The Way of Kings

[Leyrann]

I just can't stop reading anymore...

[Niniel]

I want to read them but I haven´t started yet. I have read too many series where I just have to wait for a new book (that sometimes takes forever to come out) and I already have three series that I have started but haven´t been able to finnish. 

 

Do you know how many books he has planned? 

[Nolder]

I've had it for years but haven't read it.

I think I'll just wait until it's done before starting it.

I've already waited for Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire.

 

I can't do it again...

[Gentled Ben]

I want to read them but I haven´t started yet. I have read too many series where I just have to wait for a new book (that sometimes takes forever to come out) and I already have three series that I have started but haven´t been able to finnish. 

 

Do you know how many books he has planned? 

I believe he has 10 books planned. The third one comes out November 17th. They are quite good so far.

[Leyrann]

Yup. 10 books.

 

I've read most other things he's written (last books of WoT (of course), both Mistborn series and Elantris), and the Stormlight Archive is certainly shaping up to be absolutely awesome so far.

 

Also, I know there's quite a bit of stuff known about the cosmere (in which all of BS's own works are written), and I'm starting to think that most of that comes from the Stormlight Archive, as there were only very little hints about it in Mistborn and Elantris, if that much, while the Stormlight Archive mentions it by name and has some references that I think are going to be expanded upon, which I am very much looking forward to as I want to know more about how BS's universe is built up.

[Andrej]

The Way of Kings was a great read. I started Words of Radiance but I eventually stopped for whatever reason and haven't found the time or will to pick it up again :(

 

I agree that Sanderson is a great writer though. After the finishing trilogy to the Wheel of Time, I read the first Mistborn trilogy and also Alloy of Law (get this if you haven't already!) and enjoyed them all thoroughly.

[Gentled Ben]

I liked Words of Radiance better than Way of Kings. I liked Mistborn a lot; it's among my fantasy favorites. I thought he did so-so with the Wheel of Time. There were a lot of characters that he wrote poorly, some egregiously, but others that he did well. He picked up the pace, and that was nice, but the first book was really hesitant and choppy. I don't know if that's because it contained a lot of Jordan's inadequately revised writings or if Sanderson was nervous and hadn't found his stride yet, a combination of those things or something else, but The Gathering Storm reads differently than Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light. I think Towers of Midnight is one of the best books in the series, though. He really hit it out of the park with that one, and I LOVE his action scenes that bounce back and forth between different tense plotlines. When he switches between Perrin, Egwene, and Gawyn, each in dire circumstances, that is absolutely riveting. I love that part.

 

The ending of Elantris, where he does the same thing, was the only part of that book that I really enjoyed. It is a strength of his writing, whereas dialogue is a weakness. A lot of his conversations are difficult to sit through, especially in his earlier works like Elantris and Warbreaker, but they have improved, partly I suppose from the Wheel of Time. I thought that the Last Battle drug on too long. It was mind-numbing, and with the number of deaths in it, is was emotionally numbing too, until the big body blow of a major death near the end. The 200-page chapter or however long it was left me feeling a little abused and traumatized, but I suppose that's a good thing, since it was describing a battle. It can't all be action without consequences, and I think most readers paid a butcher's bill at the end of it, so I understand why he might have done it that way, but it did not make for a better reading experience IMO.

 

Well, that was kind of a ramble. tl;dr: Sanderson is flawed but enjoyable; Stormlight and Mistborn are his best. 

Edited September 29, 2017 by Gentled Ben

[Andrej]

Mistborn was definitely great. I felt attached to Kelsier, especially once you learn his past and... just read the book. I wouldn't discredit Sanderson for his last three WoT novels. He took over a series and a superiorly in-depth world with a deep plot that wasn't his own, and was tasked to finish it and also please us as readers. No pressure. I'm not sure about everyone, but when I finished AMoL, I took a deep breath. I wasn't dissatisfied with the ending, and I was glad there was an ending. Just like the opening chapter of EotW. The wind was neither a beginning nor end, but it was a beginning. AMoL was an ending that we all deserved.

 

That said, I think Sanderson does good work on his own. The magic systems in both Mistborn and Stormlight are very unique and well thought out, and deep. I think he's a great writer, personally.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Andrej

[Gentled Ben]

I think it’s because of the complex magic systems that Harriet chose him. That, and because he was a biddable child, so to speak. It was paramount that the author could handle the intricacies of channeling though, and he certainly did that. As for the rest, I think we could have received better, but it was an ending, and that’s much, much better than none.

[Niniel]

I really like Mistborn. Didn't enjoy Alloy of Law as much.

 

No, he didn't write WoT perfect, but who would? I'm happy that we got an ending. I liked how dark everything was in TGS. I also liked the long last battle chapter. Sanderson said that his idea was to show the intensity of a battle, you just can't choose to take a break whenever you want. I think the long chapter captured that feeling.

[Gentled Ben]

Yeah, I understand why he wrote it that way, but it didn’t enhance my experience. I want to read about a battle, not feel as if I endured one. It’s a matter of preference, I suppose.

 

My mom used to put all manner of foul-tasting things on my plate when I was a child, telling me that 1)Her kitchen was not a restaurant, and 2) There were starving children in other countries who would be grateful for the meal, so shut up and eat it. I had to accept that without further complaint, but I do not have to accept something similar from books I have purchased with the same patient silence. I can and will say that Harriet could have done better than Brandon Sanderson, although I still like a lot of his work and some of what he did with WoT.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Gentled Ben

[Leyrann]

Well, I just finished The Way of Kings... Starting Words of Radiance as soon as I've got my hands on it next week.

 

Great way to kick off a series, in my opinion. And very much wondering how everything is going to continue.

[Gentled Ben]

Yeah, I want to watch it unfold, too. I’m almost done with Crossroads of Twilight. I think I can sneak in Knife of Dreams and then still have time to listen to Way of Kings and Words of Radiance again before Oathbreaker comes out in November.

[Gentled Ben]

Yeah, I want to watch it unfold, too. I’m almost done with Crossroads of Twilight. I think I can sneak in Knife of Dreams and then still have time to listen to Way of Kings and Words of Radiance again before Oathbreaker comes out in November.

[Gentled Ben]

Cloudflare.

[Leyrann]

Ahhh, lovely Cloudflare.

 

I am kinda worried about one thing though; some parts of the story seem to be unfolding very similar (almost creepily so) to what I was planning on for my own writing. Different world, very much, but with - at least, that's what it seems like right now - very similar threats to the world.

 

I don't know a lot for certain yet, but I'm worried. Oh, and to top it off, this is what Wit said at the very end of the first book, just a few pages after I noticed how similar it was: "If an artist creates a work of powerful beauty - using new and innovative techniques - she will be lauded as a master, and will launch a new movement in aesthetics. Yet what if another, working independently with that exact level of skill, were to make the same accomplishments the very next month? Would she find similar acclaim? No. She'd be called derivative."

 

That scared me, simple as that. It was exactly how I felt, apart from the part where I'm not that arrogant that I think I'm as good as Sanderson.

 

I hope it turns out nothing after reading Words of Radiance, but if it does turn out the way it seems to me right now, I'll have to start anew...

[Basel Gill]

Yup. 10 books.

 

I've read most other things he's written (last books of WoT (of course), both Mistborn series and Elantris), and the Stormlight Archive is certainly shaping up to be absolutely awesome so far.

 

Also, I know there's quite a bit of stuff known about the cosmere (in which all of BS's own works are written), and I'm starting to think that most of that comes from the Stormlight Archive, as there were only very little hints about it in Mistborn and Elantris, if that much, while the Stormlight Archive mentions it by name and has some references that I think are going to be expanded upon, which I am very much looking forward to as I want to know more about how BS's universe is built up.

Not all of Sanderson's solo work is in the Cosmere. The Reckoners trilogy isn't. The Alcatraz series isn't. Nor are Legion or The Rithmatist.

Edited October 2, 2017 by Basel Gill

[Gentled Ben]

Ahhh, lovely Cloudflare.

 

I am kinda worried about one thing though; some parts of the story seem to be unfolding very similar (almost creepily so) to what I was planning on for my own writing. Different world, very much, but with - at least, that's what it seems like right now - very similar threats to the world.

 

I don't know a lot for certain yet, but I'm worried. Oh, and to top it off, this is what Wit said at the very end of the first book, just a few pages after I noticed how similar it was: "If an artist creates a work of powerful beauty - using new and innovative techniques - she will be lauded as a master, and will launch a new movement in aesthetics. Yet what if another, working independently with that exact level of skill, were to make the same accomplishments the very next month? Would she find similar acclaim? No. She'd be called derivative."

 

That scared me, simple as that. It was exactly how I felt, apart from the part where I'm not that arrogant that I think I'm as good as Sanderson.

 

I hope it turns out nothing after reading Words of Radiance, but if it does turn out the way it seems to me right now, I'll have to start anew...

That would suck.

[Leyrann]

 

Yup. 10 books.

 

I've read most other things he's written (last books of WoT (of course), both Mistborn series and Elantris), and the Stormlight Archive is certainly shaping up to be absolutely awesome so far.

 

Also, I know there's quite a bit of stuff known about the cosmere (in which all of BS's own works are written), and I'm starting to think that most of that comes from the Stormlight Archive, as there were only very little hints about it in Mistborn and Elantris, if that much, while the Stormlight Archive mentions it by name and has some references that I think are going to be expanded upon, which I am very much looking forward to as I want to know more about how BS's universe is built up.

Not all of Sanderson's solo work is in the Cosmere. The Reckoners trilogy isn't. The Alcatraz series isn't. Nor are Legion or The Rithmatist.

 

 

Oops, you're right. All I've read from him is though.

[Leyrann]

 

Ahhh, lovely Cloudflare.

 

I am kinda worried about one thing though; some parts of the story seem to be unfolding very similar (almost creepily so) to what I was planning on for my own writing. Different world, very much, but with - at least, that's what it seems like right now - very similar threats to the world.

 

I don't know a lot for certain yet, but I'm worried. Oh, and to top it off, this is what Wit said at the very end of the first book, just a few pages after I noticed how similar it was: "If an artist creates a work of powerful beauty - using new and innovative techniques - she will be lauded as a master, and will launch a new movement in aesthetics. Yet what if another, working independently with that exact level of skill, were to make the same accomplishments the very next month? Would she find similar acclaim? No. She'd be called derivative."

 

That scared me, simple as that. It was exactly how I felt, apart from the part where I'm not that arrogant that I think I'm as good as Sanderson.

 

I hope it turns out nothing after reading Words of Radiance, but if it does turn out the way it seems to me right now, I'll have to start anew...

That would suck.

 

 

The good news is that I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about it yesterday and I did come up with another idea that I might be able to do something with.

[Gentled Ben]

Meh, be derivative. If Terry Brooks can build a franchise off of The Sword of Shannara, you should be able to do the same thing. Just make sure your book is better than The Sword of Shannara, please.

[Leyrann]

The thing is, I seriously doubt I'd be able to create a better storytelling around the base idea than Brandon Sanderson can. So it's better to go for something different, and I have to say, I quite like this new idea I thought up. And I managed to keep things like the pantheon I had in place, maybe I can even re-use the main character. Plus it's going to be a story with a lot of depth due to it's very nature. If it isn't, I'm just a bad writer and should give up.

[Gentled Ben]

It sounds wonderful! 

[Locke]

Almost as stoked for Oathbringer coming out as I was with WoT at the end. I just hope Sanderson doesn't follow in RJ's footsteps too closely...Even at his current rate, with the scope of Stormlight Archives and the Cosmere as a whole, I'm more than a little worried he won't get through all 40ish books he has planned. 

[Leyrann]

He's quite fast and got quite a few years ahead of him most likely, so I'd say it should be fine.

 

Also, I am only something like halfway through Words of Radiance at the moment, maybe even less (I couldn't wait until this weekend so I got the epub version which I'm reading now), but I'm starting to feel like there are some words that Brandon Sanderson used in Wheel of Time that Kaladin also needs to hear: "Let go."