Book Review of White Sand by Brandon Sanderson

This book review of White Sand by Brandon Sanderson is part of my Cosmere Quest.

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Plot Summary

White Sand by Brandon Sanderson follows the journey of Kenton, a young Sand Master with the rare ability to control sand through magic. In the desert world of Taldain, Sand Masters are powerful figures, but they are also surrounded by danger and political intrigue. Kenton, an outsider among his peers, struggles to prove himself and gain respect. However, disaster strikes when a brutal attack nearly wipes out the Sand Masters, leaving Kenton one of the last of his kind.

With his allies gone, Kenton faces threats from all sides. He must protect his people’s legacy while unraveling mysteries about his powers. Along the way, he crosses paths with Khriss, a determined young woman from another land who is on a quest of her own. Together, they face deadly challenges, uncover secrets about their world, and try to survive forces set against them.

White Sand mixes adventure and mystery, showing Kenton’s journey as he grows stronger, finds unexpected allies, and confronts the power struggles around him. This story is a graphic novel adaptation, bringing Sanderson’s unique magic system and world-building to life visually while exploring themes of courage, survival, and self-discovery.

My Review

Disappointing Characters

I was really looking forward to reading White Sand. I knew a little of it’s reputation, but I’ve really been enjoying his other Cosmere books so far, and I though maybe there’d be something exciting and fresh here, especially since this one is a graphic novel. But right from the start, the characters just fell flat for me. I couldn’t connect with any of them. Kenton, the main character, is supposed to be this brave outcast. He’s fighting to prove himself and show that he has worth, even though he really doesn’t fit in with the others. But I found him really boring. It’s like he was just going through the motions without any real depth. I know he’s supposed to be an underdog, but he didn’t have anything special that made me care about his struggles. I just struggled to root for him.

Other characters in the book also felt like they were missing something. It felt like Sanderson fell into recycled stereotypes – the noble father, the mysterious outsider, the friend who’s loyal to the end. None of them felt real or new to me. Or interesting. I felt basically zero emotional connection to anyone in this story. The characters were just “types” and nothing more. Even in the scenes where they faced danger or big challenges, I couldn’t bring myself to care. I think this might be the biggest issue I had with the book, and it’s hard to look past it when the whole story revolves around these people who feel so shallow.

Hard-to-Follow Dialogue

The dialogue just didn’t work for me. Almost all of it lost me or made me think way harder than I should have needed to. I kept wondering what the relevance of something someone said was, and then realized it probably wasn’t relevant. Conversations jumped around way too much, I just couldn’t track to it. It wasn’t just one or two times, either—it happened throughout the whole book. I often had to reread sections to figure out who was talking or what they were even talking about, and even then, I wasn’t always sure I got it.

Some of the scenes with Kenton and Khriss were particularly hard to follow. Their deep, philosophical-sounding discussions just confused me. I think Sanderson was trying to be profound, but it just felt awkward. To be clear, I know this was an early work translated into graphic novel format, but it just felt like the execution was forced and awkward. Characters that tried to express emotions or explain motives just didn’t sound natural. Instead, I felt like they were just saying things to move an obvious plot point forward. I’m such a huge fan of good dialogue in a story because it’s such a natural way to observe and get to know characters. But in White Sand, the dialogue made it much harder to get to know anyone. And so, I formed basically no attachment to anyone. Which is a shame, I really wanted to like this concept!

Monotonous Illustrations

One of the things I expect from a graphic novel is that the artwork will bring the story to life. In White Sand, the illustrations didn’t do much for me at all. Everything felt repetitive and bland. Most of the scenes take place in a desert setting, which I understand, but even with a limited setting, there are ways to make things interesting. Here, though, the backgrounds and even the characters started to look the same after a while. The sand and skies didn’t change much from one page to the next, and the lack of variety made it hard to stay engaged with the story.

I also found the character designs confusing at times. It’s tough when you’re trying to follow a story, and you can’t even tell which character is speaking because they look so similar. I think the illustrations missed a chance to add personality to the characters. In a well-done graphic novel, you should be able to get a sense of each character just from the way they’re drawn, but that didn’t happen here. The art was supposed to support the story, but instead, it just made it feel even more monotonous.

A Confusing Magic System

I love the magic systems in Mistborn, so I was really looking forward to a magic system based on sand. I had huge expectations for White Sand and the potential there. The 5 year old boy in me who spent summers on the beach flinging sand around can attest – controlling sand sounds pretty darn cool, in theory. But unfortunately, the way it’s presented here, it was so confusing. I never got it. Sanderson just never went deep enough into it – perhaps a victim of the graphic novel format, I’m not sure. For whatever reason, it just felt like the characters were throwing sand around without any logic to it.

For example, in one scene, Kenton uses his powers to fight off some attackers. But I didn’t understand what he was actually doing or how he was using the sand to defend himself. The book kept throwing terms around without explaining them, and it made me feel like I was missing something. Maybe if I had read a summary of the magic system before starting the book, I would have understood it better, but a graphic novel should be able to stand on its own without outside explanations. This just made it harder to get into the world Sanderson created.

Parting Thoughts

Ultimately, there was not much redeeming for me about White Sand. I really had to force myself to finish all three volumes. I’m stubborn about DNF’ing books, but this was really close. The shallow characters, confusing dialogue, repetitive and confusing artwork, and lack of a clear magic system I could understand all conspired to create an experience that I just didn’t enjoy. Maybe fans of Brandon Sanderson’s other works will find something here that I didn’t, but if you’re new to his writing or looking for a graphic novel that’s engaging and easy to follow, I would look somewhere else. There are so many great graphic novels out there with better storytelling, artwork, and character development. Unfortunately, White Sand didn’t live up to its potential, and I can’t recommend it.

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Other Books You Might Enjoy

• Book Review: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
• Book Review: Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

About the Author

Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author who’s made a name for himself with his complex worlds and inventive magic systems. Born in 1975 in Nebraska, he started writing while studying at Brigham Young University. His Mistborn series launched him to the top of the fantasy genre. With its gripping storylines, Mistborn cemented his reputation as one of the strongest voices in modern fantasy. One of his career highlights was finishing Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. A task that earned him significant respect in the fantasy world. Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series has been hugely popular. It is praised for its complex characters and massive scope. He’s won the Hugo Award and the David Gemmell Legend Award. His books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Readers love how detailed and ambitious his stories are and there’s no denying his impact on the genre.