/Starburner - I don't remember this being Cosmere, but y'all do, so go for it! (And one of the very few times I've gotten speculation correct - it WAS a videogame! ...just not the videogame I thought it was...)

Speaking of Dark One, wouldn't the non-Cosmere, in-revision book Dan mentions be Dark One? It's weird to me that he didn't mention it by name. 

Dan's now and innovative book is going to be a wild ride, and I can't wait to see what his series is! 

*I would much rather than Brandon's next Secret Project either be Arcanum Unbounded 2, and the things he's been writing be short stories and novellas for that, or he saves all of his Secret Projects for a big Crowdfunding thing in 4-6 years. Surprise novels are great and help the crowdfunding campaigns they're part of, but it's the first 4 Secret Projects that propelled Brandon to his latest stage of fame. I think doing that again but with 4-5 years' worth of books could be awesome to see. (If that did happen, I think 4-6 books is likely, with a goal of 8 books being the dream. My personal hope would be for 11-12 books, but that's a fantasy and I know it.)

Ay! I didn't expect the shoutout! It was awesome getting that WoB, and here's to many more! 

Maybe Brandon can save those interludes for Arcanum Unbounded 2. Although between the Interludes, Rock's novella, Dawnshard's probable inclusion, and potentially Silence Divine, there's a lot of room taken up by the Rosharan system...

I will never not trust Brandon to have a secret project hidden away from us now. 

Hopefully I'll be able to tune in!

I love how Brandon's like "we're going to be slowing down...but also expect about six books in the next two years." We'll be quite happy and fed before he goes into hibernation! I also really hope that Sanderson can find the time to work on Apocalypse Guard also. Or at least let me read a Beta/Gamma version so I can finally see it!

1. Dragonsteel Prime in Spring 2024 with the WoR Kickstarter

2. Wind and Truth (December 6, 2024)

3. Songs of the Dead (Any time between October 2024 and October 2025 IMO)

4. Skyward Legacy 1 (Spring 2025?)

5. Dark One Novelization (Summer/Fall 2025 probably)

6. White Sand Novelization (December 2025 probably - White Sand seems too important to Brandon to not have Dragonsteel-Con be centered around it.)

The sample of Apple Books let me read farther I think, so if you have an Apple device, check it out there also! 

EDIT: Nevermind, the one you link is better!

This was a CRAZY episode! I'm gonna need to rewatch it just to get all of the implications and absorb all of that information. 

Defiant! I think that's the best cover since Skyward.

Congrats!

Great interview! For stuff I'd like to see in future Cytoverse books, the top thing would probably be more human civilizations. These were teased in Skyward (not intentionally, but as a logical conclusion when it came to worldbuilding) and explicitly mentioned in Starsight, but we haven't seen any yet. I'd love to see these in a future book!

5 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

regardless, i got no idea what the gameplay is. from the trailer it could have been something like LoL, or a roleplaying game like baldur's gate, or even a fantasy version of civilization.

that single line of description in the video you linked tell me instead it is something akin to tabletop warhammer?

It's a turn-based tabletop strategy game. The mechanics beyond that (such as resources like Cinder) are hinted at and/or outright seen in the video linked. But yes, it's like tabletop Warhammer (I guess, I never played Warhammer) with some X-COM thrown in from what I've seen. 

1 hour ago, king of nowhere said:

so i checked the trailer, and i read this, and i still have't gotten any inkling on what the game is actually about.

now, maybe the marketing guys know what they are doing and in average this strategy is more successful. but me, I want to know facts. especially before committing money and/or time to something

In a way, the game is about the gameplay. What you see is what you get. Story, characters, setting, they're all just dressing for the type of game this is. (This isn't a dig at the game, just how I perceive it.) 

This first look goes over some of the stuff we didn't see in the trailer, but most of it is a deeper look at the mechanics that we did see at least briefly. 

On the bright side, I'm sure we'll get a full promotional blowout once we're closer to release. 

As I said on Reddit, VINDICATIOOOOOOOOON!

Now, outside of my sheer excitement of seeing Soulburner finally come to fruition, this game isn't the game for me. I'm going to try it out, as I would anything by Brandon, but the multiplayer and tabletop focus aren't my gaming preferences. Even if the game isn't my cup of tea, I hope that it's good and that it's wildly successful, as games are a great way to bring in new readers. 

Crackpot theory: Lift is the Dawnshard, and that's why she exists partially in the Cognitive Realm (and hates bacon). She's naturally opposed to violence, and her wish to stay the same could be granted if her soul stays the same after being changed by holding a Dawnshard. Maybe the affects aren't as extreme as they were on Hoid since I think Lift is still able to eat meat, but it'd be a fun way to look back and say "so THAT'S why Lift is the way she is!" 

Granted, I like the theory that she's going to be Cultivation's heir better, and her being a Dawnshard would go against her having a Nahel Bond as per the warning Rysn got. But who knows. 

On 7/14/2022 at 1:58 AM, Mzuka said:

SA5 is set for 2024, so even if he wrote and released Mistborn Era 3, Elantris and Nightblood in 5 years, he would be finished with them in 2029. It's at least a year and a half from when he starts writing a Stormlight book to when it's released, so that's mid 2030 at best - and that's if he starts writing SA6 at the beginning of 2029.

Also, I have a feeling the Mistborn 3 books will be a bit longer than the W&W averages. Could be balanced out by the fact tht he's writing them all through though. It's ages away regardless and I feel like this arc is going to have satisfying conclusion to make the wait bearable - especially with all the dope stuff he's releasing in between.

I think you're forgetting that Brandon can write and revise at the same time, and that he plans on writing all of those books within the five years. I'm not sure he is or should be beholden to the idea of all of those releasing in those five years. That would be too much IMO. Era 3 and the Elantris books could make it, but not Nightblood. And frankly, I think that's fine. Again, my belief is that Stormlight 6 will be released before 2031.

When I tried to plot it out it out a year or two ago, I accounted for Era 3 taking longer. Brandon has said that Era 3, Elantris sequels, and Nightblood should all take around 6 months each. Assuming he finishes all of his revisions and work on Stormlight 5 by June 1, 2024 (which feels pretty generous at this time), a schedule may look something like: 

Alternatively, if Brandon does decide to get ahead with the Mistborn 9 revisions Aug-Dec 2026:

Things could easily move up a few months if Brandon finishes all of his revisions Stormlight 5 before June 1, 2024 and/or if the palate cleansers aren't really needed.

Again, all of this was based on Brandon's words and desires before the Secret Projects. He supposedly has more writing days now, since his travel days are in the teens and twenties rather than eighties or even over a hundred, despite those days being taken up by meetings at the moment. I have a feeling that books could be finished slightly quicker than before on the whole, especially when the meetings calm down as Sanderson focuses in on 1-2 projects at a time. Alternatively, the main books would be finished at a slightly slower pace, but we may get more quirky, fun one-off books. Either way, I'm still of the belief that 2029 isn't impossible, and while 2030 is more likely, we won't be waiting 7 years between Stormlight 5 and Stormlight 6.

*I'm giving it about a month since I'm guessing it'll be somewhere between the length of Edgedancer and Dawnshard, but who knows. 

*Brandon has talked about how he outlines and writes the first book in a series and then goes back to outline the entire series. 

**For the outlining slots, depending on how long it takes, Brandon can use that spare time to work on other projects like collaborations, write and/or revise scripts, or even write more Secret Project novels. Outlining usually doesn't take more than a month or so, so he'd have 3-4 months of spare time to do with what he wills, or other things that need to be done. He could also just use the time to get ahead, but I think "giving" (as if it was our time to give) Brandon freedom to use that time as he desires would result in an overall better outcome. 

***If Elantris 3 is finished, then I'd say Brandon could go straight into outlining and writing Nightblood, with a desire to get ahead of the curve when it comes to his other revisions. 

15 hours ago, Mzuka said:

Also, Stormlight 6 2031 is not bad at all (too optimistic if you ask me). Book 5 comes out 2024, and in that gap he's writing and releasing the entire Mistborn Era 3 Trilogy, and who knows what else. Doing that, and writing and releasing a Stormlight book in 7 years? That would be Herculean. Feel like we would be getting just a bit spoiled as a fandom if we complained about that.

Humorously, I feel like it's the opposite...or at least it was. I think Storlight 6 in 2029 or 2030 is more likely than 2031. 

Brandon's talked in the past about how he plans to Mistborn Era 3, Elantris 2 & 3, potentially The Apocalypse Guard, and Nightblood during the five years between Stormlight 5 & 6. At the time it felt Herculean, but now with Brandon seemingly having more time - well, potentially having more time again, once the movie/tv stuff calm down - I think it's possible. Brandon says that it takes him about six months for 200-250k word books. If Brandon plans on writing 6 books of that length, then it should take roughly three years, averaging about two books per year. (Granted, my old, detailed analysis that predicted when and how long it'd take to write each book is out of date.) The extra writing time and days that the pandemic has built into Brandon's schedule can, in theory, balance out the new responsibilities of movie/tv stuff once the meetings die down (or rather once 2-3 projects are picked up and homed in on) alongside writing those six books. Depending on how it's split, Brandon can also revise and write at the same time, so by the time he gets to that final year, he could be revising either Elantris 3 or Nightblood as he outlines the back half of Stormlight in preparation for a Stormlight 6 2029/2030 release, depending on how he's feeling and his responsibilities at the time. Although if he finds out he has a year left before Stormlight is scheduled to come out, I'd love to see him spend time writing more Secret Project books instead of Stormlight coming out sooner. Or maybe he could have more Stormlight written and ready before he announces another batch of Secret Project books. I know it wasn't really possible this time around, but in the future, it might be!

We can't forget the Dark One novelization, Dragonsteel Prime's release for the Leatherbounds, and potentially Lux 2! (Although Steven Bohls did want that to come out in 2022, and we've heard nothing about it even being a thing, so my belief in the project's existence has been slowly declining...) 

In terms of movie stuff, I think Brandon has a pretty good idea of when a movie would come out. In February, Brandon talked about the future naming conventions of Era 3 and beyond in relation to a new Mistborn movie coming out in about 3 years, so I think the process is farther along that we know. (Although I'm still putting my bets on a Dragonsteel 2022 Mistborn movie announcement, with a potential Skyward series announcement before then.)

I'm not the biggest fan of Legion (really enjoyed the first two and really disliked the last one), but I'll be getting it to listen to some Sanderson stories regardless. 

That was my question that led to the trilogy discussion! I was so happy it was asked! Although, I did notice that Adam (and by proxy Brandon) skipped over my question of whether or not The Rithmatist is one of the worlds of The Apocalypse Guard...

(Also, I usually just pronounce it "Fal-Shun," but I've heard it pronounced a lot of ways.)

Bastile is punching a shark because punching sharks is tight!

As for who the characters are for the Skyward trilogy, I'd bet that Kimmalyn is the main character, and the rotating list will be: 

Sadie

Ned or a secret spoiler character

Jorgen (he's Janci's favorite after all) 

6 hours ago, thorongil said:

What makes you so confident to announce that these books will be available in print? The way I understood Brandon he explictly noted that there might not be retail print versions.

Apparently others who have a better memory than me are stating that Brandon did confirm there would be retail versions, but he's unsure if they'll be the same fancy hardcover versions that the Kickstarter has. And I honestly can't imagine Brandon having a limited release for his books in perpetuity. Brandon's a brilliant writer and a smart businessman. He's not going to try to lose out on future sales and future fans for short-term gain. 

6 hours ago, Oltux72 said:

You want wild speculation?

• We will see the worlds of Innovation and Valor in those four books
• #1 is set on the Aether planet
• #2 is Apocalypse Guard (the cover showing many version of Earth is giving that away)
• #3 is the big mystery. I tentatively expect it to be set on Innovation's world, as Brandon likes that Shard.
• #4 is featuring Demoux on Valor's world
• the one to be a graphic novel is kite magic and set on Whimsy's world
   

Give us ALL the speculation!

The Apocalypse Guard would be an awesome release! Although since Brandon co-wrote it with Dan, I'm not sure how that would work...still, I hope to see soon!

The kid's book graphic novel we actually know about! It's called "Super Awesome Danger" and features a robot frog! 

Definitely splurging for the book and the shirt. Hope they sell it separately! 

I'm definitely a fan of the new cover! (I liked the cover on Vol 1 also, but I like this rendition too!) 

Not sure what to expect since I never made it past Vol 1 for a myriad of reasons, none of which are linked to the quality of the series, but I'm excited for this to release! 

It's here!

For a moment I thought the SotS released! Y'all scared me! Looking forward to the Shardcast!