Every Upcoming Brandon Sanderson Book, Ranked By Our Excitement

Fantasy mastermind Brandon Sanderson is notorious not only for the epic number of books he juggles writing at once, but also his transparency about the life cycle of his various projects. Aside from his involvement with the nascent Cosmere RPG, Brandon Sanderson's numerous upcoming books cover most of his extensive Cosmere multiverse, as well as a few projects with universes of their own.

While some question what the best of Brandon Sanderson's many novel series is, including the main debate between Mistborn or Stormlight Archive, that's mostly an academic exercise among passionate fans, many of whom are as dedicated to scholarly documentation of the Cosmere's intricacies as the characters in that universe themselves are. Yet outside Sanderson's immense Cosmere multiverse he has some equally great books, like the critically acclaimed Skyward series of sci-fi young adult novels. In a blog post at the end of 2024, Sanderson laid out his tentative release schedule for the next few years, and here are the most exciting books from that list.

10 Tailored Realities

Sanderson's Next Short Fiction Collection

This illustrated omnibus, mostly linked thematically by none of the stories being set in the Cosmere, has an expected release date of December 9, 2025. Tailored Realities is a collection of various short stories that have mostly been published elsewhere, including the Cytoverse prequel novella Defending Elysium, "Perfect State," "Snapshot" (one of the few Sanderson stories with an upcoming TV adaptation), as well as a wholly new and stand-alone novella entitled Moment Zero.

While stories like "Snapshot" are excellent reads, it's hard to get excited about another anthology that mostly collects previously published material. With little word out about the plot of the new story, Moment Zero, the jury is still out about whether Tailored Realities will be considered an essential part of any Sanderson fan's personal library, or just something for completionists.

9 The Rithmatist 2: The Aztlanian

A Young Adult Sequel 12 Years In The Making

Sanderson's first book in the Rithmatist YA series was published in 2013, and he originally announced its sequel a year later, although followed that announcement up by saying he would take his time with the book, as his use of real-world cultures in the setting necessitated additional research to ensure he was being respectful, particularly in his portrayal of Aztec culture and mythology. As a result, The Aztlanian has been pushed back repeatedly over the years, leaving fans of the original book wondering when the sequel would finally release.

Now that the first arc of The Stormlight Archive has finished, the Rithmatist sequel may make its way back up toward the top of Sanderson's to-do list, but his end-of-2024 blog roundup indicated that it will still likely have to wait until he has finished the Elantris sequel. With no specific dates on the horizon to drum up excitement, Rithmatist fans will have to continue biding their time until Sanderson makes a more detailed announcement about the book's fate.

8 Skyward Legacy

Sanderson And Co-Author Janci Patterson Expand The Sci-Fi Cytoverse

The next arc of Skyward books, set in Sanderson's sci-fi Cytoverse, are currently in-progress; Sanderson has handed most of the reins of these off to co-author Janci Patterson, who he says likely has a better name for the sequel trilogy. The first book in this trilogy, tentatively titled Blightfall, was originally intended for a release in spring 2025, but the most recent announcement has pushed it back to spring or summer of 2026.

Skyward's Cytoverse is an exciting series, and Sanderson's first arc makes for excellent examples of female-led YA books. Co-author Janci Patterson is a long-time friend of Sanderson's, as well as one of his former students; the two have clearly worked well together on the Cytoverse collaborations published thus far (the short story "Hyperthief" and the Skyward Flight novellas), and Patterson now taking the lead on further Cytoverse books will likely mean the series will benefit from her fresh ideas and perspective.

7 Stormlight Archive Sequence 2

The Second Half Of The Linchpin To Sanderson's Cosmere Multiverse

Original cover art for Wind and Truth by Michael Whelan

With the late 2024 release of Wind and Truth, the first arc of The Stormlight Archive officially came to a close with some fairly climactic implications, not only for the world of Roshar, but for the Cosmere as a whole. Unfortunately, Sanderson has been quite open for some time about his intentions to take a significant break between the release of Wind and Truth and starting on the next cycle of Stormlight books, with his latest update indicating he won't even begin work on the next book until 2029, with an eye for a late 2031 release date.

A six-year delay between books may seem like forever, but the Cosmere won't stay stagnant during that time; we'll be getting the next wave of Mistborn books then, as well as the Elantris sequels and whatever other projects spring forth unannounced from Sanderson's head. Besides, with Wind and Truth's ending resulting in the world of Roshar being trapped in a bubble of slowed time, the wait really will be just a matter of perspective.

6 Horneater

A Rosharan Side Story With A Lot Of Heart

Fan art by Lamaery

While the next Stormlight Archive novel is on the very distant horizon, the upcoming novella Horneater will hopefully tide readers over. Focusing on the fan-favorite character Rock and his return to his homeland of the Horneater Peaks after the events of the fourth Stormlight novel, Rhythm of War, this side story likely won't contain any major revelations about Roshar at large, instead focusing on the usually boisterous Unkalaki and his inner struggles after breaking his vow of non-violence to save Kaladin's life at the Battle of Thaylen Field.

While Sanderson is a phenomenal author of epic action sequences and brilliant magic systems, his writing is often at its best when it can focus more on a character's inner emotional landscape, or when we get glances of characters' relationships in intimate moments. Given that most of Rock's time in the greater narrative of Stormlight has been as a part of the tight-knit family of Bridge Four, it'll be fascinating to see him returning to his home, and how his time among the Alethi may make reintegrating with other Unkalaki difficult.

5 White Sand Novelization

The Story Of The Desert World Of Taldain (Now In Prose Form)

White Sand is now entering its third incarnation, after first being born as an unpublished manuscript (except for the excerpt in Sanderson's Arcanum Unbound Cosmere anthology), then reborn as a series of graphic novels, and now again as a full novel. While it isn't on Sanderson's estimated release schedule for the next few years, he did make some progress on the revisions over 2024, and is apparently planning to continue working on it as opportunities present themselves in between other projects.

Sanderson has clarified that there will be little difference between the prose version and graphic novel of White Sand. White Sand Prime (the fandom's name for the original manuscript has been circulating online for some time, and has several major differences from the comics, but the eventual release of the updated White Sand novel will bring the text in line with the comics. "Both will remain canon," Sanderson said in his 2024 roundup post, "and I’d like for you to be able to experience the story via either format as you prefer." (via BrandonSanderson.com)

4 Elantris 2 And 3

The Long-Awaited Return To Sanderson's First Published World

Elantris was Sanderson's first published novel, published in 2005, and therefore also the first Cosmere book released to the public. In the twenty years since its release, the strange magic of Dor and the vulnerable yet immortal Elantrians have popped up several times in other Cosmere works, notably in Mistborn: Secret History, leaving readers wondering what changes have happened in the world of Sel since the city of Elantris was healed at the book's conclusion.

Unfortunately, while the Elantris sequels are on the horizon, they're pretty far out there, as Sanderson has made it clear that the next sequence of Mistborn books must come first, at least on his end. His most recent projected release schedule has the Elantris sequels alternating releases with Mistborn, so the first is currently planned for December 2028.

3 Isles of the Emberdark

The Fifth And Final Secret Projects Book

Announced as a part of the Kickstarter for the leatherbound edition of Words of Radiance, Isles of the Emberdark is a full novel that serves as a sequel to the novella Sixth of the Dusk, continuing on with the story of the Eelakin trapper by the same name. While the novella was an introduction to Sixth and his world of First of the Sun, as well as the machinations of the interstellar Ones Above and their nefarious designs on the planet, Isles of the Emberdark will tell of Sixth and his attempts to find help for his beleaguered home.

Isles of the Emberdark is set for a Fall 2025 release for anyone receiving it as a reward from the Words of Radiance Kickstarter. Those who missed out on the Kickstarter but are dying to learn more about First of the Sun's struggles against the Ones Above hopefully won't have to spend too long stewing in jealousy, as the regular release of the book through Sanderson's publisher Tor is scheduled for early 2026.

2 Mistborn: Ghostbloods

Allomancy By Way Of 1980s Computer Technology

The third era of the Mistborn series has long been the subject of speculation from Sanderson scholars, as the author has repeatedly teased that the next time skip will bring the world of Scadrial ahead to relative technological parity with our own 1980s. Now, with The Stormlight Archive finished for the time being, Sanderson's plan is to move ahead with Mistborn's next era, now known as Ghostbloods after the organization of worldhoppers first introduced in The Way of Kings.

Since Sanderson's estimate for the release of the first Ghostbloods book isn't until 2028 – he's aiming to turn in the first draft of it to his publisher in mid-2025, but as with the previous set of Mistborn books, he's writing the entire trilogy at once in order to ensure proper continuity – there's still quite a bit of time to get excited at the prospect of combining Allomancy with computer science. With the 2024 State of the Sanderson post teasing the return of "familiar (somewhat spike-filled) characters from Era One," there's also plenty of excitement about which Hemalurgic constructs will return.

1 Warbreaker 2: Nightblood

This Sequel Is Still On The Far Horizon, So Keep Holding Your Breath

WARBREAKER by Dan Dos Santos

The original Warbreaker remains one of Sanderson's most incredible books, and has been forced to stand alone since its release in 2009. Set on the world of Nalthis, home to the beautiful magic of Breath and vibrant plant life, the book is an amazing story of dynastic intrigue, undead royalty, and the perils of empire – and yet no additional works of Sanderson's have taken place there. Instead, only a handful of references to the book have appeared, mostly through the characters of Vasher and Vivenna, who have worldhopped to Roshar and appeared in several Stormlight Archive books.

Nightblood, the book's working title, will supposedly tell of just how Vasher and Vivenna made their way to Roshar, as well as how Vasher lost the sentient sword Nightblood. Coming just before The Way of Kings in the overall timeline, it will be a welcome glimpse into the mechanics of worldhopping. Sadly, it isn't yet on the schedule, and may not even be finished before Sanderson starts work on the second arc of The Stormlight Archive, but like the sword it's named after, Nightblood will inevitably find its target.