Review: Tailored Realities
Craft, Curiosity, and Brandon Sanderson
Genre:
Science Fiction /Short Story Anthology
Format Read:
Hardcover / eBook / Audiobook
From what I can tell, Brandon Sanderson knows how to work with his fans. I admire him for his fantasy novels, his writing lectures on YouTube, and raising a lot of money for his own publishing endeavors.
As far as his novels, most have been hits with me. I really enjoyed the Mistborn series. Tress of the Emerald Sea is another favorite. To be honest, however, after reading The Way of Kings, Iâm not sure I want to finish The Stormlight Archive. I mean, the first book was a wonderful fantasy, but I found the worldbuilding too complex. And at the time I was reading it, I wasnât in the mood for a fantasy with a gigantic cast.
Another miss was The Frugal Wizardâs Handbook for Surviving Medieval England. Again, I wasnât in the mood for what it was: a humorous take on time travelling.
Iâm telling you this because I donât want you to think Iâm one of those who blindly loves everything Sanderson writes. Because I feel there are a lot of those out there.
Donât get me wrong. Heâs one of my favorite authors. And the books I did not finish were due more to my mood than the book itself. I will probably try to read them again. Give them another chance. I do this with a lot of authors, not just Sanderson.
Because thatâs what I did with the Mistborn series. And I ended up loving it.
No, I donât blindly endorse anything Brandon Sanderson writes. Because Iâm sincere about his Tailored Realities. I really enjoyed it. Why? Because it was different than anything Iâve read by him before.
I donât usually read anthologies. But a collection of speculative fiction by Sanderson came at just the right time. It was a great tome to kick off the new year. I got a mixture of science fiction and fantasy. Of dark stories and humorous episodes. Of space opera and urban fantasy.
Some of the stories were short, like Brain Dump, I Hate Dragons, or Firstborn. This collection also includes two, maybe three novellas: Snapshot, Defending Elysium, and Moment Zero.
I enjoyed getting a sampling of Sandersonâs flexibility as a writer. And I sensed he enjoyed these stories as he wrote them over the years. The postscripts he included after each entry in the collection hints at his pleasure in revisiting these works.
Something else about the postscripts I loved: they made me want to write my own short stories in the sci-fi or fantasy category. I have a few I want dust off. If you are a writer of any genre, you would learn a lot about how Sanderson sees his own writing craft. How he worked and reworded his stories. How he learned to become one of the worldâs best known fantasy authors of the 21st century.
I do recommend Tailored Realities to anyone who enjoys space opera or fantasy or even horror. If something isnât to your tastes, you can just move on to the next story. I didnât feel the need to do that. His humorous entries even make me want to give his Frugal Wizard novel another try.
And here are some thoughts I jotted down as I read each story.
Snapshot
As I read this story, I told myself it reminded me of the movie Minority Report. Sorry, I havenât read the novel yet. And in his postscript for this novella, Sanderson said it was like MR in a way. But donât worry, itâs different enough that youâll enjoy the twists. Probably, in my opinion, one of the strongest contenders for a movie adaptation of the entire anthology.
Brain Dump
This story raises the ethical questions about technology outpacing humanity, compassion and empathy.
I Hate Dragons
A dialogue-only writing exercise Sanderson included. A humorous take on fantasy tropes.
Dreamer
A disquieting story about inhabited bodies and fractured identity, marked by emotional distance and a chilling lack of empathy that makes the reader question who, if anyone, is truly alive.
Perfect State
Told through the lens of an unreliable and deeply arrogant narrator, this story dismantles its own premise even as the protagonist clings to absolute certainty.
Probability Approaching Zero
A compact piece of flash fiction about uplifted intelligence, demonstrating that part of the fun of very short SF is whatâs left unsaid and how much meaning can live in the gaps.
Defending Elysium
Lightly humorous and rich with compressed worldbuilding, this story hints at a vast universe while staying tightly focused, anchored by the idea that âtechnology is limited only the mind is infinite.â
Firstborn
A space-opera response to Enderâs Game, this story examines nature versus nurture through a narcissistic antagonist who has never learned how to lose. And may not survive the lesson.
Mitosis
An action-heavy entry whose central fight recalls The Matrix Reloaded, using multiplicity and escalation to explore power taken to its absurd extreme.
Moment Zero
A familiar but effective SF-police narrative, grounding its speculative elements in procedural tension while reflecting on the systems that claim to preserve order. I was surprised how often Sanderson employed âscience fiction cops.â He really likes that trope.
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