Mistborn

[snowleo]

Brandon Sanderson very kindly came to my sci-fi book club last week (we read Mistborn). I've got to give props to an author who takes the time to visit readers despite a looming press tour and his lovely wife's advanced pregnancy. Very cool that he drove an hour to chat with us when I'm sure he could've been persuing more "career-advancing" activities.

• Highlights from the chat (Mr. Sanderson please correct my mistakes :) :
  
• He started out as a chemistry major and feels a connection to the sciences, hence the logical and
  
• "Newtonian-physics-based" magic system.
  
• The trilogy will definitively end with the third book, which is in the final editing stages but unfortunately for us won'b be released till next summer because of publishing industry stuff. He also told an amusing industry story about the author of "Name of the Wind" and how he got tons of promotion because Tad Williams (?) missed a deadline...
  
• He doesn't have as much time to read nowadays but his favorite author is Orson Scott Card and he likes relaxing with Terry Pratchett books.
  
• GRRM is "the Eminem of fantasy. Brilliant but brutal." He also said that GRRM is possibly the best fantasy writer currently writing :)
  

I haven't read Elantris, but I liked Mistborn enough to pick up the sequel in hardback. As Mr. Sanderson said, he's not a poet and he will never write like Gene Wolfe. Indeed, his prose is not beautiful, but I thought it was quite good. I didn't get the strong urge to edit his words that I often feel when reading poor writing (for reference crappy= Mercedes Lackey, Fiona McKintish(sp?), Dan Brown...) His action scenes are especially engaging. He does overuse "kind of" and "actually" in his dialogue though. The magic system is indeed awesome. I'd say more but I have to go...

Thanks again for visiting us Mr. Sanderson!

snow "rhymes with kandra" leo

[Myshkin]

I really enjoyed Mistborn: The Final Empire last year and I was looking forward to The Well of Ascension.

But for some reason, I'm having an extremely hard time getting into it. I'm a little over halfway through, and I can't stand Vin and Elend, and I feel that the politicking (which makes for a big chunk of the story thus far) is a bit clumsy.

I still have about 250 pages to go, so hopefully things will pick up. . . :)

Patrick

The Well of Ascension was harder to get into than Mistborn, and I felt that the emotional interplay between Elend and Vin was a bit overdone. But all in all I thought the book was very good with a strong second half, it just suffered a little from "middle book syndrome".

[Xray the Enforcer]

*smiles at a snowleo sighting*

Woman, you are coming to Denver, right? RIGHT? :)

I really must get me these books.

[pat5150]

The Well of Ascension was harder to get into than Mistborn, and I felt that the emotional interplay between Elend and Vin was a bit overdone. But all in all I thought the book was very good with a strong second half, it just suffered a little from "middle book syndrome".

Man, I hope I'll feel the same when all is said and done. . . Otherwise, this book could be my biggest disappointment of the year. :(

Patrick

[Damaen]

you are all insane. especially pat. =]

i REALLy enjoyed M:WoA. i read basically from 6pm till 1am and finished the last half of it. at one point, near the end, my jaw started to hurt, i must have been clenching. i dont know how you cant get into it, pat. but i admit that the last part is drastically better than than the first (tho i have zero complaints with either).

all of the twists were pretty unexpected. For a long time i thought someone was a traitor, which was great at the end when it came together... And there are a ton of questions which make me wish i didnt have to wait a year+ to see it all end.

i was left with a wierd feeling at the end that i cant explain yet, but this book was really good, i think. there were several lines or moments where i laughed and startled my cat or made my fiancee look at me oddly. the lines "Elend wanted to remind everyoen who is friends were. powerful. Frightening. Friends who killed gods." (i think thats close) made me really happy.

in a spoiler thread i have to ask about something because it dosent make sense to me (the scene where 2 crew members are sitting, drinking, and are joined by someone. vin makes a reference about what the new person is doing and that clashes with a same-page copper-cloud comment). but anyways.

[pat5150]

Insane!?! How dare you!?! :P Well, I've been called worst, that's for sure! ;)

Sorry to say, but with about 150 pages left, I've lost all hope for this one. So unless it ends with a veritable mindfuck, this just might be my biggest disappointment of 2007. . . :(

Patrick

[Larry.]

I think you'd be expecting too much there to have a mindfuck experience, Pat :P I really need to get around to writing that comparison piece of the two Mistborn novels and the Ruckley today or tomorrow, but I think I had a better reaction to the second Mistborn than you are having and that you had a more positive take on Winterbirth than I did. Funny how that works with people, no? :D

[Damaen]

Ah, pat, say it isnt so! I'd love to know where your concerns arose. There is a lot of relationship drama but Vin certainly isnt wulfgar - the book isnt filled with mindless emotional nonsense. i thought the action was good enough. The characters had a lot of depth, i thought. OuerSuer (sp?) was interesting, the two terrismen had fantastic stories, and the last event/resolutions/climax ithought was exciting and well written.

do you know what it is that your cant get over? or is it more than the odd little thing?

[pat5150]

Oh, I know what it is!

Vin and Elend -- if they were killed just now, it would make reading this book a lot easier. Sorry, but I can't stand either of them, and their plotlines make up the better part of the novel. I think we're missing Kelsier a hell of a lot more than I ever thought I would. . .

Patrick

[Damaen]

you know, pat, i wondered at that way back when i finished the first book. Kelsier was one of those Eddard moments, and he was obviously mine and most everyone's favorite characters. i had no idea if i would be able to read the series without him. but the book ended well, vin and marsh and the rest of the group were at least enough to give me hope.

And now i really enjoy vin and elend. i mean, you could just take this as Mistborn: Well Of the Two Towers and accept a middle book for its character development. Vin is going to war and elend knows what has to be done now, or whatever. but that would be udnerselling the amazing cast this book introduced. Zane is FANTASTIC. Straff is amazing. I havent heard anyone say anythign about Venture Elder yet, but i heard a lot of good comments with the bad guy from lynch's new book, and they have a lot of similarities, but with zero of the backstories and just brilliant dialogue. The terrismen are better, Sazed making a lot of interesting chapters all by himself. Marsh is a big questionmark. i could go on. Cett. the koloss guy. etc. this is a great cast!

i guess what i mean is that this book is better than 90% of the stuff my discount gets me at work (chapters/indigo ftw?) EVEN if you dont like the 2 main characters. iknow i just finished the Orc King so im sorta on a rebound and anythign would seem enticing by comparison, but, i mean, pat! gah!

oh, btw, can i get an autographed copy of your new book? :P

[Larry.]

Although in many ways I'm just repeating what I linked to in the[i] Winterbirth [/i]thread, I [url="http://ofblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/thoughts-on-brandon-sandersons-mistborn.html"]posted a bit[/url] on comparing Sanderson's novels and their overall style with that of Ruckley's newest. Thought this might be of some interest to those here with whom I've mentioned in passing my thoughts on the authors' style choices.

[Brandon Sanderson]

[quote name='Dylanfanatic' post='1033505' date='Oct 2 2007, 22.59']Although in many ways I'm just repeating what I linked to in the[i] Winterbirth [/i]thread, I [url="http://ofblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/thoughts-on-brandon-sandersons-mistborn.html"]posted a bit[/url] on comparing Sanderson's novels and their overall style with that of Ruckley's newest. Thought this might be of some interest to those here with whom I've mentioned in passing my thoughts on the authors' style choices.[/quote]

Nice comparison. Thoughtful, fair.

I often think about what it is I'm trying to do with fantasy. I want to be "Part of the dialogue" as they always say in graduate programs. I want to add something, rather than just rehash.

Yet, I obviously don't intend or pretend to be completely genre bending or revolutionary. I think what I'm trying to accomplish is the "Next step."

Through the years, fantasy has taken a whole lot of baby steps. The most successful (in terms of sales, not necessarily in terms of form) books have been those which blended the familiar with the original. Jordan, for instance, wasn't totally revolutionary--he was one more step away from the Tolkien "comfort zone" of the 80's, but he still used a lot of the same themes.

I see myself as one more step along. Still close enough to see those themes, but experimenting widely with magic and setting, maybe trying to shake things up just a tad with different plot archetypes.

All I've ever wanted to do, honestly, was learn to tell a good story. I've achieved that, I think--but now I need to figure out how to tell a GREAT story, and do it consistently.

[Larry.]

Based on what you've said above and elsewhere before, Brandon, I'd have to say that you've mostly accomplished those beginning goals of yours. Certainly [i]Mistborn[/i] was enough of an improvement in characterization and prose over [i]Elantris[/i] to make me not just curious to see how you'll complete the trilogy, but also to see where you plan on heading with your future stories.

Very rarely does anyone start out writing "great" stories. Being able to tell tales that people enjoy and which leaves them curious to know what happens next - that is something that I believe takes a lot of practice and an acute awareness of your strengths and the intended audience. Seems like you're off to a good start :D

[kcf]

It seems like a good time to revive this thread since I imagine that more than a few people have rushed out to start reading Sanderson since the WoT announcement. I suppose that you can count me as one, though it really just an excuse to read something I've been meaning to for a while.

I really enjoyed Mistborn: The Final Empire. It's not the best epic fantasy by any means but it is well above average. And I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books. A [url="http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2008/01/mistborn-final-empire-by-brandon.html"]full review[/url] is on the blog.

[KatieG]

A timely revival as I just finished the first book in the trilogy last week. I am waiting for the second to come out in paperback before continuing (not because I wouldn't buy it in hardback, the first book was good enough to warrant the extra cost, but because my bookshelves are so full I am having to save space nowadays).

I loved the magic system, it was both different from anything I had seen and logical. I also thought it was a big step up from [i]Elantris[/i], which I liked, but was a little more "fluffy" fantasy than this one. Not that I don't like that kind of fantasy too, but it's nice to see something a little more thoughtful...

I don't think I have anything particular to add that people haven't mentioned above, but just wanted to say if you're lurking in this thread Brandon, awesome job :thumbsup: Can't wait to see what you do next (and I don't just mean the last Jordan book!)

[AverageGuy]

Since I read these the last week of December, I'll add my two cents. I liked Mistborn a lot more than Elantris. However, despite reading The Well of Ascension over the two days after I finished Mistborn, I had trouble getting into it. Eventually it picked up, or smoothed out, or something, because I basically enjoyed it starting about halfway through. Unfortunately, while I still have a good memory of the events in both books, it's been a little too long since I've read it for me to pinpoint exactly why I had my reactions. Generally, I enjoyed both.

[Shryke]

[quote name='AverageGuy' post='1203724' date='Jan 25 2008, 18.36']Since I read these the last week of December, I'll add my two cents. I liked Mistborn a lot more than Elantris. However, despite reading The Well of Ascension over the two days after I finished Mistborn, I had trouble getting into it. Eventually it picked up, or smoothed out, or something, because I basically enjoyed it starting about halfway through. Unfortunately, while I still have a good memory of the events in both books, it's been a little too long since I've read it for me to pinpoint exactly why I had my reactions. Generally, I enjoyed both.[/quote]

Well of Ascension just isn't as exciting a book. The beginnings quite slow. It picks up later though.

Also:

SPOILER: The Final Empire

with Kelsier gone, the series lost it's most interesting character.

[dits]

I enjoyed both books as well, though the first one was more engrossing than the second. I am avidly awaiting for the concluding book of the trilogy as well as the author's conlusion of RJ's WOT series.

[RedEyedGhost]

I couldn't have been more pleased with [u]Well of Ascension[/u]. I felt the ending was nigh on brilliant. Just as good as [u]The Final Empire[/u] and I really didn't...

SPOILER: major Final Empire spoiler

...miss Kelsier

[Guy Kilmore]

I have to thank Robert Jordan, he led me to Martin. When I heard Sanderson was going to finish off his series, I picked up Misborn and the second book. I enjoyed them both, the prose moved alright along. I enjoyed the characters, but, I would say that Sanderson's magic system is alot of fun. It made for great action sequences and there is a definate system to it, at the same time it doesn't lose its "Magicy" feel.