White Sand

by Brandon Sanderson

This is the free Microsoft Word document you receive in the verification email after you sign up to Brandon Sanderson's website. It is his first novel and the work he sent his publisher. It is also the origin story of the Cosmere world. It is a draft but still a complete story.

A brilliant, new fantasy world, White Sand is split into two halves: on one side are the Daysiders, and on the other the Darksiders. Daysiders have a unique ability to control and manipulate sand, bending it to their will to attack, or protect, as they wish. Darksiders have their own unique abilities and culture, and must wear thick dark lenses while on the Dayside. Generally speaking, Daysiders and Darksiders do not get along…and White Sand follows the adventures of one particular Daysider, a boy named Kenton.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Audiobook, Adult, Magic

1035 pages, ebook

Published January 1, 1998

About the author

I’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.

Reviews

[Dana Ilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I definitely liked it better than Elantris. I don't understand why Sanderson never publish this book.
Is very well written and the world building and magic is original and unique.

[Anna [Bran. San. Stan] · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I enjoyed this prose version much more than the graphic novels! If I had known how wonderful this unpublished story is in prose, I would have read it much sooner. I’ve heard people who are into graphic novels who didn’t particularly like the aesthetics so if that’s you or if you don’t love the format in general, I highly recommend reading this - just be aware that the plot differs in some respects (especially at the end and Ais is a man here for example). Or you could simply wait until 2025 when the official White Sand novel is set to be released.

Another way to experience White Sand apart from the graphic novels and the unpublished prose version is the dramatized GraphicAudio adaptation. I wasn’t aware of it at the time when I listened to it two years ago but it seems, based on a few comparisons on my part, GraphicAudio used this prose version as their blue print - so you will still get a lot of original Sanderson in your GraphicAudio.

Here are a few more of the changes between the graphic novel and the unpublished prose version at the top of my head:

SPOILERS BELOW!!!






Kenton and Khriss develop romantic feelings for each other here; Kenton doesn’t kill Sharezan on-page when Ais returns but Ais comes back to find Sharezan dead; Drile overmasters and dies in the arena instead of becoming Kenton’s assistant; Elorin doesn’t hand out the dehydration drug before the arena fight; Khriss doesn’t try to learn Sandmastery, neither does Baon; in the epilogue the A’kar forcibly takes power in Kerzta; there’s no Hoid; Khriss doesn’t take Dirin with her; Kenton leaves the Diem to follow Khriss instead of promising her to visit (without romantic intentions)

[TS Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just hold on a minute here - what did I just read? This is a draft written by Brandon Sanderson 17 years ago; clearly unedited, still in word doc format and with typos scattered throughout. And it is still better than a lot of other published books that I've read out there (except Sanderson's own obviously).

The writing may be a bit clunky - like I said, it's a draft - but it is so good in spite of it. All of Sanderson's hallmarks of a great magic system, worldbuilding and 'little human stories' are nicely wrapped up in a delightfully engrossing read. I love how he presents his characters with realistic conflicts and motivations. The religious angle is again well written without seeming preachy. I can also see the seeds of many of his later known characters stemming from the ones in this book.

I won't mention anything specific about the characters or the plot simply because a canonized version of this is still being adapted into graphic novels, of which only 1 of 3 volumes had been released. But what I can say is that I can see why this was chosen to be a graphic novel - sand mastery, especially in an action scene, is a visual spectacle to behold (at least from what I can imagine while reading). I would especially like to see this adapted into a movie as graphic novelisation is nonetheless a static medium and can only convey that much of the brilliance of sand mastery.

[Spens (Sphynx Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I wish Brandon Sanderson continued the novel in text format or if the graphic novels were better. Either way, it has really interesting magic in an otherwise dull beginning of a story.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDIT: I have had several people ask me how to get a copy of this book and/or The Aether of Night. All you have to do is contact Brandon Sanderson directly through his website contact page at "http://brandonsanderson.com/contact/" and ask for a copy. At least that is what worked for me. He did request that I not distribute it personally, so if you want to get it you will have to ask him.

Just finished this book, and I really enjoyed it. It was a great story with a lot of fun characters and an interesting magic system/setting. I wasn't super satisfied with the way it ended, and the book could clearly use some editing. Overall, I really would like to see it published, it is a great read.

[Alderlv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Izteikts, bet labs Sandersons. Jauni varoņi, daudz problēmu ar kurām jātiek galā, draudzība, nodevībs, interesanta maģijas sistēma un pasaule. Lai arī vairāk vai mazāk notikumu kopējā virzība sagaidāma, bet tomēr tajā pašā laikā kāds negaidīts pavērsiens un garlaicības dievs nestāv pār plecu lasot arī grāmatas pēdējās nodaļas.

[aria ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

for here, in the empire of the white sand, the sun never sets.

Much, much better in prose form.

[OhWell · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a novel that is not nearly ready to be published - what a treat!
Compared with the graphic version, I could actually understand what's going on:) Which could be good or bad, as in this version I suspected Elorin from the start. I could not bring myself to care about any of the characters in White Sand Volume 1, but here they are fleshed out, are easier to relate to, and have clear motivations.

I have to say it: I much prefer Ais as a man. The woman that replaced him in the graphic novel seemed off to me. I loved Kenton, and was happy to get Khriss's story. I found her annoying - but in a good way, if that makes sense. Baon was great. Apparently he's a member of the 17th Shard, isn't he? It would be interesting to know how he got to be a world-hopper.

Somehow the best surprise was Delious, the Lord Admiral. I am quite certain he was the basis for Sebarial, one of my favourite secondary characters in The Stormlight Archive!

I wish I knew if Kenton managed to find Khriss on Darkside - maybe not, as we know she is traveling the Cosmere accompanied by Nazh. I would have wanted to learn of Eric's fate, and of Ais's, but I'm aware some questions will remain unanswered as no sequel is in the works. With almost no editing, loose ends, and occasionally some awkward writing, Brandon Sanderson managed to deliver another unique story with great world-building, characters and plot. A special mention for his portrayal of religious fanaticism...

All in all, I'm glad I got to read White Sand in its original format.

[Max Francis]

I CAN'T HANDLE THIS WAIT ANYMORE!!!

EDIT:

WAIT WAIT WAIT. JUNE? JUNE?!?!?!

YAAAAAEEEEESSSS.

[Nacho Iribarnegaray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me hace mucha ilusión leer un libro muy primerito del señor Sanderson. Está sin editar, sin pulir, en formato doc (se lo pedí a su asistente a través de la web de Sanderson), no llega a ser demasiado apasionante, y se me ha hecho lentorro pa leerlo, Pero.
Pero.

La cosa de saber cómo ha mejorado con el tiempo y cómo mejora este hombre tras una buena edición me anima un montón para escribir lo mío ^^

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please read my review comments of this "Early Chapters Draft" in my review of Brandon Sanderson's "Arcanum Unbounded" - a collection of his Cosmere related short stories and novels.

[Débora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really good?????? I had such a fun time reading it

Kenton, baby boy, I love you

Khriss, please marry me

[ZeN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its definitely a book that is not ready for publication. Its riddled with issues, but it never promised anything more than a good solid story. Sandersons imagination and world building shines despite the writing rookie status. Its the least of his works, yet still worth reading because Sandersonian and because Cosmere.

[Anjuli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! It deserves more love

[Tagg romney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mind is blown. This is an unpublished novel, Sanderson's first, that I got my hands on through his website. I had low expectations as it was his first and had not been edited and as it was, you know, in WORD FORMAT. But the story, the characters, the creativity, were amazingly good. Maybe that is because I started reading with low expectations, and I have now ruined that for you, so sorry.

White Sands is part of the Cosmere, taking place in a world where the sun never sets on one side and never rises on the other. Kenton, a Day Sider, is a sand master with authority issues. Khriss is a Dark sider who has come to Dayside looking for her lost prince. Some of the story is predictable, but much is not.

This novel is so Brandon Sanderson on so many levels. But it was honestly more fun to read than many fully edited Sanderson novels--it felt like Sanderson unplugged.

Really my only complaint is that it has been turned into 3 graphic novels and therefore I'm not sure he will ever write a follow on. The book ended with a lot more story begging to be told, so pleeeease Bradon, write White Sand #2!!!

[Steven Guglich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read both adaptations of White Sand. Once again, Sanderson proves himself a master of magic systems and introduce another unique magic system to the Cosmere.
Although the visuals of the White Sand Graphic Novel are beautiful, what is missing here in the graphic novel is Sanderson's masterful prose as a storyteller. Now don't get me wrong, I have always been a fan of graphic novels. But I truly missed Sanderson's unique ability to paint the beauty of a story by allowing us to get into the characters minds and tell us a little more about the world we are reading. The subtle ways he describes characters and setting is missing in the graphic novel.
The excerpt of the unfinished novel, found in Arcanum Unbound is really good, and I do wish he'd finish it.

[Branej al’Sanik · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sum of this book is: some good ideas, with... mixed execution.

Maybe this book really only deserves two stars, but truthfully, I cannot deny that I was genuinely invested in some of the characters’ conflicts. Despite some seriously lackluster arcs, my overall feelings on this book are generally positive.

If you’re thinking about reading this book:

Don’t expect to read refined Sanderson. This is Sanderson before publication, when he was still an amateur, and it shows. I’d advise reading it for three primary reasons: to see some cool ideas, to compare those ideas to their execution, and to see Sanderson when he was still learning; the last of those three is quite possibly the most interesting to me, as an aspiring author myself.

I’ve heard that Brandon has said that he’s considering rewriting White Sand into prose novella form. All I can say is, I really hope he does that; I would love to read those.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not one of Brandon Sanderson's polished works, but it is fun to see his development as a writer. Another interesting magic system. It is also nice to see more of Khriss although I didn't really like her that much. She still has time to mature.

[ThatBookish_deviant · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0⭐️

Quick novella to enhance my understanding of the Cosmere prior to taking on The Way of Kings. I’m not a fan of graphic novels so this was the perfect alternative to the White Sands graphic novels.

[s_hyperion · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book that was considered not good enough to be published, it's actually pretty good. It's rough around the edges, some characters are underdeveloped and there are some loose ends, but the worldbuilding is almost as good as in his later works and the pacing is great. Another draft or two and this could stand equal to other Cosmere books. Also, it obviously influenced some characters and events from Elantris and Warbreaker.

For fans of Cosmere it's a must read. It still doesn't seem to be that important on the great scale of things, but it a shardworld and it introduces Khriss.

Too bad that the potential sequels are going to be in the comic form.

[Nemo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review contains **SPOILERS**. Read at your own risk.

So, you can ask Brandon for a copy and he'll mail it to you.

Good things about the book:

- Balanced magic system
- Well thought out economy
- Very well written characters
- Plot and pacing is excellent

Things I didn't like:

- Bad worldbuilding in certain areas
- Way too many twists
- No map (I guess the published version will have one)

White Sand is set on a tidally locked planet called Taldain. Which means that the two faces of the planet are either in constant sunlight or darkness. This should in theory mean that life, as we know it, shouldn't be able to exist. But apparently, it does. And not only on the dayside, it even exists on the darkside where plants grow without sunlight. Dayside should be under constant heating, and all the water should have evaporated ages back, but it hasn't. Darkside is cold, but not so cold to be freezing.

The thing I like most about Sanderson's worldbuilding is that it always makes sense. The conclusions you'd draw from the given scenario would be the exact same conclusions that Brandon makes (perhaps even better). That guarantees you suspension of disbelief.

For eg, at the end of the Mistborn trilogy when Terris-people are freed, and start to populate again, it becomes logical that the powers of Allomancy and Feruchemy would become mixed and come out in the same person. And that is what the next book is all about.

The second issue I have with the book is that it has way too many character twists. It is often required of the plot, and some of it requires clever foreshadowing; both of which Brandon tries. But apart from the few cases where it works (the Aha! moment), there are like 5 extra character twists where the character is not what you thought him to be. It feels too much like a heavy-handed trope used far too many times for a single book.

I would have liked to see a map of the book, but I guess that will be fixed in the final published version. My rating is 4.5 because while I enjoyed the book overall, there were times I felt like it could have been made better. The rating is actually bumped from 4 to 4.5 because its still unpublished.

I can't wait for the graphic novels to come out and see what all is changed from the original material.

[Matthew Manchester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read.

Technically speaking, it's a little rough. For those who've read "Elantris" (Sanderson's first published book) and read his more recent works, it's easy to see it's not the same standard. Well, this book was written BEFORE Elantris. Also, it never went through an editor it seems. Not to mention that Sanderson himself said it needed a good rewrite with a significant word purging. Not to mention that some of the twists are not as hidden as a normal Sanderson book typically is.

All that said, White Sand might be one of my favorite Sanderson books. Kenton is absolutely one of my favorite Sanderson characters. The character development Sanderson puts these characters through in just one book is crazy and ought to be a subject of more serious study.

I've read volumes 1+2 of the graphic novel they turned this book into, however, reading this simple MSWord document has been more delightful than them all (and I LOVE graphic novels).

I highly recommend this book. Also, I WANT WHITE SAND 2 NOW!!!!!!!!!

Now on to his other unpublished book, "Aether of Night" (also another Cosmere book).

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO MANY FEELS!!! I just couldn't make myself rate this four stars. Yes, it needs editing and refining but it was a seriously great read and it wasn't enough to warrant any less than five in my eyes.

You can tell this is an earlier work, however I would definitely not say it was flat. How could it be when it gave me all the feels?! The world building and charecter development were excellent, as usual. What I did notice is that like Aether of Night, it was missing the complexity that you see in his published works. it certainly doesn't take away from the story, for me it just gave off the feeling that this is a more mature young adult rather than an adult fantasy.

The ending made me feel joy and anger at the same time. I loved the implication but hate the uncertainty. I want to experience the Darkside and know more about Scythe and see more of Kenton and Khriss. But I guess we will see. I will definitely be purchasing a copy of the graphic novel and forcing it upon my none reading partner.

[Utsav Bansal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read both the graphic novel and this unpublished novel, and there is no doubt that this is better on absolutely every level. The novel while has some issues, they are nothing that can't e addressed after a few iterations of copy editing and seeing that this is an unpublished novel, I can give it a pass for that. But otherwise the magic system was excellent, another worldhopper was introduced (something for the cosmere fans) and the underlying theme of responsibilty , authority and structure was dealt with very nicely. This is a must read for all fans of cosmere, and I urge anyone who is planning to read the Graphic novel, to abandon that idea and switch to this text version instead.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naturally, this book isn't polished so I just didn't feel right giving it five stars even though the story was very interesting. The magic in this book was really cool and the world building is fantastic (as always with Brandon Sanderson). I also really enjoyed the fight scenes which I thought were brilliantly done.

Anyone interested in reading it can e-mail Brandon Sanderson.

[Lauren Lasseter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's crazy to me that this was never published. Even as an unedited manuscript, this book is better than most published novels.

My main motivation for reading it was to get to know Khriss, a world hopper who has also appeared in Bands of Mourning and Secret History. However, all the characters were wonderful, the storyline was engaging, and I love being introduced to other parts of the Cosmere.

[Diana Stormblessed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm impressed. For a first, unpublished book this was great. I mean, the pacing was a bit off, and it started a bit choppy, but once it got going it was great. Now on to the graphic novel! :-)

[Adam Saleh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story though albeit in dire need of trimming. There is a reason this has not been published yet— there are a good 3-4 sections that could be completely removed and the entire character of Eric did not need to be there at all.

That being said, the worldbuilding is impressive, and I genuinely really enjoyed the story, though Kenton and Khriss are a mixed bag of good and bad character choices.

Kenton went from a very compelling protagonist with a rebellious side and motivations that were not entirely altruistic, but as the story progressed, he kinda ended up morphing into a perfect, and therefore boring, character. Character development is good and he had some strong stuff going for him, but going from flawed to quite literally the second coming of Christ is not very interesting.

Khriss should have done more. I like her character and that she retained her flaws throughout the story while still making self improvements, but she legit did like nothing useful over the course of the whole book and it ended up pissing me off. I really wish her intellect was put to good use more often rather than her just being helpless every time there was a problem.

Baon and Ais were fantastic, though the Sharezan plotline should not have ended the way it did. As it was, there was really no reason for it to exist in the story at all except for to give Ais a story which could have easily just been a separate novel.

I liked Cynder, Acron being an assassin was dumb.

Going lenient on this one because it IS an unpublished draft and I can tell it has the inner workings of something really really great. It’s a shame the Graphic Novel adaptations are…let’s not talk about those!!

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is based solely on the excerpt included in Arcanum Unbounded, since I’ve been trying (and failing) to get my hands on the graphic novels for months—some are going for over $100, and I’m just not about to drop that much on a graphic novel, no matter how curious I am. That said, the bits of artwork I have seen are genuinely beautiful and make me wish the series were more accessible.

I really appreciated the shift from Sanderson’s usual ultra-powerful protagonists to someone like Kenton—who has barely any magic at all, but more grit and determination than most of his peers combined. The story had its moments, but it didn’t quite hook me the way his other works have. Still, as a piece of the larger Cosmere puzzle, it was an intriguing peek into a lesser-known corner of the universe.