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An accurate commentary on my stance vis-a-vis Brandon Sanderson


Yagathai

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:lol:



Yeah, that's pretty much my impression of how the Sanderson threads go.



Random Person: Sanderson's writing is pretty mediocre


Fan Person: butbutbut...worldbuildingmagicsystemwooooooo!!



I think it speaks more to the general limitations of the average fantasy fan (who values genre furniture above all else) and their opinions on books than it does to Sanderson fans in particular, though. You could easily substitute Rothfuss into that strip and still have it be valid. Or, really, any fantasy author who hasn't written something really fucked up (Bakker, Bishop) or notable in some way (Morgan, Lynch).


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Bit lazy and obvious as a gag, though I agree there's an underlying germ of truth.



But Penny Arcade have kind have lost the authority to make jokes about 'things you read making you throw up', considering some of their past actions and comments. It's hard to take their commentary on, well, anything really seriously any more.



But this will always remain their finest piece of SFF commentary in a strip.


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Yeah, well, they also think Karen Travis is the second coming of Christ and that China Mieville is the devil. So, grains of salt.

Well, "they" are two people. Gabe aka Mike is the guy that loves the X-wing novels and hates China Mieville. Jerry aka Tycho is much more into the more literary SF.

That said, have you ever met China Mieville? I have. I'm not totally convinced he's not actually the devil.

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"She's still loved by all the boys, but the only one she likes? Kvothe. Because he loves her for her, dammit. He's not like all those other jocks; he'd treat her reeeeeeeal nice." :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

My favorite part of the review was the all-caps "SHE BREAKS MEN WITH HER LADYLAND."

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Random Person: Sanderson's writing is pretty mediocre

Fan Person: butbutbut...worldbuildingmagicsystemwooooooo!!

Well, I do tend to be that Fan Person (despite not really loving him), but I think a lot of people who disparage him and those who like him (outwith of these boards particularly) really seem to overestimate the importance of, well, good writing and nothing else. Good writing is great and without it many books don't work, but if I want good actual writing, there are so many places to go. Sanderson, for all of his hideously obvious faults, provides something which not many other authors do.

Still doesn't make Elantris readable though.

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I remember the story that the PA guys were at a more general comics/SF convention and another guest of honour was Harlan Ellison. They didn't have any idea who he was, which pissed him off immensely, and they had a bit of a pointless slanging match about it on-stage. That was odd, although in the case, Ellison seems to have been at fault because he couldn't comprehend the idea of people not knowing who he was.


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Good writing is great and without it many books don't work, but if I want good actual writing, there are so many places to go. Sanderson, for all of his hideously obvious faults, provides something which not many other authors do.

Yeah, the snobby SFF fan is always in a bit of conundrum given other works that are supposedly "better". It's like attacking someone for playing Farmville because other simulation games have better AI and are more complex.

Of course AFAICT no one has given a truly definitive reason why reading "better" books matters.

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