The Brandon Sanderson Thread

[Rhom]

We finally have a release date for The Rithmatist (written in 2007):

About "Stormlight 2":

http://www.tor.com/b...-sdcc-spotlight

Amazon.co.uk claims that this book will be published in November 2013.

http://www.amazon.co...42554826&sr=1-1

The guy amazes me... he's talking about churning out a 1000 page beast in half a year! Yes, perhaps the prose isn't quite poetry; but I don't know that taking 4 years would improve that. Bottom line is, he puts out an amazing volume of entertaining literature.

[koudoulis]

well , there are two ways of looking at sanderson's books....

a) its about poorly designed whining characters ranging from feudal prince to poor girl, with an adequate plot subfused with "one tree hill" level of romance or

B) its about huge swords and awesome magic systems with action that blows away anything that could possibly drag you down during the useless hours you spent in your job.

pretty straightforward ...

[Noroldis]

Way of Kings seemed like a prologue to a bigger book, it was mostly set-up.

I totally disagree. A Dance with Dragons was mostly set-up and too little payoff. TWoK, whatever other faults it may have, had at least one major, clear buildup -> climax -> resolution sequence.

And I felt that at least one character- Shallan- was shortchanged, but Sanderson explained that as her story being just an introduction I think. He still could have cut the whole thing and added it to the next book.

Shifting Shallan's chapters to the second book would considerably diminish the dramatic impact of the revelation Jasnah imparted to Shallan during the last chapters. Also, it would have meant that the first novel would have had no major female POV character, something I'm sure many readers would have noted and decried.

[Migey]

Slightly off topic, but just read up on and saw the 'mood' trailer for a Mistborn movie which Sanderson wants to be made.

Who do you think would make good casting choices for Vin and Kelsier?

[aidan]

Brad Pitt and Ellen Page.

[Migey]

Brad Pitt as Kelsier? Hmmm... I wouldn't be at all optimistic about that.

I actually could see Ellen Page as Vin though. At first glance i'd say no, but she has shown she can act very well in diverse roles, and she did come across as pretty dangerous in Hard Candy, so it's not too much of a stretch to imagine her acting well in the part of Vin. And I guess she could look the part too... only problem is... not sure how to phrase this. She doesn't look like she could look as starved as Vin is supposed to.

Then again Jennifer Lawrence didn't look as starved as Katniss is supposed to, but she pulled that off pretty well.

Yeah, I guess Ellen Page is a better Vin fit then most other actresses with talent I can think of. She's short enough, at least.

[aidan]

I was joking.

[Migey]

I didn't know enough about Brad Pitt as an actor apart from his looks to tell that it was a joke...?

Were you joking about Ellen Page too? Cause I actually could see that working...

[Castel]

I totally disagree. A Dance with Dragons was mostly set-up and too little payoff. TWoK, whatever other faults it may have, had at least one major, clear buildup -> climax -> resolution sequence.

Sure, for Kaladin. But for the rest of the story in the world we still know nothing. Maybe I just place more emphasis on the world and there it seemed to be mostly set up with a few reveals based on character journeys we already figured out (minus Shallan).

Shifting Shallan's chapters to the second book would considerably diminish the dramatic impact of the revelation Jasnah imparted to Shallan during the last chapters. Also, it would have meant that the first novel would have had no major female POV character, something I'm sure many readers would have noted and decried.

The first point I agree, but I think that you're not giving fantasy fans enough credit if you think that they'll get up in arms about about a quality decision for it's own sake. I think Sanderson would be able to explain this, he does go to cons and have interviews. That said, if the revelation was going to play a part in the next book then it was probably best to put it here.

[fionwe1987]

There's another reason to put in Shallan's story in the first book: the King of Karabranth. He needed to be introduced and set up, otherwise several major reveals in the end would have had no impact.

And its not just Kaladin who had his story resolved. Dalinar did too.

[Gigei]

I just finished Warbreaker. I wasn't expecting too much as the premise seemed quite absurd (color-based power in a nutshell) but I was pleasantly surprised. Enjoyed it a lot. The characters are likable and human even with all of their mistakes. The humorous dialogue (Blushweaver, Lightsong) actually made me laugh for once which is a big plus.

I also appreciate that it is a standalone book. I need more of those after finishing the gigantic Malazan series.

[Migey]

There will be a sequel to Warbreaker someday, called Nightblood, but thats far in the future. Personally I think it's one of his best works, and I find ti sad that it seems to see so little discussion around here. While there will be a sequel though, it still does work as a standalone, which I appreciate.

[Gigei]

That is good news since I would love a sequel. It does works nicely as a standalone, I agree. I didn't think there would be a sequel since it seems the ending is pretty good. I hope the series doesn't become too dark later on because I really liked the funny moments.

Of course, in retrospect a lot of the jokes have a different interpretation after the

the revelation that they weren't really jokes. the animal cruelty for one thing was a bummer but I only realized that afterwards

[Migey]

The book ended with an incredibly blatant sequel setup... I thought it was obvious. The ending did work very well, but the last 2/3 pages were screaming ''I'M ONLY HERE TO SET UP A SEQUEL''.

[Gigei]

The book ended with an incredibly blatant sequel setup... I thought it was obvious. The ending did work very well, but the last 2/3 pages were screaming ''I'M ONLY HERE TO SET UP A SEQUEL''.

I just assumed it was meant to be open-ended, just the way I like my endings..

[Rhom]

Posting from mobile so I can't provide the link... But on Facebook today he said that he finished chapter one of Stormlight 2. Got me pretty excited.

So at Brandon's usual pace... We should expect this by the end of the year, right? :lol:

[Werthead]

I think late 2013 is the earliest. What is slighlty concerning is that after saying Way of Kings would be the longest book in the series, he's now saying that Book 2 will also be a thousand pages. Really?

He's also ditched the second title. So Highprince of War is out and now The Book of Endless Pages is also gone. Apparently he thought the latter was too meta for a massive epic fantasy novel.

[Jussi]

Steelheart will be published in August 2013. Here is the new blurb:

There are no heroes.

Every single person who manifested powers - we call them Epics - turned out to be evil.

Here, in the city once known as Chicago, an extraordinarily powerful Epic declared himself Emperor. Steelheart has the strength of ten men and can control the elements. It is said no bullet can harm him, no sword can split his skin, no explosion can burn him. He is invincible.

It has been ten years. We live our lives as best we can. Nobody fights back . . . nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans who spend their lives studying powerful Epics, finding their weaknesses, then assassinating them.

My name is David Charleston. I'm not one of the Reckoners, but I intend to join them. I have something they need. Something precious, something incredible. Not an object, but an experience. I know his secret.

I've seen Steelheart bleed.

http://presentinglenore.blogspot.fi/2012/08/author-interview-brandon-sanderson.html

[longlivestark]

I think late 2013 is the earliest. What is slighlty concerning is that after saying Way of Kings would be the longest book in the series, he's now saying that Book 2 will also be a thousand pages. Really?

He's also ditched the second title. So Highprince of War is out and now The Book of Endless Pages is also gone. Apparently he thought the latter was too meta for a massive epic fantasy novel.

Wait, he was seriously considering naming the second book The Book of Endless Pages, I heard about that but thought it was a joke made by some people due to the extreme length of the first book.

[Noroldis]

I think late 2013 is the earliest. What is slighlty concerning is that after saying Way of Kings would be the longest book in the series, he's now saying that Book 2 will also be a thousand pages. Really?

If he can maintain the quality of the first book in book 2, I have no problem with Stormlight 2 also being a thousand pages. Yes, some parts of TWoK dragged on, but IMO it all paid off wonderfully in the climax and resolution. Also, I'm curious - where has Sanderson said that book 2 will be a thousand pages? I can't seem to find that info on his website. (And strangely, in his Current Projects status bar, it seems he has started the first draft of Stormlight 2 while not yet being done with that book's prewriting.)