The Cosmere

Thursday, June 22, 2023

The pandemic was a crazy time. We all tried things to fill the time spent in and out of lockdown. Some baked bread, some watched Tiger King and some fell down the rabbit hole that is author Brandon Sanderson’s series, genre and medium transcending, shared narrative universe - The Cosmere. I did all three, the bread was great.

Sanderson is a weird guy. Not creepy weird, just esoteric weird. His output is prolific, often releasing multiple books in a single calendar year. His college room-mate was Ken Jennings, yes that Ken Jennings, of Jeopardy fame. He was drafted in to complete one of the greatest fantasy series of all time (IMHO), The Wheel of Time after author Robert Jordan passed away, despite having only published two books of his own. He has the record for the most successful kickstarter campaign of all time. His bibliography page on Wikipedia has over 70 entries. And he’s only in his forties.

Some people love A Song of Ice and Fire’s author, G.R.R Martin, but loathe him at the same time for his glacial output rate. I love Sanderson, but sometimes it feels like I’m drowning trying to stay on top of everything that comes out!