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Steelheart Chapter Sampler

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The first five chapters of Brandon's Sanderson's upcoming novel. Summary: At age eight, David watched as his father was killed by an Epic, a human with superhuman powers, and now, ten years later, he joins the Reckoners-the only people who are trying to kill the Epics and end their tyranny.

47 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2013

11 people are currently reading
325 people want to read

About the author

Brandon Sanderson

467 books276k followers
I’m Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.

Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, comes out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that will see the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and Secret Project Four (with its official title reveal coming October 2023). These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.

November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. The third era of Mistborn is slated to be written after the first arc of the Stormlight Archive wraps up.

In November 2020 we saw the release of Rhythm of War—the fourth massive book in the New York Times #1 bestselling Stormlight Archive series that began with The Way of Kings—and Dawnshard (book 3.5), a novella set in the same world that bridges the gaps between the main releases. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it’s the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. The fifth volume, Wind and Truth, is set for release in fall 2024.

Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, and various novellas available on Amazon, including The Emperor’s Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you’ve read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.

I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, come out in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.

Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the Legion series, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. There’s a lot of material to go around!

Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart,The Emperor’s Soul, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you’re already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.

I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.

Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com—and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Amber J..
78 reviews4 followers
September 7, 2013
WHY?! Why would you release an awesome teaser and get people hooked when the novel doesn't come out until like a month later? Who does that?!

*ugly cry*

I guess it's my fault for not paying attention to the release date when I downloaded this =(
(FYI: the audiobook version is grrreat!)

This is my first Brandon Sanderson experience so now I finally see what all the hype is about.

But I'm not sure what genre this falls into. The narrator is fairly young but I don't know if this is supposed to be YA/NA or just Adult Fiction. Also, there are dystopian/sci-fi/supernatural elements. There's a lot of killing and destruction, and there are superheroes, well, supervillains. It's pretty graphic - two words: . Yeah, that happens.

I need the answers to the mysteries:, and , and . And does anyone know how it would even be possible for someone to have a power that ?
I know I'm going to be going over theories in my head for the next 17 days. 17 DAYS?! *sigh*
Profile Image for Gregory.
8 reviews9 followers
August 27, 2013
I forgot I was reading a sampler, and when I turned the page and found no more story, I felt like an addict without a fix. This book cannot be released soon enough!
Profile Image for Lindsey.
7 reviews
June 25, 2017
Great series. Books that are exciting and suspenseful without being inappropriate.
Profile Image for Tetra.
856 reviews1 follower
December 6, 2019
Kind of a over used theory. It was ok but Im glad i checked it out at the Library. I dont think I would of picked it out myself but the librarian said it was a good book.
meh.
26 reviews1 follower
January 16, 2020
Even though I read Steelheart just last year and it’s one of my favorites I found that I didn’t remember the plot almost at all. Which made reading it kinda weird. It was almost like reading a new book but along the way I would remember what was happening. I also couldn’t remember the main ending where the main mystery is solved. At least the main question for me. So when I got to it I was like pleasantly surprised. But I think it was good that I read it again. There were parts where I felt like I’d never read it before. I don’t know if it’s just because I forgot, but I think I just zoned out at those parts the first time.
This book has a lot of crazy stuff going on. You got basically evil superheros and futuristic technology packed into one depressing dystopian world. But really you just have a good human story. One with a strong motivation, revenge. All through the book David wants revenge. But in the end I think he finds more than that. He kinda finds a purpose. He knows what he’s going to do with his life and he’s not just fixating on his thirst for revenge. And you also have lots of questions. Which I think make a good story. Who is this kid? How did his dad do that?(it would make sense if you read it). And loads more but I don’t wanna spoil anything. I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 and would highly recommend it.
Profile Image for Ariston.
54 reviews
November 14, 2013
Love Sanderson on this one... Very light-hearted, easy read for the teen crowd. If you're looking for something like that, I recommend.
Profile Image for Ahmed.
3 reviews1 follower
March 19, 2015
Interesting enough that I purchased the whole book
3 reviews6 followers
June 23, 2015
An interesting beginning. Definitely got me hooked on the series.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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