The #1 New York Times bestseller from Brandon Sanderson, the author of Oathbringer , coauthor of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn trilogy. And don’t miss the rest of the Reckoners series: Firefight and Calamity.
How far would you go for revenge if someone killed your father? If someone destroyed your city? If everything you ever loved was taken from you? David Charleston will go to any lengths to stop Steelheart. But to exact revenge in Steelheart’s world, David will need the Reckoners—a shadowy group of rebels bent on maintaining justice. And it turns out that the Reckoners might just need David too. Look for book two in the Reckoners series, Firefight , available now.
Praise for the Reckoners series
#1 New York Times Bestselling Series
“ Another win for Sanderson . . . he’s simply a brilliant writer. Period.” —Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind
“ Action-packed. ” —EW.com
“ Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store.” — The A.V. Club
Amazon.com Review
Q&A with Brandon Sanderson (Interviewed by James Dashner)
Q. Brandon, you’re perhaps best known for your adult books— Mistborn , The Way of Kings , and particularly for finishing Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. However, recently you’ve undertaken several projects for younger readers. Why is that? How does it feel to be entering into the world of YA fiction? How does it differ from writing for an adult audience? How do you possibly think you can compete with your friend, James Dashner?
A. I've known this guy James Dashner for so long, and he was such an inspiration to me, and I thought, if this joker can do it, then I can too! The sci-fi/fantasy genre is what made a reader out of me, and it has a long history of crossing the line between YA and adult fiction. For example, you mentioned The Wheel of Time. In the early books, the main protagonists are all teenagers. Are these books YA? The publishers don't classify them that way. They’re shelved with the adult fantasy books. Books like that have influenced me in that some of the stories I tell fit into the mold that society says will package well as YA books. Other stories I tell—that are a thousand pages long—don’t seem to fit that mold. But I don’t sit down and say, “I’m writing for a teen audience now. I need to change my entire style.” Instead, I say, “This project and the way I’m writing it feels like it would work well for a teen audience.”
Q. In previous interviews, you’ve mentioned that you come up with characters, worlds, and magic systems independently and then fit them together to create a book. How is that different when writing a YA book like Steelheart ? Are certain worlds or magic systems more suitable for YA readers? And how in the world did you get so smart?
A. Ha! I do a lot of talking about the process of writing. That makes it sound like I’m doing it more consciously than I am, but at this point I do most of it by instinct. I do take things like characters, settings, and magic systems—all these little fragments and pieces—and put them together into stories. Whether I’m writing YA or adult, this process doesn’t vary. Some of these elements feel better suited for a teen audience, so when everything starts coming together as it does when a book is forming for me, some stories naturally gravitate toward YA. To me Steelheart is distinctive because it was one of those stories where all the elements came together at the same time. Once I got the idea—people gaining super powers but only evil people getting them—the story basically started to write itself in my head. It happened during a four-hour drive along the East Coast, where by the end of it, I basically had this entire story. I knew where it was going, and I was really excited to write it. That's rare for me, but sometimes it does happen where everything clicks right at the beginning.
Q. Can you give us a sense of the world in which Steelheart takes place? Why do you think this world worked well for these particular characters?
A. Technically, Steelheart is set in a post-apocalyptic world where super villains gained powers and took over. I wanted it to feel alien and familiar at the same time and to be very visual. So I wrote it to be kind of like an action movie in book form. One of my catchphrases that I use when talking about writing is ”Err on the side of awesomeness.” So I wanted the setting and feel of the book to be visually distinctive and awesome.
When I designed Steelheart , the emperor of Chicago, I wanted him to have the power of transmutation—he turns things into steel. The idea that, in a burst of power, he turned the entire city—and even part of the lake—into steel was fascinating to me. This renders a lot of things useless. When your streetlights and all their wiring have been turned into steel, everything short circuits and doesn’t work anymore. You can’t get into buildings because their doors and windows have been melded together. The whole city has become a shell—like the husk of a dead beetle—and people have built on top of it. It’s always perpetual twilight there, so we’ve got this cool feel of everything being steel at night.
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
From Booklist
Starred Review From the day eight-year-old David Charleston watched Steelheart gun down his father, he has vowed revenge. All Epics are powerful—Steelheart the most invincible of all—but each has a weakness, and David thinks he has found Steelheart’s: he has seen him bleed. Now 10 years later, with this experience and years of studying each Epic’s patterns and weaknesses, David worms his way into the Reckoners, a courageous group determined to take down Epics in an attempt to return the Fractured States to some semblance of normalcy. Sanderson has written a riveting dystopian adventure novel replete with awesome tech tools: pen detonators, gauss guns, gravitronic motorcycles, mobiles (smart phones on steroids), and tensor gloves to tunnel through steel. Each Reckoner has his or her own talents: Tia, research and planning; Cody, intelligent grunt work and comic relief; Abraham, weapons and ammunition; and Prof, leader and prime inventor-scientist. Oh, and there’s Megan, new girl with an attitude—especially when it comes to David’s relentless pressure on the Reckoners to stay in Newcago and kill Steelheart. Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high-intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance—it’s a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after another, and then, at the strange and marginally hopeful conclusion, leaves them panting for the sequel, Firefight, due in 2014. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A multiplatform marketing campaign, with promotions happening every month in 2013 leading up to the pub date, has already kicked into high gear for New York Times best-selling Sanderson’s latest. Grades 8-12. --Frances Bradburn --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
From School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up—After the appearance of Calamity, a mysterious celestial force, ordinary humans began to exhibit superhuman powers. They became known as Epics and used their powers to control others. When David was eight years old, he witnessed his father's ruthless murder at the hand of Steelheart, one of the most powerful Epics in the world. Ten years later, David lives in Newcago (once Chicago) under the tyrannical rule of Steelheart and his inner circle of Epics. David has spent the last decade researching everything he can about Epics: their habits, their powers, and their weaknesses. He wants to join the Reckoners, a secretive group of humans dedicated to killing Epics, and convince them to take on Steelheart. However, even after all his study, David has not figured out the seemingly invincible Epic's weakness-without that knowledge, his plan for revenge cannot succeed. MacLeod Andrews's understated performance of the first-person narration is highly effective and makes the engaging action scenes stand out in contrast. He transitions easily among characters who vary in age, background, and status within the world of humans and Epics. Revelations in the climactic battle add layers and substance to the story, and listeners will look forward to more in future installments.—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
About the Author
Brandon Sanderson is the author of the internationally best- selling Mistborn trilogy, and he was chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. His books have been published in more than twenty-five languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. He lives and writes in Utah. To learn more about Brandon and his books, visit him at brandonsanderson.com. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
An Instant #1 "New York Times" Bestseller An ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book An ALA-YALSA Teens' Top Ten Book An IRA Young Adults' Choice An Amazon Best Book of the Year
[STAR] "Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance; it's a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after the other, and then...leaves them panting for the sequel."--"Booklist", Starred
"The near-constant action, Sanderson's whiz-bang imaginings, and a fully realized sense of danger... make this an absolute page-turner."--"Publisher's Weekly"
"Perfect for genre fans who love exciting adventure stories with surprising plot twists."--"School Library Journal" " " "A straight-up Marvel Comics-style action drama featuring a small band of human assassins taking on costumed, superpowered supervillains with melodramatic monikers."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Fantastic! The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive, with a resolution that I'll be thinking about for a long time." --James Dashner, "New York Times" bestselling author of the Maze Runner series and The Eye of Minds
"Unfortunately for my ego, Steelheart is another win for Sanderson, proving that he's not a brilliant writer of epic fantasy, he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the "New York Times" and "USA Today" bestseller The Name of the Wind
"From the Hardcover edition."
[STAR] "Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance; it's a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after the other, and then...leaves them panting for the sequel."--"Booklist", Starred
"The near-constant action, Sanderson's whiz-bang imaginings, and a fully realized sense of danger... make this an absolute page-turner."--"Publisher's Weekly"
"Perfect for genre fans who love exciting adventure stories with surprising plot twists."--"School Library Journal" " " "A straight-up Marvel Comics-style action drama featuring a small band of human assassins taking on costumed, superpowered supervillains with melodramatic monikers."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Fantastic! The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive, with a resolution that I'll be thinking about for a long time." --James Dashner, "New York Times" bestselling author of the Maze Runner series and The Eye of Minds
"Unfortunately for my ego, Steelheart is another win for Sanderson, proving that he's not a brilliant writer of epic fantasy, he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the "New York Times" and "USA Today" bestseller The Name of the Wind
"From the Hardcover edition."
[Star] "Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance; it's a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after the other, and then...leaves them panting for the sequel."--"Booklist"
"The near-constant action, Sanderson's whiz-bang imaginings, and a fully realized sense of danger... make this an absolute page-turner."--"Publisher's Weekly"
"Perfect for genre fans who love exciting adventure stories with surprising plot twists."--"School Library Journal" " " "A straight-up Marvel Comics-style action drama featuring a small band of human assassins taking on costumed, superpowered supervillains with melodramatic monikers."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Fantastic! The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive, with a resolution that I'll be thinking about for a long time." --James Dashner, "New York Times" bestselling author of the Maze Runner series and The Eye of Minds
"Unfortunately for my ego, Steelheart is another win for Sanderson, proving that he's not a brilliant writer of epic fantasy, he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the "New York Times" and "USA Today" bestseller The Name of the Wind
"From the Hardcover edition."
Starred Review, Booklist, September 1, 2013: "Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance; it's a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after the other, and then, at the strange and marginally hopeful conclusion, leaves them panting for the sequel, "Firefight", due in 2014." --This text refers to the library edition.
Description:
The #1 New York Times bestseller from Brandon Sanderson, the author of Oathbringer , coauthor of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn trilogy. And don’t miss the rest of the Reckoners series: Firefight and Calamity.
How far would you go for revenge if someone killed your father?
If someone destroyed your city?
If everything you ever loved was taken from you?
David Charleston will go to any lengths to stop Steelheart. But to exact revenge in Steelheart’s world, David will need the Reckoners—a shadowy group of rebels bent on maintaining justice.
And it turns out that the Reckoners might just need David too.
Look for book two in the Reckoners series, Firefight , available now.
Praise for the Reckoners series
#1 New York Times Bestselling Series
“ Another win for Sanderson . . . he’s simply a brilliant writer. Period.” —Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind
“ Action-packed. ” —EW.com
“ Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store.” — The A.V. Club
Amazon.com Review
Q&A with Brandon Sanderson (Interviewed by James Dashner)
Q. Brandon, you’re perhaps best known for your adult books— Mistborn , The Way of Kings , and particularly for finishing Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. However, recently you’ve undertaken several projects for younger readers. Why is that? How does it feel to be entering into the world of YA fiction? How does it differ from writing for an adult audience? How do you possibly think you can compete with your friend, James Dashner?
A. I've known this guy James Dashner for so long, and he was such an inspiration to me, and I thought, if this joker can do it, then I can too! The sci-fi/fantasy genre is what made a reader out of me, and it has a long history of crossing the line between YA and adult fiction. For example, you mentioned The Wheel of Time. In the early books, the main protagonists are all teenagers. Are these books YA? The publishers don't classify them that way. They’re shelved with the adult fantasy books. Books like that have influenced me in that some of the stories I tell fit into the mold that society says will package well as YA books. Other stories I tell—that are a thousand pages long—don’t seem to fit that mold. But I don’t sit down and say, “I’m writing for a teen audience now. I need to change my entire style.” Instead, I say, “This project and the way I’m writing it feels like it would work well for a teen audience.”
Q. In previous interviews, you’ve mentioned that you come up with characters, worlds, and magic systems independently and then fit them together to create a book. How is that different when writing a YA book like Steelheart ? Are certain worlds or magic systems more suitable for YA readers? And how in the world did you get so smart?
A. Ha! I do a lot of talking about the process of writing. That makes it sound like I’m doing it more consciously than I am, but at this point I do most of it by instinct. I do take things like characters, settings, and magic systems—all these little fragments and pieces—and put them together into stories. Whether I’m writing YA or adult, this process doesn’t vary. Some of these elements feel better suited for a teen audience, so when everything starts coming together as it does when a book is forming for me, some stories naturally gravitate toward YA. To me Steelheart is distinctive because it was one of those stories where all the elements came together at the same time. Once I got the idea—people gaining super powers but only evil people getting them—the story basically started to write itself in my head. It happened during a four-hour drive along the East Coast, where by the end of it, I basically had this entire story. I knew where it was going, and I was really excited to write it. That's rare for me, but sometimes it does happen where everything clicks right at the beginning.
Q. Can you give us a sense of the world in which Steelheart takes place? Why do you think this world worked well for these particular characters?
A. Technically, Steelheart is set in a post-apocalyptic world where super villains gained powers and took over. I wanted it to feel alien and familiar at the same time and to be very visual. So I wrote it to be kind of like an action movie in book form. One of my catchphrases that I use when talking about writing is ”Err on the side of awesomeness.” So I wanted the setting and feel of the book to be visually distinctive and awesome.
When I designed Steelheart , the emperor of Chicago, I wanted him to have the power of transmutation—he turns things into steel. The idea that, in a burst of power, he turned the entire city—and even part of the lake—into steel was fascinating to me. This renders a lot of things useless. When your streetlights and all their wiring have been turned into steel, everything short circuits and doesn’t work anymore. You can’t get into buildings because their doors and windows have been melded together. The whole city has become a shell—like the husk of a dead beetle—and people have built on top of it. It’s always perpetual twilight there, so we’ve got this cool feel of everything being steel at night.
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
From Booklist
Starred Review From the day eight-year-old David Charleston watched Steelheart gun down his father, he has vowed revenge. All Epics are powerful—Steelheart the most invincible of all—but each has a weakness, and David thinks he has found Steelheart’s: he has seen him bleed. Now 10 years later, with this experience and years of studying each Epic’s patterns and weaknesses, David worms his way into the Reckoners, a courageous group determined to take down Epics in an attempt to return the Fractured States to some semblance of normalcy. Sanderson has written a riveting dystopian adventure novel replete with awesome tech tools: pen detonators, gauss guns, gravitronic motorcycles, mobiles (smart phones on steroids), and tensor gloves to tunnel through steel. Each Reckoner has his or her own talents: Tia, research and planning; Cody, intelligent grunt work and comic relief; Abraham, weapons and ammunition; and Prof, leader and prime inventor-scientist. Oh, and there’s Megan, new girl with an attitude—especially when it comes to David’s relentless pressure on the Reckoners to stay in Newcago and kill Steelheart. Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high-intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance—it’s a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after another, and then, at the strange and marginally hopeful conclusion, leaves them panting for the sequel, Firefight, due in 2014. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A multiplatform marketing campaign, with promotions happening every month in 2013 leading up to the pub date, has already kicked into high gear for New York Times best-selling Sanderson’s latest. Grades 8-12. --Frances Bradburn --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
From School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up—After the appearance of Calamity, a mysterious celestial force, ordinary humans began to exhibit superhuman powers. They became known as Epics and used their powers to control others. When David was eight years old, he witnessed his father's ruthless murder at the hand of Steelheart, one of the most powerful Epics in the world. Ten years later, David lives in Newcago (once Chicago) under the tyrannical rule of Steelheart and his inner circle of Epics. David has spent the last decade researching everything he can about Epics: their habits, their powers, and their weaknesses. He wants to join the Reckoners, a secretive group of humans dedicated to killing Epics, and convince them to take on Steelheart. However, even after all his study, David has not figured out the seemingly invincible Epic's weakness-without that knowledge, his plan for revenge cannot succeed. MacLeod Andrews's understated performance of the first-person narration is highly effective and makes the engaging action scenes stand out in contrast. He transitions easily among characters who vary in age, background, and status within the world of humans and Epics. Revelations in the climactic battle add layers and substance to the story, and listeners will look forward to more in future installments.—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
About the Author
Brandon Sanderson is the author of the internationally best- selling Mistborn trilogy, and he was chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. His books have been published in more than twenty-five languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. He lives and writes in Utah. To learn more about Brandon and his books, visit him at brandonsanderson.com. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
An Instant #1 "New York Times" Bestseller
An ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book
An ALA-YALSA Teens' Top Ten Book
An IRA Young Adults' Choice
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
[STAR] "Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance; it's a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after the other, and then...leaves them panting for the sequel."--"Booklist", Starred
"The near-constant action, Sanderson's whiz-bang imaginings, and a fully realized sense of danger... make this an absolute page-turner."--"Publisher's Weekly"
"Perfect for genre fans who love exciting adventure stories with surprising plot twists."--"School Library Journal"
" "
"A straight-up Marvel Comics-style action drama featuring a small band of human assassins taking on costumed, superpowered supervillains with melodramatic monikers."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Fantastic! The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive, with a resolution that I'll be thinking about for a long time." --James Dashner, "New York Times" bestselling author of the Maze Runner series and The Eye of Minds
"Unfortunately for my ego, Steelheart is another win for Sanderson, proving that he's not a brilliant writer of epic fantasy, he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the "New York Times" and "USA Today" bestseller The Name of the Wind
"From the Hardcover edition."
[STAR] "Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance; it's a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after the other, and then...leaves them panting for the sequel."--"Booklist", Starred
"The near-constant action, Sanderson's whiz-bang imaginings, and a fully realized sense of danger... make this an absolute page-turner."--"Publisher's Weekly"
"Perfect for genre fans who love exciting adventure stories with surprising plot twists."--"School Library Journal"
" "
"A straight-up Marvel Comics-style action drama featuring a small band of human assassins taking on costumed, superpowered supervillains with melodramatic monikers."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Fantastic! The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive, with a resolution that I'll be thinking about for a long time." --James Dashner, "New York Times" bestselling author of the Maze Runner series and The Eye of Minds
"Unfortunately for my ego, Steelheart is another win for Sanderson, proving that he's not a brilliant writer of epic fantasy, he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the "New York Times" and "USA Today" bestseller The Name of the Wind
"From the Hardcover edition."
[Star] "Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance; it's a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after the other, and then...leaves them panting for the sequel."--"Booklist"
"The near-constant action, Sanderson's whiz-bang imaginings, and a fully realized sense of danger... make this an absolute page-turner."--"Publisher's Weekly"
"Perfect for genre fans who love exciting adventure stories with surprising plot twists."--"School Library Journal"
" "
"A straight-up Marvel Comics-style action drama featuring a small band of human assassins taking on costumed, superpowered supervillains with melodramatic monikers."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Fantastic! The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive, with a resolution that I'll be thinking about for a long time." --James Dashner, "New York Times" bestselling author of the Maze Runner series and The Eye of Minds
"Unfortunately for my ego, Steelheart is another win for Sanderson, proving that he's not a brilliant writer of epic fantasy, he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the "New York Times" and "USA Today" bestseller The Name of the Wind
"From the Hardcover edition."
Starred Review, Booklist, September 1, 2013:
"Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance; it's a formula that sucks readers into the prologue, slings them through one tension-filled encounter after the other, and then, at the strange and marginally hopeful conclusion, leaves them panting for the sequel, "Firefight", due in 2014." --This text refers to the library edition.