The Brandon Sanderson Thread

[Rhom]

Mr. Whelan’s been missed and it’s nice to back, if only for a one shot deal.

So the other books in the series won't have the same cover artist? The OCD side of me wants my covers to match.

I suppose they can always just get Darrel Sweet to do the next ones. :thumbsup:

[MattD]

At this stage in Sanderson's career, post-The Gathering Storm, and with this being the start of an all new series, it's pretty normal for the author's name to be the biggest thing on the cover, since that's what is gonna sell the thing.

It will be interesting to see how that works out. I know the second Mistborn book had distribution problems and so didn't sell as well as hoped, and then just recently I saw Hero of Ages hardcovers at bookcloseouts.com -- which makes me wonder if it was remaindered. Then there was Warbreaker; I wonder how much it being available free online impacted its sales? Tor clearly wants (if not needs) Sanderson to fill the role of big-selling epic fantasy author that's vacant now that the Goodkind series is over, the Jordan series is ending, etc. He's certainly been successful, but it's difficult to tell if he's been quite that successful.

[Galactus]

I just finished Mistborn. Decent book, interesting magic system (although it feels a bit "gimmicky" in some ways) and a few nice potential ideas RE: Prophecy and all that.

THe characters felt very flat though. Not bad, but kind of flat.

[aidan]

Brandon Sanderson talks about THE WAY OF KINGS

My editor, bless his heart, compared THE WAY OF KINGS to DUNE and LORD OF THE RINGS in the catalogue copy that he wrote. He’s a wonderful man, but I cringe when any new book is compared to masterworks like those. DUNE and LotR have proven themselves over decades, passing the test of time. They had monumental influences on their respective genres.No new novel has the right to claim such a comparison out of the gate. If you go into KINGS expecting the next LORD OF THE RINGS or DUNE, you will be disappointed. I am not Tolkien or Herbert. I am what I am—a largely unproven writer still in the early days of his career.

Early in my drafting process for this book, I fell into some traps by putting too much weight upon the future of this novel. I began to think that KINGS would be the book that would define my solo career, and I began to worry (with all of the recent eyes that have been watching me) that this book needed to be something incredibly jaw-dropping and earth-shattering, otherwise it would be a failure.

That’s a bad way to be thinking as you write a book, and probably an even worse way to be thinking as you start reading a book. The Wheel of Time didn’t start to really make its mark until book three or four; it was the same for Harry Potter. Series like this take time to build. Beyond that, you can’t go into a series with the mind-set that it needs to be a huge blockbuster to be successful.

I’m not sure what I want people to think about this book. I want them to read it, enjoy it, and say nice things about it. I want them to anticipate it and talk about it on blogs, waiting for the day it is released. But in the end, it’s just a book. Let’s not hype this thing to death.

[Flying Halftrak]

Frankly, his humility makes me MORE likely to read the book than yet another hyperbole-laden press statement. So many books have been compared to Lord of the Rings by now that the claim means very, very little. (And Lord of the Rings is my favorite book!)

I admire Sanderson's attitude. He's written a book. He thinks it's a good book. He wants people to think it's a good book. Anything more is gravy. Makes me think that the book is probably more solid and grounded than a lot of works where the authors had his head in the clouds the entire time.

[Humble Asskicker]

From Sanderson's blog:

KINGS stands at 425,000 words right now. I'll be trimming that down to (hopefully) 380–390k when I do the next draft. (Which will be the final draft.)

Holy shit. As it stands, it's longer than A Storm of Swords. Edited down as he says, that's around Shadow Rising size. For the first novel out of ten.

That's crazy. No, it's not crazy, it's staggering that he can manage this while also writing another massive, 300k+ novel. I know it's a rewrite of what he had previously produced, but he claims that it was pretty much taken apart and massively rewritten.

I'm hoping this will be good. Ten huge volumes (or maybe one huge volume and nine decently-sized volumes) of good writing is something to look forward to.

I don't want to jinx things, but how is this guy not burned out?

[Grendalen]

Frankly, his humility makes me MORE likely to read the book than yet another hyperbole-laden press statement.

This. His attitude means a lot to me. A bad attitude doesn't necessarily mean I won't give something a chance (I saw Avatar, after all, even if Cameron's a douche), but this just makes it more likely. That said, I haven't yet read anything from Sanderson yet. It sounds like Mistborn needs to be added to my wish list.

[aidan]

Frankly, his humility makes me MORE likely to read the book than yet another hyperbole-laden press statement. So many books have been compared to Lord of the Rings by now that the claim means very, very little. (And Lord of the Rings is my favorite book!)

I admire Sanderson's attitude. He's written a book. He thinks it's a good book. He wants people to think it's a good book. Anything more is gravy. Makes me think that the book is probably more solid and grounded than a lot of works where the authors had his head in the clouds the entire time.

Totally agree.

[End of Disc One]

I agree with him when he says it's just a book, don't overhype it. I don't necessarily expect this book to blow me away; it's the whole series that I'm really excited about. For me the more epic, the better.

Plus I think I've read that this book is supposed to have a relatively slow first half. That's understandable, but I'm worried the hype might disappoint some people.

[Myrddin]

Frankly, his humility makes me MORE likely to read the book than yet another hyperbole-laden press statement. So many books have been compared to Lord of the Rings by now that the claim means very, very little. (And Lord of the Rings is my favorite book!)

I admire Sanderson's attitude. He's written a book. He thinks it's a good book. He wants people to think it's a good book. Anything more is gravy. Makes me think that the book is probably more solid and grounded than a lot of works where the authors had his head in the clouds the entire time.

Agreed.

I hate the way every year or so there's a new lauded successor to Lord of the Rings. Even Martin has fallen into this trap a bit, being called the American Tolkien.

On the one hand, it must be cool to have something you've written compared to LotR and/or Dune. On the other, Sanderson is completely correct: it just raises false expectations.

Everything I've heard from him speaks of a high class guy (interviews, blog, his writer's audio podcast). I think his post is very heart felt, genuine, and understandably nervous.

[Gormenghast]

I hate to bitch, but it didn't even pass a year since Tor and Sanderson justified the split of "A Memory of Light" saying that bookshops and the market required smaller books on the shelves, that huge epics didn't sell, and that the book couldn't come out in November if Sanderson wasn't done by April, since to publish the book they needed at least eight months from the final draft, and so the split would guarantee that the fans got something sooner.

A year passes and now he tells us how he's going to publish a huge epic, at 425k words and that is coming out in August, less than five months right now, even if he isn't done with the final draft.

I guess it was bullshit. I hope the book is good, though. I'm gonna buy it when it's out.

[Shryke]

What's bullshit?

The Gathering Storm is more then big enough already.

Fuck, the damn thing is one of the thickest books in the series. (I think TGS is like 4th or something in word count)

[Werthead]

Interesting news: Gollancz will publish the UK edition of The Way of Kings in August at the same time the US version comes out. Welcome news after the three years it took the first MISTBORN book to come out over here.

I hate to bitch, but it didn't even pass a year since Tor and Sanderson justified the split of "A Memory of Light" saying that bookshops and the market required smaller books on the shelves, that huge epics didn't sell, and that the book couldn't come out in November if Sanderson wasn't done by April, since to publish the book they needed at least eight months from the final draft, and so the split would guarantee that the fans got something sooner.

A year passes and now he tells us how he's going to publish a huge epic, at 425k words and that is coming out in August, less than five months right now, even if he isn't done with the final draft.

I guess it was bullshit. I hope the book is good, though. I'm gonna buy it when it's out.

There's a difference between the book being 425,000 words and the complete (all three volumes) MEMORY OF LIGHT being expected to weigh in at 1 million + words though. As Sanderson says, 425K is also too long, and the final draft will pare the book down to 380-390,000 words, the same as THE SHADOW RISING and slightly longer than Erikson's longest books.

Also, since the split was announced, Sanderson has published two novels under his own name which have sold very well, plus TGS which hit #1 on the NYT bestseller list (even if that was mostly on Jordan's name, it still gets Sanderson's name in front of millions of readers and raises his profile notably). That has put him, in his own right, in the Martin/Goodkind/Jordan camp of his books being rush-released just a couple of months after he hands in the final draft.

[Galactus]

I finished The Hero of Ages.

I liked it

Although Sazed's ascension felt like it came out of the left field, I had tagget that the brother of whatsherface was really Ruin "speaking" to her, but I didn't catch the earring=Hemalurgical needle thing. That was a neat trick.

[Myrddin]

If I remember right, Sanderson's editor didn't want his career to go on hold while he was finishing hte Wheel, and pushed him to get Kings ready for release this year. Tor is really hoping to build another "Jordan" in terms of sales, that's why his book (which was originally written a long time ago) is getting fast tracked.

Tor wants Sanderson's name plastered everywhere so that he'll be the next household fantasy name when the Wheel stops turning.

[Gormenghast]

There's a difference between the book being 425,000 words and the complete (all three volumes) MEMORY OF LIGHT being expected to weigh in at 1 million + words though.

At the time of the announce the book, in Sanderson's own prediction, was expected to be around 700-800k.

But who cares, it's not the point. I just find ridiculous that people still think Sanderson and Tor spoke truthfully when instead it was all bullshit only to make the fans swallow the split in three. The reasons were ENTIRELY in order to milk what they got and NONE in the way to serve the best product.

In the end the books may still be good and people be happy, so no point in arguing. I just find unacceptable to spin things in order to make them look better and never admitting something true (and the fans still defending that position blindly).

Again, I see nothing wrong in what they decided to do. The new book in Jordan series was delayed so Sanderson could work on his own series. This is all part of a business strategy. What I consider unacceptable is how they spin everything and you all still swallow it. The reasons they use to justify their choices are all bullshit. It's not the choices themselves that I criticize, it's the way they are disrespectful to the public with all this bullshit and excuses that are systematically debunked.

[Gormenghast]

And when I write "bullshit" I mean this kind of bullshit. Sanderson blog, 31 March:

Last night—Monday night—I pulled an all-nighter finishing up THE GATHERING STORM and sending it off to Harriet and company. In essence, the book is now complete. I suspect there will be another hasty round of revisions this weekend, but the book really needs to be in ASAP. We're already over-deadline in getting it in, and Tor is going to have to pay overtime at the printer in order to get it out in November. (Tom has already said he'd do this, so it's not a big issue, but every day counts. Hence the all-night revision marathon.)

Please welcome Tor and Tom, our hero who will spend the night at the printer in order to exceptionally deliver the book in RECORD TIME. Just to serve you, the reader.

This is the spin I hate. How they flaunt themselves as saviors and how everything is boasted as something exceptional just to serve their public, in their own interest. When it's just the MERCHANT speaking here, not the writer. And there isn't even one truthful word when you have a merchant speaking.

Why no reckless rush this time for a book that comes out in August instead of November? Because this time the rush wasn't a reason used to justify a choice, whose real motivation had to be hidden.

Harriett:

The material that Jim left was very capacious, and Brandon saw after working with it for a while that he could not complete it in less than a total of 750,000 words. This is probably an impossible thing to bind - unless we sold it with a magnifying glass. 250,000 words is in fact a fat, or Rubensesque, novel. You will notice that 3 x 250,000 equals 750,000. So... part of the decision was based on making a book within the scope of binding technology.

2 x 390,000 = 780,000

When I'd mentioned 400k to him once, he'd been wary. He explained to me that he felt 400k was unprintably large in today's publishing market.

[Guy Kilmore]

And when I write "bullshit" I mean this kind of bullshit. Sanderson blog, 31 March:

Please welcome Tor and Tom, our hero who will spend the night at the printer in order to exceptionally deliver the book in RECORD TIME. Just to serve you, the reader.

This is the spin I hate. How they flaunt themselves as saviors and how everything is boasted as something exceptional just to serve their public, in their own interest. When it's just the MERCHANT speaking here, not the writer. And there isn't even one truthful word when you have a merchant speaking.

Why no reckless rush this time for a book that comes out in August instead of November? Because this time the rush wasn't a reason used to justify a choice, whose real motivation had to be hidden.

Harriett:

2 x 390,000 = 780,000

The asshole, how dare he take pride in his work and brag about it on his personal blog. You got his number.

[End of Disc One]

http://doogs.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/whambulance.jpg

[Garlan the Gallant]

Personally, I didn't bother with the new Wheel books. To me, what Jordan wrote is the series... even if it doesnt have an ending.

However, I really like Sanderson's work. Elantris was just okay, I really dug Mistborn, and I LOVED Warbreaker. I think that he is the type of author who has gotten better with each novel he has written. I can't wait for Way of Kings. I'm of the mind that the bigger the book, the longer the story, the more enjoyable the experience (if the writing is solid).