Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Brandon Sanderson, Comics, Cosmere, dynamite, entertainment, Julius Gopez, Rik Hoskin, White Sand

Brandon Sanderson's White Sand – 24 Trades Of Christmas

As it is December first and thought go to the holiday season and gift shopping, I thought I would kick off a 24 Trades of Christmas series, pointing out graphic novels and collections that might being smiles to the faces of those you are buying for.

I'm kicking this off with one of the best selling graphic novels of the summer, Brandon Sanderson's White Sand. Sanderson is a well known author that has not only created his own universe of stories called the Cosmere, but also wrote the last three books in the Wheel of Time series started by the late Robert Jordan.

Sanderson's novel, Mistborn, introduces readers to a world where there are a handful of people who can tap into powers through the use of metal. Each metal having a unique power and most of those who can access it can only access one power. Then there are the Mistborn who can access all the powers from all the different metals. Sanderson's description of the powers and how they work is one of the things that make his book series stand out.

In June of this year, Sanderson worked with writer Rik Hoskin and artist Julius Gopez to create the first of three graphic novels that exist in the Cosmere.

It tells the story of a desert world called Taldain, where a young man named Kenton has spent his life training to become a Sand Mage. The odds were against him as his connection to the sand was deemed as weak by the man who decided who would be trained… Kenton's own father. But Kenton's strength and determination pushes him forward and he's about to reach his dreams when a surprise attack leaves his brethren dead… making him the only Sand Mage left and putting the burden on him to keep the Order of the Sand Mages alive and find out who betrayed them.

White Sand will make you think a bit about Dune while you are reading it and not just because of the sand. This is a science fiction / fantasy with a heavy dose of political intrigue. Everyone in the story has an agenda and keeping track of them all is half the fun. Once again Sanderson brings a unique take on what would basically be super powers. How the Sand Mages work is clever and unique. Sanderson looks at powers from a logical and scientific view point, figuring out how the abilities work and making it a fundamental part of the story.

White Sand is a well written, well drawn graph novel that would appeal to fans of Sanderson, of books like Dune and is a good entry point for folks that tend to stick to prose and turn their nose up at comics. I used this very trade as a gift for a Sanderson fan who wasn't interested in reading comics. Next it will be the Dresden Files trades… Plus, this is the first of three graphic novels being published by Dynamite Entertainment, so you buy this as a gift, you likely know what to get them for their birthday next year.

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