I hit play on Brandon Sanderson’s SanderFAQ while coffee cooled beside my laptop. You hear a writer recalibrate in real time—measured, candid, a little defensive. He pauses, and you know something that guided his career is changing.
The bookstore line was long — Sanderson’s timing mattered
I remember queues for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings DVDs; Tolkien felt unavoidable. You probably noticed the same: the late 1990s and early 2000s were crowded with Tolkien echoes. Sanderson says he wrote against that tide, aiming for stories that feel more human than a checklist of races and archetypes.
Why doesn’t Brandon Sanderson write elves and dwarves?
He tells you the answer plainly on YouTube: he wanted original creatures, not Tolkien stand-ins. In graduate school and afterward, he read a lot of fantasy birthed under Tolkien’s influence and felt boxed in. That’s why his work often swaps familiar species for inventions that serve character and theme instead of nostalgia.
His early essay was a flashing neon sign.
The press conference was loud — headlines followed his choices
When Sanderson wrote a contentious piece titled “Tolkien Ruined Fantasy”, the internet reacted. I saw the headline shared across Polygon and other outlets and remember the hot takes. He now calls that essay “clickbaity” and admits he sounded a bit snobbish telling people what they should read.
Did Sanderson say Tolkien ruined fantasy?
Yes, he wrote that essay in younger, sharper words. But he’s moved past the provocation. He’s revisiting Tolkien through the Andy Serkis-narrated audiobooks on Audible and says he no longer feels compelled to “kill the elves.” The point he makes now is quieter: write what you love, read what you love, and leave room for both homage and invention.
I watched the video at my desk — the confession is small but telling
On his SanderFAQ on YouTube, Sanderson explains craft choices no press release could. He wanted fantasy to be the most imaginative genre and focused on humans rather than a parade of recognizable creatures. He did, however, make an exception for dragons because reproducing their mythic weight felt worth keeping.
The Cosmere is a mosaic.
You’ll notice he cites influences and industry shifts—Peter Jackson’s films made Tolkien feel omnipresent, Apple TV’s deal to adapt his books raises his profile beyond the usual crowd, and outlets like Polygon picked up his mea culpa. Those namechecks matter; they position him inside the conversation rather than above it.
Has Sanderson changed his view on Tolkien?
Yes. He admits youthful snobbery and now reads Tolkien again with fresh eyes. You can hear the difference: curiosity replaces dismissal. That’s a useful model for anyone who criticizes a cultural giant—time and taste evolve.
I’m telling you this so you can read his work with context: Sanderson’s choices about race and creature design are deliberate, not reactionary, and they grew out of a moment when fantasy risked becoming a museum of Tolkien echoes. If you care about where modern fantasy goes next, his approach is worth following.
Want more Movies & TV news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Do you think a genre can honor its past while refusing to be governed by it?