To view a complete list of published works please visit:
http://brandonsanderson.com/books/
Below is a list of my novels, both published and unpublished, updated in May 2016. Because I’m constantly writing new books, it’s hard to maintain the complete list in more than one place. The above link includes links to up to date lists of my published novels and short stories. Below I have links for most of my series. Click on them to find current book listings.
Short Fiction and Unpublished works are discussed elsewhere in the FAQ.
Cosmere Books
When I first started writing, I wanted all my books to be connected somehow, but as a new author, I didn’t want to demand a huge commitment to any one series of books. I decided that I would set them all in the same universe with tiny details connecting them that fans could look for if they were interested. You don’t need to know anything about the Cosmere to read any of my novels to date, but things have progressed to the point where the hints are getting broad enough to become major plot points.
My first published novel, a standalone fantasy set in a world where the magic is broken, turning random people into the living dead.
A hybrid epic fantasy heist story with a focus on political intrigue and powerful action scenes. This series cemented my reputation for rule based magic systems and the Brandon Avalanche.
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy. The same world with the same magical powers, but in a classic Western setting.
Written in full view of the internet (I posted the draft of each chapter as I wrote it), Warbreaker is another Standalone fantasy set in a world of color based magic with a god who doesn’t believe in his own religion.
Beginning with The Way of Kings, this is my most ambitious series to date. Epic Fantasy, each volume is essentially a trilogy of novels, a short story collection, and an art book. The world of Roshar has developed a unique flora and fauna adapted to the magic filled hurricane that rolls through every week or so. The characters have also been shaped by terrible adversity, each broken, yet fighting to save their world from an even worse desolation.
White Sand was the first fantasy novel I ever wrote. It wasn’t very good. I later combined it with ideas from another failed novel and did a complete rewrite. It still wasn’t ready for publication. I’ve been meaning to get around to another rewrite for years but never found the time. Now Dynamite is releasing a Graphic Novel adaptation, condensing the novel and fixing the major issues that were still left. I think you’ll really enjoy this world with one side that is always in the dark, and the other side constantly under the merciless sun.
Arcanum Unbounded is a collection of short stories and art from each of the Cosmere worlds we’ve visited so far. This has some pretty major spoilers for the other books, so don’t read it first.
Non-Cosmere Books
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
The Alcatraz books are my series of Middle Grade (5th–7th grade) fantasy books. Much sillier than my other books, you can still find my trademark magic systems.
My first book aimed at Young Adults, The Rithmatist is set in an alternate Earth with clockwork and chalk based magic. It explores what happens when a young boy at a magical school has extraordinary skill at the magic, but absolutely no magical power.
Like many young readers, I was captured by books about dragons, specifically books about boys who find dragons and learn to fly them. It’s a familiar story. Some say it’s too familiar. I wasn’t certain I could add anything new to it until something struck me. Could I mash this together with a flight school story like Top Gun or Ender’s Game, and do something that wasn’t “a boy and his dragon,” but was instead “a girl and her starfighter”?
If power corrupts, then absolute power corrupts absolutely. What if people started getting super powers, and every one of them became a super villain? The Reckoners are a team of normal people who try to take on the worst of them. This series is aimed at Young Adults, but it can be enjoyed by all ages.
Another of my short palate cleansers, Legion is about a man who has hallucinations about his various multiple personalities. What sounds like a major handicap becomes a strength, because each of the “aspects” is an expert in a different field.
The way I keep myself fresh between big projects is to do something completely different to cleanse my palate. With the Infinity Blade books, I was asked to take the mechanics of a popular video game and turn it into a short novel.
The Wheel of Time with Robert Jordan
After Robert Jordan tragically died in 2007, I was asked to take his notes and complete the series. I was a great honor and a huge responsibility. This may be the project I’m best known for, and helped a lot of readers find my other work.