396 replies to this topic

[Ebenstone]

Here's the confirmation:

http://mistborn.livejournal.com/

http://blog.myspace....B85DF9931317187

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

Hmm. Not the author I would have chosen, TBH. Ah well.

[Daedalus V2.0]

I don't know whether to let out a rousing cheer or not. Sanderson is certainly an above-par writer, so I suppose we'll just see what turns out. At least I can know that things will end; I'm not sure I'd have been able to see the series end on the note left by KoD.

[Shaun Snow]

Huh. Good that it'll be finished, but... who?

If anyone has read this guy can they say if theres any similarity between his style and Jordan's?

[Bazzlebane]

I've not read Brandon Sanderson, so I cannot speak to the quality of his writing.  But he does seem to take the legacy of Jordan seriously (I remember what he posted when news of Jordan's death came out).  My impression is that he would do this with the right intentions: doing right by Jordan, not just self-aggrandizement.  And it's good that there are copious notes and Mrs. Rigney will do the editing.

I'd rather this than never have Wheel of Time resolved.  I look forward to it.

Edited by Bazzlebane, 10 December 2007 - 01:28 PM.

[Multaniette]

Sanderson might be above par if Newcomb's the standard but the fact remains - Jordan, for all his faults, was a far better writer then Sanderson's ever going to be.

[diabloblanco18]

This seems a very strange choice. Not because of a huge disparity in quality between the two, but simply because I remember Jordan's style as being very different from Sanderson's (whom I have read much more recently).

At least it's not Kevin J. Anderson, though. God knows he does enough of this sort of thing.

[Jon Targaryen]

diabloblanco18, on Dec 10 2007, 10.44, said:

At least it's not Kevin J. Anderson, though.

QFT. Thank God in Heaven.

[AverageGuy]

I'm not sure what to think, either.  Jordan has been writing these stories as long as I've been reading fantasy.  As much as I make fun of smoothing skirts and tugging braids, that's part of The Wheel of Time.  I don't want to be unfair to Sanderson in all of this, though.

Sanderson's style isn't really like Jordan's, but with a partial manuscript, a lot of notes, and Jordan's wife/editor, I think they can be faithful to Jordan's vision.  But I imagine there will be a lot of criticism just based on the author change.

[duchess of malfi]

diabloblanco18, on Dec 10 2007, 13.44, said:

At least it's not Kevin J. Anderson, though. God knows he does enough of this sort of thing.

Thank God. I have never read anything by Sanderson, but he would have to try really really really hard to do as terrible a job as Anderson has with the Dune books.

[Larry.]

It'll certainly be a change in style, that's for sure ;)  I've read Sanderson's three novels to date and while I had quite a few reservations about Elantris, I thought the writing improved in the two Mistborn novels.  That being said, it'll be interesting to see how Sanderson's penchant for wanting to write cheerful (within limits) characters will clash with the WoT women's tendency to have colds ;)

[add-on]

Bazzlebane, on Dec 10 2007, 12.27, said:

I've not read Brandon Sanderson, so I cannot speak to the quality of his writing.  But he does seem to take the legacy of Jordan seriously (I remember what he posted when news of Jordan's death came out).  My impression is that he would do this with the right intentions: doing right by Jordan, not just self-aggrandizement.  And it's good that there are copious notes and Mrs. Rigney will do the editing.

I'd rather this than never have Wheel of Time resolved.  I look forward to it.

Pretty much agree with all of this. From the interview that's posted on Dragonmount, he definitely seems like he's taking the right approach.  And I, too, am just glad that we'll get an ending.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Dylanfanatic, on Dec 10 2007, 13.54, said:

That being said, it'll be interesting to see how Sanderson's penchant for wanting to write cheerful (within limits) characters will clash with the WoT women's tendency to have colds ;)

That's OK, their styles intersect in creating stock female characters. (the princess in Elantris, for example. Not my favorite character of all-time)

That said, many people have said that Mistborn is a big step up from Elantris, so I hold out hope.
ETA -- and he does sound like he's committed to carrying on the legacy of Jordan. In all, this is a good result.

Edited by Xray the Enforcer, 10 December 2007 - 02:24 PM.

[The Wedge]

Sanderson's a member of the ASOIAF board here, so it'll be interesting to see if he pops in for a comment or two.

Recently he was on soliciting critiques on the Warbreaker cover art.

[Shryke]

Xray the Enforcer, on Dec 10 2007, 14.13, said:

That said, many people have said that Mistborn is a big step up from Elantris, so I hold out hope.
ETA -- and he does sound like he's committed to carrying on the legacy of Jordan. In all, this is a good result.

I sure as fuck hope Mistborn is a step up. It took a supreme effort of will to move past the first paragraph of Elantris. Man, maybe it's cause I was just reading Mielville, but damn that was not good shit.

But he seems committed in the right kind of way, so hopefully this turns out good.

[kcf]

I haven't read him yet, but it seems to be as good of a choice as anybody. I also don't find it a suprising choice since he pratically asked for the job in his eulogy to Jordan.

[Werthead]

A reasonable choice. I actually quite liked Elantris and his writing style is not that far removed from Jordan's. He'll need to step up the detail level somewhat but given that most of the storyline is already laid out for him and Jordan has completed some fairly large chunks of the book, it's not as difficult a task as it perhaps first appears to be.

Still, the spirit of Kevin J. Anderson may lurk over Sanderson's shoulder on this one. It's a very, very tough job and frankly Sanderson must have some serious balls to have accepted it. As someone said, it could do his own career wonders or kill it stone dead if he fucks up (and I'm pretty sure he won't).

It could have been worse. It could have been the Yeard (shudders).

[Muttering Bill]

I must now go and pick up one of his books, to see what we're in for.

[The Wedge]

Elantris was just okay for me, but I do enjoy reading Brandon's website and blogs.  

He seems to take extreme pride in writing and making his own better.  I believe he mentioned that Elantris was the 6th novel he had written and the Mistborn books even further down the line.  Write, write, and write some more to get better at the craft.

It's a daunting and perhaps thankless task to complete a series that basically re-energized fantasy in the last 15 years, but from what I can tell Sanderson's a good choice as anyone else.  Unfailingly pleasant and now willing to take the arrows that will almost certainly volley his way in the next year.  

I suppose he'll have to learn how to tug a braid or two, though.  ;)

[swedeheadchris]

This will be interesting. Brandon seems like a nice guy, and, thanks to SQT, I have a copy of Elantris in the post, so I bloody hope I like it!! ;)

~Chris.