Tailored Realities

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

To start, this is a collection of non-Cosmere tales and while Mr. Brandon Sanderson is usually known for his Cosmere universe and the fantastical tales and stories that he brings to life in that universe... this is something that leans more on the science fiction side of things... but is still nothing short of absolutely brilliant.

Tailored Realities is a mixture of both new tales as well as old, bundled into one volume for all Sanderson fans to enjoy. There are some that are freely available on Brandon's website, however for ease of this review and to prevent clutter, they have not been included.

Snapshot (4.5 Stars)

Snapshot is a somewhat delightful mix of a mystery / thriller and something reminiscient of a blend of a cyberpunk-esque tale... blended with elements of the fantastical. There are slight hints that point to another popular series by Brandon Sanderson that long time fans may have already read... but there is not a particularly distinct reference to Reckoners... other than being used as a loose way to set up the premise of Snapshot.

While Snapshot does share some similarities to Reckoners, this is refreshingly different, and completely unique in its own way. Join our detectives on a gripping journey exploring a past in a completely simulated world that one day will fall to doom ...

New: Brain Dump (4 Stars)

Brain Dump is not necessarily a completely new work from Brandon, yet it nevertheless delights. It is a very brief read, and yet provides a rather fascinating, and attention-grabbing look into genetic engineering through a couple shopping for what they view as a "perfect" brain for their child... and leads to quite an unexpected ending when it becomes clear that drawbacks are being sugar-coated by the... well... in this case brain salesman?

I Hate Dragons (5 Stars)

This right here is the absolute pinnacle of examples as to why we all adore Brandon for his writing... and for his creativity when it comes to his many works.... what started as a simple writing exercise has turned into a delightfully witty, banter-filled conversation that is very enjoyable to read, and quite frankly had me chuckling as I read through it.

Dreamer (4 Stars)

This is somewhat of a fascinating read, considering that Brandon is not one I would expect to ever delve into this particular genre when it comes to writing. And yet, here he comes with Dreamer... Brandon's take on his definition of horror.

Now to fellow horror aficionados such as myself, do not go in expecting the usual when it comes to horror. In fact, I would recommend going in completely blind without the usal expectations when it comes to such tales. There are no horrifically (yet fascinating) creatures of the paranormal or the eldritch realm, there is no significant blood or gore or untimely death... (people do still die, however). Rather, this is an exploration of the concept of finding something horrifying. Brandon does a fantastic job of utilizing the idea of bodysnatching in this short story.

I personally believe that this was somewhat deliciously refreshing to see Brandon use his creativity in a way that is out-of-the-box for his usual style of writing, and I found this to be quite entertaining.

Perfect State (4.5 Stars)

Most of us are all somewhat familiar with the concept of the Matrix, whether that be from a book, game, or the show.

Brandon has taken that concept and then thrown it together into somewhat of a mash-up between the Matrix, Cyberpunk 2077, as well as Warhammer 40k. And the result is a beautiful, deliciously complex world that I don't believe I've grasped the full extent or concept of, even after reading through Perfect State. That's just how much detail that Brandon has put into this.

So is this a Perfect State? Or is this something else entirely, hidden behind a mask of a seemingly perfect world?

New: Probability Approaching Zero (3 stars)

This was by far my least favorite out of this collection.

It is extremely short, only about 500 or so words, and is straight dialogue and not much else... in a true sort of micro-fiction style.

It is a work of aliens abducting beings from various worlds and "gifting" them with greater intelligence... with more knowledge... this is one of those conversations between that extraterrestrial being and one of the "enhanced" beings.

Defending Elysium (5 Stars)

As this is a book that is heavily based off and set in the Skyward series, I would absolutely recommend reading the Skyward series beforehand, as Defending Elysium is definitely something that I would consider a prequel to the series that tacks more on to the Cytoverse, into the origins of some of its characters... and a bit of the set-up that eventually leads to the Skyward series...

Fast-paced, and beautifully written, this answered some of my questions for this universe, and yet again, awakened more questions that may be answered at some point, or may be left to my fascinating mind to ruminate for the rest of eternity.

Firstborn (5 Stars)

This is a story that carries sci-fi elements reminiscent of Star Wars or Star Trek, and yet in my eyes also somewhat perfectly captures the way that siblings tend to banter in real life, or perhaps the fact that siblings always want to be more like each other... if they are in a good relationship that is,

Except in this case, this relationship has somewhat gone sour, as no matter how hard he tries, he never seems to be able to match his brother.... a brother who he has also never met.

Utterly delightful with a fantastic ending that I didn't even expect, Firstborn is definitely one to put on your reading list.

Mitosis (4.5 Stars)

This is another story where I would personally strongly recommend that you read the Reckoners series before you read Mitosis, as it will allow you to better comprehend some of the events and things that are mentioned in Mitosis.

Personally, I would recommend reading this after the first book in the Reckoners series, Steelheart.

This is a superhero-esque sort of story where the main evil has powers much like the title, and of the cellular process... able to create multiple copies of himself... and the events that must occur in order to take them down.

New: Moment Zero (5 Stars)

In a somewhat Back to the Future cross, this is somewhat of a mystery/ thriller / whodunit... but dosen't delve quite as deep into case details or the darker side of things as most novels of this genre do.

And yet this is nevertheless beyond fascinating to see as they attempt to work on what caused Moment Zero to happen, and how exactly to utterly prevent it happening on both ends so things don't go catastrophically wrong.

Near the end, Brandon adds in a note that explains partially why he didn't include as many elements on the time travel sort of things, and to be honest, I agree. Even though part of me really wishes that we could know more about how the time travel works and the intricate details and lore behind it.... if Brandon had added these details, Moment Zero would have been far too busy and would not be quite as stunning and fantastical as it was.

Even though there are some flaws, this is still an utterly fantastic, and quite wonderful collection of stories from the desk of Brandon Sanderson, and something that I no doubt will be turning back to time and time again, as there is something that is so magical about Brandon Sanderson's world, and the amount of detail and how life-like they are.

Please note, these reviews were slightly revised to add on to them after it went live- for the most part they are still spoiler-free to preserve the magical experience that comes with reading a Sanderson tale for the first time, and also at the request of the publisher.

Special thanks to Tor Publishing and Brandon Sanderson's team for the wonderful opportunity to read this in advanced! I am voluntarily leaving this review.