Most people in the SFF universe would have heard of Sanderson when he was announced as the man who would finish Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. Before Sanderson was in the Wheel of Time spotlight though he had his own fantastic fantasy series out that was displayed some of the finest Worldbuilding and usage of a Magic System that I’ve ever come across; that series was, of course, Mistborn. Since wrapping up his Mistborn trilogy, Sanderson wrote a very good urban fantasy version of Mistborn that felt very much like the Dresden Files. The success of the series and the open-ending lead people to wonder whether there would be more and, we are delighted to confirm, there will be!!!
For those who haven’t yet picked up The Alloy of Law (the first book in the series), the protagonists, Wax and Wayne, are a team of cowboy detectives who investigate crimes that arise in a Scadrial that is rapidly approaching modernity.
Here’s what some of the key players had to say about the upcoming series:
Brandon Sanderson:
I am enthusiastic to announce more Alloy of Law-era Mistborn books!
For those who don’t know, my writing process requires me to balance larger, more complicated books with shorter, more standalone books. By jumping between the two, I keep myself from being burned out on any one style of story—and that, in turn, keeps me excited about writing.
I expect the Stormlight Archive books to arrive far more regularly now that the Wheel of Time is done. However, one thing I’ve wanted from the beginning of the Mistborn series was to show the interactions of magic with technology and society through different eras of that world’s development. There is much more to explore with Waxillium Ladrian, his comrade Wayne, and their time period, so we’re going to stay with them for a couple more books. I think you’re going to like what’s coming.
If you’re curious, I should have a longer blog entry regarding this topic posted on my website later today. [Update: Here it is!]
Thanks for reading!
Moshe Feder
Deep as I am in the process of editing of Words of Radiance, the next blockbuster in the Stormlight Archive series (coming next year!), I couldn’t be more excited that we’ve made our biggest deal ever with Brandon to acquire two more Wax & Wayne books, sequels to The Alloy of Law. The first is currently titled Shadows of Self. The prospect of an early return to Scadrial, the world where the Mistborn series takes place, is delightful.
I have a special place in my heart for the Mistborn books. They confirmed the promise we saw in Elantris and gave us and Brandon his first bestsellers. Like you, I wanted more Mistborn and, actually, that has always been Brandon’s plan.
The Mistborn series was conceived as a trilogy of trilogies. The first was set in what will eventually be thought of as Scadrial’s mythological past. The second will be set in Scadrial’s equivalent of Earth’s 20th century. The third will be in its high-tech future, roughly the Mistborn equivalent of Star Trek’s world. Obviously, the second and third trilogies are going to offer exciting opportunities for science and magic to combine and clash. I can’t wait to see what Brandon will do with that!
However, please don’t jump to conclusions. The Wax & Wayne books arenot the second trilogy. Please think of them as bonus books, an unplanned and unexpected result of Brandon’s need to relax and refresh his imagination while completing the Wheel of Time and starting the Stormlight Archive. He started out to write a short Mistborn story just for fun, and it turned into The Alloy of Law, which we, of course, were thrilled to publish.
Wax and Wayne have their adventures about 75 years before the time of the second trilogy. The existence of this side branch to the main Mistborn sequence is more proof, as if we needed it, of the richness and depth of Brandon’s imaginary worlds. It’s going to be fun bringing it to you.
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The next book, currently titled Shadows of Self, is tentatively set for release in the fall of 2014, with the third novel in the Wax & Wayne series following one year later.
Jennie Ivins