‘Mistborn’ author Brandon Sanderson shares the books that influenced him most
American Fork author Brandon Sanderson releases his newest novel, "Oathbringer," on Tuesday night at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo.
Brandon Sanderson is about as prolific as they come. The acclaimed American Fork author, known for his “Mistborn” and “The Stormlight Archive” series, has a loooooong list of works in bibliography. That his career only started 12 years ago makes that length all the more impressive.
That bibliography gets a little longer on Tuesday, as Sanderson’s “Oathbringer,” the third book in his “Stormlight Archive” series, is released. Local fans, however, are getting a jump on that release with a special “Oathbringer” party happening Monday evening at the Utah Valley Convention Center. Sanderson will be on hand to chat with attendees.
To write a lot, you have to read a lot, too. Sanderson is no exception. Speaking with the Daily Herald last week, Sanderson discussed some of the books that have impacted him the most.
’Dragonsbane,’ by Barbara Hambly
“I was not a reader when I was younger,” Sanderson said. “I was one of these reluctant reader boys. And it was an eighth grade teacher — her name was Ms. Reader, coincidentally — who got me into books. She got me to read a book called ‘Dragonsbane.’ She knew I’d like it. It’s a great fantasy novel, I’d highly recommend it to anybody.”
“Dragonsbane” tells of a middle-aged pig farmer who, while in his younger years, managed to kill a dragon. When a dragon shows up and threatens the kingdom in which he lives, the reluctant farmer is asked to save the townspeople once more. The book, however, is told from his wife’s point of view. The wife studies magic, and her teacher insists she’d be a skilled magician if she dedicated herself more fully.
“It’s an epic fantasy book about a woman dealing with a midlife crisis between her career and her family, and this is the book that was given to a 14-year-old boy?” Sanderson said. “But it was perfect for me. It was imaginative, it was interesting, it really let me look at a character that was different than myself. It reminded me a lot of my mother. So I read this fantasy book full of adventure and wonder and magic, and I get done and understand my mom better. I was like, ‘I have to know how people do this.’ “
’The Wheel of Time’ series, by Robert Jordan
Sanderson was introduced to Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” series not long after “Dragonsbane.” And, after Jordan’s death in 2007, Sanderson was commissioned to finish the series. According to Sanderson, “The Wheel of Time” was foundational to how he writes about magic.
“He approached magic in the way I like to — which is magic feels almost like a new branch of science,” Sanderson explained. “The epic fantasy book takes place in a world where magic works, but you can still approach it from a scientific mindset, and find things to do with it that are repeatable. And there are great books out there where magic is just a mystical force that the characters don’t understand, but that’s not my style of writing. My style of writing is saying, ‘All right, what can we do with this thing? How can we expand it? And how does it respond to the scientific method?’ And in some ways, that does remove a little bit of the wonder from it, but I think there’s a lot of wonder in the idea of exploring a new scientific concept.”
’Watchmen,’ by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The legendary graphic novel series, released in 1986 and ’87, tells an alternate history where real-life superheroes helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War and cover up the Watergate scandal. As the country gets closer to World War III with the Soviets, “freelance” superheroes are outlawed and most former superheroes are either retired or government-sponsored.
The series’ use of world-building in-novel “ephemera” — details like an excerpt from a fictional biography, or one superhero’s line of proposed merchandising — is one of its greatest strengths. Sanderson said he loves the way the series used form to reinforce theme. For example, “Watchmen” interjects scenes of a boy reading a pirate-themed comic book in this alternate history.
“Which feels like a huge deviation from this big story,” he said. “But of course, to tie it to them and that world, they don’t have superhero comics — because they have real superheroes — so they have pirate comics. And they are as much a departure from the reality of that book as superhero comics are in our world. It’s very fantastical and different and weird. And it really reinforces the concepts that are going on in the book.”
’OATHBRINGER’ RELEASE EVENT
When: Monday at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:45.
Where: Utah Valley Convention Center, 220 W. Center St., Provo
Admission: Normal admission free. VIP Backstage Party passes, which include snacks, merch and a raffle, are $150.
Info: brandonsanderson.com/oathbringer-release-party, Facebook.com/BrandSanderson