The ChasmFriends Get a Pet

Hoid's Storybook Collection

by Dan Wells, Anna Earley (Illustrator)

The Chasmfriends Get a Pet! These beloved characters from the Story Deck® at Dragonsteel Nexus 2024 are coming back for a brand new adventure. Now at home between the covers of their very own picture book, join the Chasmfriends as they frolic around the Crackity Plains.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Short Stories, Humor, Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Science Fiction Fantasy

47 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication December 1, 2026

About the author

Dan Wells is a thriller and science fiction writer. Born in Utah, he spent his early years reading and writing. He is he author of the Partials series (Partials, Isolation, Fragments, and Ruins), the John Cleaver series (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You), and a few others (The Hollow City, A Night of Blacker Darkness, etc). He was a Campbell nomine for best new writer, and has won a Hugo award for his work on the podcast Writing Excuses; the podcast is also a multiple winner of the Parsec Award.

Reviews

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is adorable and funny and my kids loved it! A whimsical little story about missteps trying to care for a human pet, even funnier given the context from adult novels from Sanderson.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the brightest, happiest, horror story I've ever read and perfectly on point for Dan Wells and bonus it's set in the Cosmere which means this book is perfection and my 5 year old loved it too.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ChasmFriends Get a Pet!, is a non-canonical picture book featuring a group of anthropomorphized chasmfiends from The Stormlight Archive. The short story features one of the friends having captured a “Shoutie”, aka a human, shows it off to his friends then how they interact with the “pet”. While the friends are enthusiastic about feeding, playing with, and doing other owner-pet things with the Shoutie, the poor human is perpetually scared for his life until the friends decide to return him to his kind, unfortunately they release him in the middle of a group of singers. Written by Dan Wells and brought to life by the artwork of Anna Earley, this fun little read is nice for all ages.

[Debby Tiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watched Sanderson reading this book on Youtube. This was, surprisingly, one of my favorites of these picture books

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first enjoyed this tale as part of “story deck”, the collectible cards that assemble into art on one side and a story on the other. This alternate perspective on the Stormlight archive is hilarious for a fan of the books, but was also a delight to my kids who took the story at face value. I’m sure my youngest was also swayed by the amazing plushie of the lead friend, Cleverclaws.

[Renée · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so adorable! Also, how bad is it if you relate so much to a character that only says "food" the entire book?

[Johanna · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Cute, Fun, and absolutely hilarious. Especially when the shouties all started to play sticks 😂😂

[Zeb Westrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A silly and rediculous book with cute, vibrant illustrations.
Every page is a chuckle.

[Bobby Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. Read it to the boys and we all loved it. The “FOOOOOD” statements got the biggest laughs.

[Michael Minson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I backed the Dragonsteel Backerkit for The Fires of December. It included 4 storybooks based on stories told by our friend Hoid in the Cosmere. My digital downloads became available today and I spent all day at work excited to read The Dog and The Dragon to my daughter tonight.

She chose The ChasmFriends Get a Pet.

Honestly, this book was so cute. Their little Gemhearts glowing and shining when they got happy or had a good idea was delightful. The personalities of all of them were also fun.

I loved seeing the little fear spren around the shoutie and all the little tidbits of lore only someone who has read Stormlight would pick up on.

My daughter was also really entertained by it. She loved looking at all the little expressions the shoutie would make as the ChasmFriends had another idea to make him happy.

This was a surprise for me all things considered. It was the book I was least excited to read with her (besides Wandersail because that’s a pretty hefty tale), and it ended up being so cute!

It’s a great little introduction to Stormlight for the young reader and I hope she’ll one day sit down and Kaladin on her own and experience everything else.

After we finished she asked if we could read The Dog and The Dragon and I told her tomorrow and she’s very excited about that too.

[Jai · Rating 2.25 out of 5]

This is clearly fan-service for readers of the Stormlight Archive, unfortunately, beyond the (truly vibrant and gorgeous) art, there is little this story accomplishes well (and is clearly the oddity in Hoid's Storybook collection - the only entry that is not written by Sanderson). The target audience, for an illustrated story with themes that might be intriguing for children (making new friends), contains "jokes" that unfortunately are largely outside of the scope (or seem nonsensical) to include in a children's book. The methods employed to make friends by the characters would additionally be concerning to be discussed with children. This might be worth owning for the highest tier Stormlight fans, but would still not be something to read to their young children.

[Randi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable and hilarious picture book that will be most appreciated by readers of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series, but can also be read to kiddos who do not know about Stormlight Archive and they'll enjoy the (mostly) lighthearted tale.

Be aware that there is a part where the chasmfriends try to feed a dead "shoutie" to their pet "shoutie" (human), though the pictures don't show anything too gruesome, just a skeleton. It's reminiscent of kids who try to keep a wild animal as a pet and don't know how to care for it. Funnier when you know what chasmfiends are from Stormlight Archive.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was written by Dan Wells and not Brandon Sanderson, but it is set in Sanderson's Cosmere. It was originally released as part of a game, or fan engagement activity at the Dragonsteel convention in 2024. It is a humorous story from the Chasmfiends perspective. It is a play on words with ChasmFriend and ChasmFiend. It tells the story of a language barrier between the people of Roshar and the Chasmfriends. A couple of the jokes will not land if you have not read The Way of Kings.

I received this book as part of a Backerkit campaign.

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

so this was cute, but im kind of disappointed. i was expecting a book that would be suitable for children. instead, it's a book with fun references to the adult fantasy series it's based on, dressed up as a children's book. i think it relies on references to the main books to the point i wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless they've read the Way of Kings... which is a very weird thing to say about a children's picture book. again, it was a fun surprise (especially the dark comedy bits), but it wasn't the cosmere children's book i was hoping for.

[Tom Wheddon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Earley’s art here adds a pop of light colour to a story which warrants just that. The expressions on the little man (sorry, Shoutie) and the designs and dynamic movements of the chasmfiends (sorry ChasmFriends) really shape the story into the fun silly tale it is. The irony etched throughout is classic tongue in cheek Sanderson.

Of the books in the collection I got through the Backerkit I almost didn’t read this one. I am very glad I did, I will now proceed to read it to my niece, my nephew and hopefully, one day, my own child.

[Danielle T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is *adorable* and probably my favorite of the four (and most likely the one my kid will like the most, but we'll see). Originally one of the StoryDeck stories (Elsecaller / King Lopen the First of Alethkar are the other two, though I've yet to get around to them), it's nice to have it publicly released. Very cute.

[Marizabeth Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I didn't know I needed a cute bunch of Chasmfiends just being adorable to each other and trying hard to make a human happy...even though the human (Shoutie) was scared shitless lol. The illustrations are hilarious sometimes (especially when you see skeletons of dead Shouties laying around lol). And from now on I'm saying "Crackity Plains" instead of "Shattered Plains" hahaha.

[Lady Katie · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Of all the stories in the Stormlight Lost Tales Story Decks, this one is my favorite.
Now, this book is nothing but silliness. It's cute. It's fun, and it's a barrel of laughs.
It's highly entertaining, and Anna Early did a fantastic job on the art!
The first time you pick up this story, you'll be immediately captivated by the characters (who are fearsome creatures turned adorable) and the ridiculous story.
And as they say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

[Happy Cake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I was so exited to recieve these email yesterday! I'm so glad we supported the kickstarter. Such a cute book! I can't wait to see it as a physical copy! It put a smile on my face almost immediately! And I'm sure when the shipment arrives, I'll reread it aver and aver again. The artwork is amasing! Anna Earley did absolutely specacular. And Dan's writing was so charming!

[Enci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO STINKING CUUUUUTE OMG

I loved this with all my heart and it truly felt like a little children's book that could be read to the children of Roshar - or even to a any kid here, really, in our world. It was sweet, it was thoughtful, it was cheeky, it was just fun.

Loving the Hoid Storybook Collection a ton!

[Nichol Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for those kids who keep bringing home "lost pets." This is also great if your an adult that has read the "Stormlight Archives" and have a sense of humor. The pictures are beautifully illustrated. The story is fun and light hearted with dialogue to amuse children and adults, doesn't matter if you have read "Stormlight Archives" or not, you WILL enjoy this book.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was both ironically funny and a little twisted at the same time. A group of chasmfiends catch a soldier and play with the terrified human, each attempt to cheer him up causing him even more terror and trauma. There's some good Easter Eggs for veterans of Roshar books here, and the artwork is fantastic. Well done.

[Nichol Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is your child always bringing home those lost pets? This story is perfect for them. Light hearted and full of humor, weather your a fan of "Stormlight Archive" or have yet to read it, this book is perfect for you and your kids if you have too.

[Dustin (dragonarmybooks) · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Earley's artwork shines. Dan's writing suffices. Sanderson's world remains supreme.

This was a fun little adventure from the perspective of a group of friendly chasmfiends exploring ways to make their unhappy pet human happy. There is a fairly gruesome moment in here that I think kids would pick up on. And there needs to be justice for Darren, who was just a throwaway fiend. But it was still an enjoyable read, just not one I'm likely to come back to as often as some of the others.

[Joshua Botelho · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really cute book! Kids get to take it at face value and the story is fun and cute. Adults get to look a bit deeper into the absurd and scary situation the "pet" has got himself into. Artwork is very bright and colourful and this was a fantastic picture book.

[Jude Morrissey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun! It could be a great story for that kid who always wants to adopt little wild creatures, although the end is...well, pretty accurate for that kind of occasion too, honestly. At any rate, loads of fun, great artwork, and highly recommended!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun kids book. Some light lessons in there but more of a "that's kinda funny" book. The world was somewhat easy to grasp for my 4 year old, considering the context and lore behind it. She loved the gemhearts!

[Emily Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious story told from the viewpoint of the chasm fiends with awesome artwork.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited when my digital rewards came through from the latest Sanderson Secret Project. Although I was looking forward to the main book I think the thing I was really excited for was the four picture books as it was something so different.
This book tells the story of a group of Chasmfriends who find a 'shoutie', keep him as a pet and try to cheer him up. This is the most traditional children's story of the four books. The art work is simple but very colourful and fun. The story is sweet and made me thing of how kids play with insects and small animals. It could be used to teach about how to treat animals nicely and to leave them to nature. This was such a fun read and my nephew loved it.

#SeptemberShorts

[Adam Fisher]

AWWW this was cute. Giant chasmfiends on Roshar find a human and try to be friends.

This one had to be written for Sanderson's kids.