20 Fantasy Adaptations That Could Be Bigger than Game of Thrones
By Jenn Reid
Mistborn Trilogy. Photo via Tor.com Publishing
4. Mistborn
The Books: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
The Story: Author Brandon Sanderson has two major fantasy series under his belt: he took over the sprawling Wheel of Time series after the original author Robert Jordan passed away, and also has his own fantasy series in Mistborn.
The first novel, The Final Empire , introduces the world of Allomancers, people who can use certain metals to gain special abilities. The world is ruled by an evil tyrant known only as the Lord Ruler. A 16-year-old runaway is recruited by a powerful Allomancer, Kelsier, who wants to assemble a crew to start a revolution and save the world.
The series blends epic fantasy with political intrigue and aspects of a heist. Casual fantasy fans might be turned off by what seems to be the confusing world, Sanderson actually lays out the magical properties and system in a way that’s very easy to comprehend. The magic has rules and explanations, instead of just “I don’t know, it’s magic!”
The original series consists of The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages , with a companion story called Secret History. There is then another series set 300 years later, made up of The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, Bands of Morning and the yet to be released The Lost Metal . Another trilogy set in the same world is expected sometime in the future.
The Adaptation: With its time jump between stories, plus the use of metal in its magic, it’s hard not to picture the Mistborn series in the vein of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra. The subject matter is much more adult than Nickelodeon’s usual fare, but an animated series could get the magic right.