Brandon Sanderson

Brandon SandersonShadows of SelfBrandon Sanderson, Shadows of Self  (Gollancz)

Return to Mistborn, and join the hunt for a mysterious assassin.

The criminal elite of Elendel were invited to an auction – which became a massacre, when an unknown assailant slaughtered everyone in attendance.

Now Wax and Wayne, both able to use magic, both lawmen from the rough and ungoverned frontier territories, are on the case. All the clues suggest the killer is a rogue kandra – a secretive, almost mythical, figure who acts from the shadows – called Bleeder . . . and that the governor is her next target. Bleeder, and the conspiracy behind the killings, has to be stopped . . . before the city is plunged into chaos.

Brandon Sanderson was born in 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a child Brandon enjoyed reading, but he lost interest in the types of titles often suggested for him, and by junior high he never cracked a book if he could help it.  This all changed in eighth grade when an astute teacher gave Brandon Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. Brandon thoroughly enjoyed this book, and went in search of anything similar. He discovered such authors as Robert Jordan, Melanie Rawn, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey and Orson Scott Card. Brandon continued to be an avid reader through junior high and high school. He liked epic fantasy so much that he even tried his hand at writing some. His first attempts, he says, were dreadful.

Brandon began writing in earnest, taking a job as the night desk clerk at a hotel because they allowed him to write while at work. During this era he went to school full time during the day, worked nights to pay for his schooling, and wrote as much as he could. He says it made for a rather dismal social life, but he finished seven novels during his undergraduate years. Brandon submitted many manuscripts for publication . . . and accumulated quite a pile of rejection letters. In spite of this he continued to be a dedicated writer.

It was in 2003, while Brandon was in the middle of a graduate program at university, that he got a call from editor Moshe Feder at Tor, who wanted to buy one of Brandon’s books. Brandon had submitted the manuscript a year and a half earlier, and had almost given up on hearing anything, so he was surprised and delighted to receive the offer. In May 2005 Brandon held his first published novel,Elantris, in his hand.  Brandon’s books have been published in over twenty languages.

Brandon was shortlisted for the Legend Award in 2009, 2010 and 2012.  He won the award in 2011 and 2015.

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