Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson is about to release his fifth novel in The Stormlight Archivethe epic saga that is at the center of your multiverse. As with any time Storm book is on the way, conversations about how the series deserves to be a TV series are reaching a fever pitch. The record potential Wind and Truth could do a lot to elevate discussions about bringing the entire Cosmere universe into live action.
It will soon consist of five novels, three novellas and several essays expanding the extensive Cosmere magical system - and five more novels on the way - The Stormlight Archive is a fantasy series that combines epic battles, destructive politics, and existential angst in a story that clearly shows why Sanderson is continually one of the biggest names in fantasy. Discussions about a TV adaptation of Storm made comparisons with Game of Thronesbut Storm has an advantage over older series This, if handled correctly, could translate into a series premiere that would establish it as one of the greatest fantasy sagas ever released.
A Stormlight Archive TV show would start with a big battle right at the beginning
A media res opening sequence that is equal parts Shakespeare and Final Fantasy
The Way of Kingsthe first book The Stormlight Archive, begins with a consecutive set of explosive chapters that quickly immerse the reader in the scale of the conflicts that shaped the world of Roshar. The novel's opening Prelude immediately takes us into the aftermath of a near-apocalyptic battlefield, with enormous monstrous corpses piled up as an enigmatic group of heroes, the Heralds, discuss abandoning their oaths and leaving their powerful magical swords embedded in bare rock. of the desolate battlefield.
The next chapter, the Prologue, catapults us forward 4,500 years to see Szeth-son-son-Vallano, an assassin, infiltrate a celebration held by King Gavilar of Alethkar, who is receiving delegates from the non-human Parshendi. Szeth possesses powers that Gavilar's guards cannot withstand, and he destroys the joy of the night with overwhelming violencemassacring Gavliar before he disappears into the night.
Finally, the first chapter of the novel introduces us to a young man named Kaladin, the leader of a group of common soldiers who is revered by his men for his ability to protect them. As they are thrown into battle, they come across a Shardbearer, a warrior clad in a nearly impenetrable Shardplate and carrying a soul-killing Shardblade, and through Kaladin's leadership they manage to kill the Shardbearer, although This ends up having consequences that Kaladin could never have predicted.
This relentless chain of action sequences leaves a new reader giddy with excitement. No matter how a TV adaptation might change the course of these events in terms of pacing, it could easily start with any of these spectacular and showcase the phenomenal potential of The Stormlight Archive as the usurper of Game of Thrones' legacy.
Even Game Of Thrones hasn't had epic action since the first season
Game Of Thrones' ominous prologue is overshadowed by the show's transition straight into judicial politics
While Game of Thrones is generally considered one of the best fantasy TV series (aside from its terribly received final season), there's no denying that the beginning of the show was better paced compared to the molasses spilled at Winterfell. While the show's opening provides a thrilling thrill, with a group of the Night's Watch on patrol being wiped out by the White Walkers, the meaning of that moment remains a mystery for some time.
The majority Game of Thrones'The entire first season concerns itself with how the Stark family is unwittingly drawn into the worst of Westerosi politics, and viewers quickly learn that any character with a modicum of conscience is doomed in the face of King Joffrey's maniacal bloodlust. Although the season's critical reception was generally positive, there is no doubt that It takes several episodes to Game of Thrones to build any kind of dramatic tensionIt doesn't matter that we don't even get to see any dragons until the final moments of the final episode.
While political drama can be exciting, there's a fine line between using it to build slow tension and letting it dampen any other excitement.
While political drama can be exciting, there's a fine line between using it to build slow tension and letting it dampen any other excitement (as in the cautionary tale of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace). The Stormlight Archive is certainly full of political intrigue, especially as the Alethi nobles plot for power after King Gavliar's death, but it manages to strike a balance largely because, In the world of Roshar, it is these same politicians and nobles who are on the front lines of the warwielding their powerful Shardblades.
Adapting Stormlight Archive's opening battle poses a major challenge
Huge cavalry charges and giant magic swords create a frightening effects budget
The main challenge a Storm The faces of the TV adaptation are the scope of the show, especially the battle sequences. The Prelude's battlefield is littered with the corpses of thirty-foot-tall stone monsters, the Prologue has Szeth ignore the laws of gravity as he massacres Gavliar's guards, and then the first chapter is set amid a cavalry conflict who would feel at home in The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim. Everything that combines into a frightening amount of visual effects for any showlet alone one based on a new series that is still outside the mainstream.
Still, visual effects budgets are the goal of major streaming platforms these days, so any network captures The Stormlight ArchiveI hope they understand that the show's success will depend on how much viewers' jaws drop at the first sight of a Shardblade, or when Dalinar Kholin and his son Adolin defeat the kaiju-like abyss demon, or when Kaladin earns the name Stormblessed . Until some news emerges, fans will still be content to devour Wind and Truth when it releases on December 6th.