Brandon Sanderson is a contemporary American science fiction writer. He made his debut in 2005 with the novel "Elantris", and in 2007 his novel "Hope of Elantris" was released. From this moment, the author began to engage in professional writing. We will talk further about the biography and work of this author.
Biography
Brandon Sanderson was born in Lincoln (Nebraska) on December 19, 1975. Graduated from Brigham Young University, the leading educational institution of the Mormon Church, which is located in Orem. Here, the future writer graduated from the Faculty of English Literature in 2000, receiving a bachelor of arts. Brandon did not stop there, and already in 2005 he graduated from the magistracy, becoming a master of arts, having received the specialty "Creative Writing". After graduation, he did not leave the alma mater and returned already as a teacher of English.
In 2006, the writer married Emily Bushman, who is a teacher from Provo. The couple has no children yet.
Sanderson is a member of the Mormon Church.
About the love of reading
Brandon Sanderson, whose books we will examine below, said in an interview that he developed a love for reading in general, and for fantasy in particular, in high school. In primary school, the writer most liked the books of the children's detective series The Three Investigators, which was published since 1964. With age, Brandon began to advise more serious and realistic books, which caused only boredom. This discouraged him from reading, and in high school he was practically not interested in literature.
Then, at Sandersonās high school, an excellent English teacher appeared. She then gave the boy to read āDragon's Deathā by Barbara Hambley. This book was the first in the fantasy genre that Brandon read, but not the last. With this novel, the author began to love this genre. By his own admission, the writer re-read all the books in the library, in the names of which the word "dragon" was mentioned.
School years and debut
Brandon Sanderson initially went to college for biochemistry, but after studying for a year, he realized that this was not his specialty at all. Throughout the year of study, Brandon relentlessly wrote, this was the defining moment in the decision to change direction. Having abandoned biochemistry, he went to study English literature. Choosing a new direction, Brandon made every possible effort to realize his dream - to become a writer. The result of the work was the publication of the novel "Elantris", in the Russian translation - "City of the Gods." The work was written back in 1999, and was published only in 2005. As soon as the book was released, Sanderson was awarded the prize by the best debutant authors John W. Campbell Award. The author does not plan to continue this novel for the time being, and if he decides, then, according to him, he will describe the adventures of minor characters.
Creative process
Brandon Sanderson (the writerās books are now translated into many languages āāof the world) always wanted his first book to be a non-cyclical novel, as he believed that this would be the best way to introduce himself to readers. A reader who first meets a writer would rather prefer to read one complete story in order to understand whether or not to pay attention to the author, Sanderson believes. That is why "Elantris" has no sequels - with this book you need to begin familiarization with the work of the author.
In 2006, a second novel was published, which was written by Brandon Sanderson (a collection with the stories of the writer will be released much later). This turned out to be the first book of the Mistborn trilogy called The Final Empire.
The author himself claims that this cycle was born out of 2 ideas. The first one came to Sandersonās head when he looked through Oceanās 11 friends and realized that in many of the films he liked, teams of professional thieves were at the center of the story. And he decided to try to transfer this technique to fantasy. The second idea came from the many adventure novels that Sanderson read in his teens. It consisted in the fact that too many books tell about a young man from a peasant family who left home to fight the forces of darkness. But what if the young hero failed to defeat the ruler, and evil conquered?
Thus, it turned out that the Mistborn cycle tells what would happen to the world where the dark ruler won. The hero was defeated, the prophecies did not come true, ashes fell from heaven, and humanity was enslaved. Then a team of thieves enters the scene, who decides to deal with the dark lord in his own way - having robbed him and outbid the minions. But gradually it turns out that not everything was so simple with that hero defeated a century ago.
Brandon Sanderson: Author Books
After the publication of the first part of the cycle, two volumes of sequel came out, which were no less successful than the first book. From this moment, Sandersonās new novels constantly appear on book shelves, the writer continues to delight his fans with newer and newer works. Next, we will consider the most famous books of the writer.
"City of the gods"
Itās worth starting with the debut work - the novel Elantris. The reader will see the marvelous city of the gods Elantris, full of wisdom, beauty and the focus of magic, which was likened to a silver fire that burns in eternity. Any mortal who was touched by the Shaod, a kind of magical transformation that endows the chosen one with magical abilities, could become like gods and become Elantrians. However, these times have passed a decade ago. The city of the gods fell, and the Shaod from blessing turned into a curse. The new capital of the lands of Arelon was the small town of Kai, which is located near the black walls of the once beautiful stronghold, in which those unfortunate people whom the Shaod touched are now enclosed. Our story, on the other hand, begins from the moment when the crown prince Arelon Raoden became a victim.
The Doomed Kingdom, Brandon Sanderson
The novel also has a second title - āThe Way of the Kingsā. He is the first work in the unfinished series "The Petrel Archive."
With this book, the writer begins a large-scale saga, which is not inferior to the works of J. Tolkien, R. Dalvatore, R. Jordan. The author portrays an amazing world with unique flora and fauna, in addition, Brandon carefully thought out the spiritual culture of the races living in this world, attached great importance to the political structure of the world - there is nothing accidentally depicted in this novel, everything is thought out and fits into the general system.
In the center of his book, Sanderson Brandon depicts the world of Roshar, dominated by the greatest storms that sweep away everything in its path. However, this is not the most terrible, much worse than the true devastation. Waiting for his onset can change the fate of entire races. Will the inhabitants of this world have the strength to rally and confront the terrible danger together? Will there be a hero for whom the words of an ancient oath - "death below life", "weakness below strength", "goal below the path" - will not just be an empty old tale?
In the meantime, the world recalls the Shining Knights who fell centuries ago, of which only armor and weapons are left. On the Ruined Plains, battles with the strange Parsendi people who organized the assassination of ruler Aletkar do not stop.
Sanderson was awarded the David Gemmel Prize for this novel in 2011, and the book won the nomination Book of the Year according to Fantlab (2013).
The Coming Storm
In 2007, after the death of the famous American science fiction writer Robert Jordan, who began one of the longest cycles, The Wheel of Time, Brandon Sanderson took on the difficult task of completing the series. The writer, based on the diary of the late science fiction writer, was able to brilliantly perform his task. And in 2009, the book The Coming Storm, completing the cycle, was published.
The novel was well received by Jordan fans and harmoniously blended into the series.
āBorn in the Fogā
Today it is a completed cycle that Brandon Sanderson completed in 2008. The series includes three novels: Ashes and Steel, Ascension Source and Hero of the Centuries, as well as a short story The Secret Story, which was published in Russia quite late in 2016.
The trilogy tells of a world in which the last empire has flourished for millennia, which rules an immortal ruler, a single lord and god. A millennium ago, he defeated the unknown Abyss and, instead of liberating, enslaved the world. Since that time, the sun has turned red, ashes have fallen from the sky, and at night the world is covered by fog, which takes their souls from people.
Today, Sandorson lives in Provo and continues to teach at the university.