Entertainment Weekly has revealed the cover to Steelheart the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s forthcoming dystopia trilogy from Random House. Click the image for a larger version.
Steelheart marks the first novel by Brandon Sanderson not set in a separate fantasy or science fiction world. Here he tells the story of a group of people dubbed the Epics, all of them superpowered, and all of them evil.
The story blurb released by Random House describes the book as follows:
There are no heroes.
Every single person who manifested powers—we call them Epics—turned out to be evil.
Here, in the city once known as Chicago, an extraordinarily powerful Epic declared himself Emperor. Steelheart has the strength of ten men and can control the elements. It is said no bullet can harm him, no sword can split his skin, no explosion can burn him. He is invincible.
It has been ten years. We live our lives as best we can. Nobody fights back . . . nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans who spend their lives studying powerful Epics, finding their weaknesses, then assassinating them.
My name is David Charleston. I’m not one of the Reckoners, but I intend to join them. I have something they need. Something precious, something incredible. Not an object, but an experience. I know his secret.
I’ve seen Steelheart bleed.
According to Sanderson at this past year’s San Diego Comic Con, the inspiration for the series occured when he got cut off by another driver one day. “I thought, if I was a supervillain this guy would just be… BOOM.” Which got him thinking about a world where people could actually do that.
In the world of Steelheart, these people are considered “forces of nature” and eventually the most powerful form little fiefdoms. The protagonist is an 18 year old boy who’s father was killed by Steelheart, one of the most powerful superpowered villains, who joins an assassination guild in hopes of taking Steelheart down.
