| My new book is out today! Supposedly, it’s a short story collection, but I’m not known for the “short” part so much as the “story” part. So, really, it’s a collection of long stories, with some shorter pieces gluing them together. Almost a decade ago, I decided I wanted to be better at short fiction. Until that point, I’d written almost exclusively novels in my attempts to learn to be a writer. But there’s something magical about short(er) fiction. I love it when I’m able to sit down, pick up a book, and read a complete story in one sitting. Some of the most powerful works of literature, including A Christmas Carol, and Animal Farm, are actually short fiction, a form we call the novella. Over the last ten years, I’ve fallen in love with writing novellas. While I have written a few true short stories (you’ll find a couple in the collection) my true talent is in my ability to set a world, populate it, and drag a character through it to see how it leaves them changed. Novellas are, essentially, short novels–and boy, they are fun to write. The cornerstones of this collection, then, are its novellas: one set on the world of Elantris (The Emperor’s Soul), another on the world of Mistborn (Secrect History), and the third on the world of The Stormlight Archive (Edgedancer). Two other worlds (Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell and Sixth of the Dusk) will give many of you something new to taste, so the collection doesn’t just revisit what has come before. One of the fun things about this collection is the chance you have to watch my progress as a writer. you can read some of my earlier short stories (Hope of Elantris and the Eleventh Metal) to give you something to compare to things like my most recent work (Edgedancer), written exclusively for this collection. Even if you’re so-so on story collections, please give this book a try. I think it will change your mind. If you hate them with the white hot burning passion of the sun…um…Oathbringer is almost done. You can read that next year. Before I leave you, let me mention the coolest part about the collection: in-world star charts and essays about the planets by Khriss, one of the great scholars in the cosmere, and the one who has been writing the Ars Arcanum section in many of my books (hence the title Arcanum Unbounded). I’m very happy with the illustration of her on the cover. All the new art in this collection is great, including star charts and full-color end pages in the American edition. You’ll find it to be a handsome book, well deserving of a place on your shelf. Many people have asked me where they can read more about the cosmere–the connectivity between the planets of my epic fantasy works. Well, you’ll find that here – secrets, hints, and even some outright explanations. This contains every scrap of cosmere short fiction I’ve done so far, so if you’ve been a little overwhelmed trying to collect it all, you can find it here. We stuck it all in, including things like Hope of Elantris and Allomancer Jak, which were never intended to stand alone, just so you’d have it, if you wanted it. Now you don’t have to worry about being confused or left out when other fans discuss them. The collection is in ebook, audiobook, and gorgeous hardcover. Enjoy, and thanks for giving it a chance! Also, don’t forget my release party tonight, and my short tour starting next week. |
If you’re hungry for Oathbringer updates, check out this reddit thread from last week.
