Released 20 Years Ago, A Fantasy Masterpiece Made One of the Genre’s Best Interconnected Universes Possible
A fantasy masterpiece is officially celebrating its 20th anniversary, which means its been two decades since it made one of the genre’s best interconnected universes possible. Spinoffs, prequels, and sequels are all common things in fantasy, as the expansive world-building and lore lend themselves to such continuations. Joe Abercrombie’s First Law books spun out in this manner, and even Sarah J. Maas’ fantasy series are all bound to one another.
There are many great examples of fantasy universes that readers love, but one of the best known — and most beloved — is Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere. In general, Sanderson is a fantasy author whose lineup gets people invested and reading. It helps that he’s so committed to regularly releasing new stories. Given the author’s current level of success, it’s difficult to envision the fantasy section of the bookstore without seeing his name. However, we can thank his breakout novel for helping catapult him to fame…and for making the Cosmere itself possible.
Mistborn Released 20 Years Ago on July 17, 2006
Mistborn: The Final Empire released 20 years ago last Friday, with the first installment of Era 1 hitting shelves on July 17, 2006. It wasn’t Sanderson’s first published novel — that honor went to Elantris — but it was the one that kickstarted his first full series and his larger career. The Mistborn books were relatively successful when they first debuted, and they showcased Sanderson’s talent when it came to world-building, magic systems, and epic twists. Without Mistborn, it’s hard to say whether Sanderson would have become such a recognizable name in fantasy. It gave him enough of a foundation that he was given the opportunity to finish The Wheel of Time series following Robert Jordan’s death, something that further elevated his work. It also led to the greater Cosmere, which might not exist without it (and would certainly look quite different even if it did).
Mistborn’s Success Made Brandon Sanderson’s Entire Cosmere Possible
Fantasy readers would certainly be missing out without Mistborn: The Final Empire, as it’s a stunning addition to the genre, and so are its sequels. That’s reason to celebrate its anniversary as-is, but beyond that, the first novel made the rest of Sanderson’s Cosmere possible. It ensured he was an author that publishers would bet on, and it gave him experience to lean on while crafting future stories. Without Mistborn‘s success, there’s no telling what his lineup would look like or how large it would be.
More than that, Mistborn: The Final Empire also helped lay the foundations of the Cosmere. While Elantris also had a hand in this, Mistborn introduced more characters and concepts that would become central to the shared universe. Readers didn’t realize it at the time, of course, but it set the stage for what would come in The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn Era 2. Needless to say, we have a lot to thank the first Mistborn book for. That knowledge makes its anniversary even more important.
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