Last night was the midnight release of Oathbringer, book three in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive. As fortune would have it, I live a mere five minutes away from where it was being held. So, naturally, I attended.
The place was crawling with cosmere enthusiasts and all-out super fans alike. My wife came with me for the first hour before having to pick up the kids from a baby sitter and get them to bed, so after that it was just me. But I had a great time nonetheless.
There was a scavenger hunt in which we had to find locations and people from Roshar (the world in which Oathbringer is set), quizzes, and a presentation and Q&A by Brandon Sanderson himself. I love hearing him speak; everything he says seems to resonate with me as a reader, a writer, or both. He also did a reading from his “Secret Project” (now no longer secret), which was amazing. It was just the first draft of the prologue, but it was brilliant, and I’m excited to read the full book once it’s released (whenever that may be). It’s called Skyward, and seems to be a sci-fi book, possibly YA. I’ll be following the progress on that one with great interest.
We were allowed to pick up our books (pre-ordered) at 10:00 p.m., and as mine was #152, I didn’t have to wait very long (there were thousands of numbered books). The wait came after I got my book, however.
I waited in line until after 1:00 a.m., after which it was finally my turn to have Brandon personalize my book. He did, writing in my name, along with the phrase, “Journey before destination,” one of the core ideals of the Knights Radiant. I had my picture taken with him and talked to him briefly about his writing class, which I’d love to take. While that may not be very likely at this time, it’s something I plan to find a way to do.
In the end, it was an amazingly fun night with thousands of fellow Sanderson fans. I’m exhausted beyond belief now (something about waking up to go to work the next morning…), but I’m pleased to finally have Oathbringer. (I’ve only read the prologue thus far, and, well, it’s great.)