Brandon Sanderson Explains Why He Doesnt Write Abo...

What’s Happening

Alright so The best-selling fantasy author talks about his evolving relationship with the works of J.

With Brandon Sanderson now attracting even more attention beyond his loyal fan base than ever before— a headline-grabbing deal to adapt his works i nto films and series for Apple TV will have that effect—the author is now addressing a question hes been asked often throughout his publishing career, which kicked off in the early 2000s. Its this: why arent there elves and dwarves in his fantasy epics? (shocking, we know)

Sanderson took to his YouTube channel for his latest in his SanderFAQ video series (hat tip: Polygon ) to explain.

The Details

Basically, when he kicked off writing during his college and graduate school days, the fantasy genre was deep in Tolkiens shadow, probably even more than usual because of Peter Jacksons hugely successful Lord of the Rings films. And so, Sanderson noticed many other works that took inspiration from J.

In fact, as he recalls in the video, he was inspired at the time to write a controversial essay about how Tolkien ruined fantasy, a piece he now calls clickbaity in the days before we understood clickbait. ’ (Later in the video, he admits he now realizes he was also being a bit snobbish trying to tell people what they should and shouldnt enjoy.

Why This Matters

) Sanderson says hes readjusted that view and is even in the middle of a Tolkien revisit via the Andy Serkis-narrated audiobooks. But in the late 90s, Im like, Cant we get away from this? Fantasy should be the most imaginative genre.

Tech companies have been making moves like this as competition heats up.

Key Takeaways

• And even beyond that, If Im going to be doing fantastical creatures, I want to try and come up with my own.
• I want to have some new fantasy races that dont just feel like elves with another name or dwarves with another name.

The Bottom Line

And even beyond that, If Im going to be doing fantastical creatures, I want to try and come up with my own. I want to have some new fantasy races that dont just feel like elves with another name or dwarves with another name.

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