Epic fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson has achieved a dream none thought possible—his Kickstarter fund for four secretly written novels, announced seven days ago, is the #1 Kickstarter of all time, crossing $25 million. His $1 million goal was achieved within hours.

This news is rocking the publishing world.

How can this be?

Is it because Sanderson’s fans are young crazy geeks who have no lives and must live out their dreams in fantasy worlds?

No, that is not the reason.

His fans run the age gamut, from teens to older folks praying to live long enough to read the next novel. They are intellectual, able to follow complex magic systems and deep interconnections between novels.

Is it because Sanderson writes compelling character-driven novels?

No, that is not the reason.

George R. R. Martin writes such novels with his Game of Thrones. (Unfortunately, the TV showrunners failed to understand this and ended the show with plot-driven stories that undermined the characters.) But George has no hope of creating a successful Kickstarter.

Is it because Sanderson’s prose is poetic and transcendent?

No, that is not the reason. He’s a work-a-day writer at best. Nobody quotes his prose for poetic reason the way they may quote Patrick Rothfuss.

So what drives this incredible success?

I propose that it is simply that Sanderson is a profound moral writer, like J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis before him, who loves his fans and constantly serves them.

Like his fellow sci-fi and fantasy writer Orson Scott Card (author of Ender’s Game), he is a Mormon. And although his writings do not reflect a proselytizing mission, his morals infuse his work.

He writes deep, rich, complex characters who must deal with an array of moral issues. What is the right thing to do and be? How does one face their past, their fears, their guilts, their mental imbalances?

Sanderson articulates moral values in subtle ways, but he can be explicit, articulating “Ideals” that certain heroes called Radiants professed. Here is a passage from The Way of Kings which has a powerful effect on Sanderson fans, who repeat these and know them by heart:

Teft said. “But the Immortal Words—these Ideals—guided everything they did. The four later Ideals were said to be different for every order of Radiants. But the First Ideal was the same for each of the ten: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.” He hesitated. “Or so I was told.” 

“Yes, well, that seems a little obvious to me,” Kaladin said. “Life comes before death. Just like day comes before night, or one comes before two. Obvious.” 

[…] 

“Life before death,” Teft said, wagging a finger at Kaladin. “The Radiant seeks to defend life, always. He never kills unnecessarily, and never risks his own life for frivolous reasons. Living is harder than dying. The Radiant’s duty is to live. 

“Strength before weakness. All men are weak at some time in their lives. The Radiant protects those who are weak, and uses his strength for others. Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service.

[…]

“Journey before destination. There are always several ways to achieve a goal. Failure is preferable to winning through unjust means. Protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one. In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished.”

In a decadent, corrupt age where so many myths and heroes have been undermined and destroyed, told God is dead and there are no moral constants, Sanderson delivers, like Tolkien and Lewis, new heroes, like Kaladan, to fans who crave moral foundations that reflect Spiritual Laws.

It’s not uncommon for Sanderson fans to approach him and say things like, “Thank you for Kaladan” and tell him stories of how his novels have changed their lives for the better.

Such is The Way of Storytellers.