Utah-based fantasy author Brandon Sanderson is celebrating a major milestone this week. Friday is the 20th anniversary of his epic fantasy series “Mistborn.”
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The first book in the series, “The Final Empire,” was released on July 17, 2006.
Sanderson released his first book, “Elantris,” in 2005, but a year later, “Mistborn” was released. “Mistborn” was the author’s first series. Over the last 20 years, the series has continued to grow in popularity.
The book’s milestone isn’t the only anniversary the author has celebrated recently: “The Final Empire” was released 10 days after the author got married.
Sanderson has released over 50 novels and has sold more than 50 million copies of his books worldwide. Here is a “Mistborn” primer.
What is ‘Mistborn’ about?
“Mistborn” is an epic fantasy story and part of Sanderson’s fictional universe that many of his epic fantasy stories take place in. It is an interconnected universe and some of the stories share some characters.
“Think MCU, but for a bunch of epic fantasy worlds, there are crossover characters, but the focus is more on the different cultures mixing and things like this,” per Sanderson’s website.
There are currently seven “Mistborn” novels, divided into two different eras, with more coming. Sanderson has planned for a total of four eras. The third era is currently in the works, with a planned release in 2028.
“Mistborn” is set on the planet Scadrial, which has three magical disciplines that are all based on metals: Allomancy, Feruchemy and Hemalurgy. Specific metals are used by Invested individuals to give them unique abilities. There are hard rules to each of the three magical disciplines.
The first era is a trilogy that tells a heist story and also includes political intrigue and action. This trilogy focuses on a group of metal-using magicians who attempt to overthrow their seemingly all-powerful emperor.
The second era is comprised of four books and is often referred to as the “Wax and Wayne” series is set 300 years after the original trilogy. The sequel series is a detective series that follows lawmen Wax and Wayne — both metal-using magicians — as they work to stop a criminal ring.
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The third era will be set in the early computer age and the final era is planned to be a space opera.
An overview of the ‘Mistborn’ books
The original trilogy is a “hybrid epic fantasy heist story with a focus on political intrigue and powerful action scenes,” per Sanderson’s website. Here are the books in the original trilogy:
- “The Final Empire”
- “The Well of Ascension”
- “The Hero of Ages”
There is also a novella that goes along with this trilogy titled “Mistborn Secret History.” This novella is included in “Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection,” a collection of epic fantasy short stories and novellas by Sanderson.
The “Mistborn” sequel series, “Wax and Wayne,” takes place in the same world as “Mistborn,” 300 years after the original trilogy. Here are the books in the “Wax and Wayne” series:
- “The Alloy of Law”
- “Shadows of Self”
- “The Bands of Mourning”
- “The Lost Metal”
A ‘Mistborn’ movie is in the works
Earlier this year, it was announced that Sanderson had made a deal with Apple to adapt both “Mistborn” and his other series “The Stormlight Archive” for the screen.
“Mistborn” will be adapted into a feature film with Sanderson writing the screenplay. He does regular updates on his writing progress and he is currently 91% done with the script. “The Stormlight Archive” will be adapted into a TV series.
The deal with Apple was finalized after the author met with multiple other studio heads. The deal gives Sanderson an unusual amount of control over the projects, including writing, producing and giving approvals.
The ’Mistborn’ 20th anniversary sale
In honor of the 20th anniversary of “Mistborn,” Sanderson is doing a 20% off sale on everything Mistborn. The sale includes the leather-bound versions of the book, which rarely go on sale.
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This 20th anniversary sale goes until July 21.
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