Shadows Beneath [Dramatized Adaptation]: The Writing Excuses Anthology

Written by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells and Howard Tayler

Narrated by A Full Cast, Evan Casey, Nick DePinto and 39 more

From the Hugo Award-winning hosts of the Writing Excuses writing advice show comes a collection of all-new stories of the fantastic, with beautiful illustrations and a behind-the-scenes look at each story's creation.

Brandon Sanderson's “Sixth of the Dusk,” set in his Cosmere universe shared by the Mistborn books and the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, showcases a society on the brink of technological change. On the deadly island of Patji, where predators can sense the thoughts of their prey, a lone trapper discovers that the island is not the only thing out to kill him.

Mary Robinette Kowal's “A Fire in the Heavens” is a powerful tale of a refugee seeking to the near-mythical homeland her oppressed people left centuries ago. When Katin discovers the role the “eternal moon” occupies in the Center Kingdom, and the nature of the society under its constant light, she may find enemies and friends in unexpected places.

Dan Wells's “I.E.Demon” features an Afghanistan field test of a piece of technology that is supposed to handle improvised explosive devices. Or so the engineers have told the EOD team that will be testing it; exactly what it does and how it does it are need-to-know, and the grunts don't need to know. Until suddenly the need arises.

Howard Tayler's “An Honest Death” stars the security team for the CEO of a biotech firm about to release the cure for old age. When an intruder appears and then vanishes from the CEO's office, the bodyguards must discover why he is lying to them about his reason for pressing the panic button.

For years the hosts of Writing Excuses have been offering tips on brainstorming, drafting, workshopping, and revision, and now they offer an exhaustive look at the entire process. Not only does Shadows Beneath have four beautifully illustrated fantastic works of fiction, but it also includes transcripts of brainstorming and workshopping sessions, early drafts of the stories, essays about the stories' creation, and details of all the edits made between the first and final drafts.

Come for the stories by award-winning authors; stay for the peek behind the creative curtain.

• Language: English
• Publisher: GraphicAudio
• Release date: Jun 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781648810008

Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He lives in Utah with his wife and children and teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. His bestsellers have sold 32 million copies worldwide and include the Mistborn saga; the Stormlight Archive novels; and other novels, including The Rithmatist, Steelheart, and Skyward. He won a Hugo Award for The Emperor's Soul, a novella set in the world of his acclaimed first novel, Elantris. Additionally, he completed Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time®. Visit his website for behind-the-scenes information on all his books.

Reviews for Shadows Beneath [Dramatized Adaptation]

[Ciprian S · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very informative to find out how stories are written and improved.

[Lou · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s not usual for fans to get a glimpse of what’s going on behind the scenes, and this book provides an unique sight to how writers work. I love this book, and I wish the authors would do something like this again in the future.

[katya0133 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a collection of short fiction from four well-established speculative fiction authors (Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler). However, it also includes the first drafts of each of the stories and information about how the authors fixed the problems that were in their first drafts.If you like good speculative fiction, you can read this book just for the good stories.If you're a fan of the Writing Excuses podcast, you'll want to read this book as a follow-up to the discussions about these stories that they featured on the podcast.If you're a writer or an aspiring writer, you can read this book to see how some of the best contemporary writers make their writing even better (or to reassure yourself that even really strong writers start out with problematic first drafts).

[shabacus · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I find it difficult to praise this book enough, but I will do my best.This anthology is a short one, only four stories, but the quality is of the highest caliber. If all I had gotten were these four stories, then I would have considered myself lucky to have read them. But there's more.Along with each story is the story behind the story -- a brainstorming session, critique notes, multiple drafts marked up with final changes. In short, a treasure trove of information for the inspiring writer.It is the literary equivalent of one of those step-by-step art books, which show not only the finished painting but all of the steps that it took to get there. By the end, I felt that writing stories of this quality was not a distant dream for me, but something achievable through hard work and careful revision.I already knew Brandon Sanderson's writing, but the other authors sincerely impressed me as well. I look forward to exploring their writing as well.