Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author of epic fantasy and science fiction, best known for creating the interconnected fictional universe known as the Cosmere and for completing Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series. He is among the most prolific and commercially successful fantasy authors of his generation, noted for his intricately structured "hard magic" systems, sprawling worldbuilding, and a reputation for reliably delivering large volumes of finished work.

Biography

Sanderson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. He attended Brigham Young University, where he studied English and later earned a master's degree in creative writing. During his college years he wrote numerous unpublished novels before his debut, Elantris, was acquired and published in 2005. He has since taught creative writing at Brigham Young University, and recordings of his lectures on the craft of writing have circulated widely among aspiring authors.

In 2007, following the death of Robert Jordan, Sanderson was selected by Jordan's widow and editor, Harriet McDougal, to complete The Wheel of Time. He finished the series across three volumes: The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and A Memory of Light.

The Cosmere

Main article: Shards of Adonalsium

Most of Sanderson's adult fantasy novels are set within a shared universe called the Cosmere. In the deep history of the Cosmere, a godlike being called Adonalsium was shattered into sixteen Shards, each embodying a primal force or intent, such as Honor, Cultivation, and Odium. The Shards came to inhabit and shape various worlds, and the stories set on those worlds are gradually revealed to be connected through shared cosmology, traveling characters, and the three Realms: the Physical Realm, the Cognitive Realm, and the Spiritual Realm.

Major works

Sanderson's principal Cosmere series and standalone novels include:

• The Stormlight Archive — an epic series set on the storm-wracked world of Roshar, beginning with The Way of Kings (2010) and continuing through Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War, and Wind and Truth.
• Mistborn — a series set on the world of Scadrial, beginning with Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006) and spanning multiple eras.
• Elantris (2005) — his debut novel, set on the world of Sel.
• Warbreaker (2009) — set on the world of Nalthis.

Outside the Cosmere, Sanderson has written the young-adult Reckoners and Skyward series, the Alcatraz books, and numerous novellas and short works.

Style and reputation

Sanderson is widely associated with the concept of clearly defined, rule-based magic systems, a principle he articulated in essays often summarized as "Sanderson's Laws of Magic." He is known for an unusually rapid and consistent output, and in 2022 he ran one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns in history to publish a set of "secret projects" written during the pandemic.