Readers familiar with Brandon Sanderson know two constants: he is perpetually at work, and occasionally those projects are kept secret. The latest confirmation of that pattern is The Fires of December, a new novel Sanderson recently unveiled.
Sanderson announced the book at Dragonsteel Nexus 2025 and shared details via an Instagram reel and a BackerKit page. The Fires of December is tied to a Dragonsteel crowdfunding initiative called Hoid’s Storybook Collection, which bundles four illustrated Hoid tales — including Wandersail, The Dog and the Dragon, The Girl Who Looked Up, and The Chasmfriends Get A Pet — alongside other offerings. His previous crowdfunding effort shattered records, so expectations are high.
The Fires of December is billed as a Cosmere standalone — another entry in Sanderson’s interconnected multiverse — and is slated for release next year.
Image: Brotherwise Games and Dragonsteel EntertainmentAlong with an early, non-final cover by Tran Nguyen, Sanderson released a synopsis for the novel. In summary: December, a young woman from a land fed by vivid rivers of demon blood, learns a lethal pestilence is approaching. She resolves to sail the River Violet to warn the royal court, only to confront skeptical ministers, courtly machinations, and a rakish count. Her allies include a loquacious priestess and an up-and-coming fashion designer, and she must rely on quick thinking and fierce resolve to be heard.
The Cosmere continues to inspire fans across media — it even serves as the foundation for a tabletop RPG — so a fresh protagonist and setting have generated plenty of excitement and speculation, not least because the name December raises questions about possible links or thematic resonances within Sanderson’s universe.
Sanderson read the opening chapter at Dragonsteel Nexus; for those who could not attend, the chapter will be made available via his newsletter. You can subscribe for free to receive it directly.
On what readers should expect from these Hoid-related tales, Sanderson described them as accounts of Hoid’s misadventures — stories in which hardships befall him and he recounts the events afterward.
Source: Polygon
