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Riftwake #1
Blightfall
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jan 79From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson comes the first book in a new, high-flying trilogy featuring the legendary Skyward Flight as they undertake a deadly intergalactic mission to explore a mysterious alien world.
After decades of war against alien oppressors, the humans of the Defiant Defense Force are finally free. Yet for Arturo Mendez, leader of Skyward Flight, freedom isn’t what he thought it would be.
His first postwar assignment seems simple: The DDF has found evidence of other settlements of humans who were isolated during their long war against the aliens, and Arturo and his flight of pilots are to escort a team of diplomats as they attempt to make contact. It’s an easy mission—get in, guard the diplomats, and get out.
But no element of this mission turns out to be simple. Blightfall is inhospitable, surrounded by mysterious debris and covered in giant, invasive forests that have swallowed most of the planet. Upon arrival, Arturo’s team is attacked, and it quickly becomes clear that this human settlement isn’t what it appears to be.
Now trapped in an unfamiliar world and unsure who to trust, Arturo and his team must find allies and uncover long-buried secrets if they hope to escape and return home.
After decades of war against alien oppressors, the humans of the Defiant Defense Force are finally free. Yet for Arturo Mendez, leader of Skyward Flight, freedom isn’t what he thought it would be.
His first postwar assignment seems simple: The DDF has found evidence of other settlements of humans who were isolated during their long war against the aliens, and Arturo and his flight of pilots are to escort a team of diplomats as they attempt to make contact. It’s an easy mission—get in, guard the diplomats, and get out.
But no element of this mission turns out to be simple. Blightfall is inhospitable, surrounded by mysterious debris and covered in giant, invasive forests that have swallowed most of the planet. Upon arrival, Arturo’s team is attacked, and it quickly becomes clear that this human settlement isn’t what it appears to be.
Now trapped in an unfamiliar world and unsure who to trust, Arturo and his team must find allies and uncover long-buried secrets if they hope to escape and return home.
496 pages, Library Binding
Expected publication September 1, 2026
About the author
Brandon Sanderson
399 books290k followersI’m Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.
The release of Wind and Truth in December 2024—the fifth and final book in the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive series—marks a significant milestone for me. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it’s the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. Now is a great time to get into the Stormlight Archive since the first arc, which begins with Way of Kings, is complete.
During our crowdfunding campaign for the leatherbound edition of Words of Radiance, I announced a fifth Secret Project called Isles of the Emberdark, which came out in the summer of 2025. Coming December 2025 is Tailored Realities, my non-Cosmere short story collection featuring the new novella Moment Zero.
Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, came out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that saw the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man. These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.
November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. Now that the first arc of the Stormlight Archive is wrapped up, I’ve started writing the third era of Mistborn in 2025.
Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, four of the five Secret Projects, and various novellas, including The Emperor’s Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you’ve read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.
I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, released in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.
Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the three stories in Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. These two novellas are also featured in 2025’s Tailored Realities. There’s a lot of material to go around!
Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart, The Emperor’s Soul, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you’re already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.
I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.
Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com—and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.
The release of Wind and Truth in December 2024—the fifth and final book in the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive series—marks a significant milestone for me. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it’s the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. Now is a great time to get into the Stormlight Archive since the first arc, which begins with Way of Kings, is complete.
During our crowdfunding campaign for the leatherbound edition of Words of Radiance, I announced a fifth Secret Project called Isles of the Emberdark, which came out in the summer of 2025. Coming December 2025 is Tailored Realities, my non-Cosmere short story collection featuring the new novella Moment Zero.
Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, came out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that saw the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man. These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.
November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. Now that the first arc of the Stormlight Archive is wrapped up, I’ve started writing the third era of Mistborn in 2025.
Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, four of the five Secret Projects, and various novellas, including The Emperor’s Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you’ve read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.
I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, released in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.
Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the three stories in Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. These two novellas are also featured in 2025’s Tailored Realities. There’s a lot of material to go around!
Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart, The Emperor’s Soul, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you’re already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.
I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.
Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com—and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Want to Read
January 24, 2026╰┈➤ Pre-Release
I’m actually so so so excited for this 🤩 The Skyward series is one of my favorites ever, and I’m so interested to see what this series holds.
I’m actually so so so excited for this 🤩 The Skyward series is one of my favorites ever, and I’m so interested to see what this series holds.
Want to Read
March 25, 2026Skyward was the series that got me to read again after not reading for ~6 years. It's just that good! It got me totally hooked, and reading became one of my main hobbies again.
Sooo excited for this next series! Can't wait to go back into this world that gave me back my love for reading 😊
Sooo excited for this next series! Can't wait to go back into this world that gave me back my love for reading 😊
Want to Read
March 23, 2026I am hoping Janci grows Riftwake with her audience. I felt like mental health was not treated authentically in Evershore and Defiant. If you're going to portray characters like Jorgen with massive PTSD, grief, and emotional instability, then you can't have them "fail upwards" or consistently avoid death (because the enemy is very accommodating and incompetent) in combat situations and during war; that’s like having your cake and eating it too. It's one thing to try and create a realistic portrayal of these PTSD mental loops, but if you never follow through in a truthful way, it starts to look like a caricature.
The failing upwards in Evershore was ridiculous too - Jorgen is shut down and in his own head, grieving and suffering from massive PTSD - being extremely reckless in combat, trying his new mind blades without shields in his cockpit, etc. - only to become vice-admiral and become temporary leader of Detritus. Like what? Odds of survival = 0% in reality.
I am also hoping this series lays off the navel-gazing. Evershore was extremely guilty of this. There are at least four chapters where Jorgen is mostly just in his head - like multiple 20 minute chapters via audiobook - and then two more chapters almost entirely dedicated to "therapy speak" sessions between characters, as if the goal of the book were simply to spread the message of mental health. The enemy was very accommodating while one of them was happening too. Evershore didn't actually get going until Chapter 16 (out of 21 Chapters). I cannot read an entire novel written like that.
Because of this, I am definitely holding out on Blightfall until I can ask people what is actually in the book. This is a sci-fi series; it should be about ideas, solving problems in new ways, and action. I just hope the balance is right this time because I feel like the series went off the rails in Evershore. And then when you read Defiant, you realize no character development happened because Jorgen was still suffering PTSD, grief and leadership pressures. I just don't think this series handled mental health and emotional character arcs well (not that it was a requirement - not every novel/series needs it, but if you're going to do it, do it well).
The failing upwards in Evershore was ridiculous too - Jorgen is shut down and in his own head, grieving and suffering from massive PTSD - being extremely reckless in combat, trying his new mind blades without shields in his cockpit, etc. - only to become vice-admiral and become temporary leader of Detritus. Like what? Odds of survival = 0% in reality.
I am also hoping this series lays off the navel-gazing. Evershore was extremely guilty of this. There are at least four chapters where Jorgen is mostly just in his head - like multiple 20 minute chapters via audiobook - and then two more chapters almost entirely dedicated to "therapy speak" sessions between characters, as if the goal of the book were simply to spread the message of mental health. The enemy was very accommodating while one of them was happening too. Evershore didn't actually get going until Chapter 16 (out of 21 Chapters). I cannot read an entire novel written like that.
Because of this, I am definitely holding out on Blightfall until I can ask people what is actually in the book. This is a sci-fi series; it should be about ideas, solving problems in new ways, and action. I just hope the balance is right this time because I feel like the series went off the rails in Evershore. And then when you read Defiant, you realize no character development happened because Jorgen was still suffering PTSD, grief and leadership pressures. I just don't think this series handled mental health and emotional character arcs well (not that it was a requirement - not every novel/series needs it, but if you're going to do it, do it well).
May 4, 2026
Review of Advance Readers Copy (Netgalley)
I loved the Skyward series and was a little skeptical of what else could be added to it. I was wrong. This book pulled me in right from the start. All in all a great adventure for some of the beloved Skyward characters, getting to know some more than the past books allowed and a few great new characters as well.
I really enjoyed this book and think Janci Patterson did an incredible job!
I loved the Skyward series and was a little skeptical of what else could be added to it. I was wrong. This book pulled me in right from the start. All in all a great adventure for some of the beloved Skyward characters, getting to know some more than the past books allowed and a few great new characters as well.
I really enjoyed this book and think Janci Patterson did an incredible job!
Want to Read
December 19, 2025The Skyward Saga is one of Sanderson's better works, with Janci Paterson proving to be a very talented author in her supporting role.
Go to the Coppermind Wiki to get a summary ... per Sanderson this is Book #1 of at least a 3-book series. Blightfall is due out in early 2026, while he indicates Book #2 Songrise may be out later in 2026.
Note on Janci Paterson ... she also writes as part of Cara Witter .. The 5-Lands Saga
Go to the Coppermind Wiki to get a summary ... per Sanderson this is Book #1 of at least a 3-book series. Blightfall is due out in early 2026, while he indicates Book #2 Songrise may be out later in 2026.
Note on Janci Paterson ... she also writes as part of Cara Witter .. The 5-Lands Saga
Want to Read
December 16, 2025I actually ADORE this series ah ah ah ah im so excited for 2026
re-reading RIGHT NOW AHHHHHHHHHH
re-reading RIGHT NOW AHHHHHHHHHH
Review of advance copy
Blightfall is my very first ARC and I am so happy to report that this book was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! I am going to come back and add more to the review as I think of it, but what immediately comes to mind is the integration of the slugs into the narrative as equals. Absolutely incredible. No one writes slugs like Janci!!!! The relationships were so sweet and lovely, and the action/mystery had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! Blightfall is an absolute banger, and I can't wait until everyone gets a chance to read it so we can gush about it together.
Want to Read
March 26, 2026Ordered B&N
September 2026
September 2026
Review of advance copy received from Author
One of the greatest books I have ever read, and that's saying a lot!! I can't wait for this book to be in public so I can see peoples reactions 😁😁😁
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Review submitted to School Library Journal for potential professional publication.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews