The Brandon Sanderson Thread

[Prince Who Was Promised]

The first Brandon Sanderson book I read was MIstborn, and I enjoyed it. Alot. I stayed up till nearly 2 in the morning finishing it. Now I'm balancing reading A Crown of Swords and Well of Ascension.

[Theodor]

If someone who is interested has missed it, Brandon Sanderson answers questions on the 8th-10th of July at this page:

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/boa...ding&page=1

[Myshkin]

A little late, I know, but:

but neither of these changes the fact that Elantris isn't at all bad.

How is that a fact?

The Mistborn books might well be better, but I sincerely don't think they're going to be so much better that they'll overcome the bad taste Elantris left in my mouth.

I felt nearly exactly the same as you about Elantris. But I really liked Mistborn. It was so much better than Elantris that it did overcome the bad taste Elantris left in my mouth. I can empathize with your reluctance, but I think it would be a shame if you let Elantris color your entire opinion about Sanderson.

[Maia]

I also considered Elantris to be run-of-the-mill and didn't look at Sanderson again until I got sucked into the WOT re-read threads on tor.com a few weeks back. That got me to read his other stuff and I liked it a lot. There is room for improvement, sure, but there is also sense of wonder and lack of predictability, which I have been missing in my fantasy reading during quite some time.

I am reading his Q@A at Barnes-and-Noble site and I really like how these quotes sound:

"One of the things that has itched at me for long time in my fantasy reading is the sense of loss that so many fantasy series have. I'm not complaining, mind you--I love these books. But it seems like a theme in a large number of fantasy books is the disappearance of magic and wonder from the world. In Tolkien, the Elves are leaving. In Jordan, technology is growing and perhaps beginning an age where it will overshadow magic. It's very present in Brooks, where the fantasy world is becoming our world. Even Eddings seemed to have it, with a sense that sorcerers are less common, and with things like the only Dragons dying, the gods leaving.

I've wanted to do a series, then, where the magic isn't going away--it's coming back."....

"One of the things I've come to believe is that limitations are more important than powers in many cases. By not limiting themselves in what their characters can do, authors often don't have to really explore the extent of the powers they've created. If you are always handing your characters new powers, then they'll use the new and best--kind of like giving your teen a new car every year, rather than forcing them to test the limits of what that old junker will do. Often, those old cars will surprise you. Same thing for the magic. When you're constrained, as a writer, by the limits of the magic, it forces you to be more creative. And that can lead to better storytelling and a more fleshed out magic."....

Couldn't agree more on both counts, these are issues for me as a reader and I am happy to see an author who shares them.

"I will, someday, write a follow-up trilogy to Mistborn. It will be set several hundred years after the events of the first trilogy, after technology has caught up to where it should be. Essentially, these will be urban fantasy stories set in the same world. Guns, cars, skyscrapers--and Allomancers."...

And this sounds very promising. Hopefully, unlike Tad Williams, who wanted to do something similar with "Memory, Shadow and Thorn" world, Sanderson will actually get to it during my lifetime ;).

[Werthead]

Book 1: The Final Empire

A thousand years ago, a hero whose coming was long prophesied set out to save the world from the Deepness, a force of ultimate evil. He went on a quest to the mythical Well of Ascension, the power of which would allow him to save the world from oblivion. He failed. Whilst he banished the Deepness, he was corrupted by his power and became the immortal Lord Ruler. He went on to conquer the world.

The Final Empire now spans most of the world. The majority of the people are slave-workers known as skaa, whilst a privileged few, the nobles (the descendants of the Lord Ruler's allies and cronies who helped him achieve power), rule in indolent luxury. The Lord Ruler's will is enforced by his obligators and the horrifying Steel Inquisitors, and all opposition to his rule is crushed without mercy.

In the Empire's capital, Luthadel, a man named Kelsier and his criminal crew is planning the ultimate heist. The prize is the rule of the Final Empire itself. To put together the operation he requires powerful and skilled allies and hires Vin, a young girl who has just started exhibiting the powers of the Mistborn, someone who can wield all the powers of Allomancy. Allomancers 'burn' metals to release magical powers. Most Allomancers can only control one metal, but Mistborn can wield all ten, and are formidable opponents. Vin's job is to infiltrate the nobility and gather intelligence on the opposition that is waiting for them, but soon gets in over her head.

The Final Empire is the first book in the Mistborn Trilogy. Prior to this series, Sanderson had won some acclaim with his promising debut, the single-volume novel Elantris, but Mistborn saw a marked improvement in his critical reception and led to him being offered the job of finishing the last Wheel of Time book following Robert Jordan's death.

The Final Empire was published in 2006, around the same time as Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora and Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself. Whilst in Europe the book attracted little attention - its first British edition isn't out until the end of this year - in the USA it was compared favourably with those other high-profile debuts. There are some interesting similarities with Lynch, as The Final Empire is also a 'heist' or 'caper' novel with a band of criminals out to pull a con, although in this book the con is a much bigger and more epic in scope. Direct comparisons between the two books beyond that are unfair, as their targets are very different, but broadly speaking The Final Empire is not as funny but is a bit more cohesive and focused on its central plot.

Amongst Sanderson's strengths are a finely-tuned magic system, which is logically and rationally explored. The notion of something eating metals (or, more often, drinking metal-specked liquids) is a bit weird at first, but it works quite well and some of the Mistborn abilities are quite impressive. The laws of ballistics are cleverly invoked to show how a Mistborn can, for example, 'fly' from one place or another by simply repelling or attracting themselves towards metal objects. Character-wise, the book is also strong. Vin is a decent lead protagonist, although her somewhat brooding and paranoid emo-ness at the start of the book is a bit difficult to get used to. Her character evolution over the course of the book and her graduation to the level of Total Badass is perhaps predictable, but nonetheless well-handed. Kelsier and Sazed are also strong protagonists, and the subtle way that Sanderson builds up the character of the Lord Ruler is very clever. However, Elend is a bit of a bland non-entity at this stage, and the other members of Vin and Kelsier's crew tend to blur into a morass of similarly well-meaning-but-decent do-gooders.

The story develops nicely and there's a very nice and clever twist in the ending. In fact, The Final Empire is almost a stand-alone novel, with only a solitary line of dialogue near the end opening the way for the sequels.

The Final Empire (****) is a strong and worthy addition to the ranks of the 'New Fantasy' movement. The writing is fresh and enjoyable and the setting impressively-realised. The novel is available now in the USA and will be published by Gollancz in the UK on 1 October 2009.

[Foreverlad]

Book 1: The Final Empire

Nice write-up Wert. Just finished Mistborn today, and I was impressed with it. I'd read Elantris awhile ago and enjoyed it, didn't realized Mistborn would really be an improvement on it.

Judging by past reads, I didn't know if I'd enjoy a novel with so much action in it, let alone magical action. Brandon really handled it well. I had to go out and pick up books 2 and 3 on my way home from work. I've got 30 books on my TBR pile and they just got put aside.

[Samalander]

Ok, just finished Warbeaker. It's light, and fun, but doesn't seem as deep as Mistborn or even Elantris (and, of course, my favourite character is the sword).

Nitpicking time:

1) If Returned cannot have children (as the high priest confessed), where did the royal family come from? Aren't they supposed to be the offsprings of a Returned individual? Where does their hair power come from, then?

2) Hoid. Sanderson is doing this just wrong, wrong, wrong. No foreshadowing, no useful hints, no unmasking of agenda. He just sort of pops up everywhichwhere. He should definately get more face time. Contrast this with Fizban/Zifnab (who appears in various works by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman). Wherever he shows up you already know his overall agenda (even if the who/what he is sometimes debatable) and what to expect from him. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have Randell Flag from various King novels. Even though the backstory of these two will never be fully known, nobody starts scratching their heads and going WTF when they show up.

[aidan]

Some news on Sanderson's next project, The Way of Kings HERE.

I want to release KINGS on a schedule of two books, followed by one book in another setting, then two more KINGS.

...

It happens in a world where hurricane-like storms crash over the land every few days.

...

The book follows a young spearman forced into the army of a Shardbearer, led to war against an enemy he doesn’t understand and doesn’t really want to fight. It will deal with the truth of what happened deep in mankind’s past. Why did the Radiants turn against mankind, and what happened to the magic they used to wield?

More specific details are available at the link.

It's nice to see some word on The Way of Kings, considering most of the news about Sanderson lately has been WoT-related. I'm wary of a ten(!)-volume series, but it's nice that he has the foresight to break that up with single novels, suggesting perhaps that each novel might be stand-aloneish in nature, while weaving into a larger narrative. At least that's what I want to read out of this news.

[Werthead]

Book 2: The Well of Ascension

The Final Empire has fragmented into numerous squabbling bandit kingdoms and rebel states. Elend Venture has taken control of the former capital, Luthadel, aided by Vin, a powerful Mistborn, and the other leaders of the rebellion. But Elend's idealistic dreams of a democratic government are sorely tested when two other rulers lay claim to the city and arrive to besiege it.

Meanwhile, the Terris Keeper, Sazed, is worried by reports of the return of a deadly form of the mists that appear at night, and begins an investigation into the prophecies that led to the Lord Ruler gaining power, searching for clues as to the location of the Well of Ascension, the only power in the world that might save it from destruction...

Picking up where The Final Empire left off, The Well of Ascension sees a marked change in pace in the development of the Mistborn series. The first book was a bit of a caper story mixed in with a traditional 'rebelling against the evil ruler' narrative with a great magic system on top. Book 2 now sees the former rebels coping themselves with the pressures of governance. Elend, a rather thin character in the first book, becomes a lot more interesting in this volume as his former idealism clashes with an increasingly cynical outlook brought about by events. There's also a lessening of focus on Vin. Whilst still the central character, Elend and Sazed come much more to the fore in this novel as well. There's also a new Mistborn character, Zane, who enters the story and provides an effective sparring partner for Vin. Sanderson's worldbuilding also comes on a lot in this book, with a logical development of his metal-based magic system.

On the minus side, the change in narrative style means a slackening of the pace. There's a lot of talk and intrigue in this book, although it isn't entirely convincing and leads to a static pace as the various factions are engaged in a stand-off for most of the story, no one side able to move without being defeated by the others. This makes for a slightly less engaging story than the first book.

However, in the last 200 pages or so Sanderson suddenly turns everything up to 11. All hell breaks loose and as well as featuring major battles there are a series of stunning revelations about the prophecies that our characters have been following so far. The prophecy is a particularly annoying staple of epic fantasy literature but Sanderson's treatment of it at the end of this book is fascinating, making for a great twist ending.

The Well of Ascension (****) takes a while to get going, but decent character development keeps things ticking over until the action and revelation-packed finale. The novel is available now in the USA and will be published on 10 December 2009 by Gollancz in the UK.

[aidan]

EDIT: WTF is wrong with me. How did I not realize I had already posted that?

[Souran]

I liked sandersons writting at least for mistborn ~ couldn't finish the book it didn't grab me very well story wise. However, it was well written.

[Werthead]

I am intrigued by this notion that Sanderson's own adult fantasy series (so not the AMoL trilogy or the Alcatraz books) all take place in the same universe or plane of reality, the 'Shadesmar'. Elantris, Warbreaker, Mistborn, Way of Kings and a number of other unpublished or planned books all have the same cosmology with the various magic systems derived from its powers, and in addition there is a character called Hoid who appears in all of the books as well (though not always named) who is the same being.

Intriguing, I like the idea of there beings a bigger story going on in the background beyond the primary narratives of each stand-alone or series. The only downside is that it sounds like Sanderson is going to leave it a very long time before he delves into the common backstory of the setting.

[Foreverlad]

I am intrigued by this notion that Sanderson's own adult fantasy series (so not the AMoL trilogy or the Alcatraz books) all take place in the same universe or plane of reality, the 'Shadesmar'. Elantris, Warbreaker, Mistborn, Way of Kings and a number of other unpublished or planned books all have the same cosmology with the various magic systems derived from its powers, and in addition there is a character called Hoid who appears in all of the books as well (though not always named) who is the same being.

Intriguing, I like the idea of there beings a bigger story going on in the background beyond the primary narratives of each stand-alone or series. The only downside is that it sounds like Sanderson is going to leave it a very long time before he delves into the common backstory of the setting.

Thanks so much for mentioning this Wert. Been content with Brandon's work thus far and I'm reading through everything else. Completely missed the references to HOID. Doing a little research on the matter now.

[kmgrey]

Thanks so much for mentioning this Wert. Been content with Brandon's work thus far and I'm reading through everything else. Completely missed the references to HOID. Doing a little research on the matter now.

Yeah, any connections are *really* subtle. I've read both the Mistborn trilogy and Warbreaker in the past month or so and I totally missed any connections until I saw Sanderson reference them in his Barnes & Noble Q&A.

[Infidel]

I've enjoyed Sanderson's work for the most part, and appreciate the thought he clearly puts into his ideas (see the interview above) -- but I just can't get over the fact that his characters leave me cold. In the Final Empire in particular, the banter of Kelsier's crew always felt so forced, and I never found Elend or Breeze particularly believable.

[wolverine]

Anybody notice the Amazon page concerning The Way of Kings? It already has 39 reviews and has never actually been released. The reviews are mostly satyrical comments on a book that is not out. I particularly like the front cover though.

http://www.amazon.com/Way-Kings-Brandon-Sa..._pr_product_top

Was The Way of Kings scheduled to be released earlier?

[aidan]

Here's what Brandon had to say about the Amazon.com page:

These are some of the amusing fake reviews for KINGS that readers have been posting on Amazon. For some reason, Amazon put up a page for this book years and years ago, when I got my first contract. Somehow, they heard I was working on a book called THE WAY OF KINGS, and jumped the gun in adding a page for it, even though I was still working on the book. (I've been planning, writing, and wrestling with this story for some ten years now.)

Anyway, readers noticed the page and began having fun with it. None of them have read the book, but that hasn't stopped them from reviewing it. There are even pictures of it, including photoshops of me holding a fake book. Look for it on Amazon. It's rather amusing.

[kmgrey]

Anybody notice the Amazon page concerning The Way of Kings? It already has 39 reviews and has never actually been released. The reviews are mostly satyrical comments on a book that is not out. I particularly like the front cover though.

http://www.amazon.com/Way-Kings-Brandon-Sa..._pr_product_top

Was The Way of Kings scheduled to be released earlier?

From Sanderson's blog: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/784/A...-Various-Things

The Way of Kings was the book I had just finished when I first got offered a book deal for ELANTRIS. I originally signed a deal for ELANTRIS and for KINGS. (And because of that, you can still find an Amazon entry for KINGS—which has some amusing reviews posted by readers with too much time on their hands. Note that the book was never released, so these are all just made-up amusing reviews.)

I think he has since solicited even more made up reviews.

EDIT- Ah, Aidan beat me to it.

[Werthead]

Anybody notice the Amazon page concerning The Way of Kings? It already has 39 reviews and has never actually been released. The reviews are mostly satyrical comments on a book that is not out. I particularly like the front cover though.

http://www.amazon.com/Way-Kings-Brandon-Sa..._pr_product_top

Was The Way of Kings scheduled to be released earlier?

I love this one:

I love the horses in this book! They're beautiful and ideal and talk about their feelings. And then they explode!

[Shryke]

Maybe we should just add a subtitle to this thread or something:

"Read Mistborn First!!!!"