How Sanderson changed the naration

[michael.clinton83]

Brandon loves to use the word "tempest."

 

 

And "blasted" as an adjective.

[LeeM.Erickson]

If you're familiar with ASOIAF, just recall all of the times we're forced through several pages where the banners of houses gathered for a tourney/battle are described,

 

This is something I've always joked about with my friends in terms of GRRM. But it's not like Jordan doesn't have similar quirks. He basically does the same thing that GRRM does with nobles' banners, but with RJ, it's clothing and bosom size

[MarkDiLillo]

Sanderson butchered these books. Props to him for completing the story, but the quality of his writing is horrid. It is especially poor when comparing it to RJ.

 

There are examples of Sanderson writing in his two books that are laugh out loud bad. I mean really bad. The guy writes like a rabbid fan fic author who has dreamed of writing WoT for so long that he can't control himself. You can call this "style" all you want, but there is more to it than that. The big problem is that it looks as if he didn't even try to capture the voice of different characters - he just wanted to get the story in print as fast as he could. Did he even spend any time researching Mat and how RJ writes him? How the character acts? Not just his interpretation of Mat, but actually spending time reading the text and taking notes about how RJ writes the character. Sanderson is a rabid fan who writes the characters how he interpreted them through his years as a fan, and not as RJ wrote them. The result is a disaster. Do we get the completed story? Yes. But all of what made WoT so great is gone and there is not even a shade to remember it by in these last few books other than enjoying the pleasure of seeing the final events and storyline wrap up.

 

The only character that Sanderson didn't butcher was Perrin IMO.

 

Sanderson was a poor choice. Team RJ should have hired Sanderson to work on the plot and creativity aspects while hiring a professional ghost writer or team of ghost writers to work on completing the two books. Sanderson could have worked with Team RJ to iron out the missing plot details and the writers could have pumped out two final books that would feel exactly like the first dozen. Reading these last two books actaully makes me cringe at how bad some of them are. The first time you read through them you are so hungry for WoT that you are sucked up in the plot and don't notice much. But after you spend some time rereading the prior books and going through these last two a little more slowly you really begin to see how terrible some of the writing is and how utterly lost the characters voices are. Brandon Sanderson's talents lie in story creation and creativity - the exact opposite of what was needed in this situation.

[Manscher]

Sanderson butchered these books. Props to him for completing the story, but the quality of his writing is horrid. It is especially poor when comparing it to RJ.

 

There are examples of Sanderson writing in his two books that are laugh out loud bad. I mean really bad. The guy writes like a rabbid fan fic author who has dreamed of writing WoT for so long that he can't control himself. You can call this "style" all you want, but there is more to it than that. The big problem is that it looks as if he didn't even try to capture the voice of different characters - he just wanted to get the story in print as fast as he could. Did he even spend any time researching Mat and how RJ writes him? How the character acts? Not just his interpretation of Mat, but actually spending time reading the text and taking notes about how RJ writes the character. Sanderson is a rabid fan who writes the characters how he interpreted them through his years as a fan, and not as RJ wrote them. The result is a disaster. Do we get the completed story? Yes. But all of what made WoT so great is gone and there is not even a shade to remember it by in these last few books other than enjoying the pleasure of seeing the final events and storyline wrap up.

 

The only character that Sanderson didn't butcher was Perrin IMO.

 

 

You do realize that Mat was supposed to change after KOD, right?

 

But please, do give us some of those examples that are "lol" bad. I'm rather curious as to see where his writing is butchering the series.

 

Oh, and a lot of descriptions != good writing, if you want the entire world fleshed out for you, perhaps you should consider reading comics/mangas or watching movies instead. Your own imagination are supposed to do some of the work with a book.

[MarkDiLillo]

Well, there are plenty of people out there who agree that the characters have lost their voice so I don't think its necessary to prove that. It seems to be accepted as etheir BS screwing up or chalked up to "difference in writing style".

 

Some quick examples of sheer laugh out loud terribleness in writing:

 

Finally, now, he knew precisely what it was like to watch as he killed those he loved.

"It is done," Rand whispered.

"What?" Min asked, coughing again.

"The last that could be done to me," he said, surprised at his own calmness. "They have taken everything from me now."

"What are you saying, Rand?" Min asked. She rubbed her neck again. Bruises were beginning to show.

He shook his head as—finally—voices sounded in the hallway outside. Perhaps the Asha'man had sensed him channeling when

he'd tortured Min.

"I have made my choice, Min," he said, turning toward the door. "You have asked for flexibility and laughter from me, but such

things are no longer mine to give. I am sorry."

Once, weeks ago, he had decided that he must become stronger— where he had been iron, he had decided to become steel. It

appeared that steel was too weak. He would be harder, now. He understood how. Where he had once been steel, he became

something else. From now on, he was cmndillar. He had entered a place like the void that Tam had trained him to seek, so long

ago. But within this void he had no emotion. None at all.

They could not break or bend him.

It was done.

 

Not sure how anyone else feels about that passage above, but it is completely out of place in this series IMO. Totally corny and written purely because it "sounds cool". Exactly what I'm talking about when I say that BS comes off as a rabid fan fic author. Repeatedly saying "it is done"...I mean really? WHAT IS DONE? All that was done here is that Sanderson thinks it sounds cool to write that particular bit. Is it really necessary to spell out with painstaking explanations what exactly just happened? We all read and saw the event that occured, and now we need the teacher to sit down and explain it line by line to us like kids? This is a terrible habbit that Sanderson has and he repeats it over and over throughout his writing. He states the obvious when he doesn't need to. For more stupidity like this see his Aiel portions where he explains Ji'e'toh - they are terrible.

 

The man looked back at Almen. Meeting those eyes, Almen felt a

strange sense of peace. "It is likely," the man said. "Men are often speaking

of me. He smiled, then turned and continued on his way down the path.

"Wait," Almen said, raising a hand toward the man who could only be

the Dragon Reborn. "Where are you going?"

The man looked back w i th a faint grimace. "To do something I've been

putting off. I doubt she w i l l be pleased by what I tell her."

 

Not sure if I really need to explain the above. This just is flat out the corniest scene that has been written. When has Rand ever talked like that? When has any character talked like that? Yes, Rand is supposed to be changed. But this part reads like an amateur novelist wrote it. "Men are often speaking of me."...I mean wtf?

 

"You are wounded?" Aybara asked.

"My ankle," Galad said.

"On my horse," Aybara said.

 

How many "saids" and "asks" is he going to string together without any other descriptions or sentences breaking this up? This mistake is akin to using "I" too often when writing a letter and realizing at the end of it that you look like an idiot. Sanderson frequently does this - he has ongoing lines of conversation with no descriptives between. Maybe some see it differently, but I see that as poor quality writing. RJ would string together their movements, how their tone of voice was, their facial expression, etc. between recurring lines of dialogue. The result was that the reader came away from a conversation feeling as if he stood there in person and watched what had happened.

 

Galad grunted, kneeling beside a soldier w i t h a red cloak and turning

h im over. It wasn't a red cloak; it was a white one soaked in blood. Ranun

Sinah would not see the Last Battle. Galad closed the young man's eyes,

breathing a prayer to the Light in his name.

 

I dont know what more to say other than to bold the above. That paragraph, and specifically the bolded portion, is what you expect to see in high school work.

 

So....those were just a couple quick examples. Some may be good examples, some may not be too great. They are all examples of very small issues, but when you consider there are 100 other "differences in style" like this...the end result is that they all add up and they add up to a writer that is just not very good. As I said before, Sanderon has talents and those talents are in creativity and story building. Prose and quality of writing are definitely his weak points IMO.

[Byzantine279]

I really don't know what to say to you, Mark. None of that writing is bad, perhaps RJ could have written it better, but then it is hard to match someone in their own world. Either way, that writing certainly isn't "high school" or "amateurish". The changes in Rand, from both examples, were very clear and intentional changes. Yes, no one had talked like that before, which should only serve to show just how much has changed.

 

And yes, Sanderson does not add extra's between speech as often as RJ did, but considering that we actually do want the series finished in AMOL it is a good thing he isn't as descriptive, because while it can be nice it can also get to be too much, particularly when you can't go two lines of dialogue without adding two or three sentences of descriptors.

[Alric]

I haven't even gotten to Brandon's books yet, but I hope that there are _some_ descriptions. I have come to rely on them for setting the scenes in my mind.

[David Selig]

Sanderson butchered these books. Props to him for completing the story, but the quality of his writing is horrid. It is especially poor when comparing it to RJ.

You make it sound like RJ was someone at the Nabokov or Faulkner level when he was nowhere close.

 

Your examples of Sanderson's "sheer laugh out loud terribleness" doesn't seem such to me at all. It's far from great, but decent enough writing.

[safwd]

Wow.

 

Those of you truley complaining and calling BSs writing trash do understand that no one would have given you the transparency that you are looking for. Not even ghost writers. RJ wasnt able to finish the books and no matter who was writing the rest you would have been able to see things that werent "RJ like".

 

Maybe you should cut Brandon a bit of a break. He published his first book in 2005, RJ published in 1980 and the first WOT in 1990.

You speak of Brandon as a fan boy who say these characters as he sees them and not how RJ wanted them to be. Well guess what, Brandon is a fan boy and there is no possible way he could see them just as RJ did. RJ lived with these characters for 15 years (at least, who knows how long he had been building this work) before Brandon wrote his first book.

 

I'm sure it was a great honor to be picked by Harriet to finish these books, but i dont think i would have had the guts to do it.

This series has two very vocal groups, the haters who hate everything about it and rabid fans who defend everything about it (I am close to the latter) and coming in to finish was most likely not going to please either of those groups.

 

Some are calling BSs writing style "high schoolish" and i disagree strongly. The Mistborn Trilogy was excellent in my opinion (shared by many including Harriet)and very polished. And more importantly, it is His style of writing.

So he uses some different vocabulary then RJ, he is over 20 years younger than the man. Those of you with kids, do you use the same vocabulary as they do?

 

As i said, High risk with potential high reward.

Would you have had the guts to step into a near 20 year old world/story and write the ending?

[Suttree]

Sanderson butchered these books. Props to him for completing the story, but the quality of his writing is horrid. It is especially poor when comparing it to RJ.

You make it sound like RJ was someone at the Nabokov or Faulkner level when he was nowhere close.

 

Your examples of Sanderson's "sheer laugh out loud terribleness" doesn't seem such to me at all. It's far from great, but decent enough writing.

 

Agreed on both points. Perhaps not the best examples, they don't really make that much of an impression on me either way(although the last Galad example is pretty bad). Regardless Mark is correct in some of what he says and people need to realize that the author himself addressed the fact that there were issues. He is changing his process to better "polish" the work and get it "right" for aMoL.

 

That was the case with THE GATHERING STORM and TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT, but it's not how they're doing A MEMORY OF LIGHT. Instead, Brandon is writing a complete draft and then doing a revision or two before sending a polished draft to Team Jordan on December 31st (and that will be the first draft they see). This is more like Robert Jordan's process; he never showed anything to Harriet until it was finished. This does mean editing and revision will take longer, but rushing TOWERS caused a ton of headaches and stress, and Team Jordan and Brandon all want to avoid that this time. They have to get things RIGHT in this final book.

 

We have seen BS be capable of better work, the fact that he fell short in TGS and ToM once again can mostly be chalked up to publisher demands for a speedy release. I love that he is taking more care with aMoL and do not mind the longer wait in the slightest. I want this final book to be one in which I can fully immerse myself and enjoy re-reads for years to come. RJ deserves no less for the culmination of his life's work.

[water_seeker]

Brandon loves to use the word "tempest."

 

that made me lol. he uses it in every book he writes...it's like a calling card.

[MarkDiLillo]

I really don't know what to say to you, Mark. None of that writing is bad, perhaps RJ could have written it better, but then it is hard to match someone in their own world. Either way, that writing certainly isn't "high school" or "amateurish". The changes in Rand, from both examples, were very clear and intentional changes. Yes, no one had talked like that before, which should only serve to show just how much has changed.

 

And yes, Sanderson does not add extra's between speech as often as RJ did, but considering that we actually do want the series finished in AMOL it is a good thing he isn't as descriptive, because while it can be nice it can also get to be too much, particularly when you can't go two lines of dialogue without adding two or three sentences of descriptors.

 

Let me just ask you this:

 

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate RJ's abilities as an author. And then, on the same scale rate BS.

[MarkDiLillo]

I haven't even gotten to Brandon's books yet, but I hope that there are _some_ descriptions. I have come to rely on them for setting the scenes in my mind.

 

Your first time reading through you will likely not notice much of a difference. This is because you are hungry for WoT story and you will rape read through it. It's not until later on that you begin to notice the big changes....and you may not notice more than a couple unless you are looking for them. Myself, I found that the books obviously had a different flavor to them, but it wasn't more than a few scenes that really jumped out to me as bad. Then later on as I began to reread the entire series slowly for the first time in a very long time...and I started to pay attention to the writing more. That's when I really started to appreciate RJ's writing, and likewise really became disappointed with how it's being finished.

 

All in all though, if you're just a casual reader who is going to read through the series once and turn the books back in to a half price book store then you won't notice much.

[MarkDiLillo]

Sanderson butchered these books. Props to him for completing the story, but the quality of his writing is horrid. It is especially poor when comparing it to RJ.

You make it sound like RJ was someone at the Nabokov or Faulkner level when he was nowhere close.

 

Your examples of Sanderson's "sheer laugh out loud terribleness" doesn't seem such to me at all. It's far from great, but decent enough writing.

 

The fact that you don't seem to even understand some of the examples that I pointed out leads me to conclude that you are in no position to qualify the statement that RJ is not even close to Faulkner or Nabokob as an author. Just randomly picking two famous and respected authors from history and announcing that RJ is nowhere close to them is a pretty silly way to prove your point. How about instead of trying to say RJ was not a world famous and historical author you comment on Sanderon's writing and give examples of how it is equal to Robert Jordans?

[The Fisher King]

I haven't even gotten to Brandon's books yet, but I hope that there are _some_ descriptions. I have come to rely on them for setting the scenes in my mind.

 

Your first time reading through you will likely not notice much of a difference. This is because you are hungry for WoT story and you will rape read through it. It's not until later on that you begin to notice the big changes....and you may not notice more than a couple unless you are looking for them. Myself, I found that the books obviously had a different flavor to them, but it wasn't more than a few scenes that really jumped out to me as bad. Then later on as I began to reread the entire series slowly for the first time in a very long time...and I started to pay attention to the writing more. That's when I really started to appreciate RJ's writing, and likewise really became disappointed with how it's being finished.

 

All in all though, if you're just a casual reader who is going to read through the series once and turn the books back in to a half price book store then you won't notice much.

 

I have to applaud you, Mark D, for saying what so many here fear to say. I hope you don't get flamed, edited, deleted, locked, banned or whatvever. I do NOT agree with ALL that you said but I DO agree with MUCH of what you said. And I CERTAINLY agree with your right to say it. Nothing is black or white in life. Nothing is all THIS or all THAT. There is always middle ground, a little bit of both. I have defended Brandon Sanderson for reasons I fel he should be defended - and I always will. I also am not scared to utter what may be considered fair and constructive criticism. I pay my money for the books. Its never personal or nasty. My understanding is that, as a person, Brandon is a terrific, humane guy and I am appreciative of his role in helping us see the end of WOT. I also feel comfortable pointing out the good things he has done in his writing - and there HAVE been some.

 

But yes, his turn of phrase, word choice and blunt delivery is jarring sometimes. And yes, it is obvious that Books 1 - 11 were written by a much older, more seasoned, more patient author where as Brandon is a younger, more excitable writer who was definitely a fan when given the helm. Like I said, its often been jarring. I personally felt that TGS was more even-keeled whereas TOM read like a rushed, uneven matrix-ripoff that spiralled into a total disaster. To me. Bloodknives, Dreamspikes, Super Aiel, Mega Duels...all the rest...plus characters like Elayne and Mat's hyper-silliness....grated my teeth. Mat was better in TOM. Elayne wasn't. Mat was also largely written by RJ in TOM. Mat in his first two chapters were written by Brandon, though, and I personally felt as if it were a much better job than in TGS. Everyone is different though and with a newer, younger author, there will be Good AND Bad...I personally, like many, definitely miss Jordan's more subtle, deft, layered approach...Jordan was decades older than Sanderson, had seen war, tragedy, etc...Its ridiculous to blame Brandon for being young, or for being a fan, but the differences are so jarring. I use that word a lot, because, for my experience with TGS ans TOM it is the word that best fits as an adjetive to describe how I feel about Brandon's writing: Jarring. But I am grateful, and, in the end, that is probably more important. To me at least. And I'm grateful, most of all, that this Board, which obviously is connected through both business and personal relationships with Tor and Brandon Sanderson both maintains enough integrity and discipline to allow comments like Mark D's that are not all sunshine and roses. It is very impressive of Dragonmount.Com.

 

 

Fish

[MarkDiLillo]

Wow.

 

Those of you truley complaining and calling BSs writing trash do understand that no one would have given you the transparency that you are looking for. Not even ghost writers. RJ wasnt able to finish the books and no matter who was writing the rest you would have been able to see things that werent "RJ like".

 

Maybe you should cut Brandon a bit of a break. He published his first book in 2005, RJ published in 1980 and the first WOT in 1990.

You speak of Brandon as a fan boy who say these characters as he sees them and not how RJ wanted them to be. Well guess what, Brandon is a fan boy and there is no possible way he could see them just as RJ did. RJ lived with these characters for 15 years (at least, who knows how long he had been building this work) before Brandon wrote his first book.

 

I'm sure it was a great honor to be picked by Harriet to finish these books, but i dont think i would have had the guts to do it.

This series has two very vocal groups, the haters who hate everything about it and rabid fans who defend everything about it (I am close to the latter) and coming in to finish was most likely not going to please either of those groups.

 

Some are calling BSs writing style "high schoolish" and i disagree strongly. The Mistborn Trilogy was excellent in my opinion (shared by many including Harriet)and very polished. And more importantly, it is His style of writing.

So he uses some different vocabulary then RJ, he is over 20 years younger than the man. Those of you with kids, do you use the same vocabulary as they do?

 

As i said, High risk with potential high reward.

Would you have had the guts to step into a near 20 year old world/story and write the ending?

 

Nobody is saying that he's just not doing the best he can do. I'm sure he's giving it his best effort. The problem IMO is that he was a poor choice. Like I said, his skillset revolves more around being a fantasy nerd and story creator. There are many people out there who lack that important piece, but instead their primary asset is their ability to write. Indeed, there are many people out there who specialize exactly in changing their writing styles to match other authors to ghost write for them. Brandon may be wonderfully filling in the plot holes and disigning the book based on RJ's notes (and he is doing a great job at that IMO), but he is failing miserably in other aspects that are almost as important. We have lost many of our most beloved characters during the most crucial and important part of the series.

[MarkDiLillo]

Who knows...maybe the pool of authors capable of replacing RJ isn't as large as I imagine. Maybe Sanderson was the best choice considering everything that was needed in a replacement (love of the series, knowledge of the series, etc,)...we will never know the real answer. I just have a hard time digesting some of Sanderon's material and some of his scenes really make me grind my teeth while wondering to myself how this is the best guy they could get for the job.

 

A scene that particularly sticks out is Rand's visit to the White Tower. That was setup to be one of the most powerful and epic scenes in the entire series...and yet it was terrible. It was really really bad IMO. But again, maybe there isn't anyone else out there who could have done a better outside of RJ.

[Suttree]

There are many people out there who lack that important piece, but instead their primary asset is their ability to write. Indeed, there are many people out there who specialize exactly in changing their writing styles to match other authors to ghost write for them.

 

To be fair Brandon specifically said he was not going to try and "match" RJ's style like a ghost writer would.

 

And I'm grateful, most of all, that this Board, which obviously is connected through both business and personal relationships with Tor and Brandon Sanderson both maintains enough integrity and discipline to allow comments like Mark D's that are not all sunshine and roses. It is very impressive of Dragonmount.Com.

 

 

Fish

 

+1

[The Fisher King]

Who knows...maybe the pool of authors capable of replacing RJ isn't as large as I imagine. Maybe Sanderson was the best choice considering everything that was needed in a replacement (love of the series, knowledge of the series, etc,)...we will never know the real answer. I just have a hard time digesting some of Sanderon's material and some of his scenes really make me grind my teeth while wondering to myself how this is the best guy they could get for the job.

 

A scene that particularly sticks out is Rand's visit to the White Tower. That was setup to be one of the most powerful and epic scenes in the entire series...and yet it was terrible. It was really really bad IMO. But again, maybe there isn't anyone else out there who could have done a better outside of RJ.

 

The scene you mention, Rand finally at White Tower...did indeed end up a tremendous Fail. No one can - reasonably - argue that :(

 

 

Fish

[The Fisher King]

Wow.

 

Those of you truley complaining and calling BSs writing trash do understand that no one would have given you the transparency that you are looking for. Not even ghost writers. RJ wasnt able to finish the books and no matter who was writing the rest you would have been able to see things that werent "RJ like".

 

Maybe you should cut Brandon a bit of a break. He published his first book in 2005, RJ published in 1980 and the first WOT in 1990.

You speak of Brandon as a fan boy who say these characters as he sees them and not how RJ wanted them to be. Well guess what, Brandon is a fan boy and there is no possible way he could see them just as RJ did. RJ lived with these characters for 15 years (at least, who knows how long he had been building this work) before Brandon wrote his first book.

 

I'm sure it was a great honor to be picked by Harriet to finish these books, but i dont think i would have had the guts to do it.

This series has two very vocal groups, the haters who hate everything about it and rabid fans who defend everything about it (I am close to the latter) and coming in to finish was most likely not going to please either of those groups.

 

Some are calling BSs writing style "high schoolish" and i disagree strongly. The Mistborn Trilogy was excellent in my opinion (shared by many including Harriet)and very polished. And more importantly, it is His style of writing.

So he uses some different vocabulary then RJ, he is over 20 years younger than the man. Those of you with kids, do you use the same vocabulary as they do?

 

As i said, High risk with potential high reward.

Would you have had the guts to step into a near 20 year old world/story and write the ending?

 

Nobody is saying that he's just not doing the best he can do. I'm sure he's giving it his best effort. The problem IMO is that he was a poor choice. Like I said, his skillset revolves more around being a fantasy nerd and story creator. There are many people out there who lack that important piece, but instead their primary asset is their ability to write. Indeed, there are many people out there who specialize exactly in changing their writing styles to match other authors to ghost write for them. Brandon may be wonderfully filling in the plot holes and disigning the book based on RJ's notes (and he is doing a great job at that IMO), but he is failing miserably in other aspects that are almost as important. We have lost many of our most beloved characters during the most crucial and important part of the series.

 

See. while I support many of your points, THIS, in my opinion, is where the line has to be carefully straddled. Opining him as a poor choice is fair, calling him a ''nerd'' (even though I am sure you did not mean this maliciously) strikes me as vaguely uncomfortable. To me, any criticism of what he produces is fair game, but any subtle jabs at him as a PERSON (again, Im not saying YOU intentionally meant that here) should be a No Go. JMHO.

 

 

Fish

[MarkDiLillo]

I didn't mean nerd as a negative comment whatsoever. Maybe should've chosen different words, but I meant it actually as a positive comment about his dedication and knowledge of the fantasy genre.

[The Fisher King]

I didn't mean nerd as a negative comment whatsoever. Maybe should've chosen different words, but I meant it actually as a positive comment about his dedication and knowledge of the fantasy genre.

 

Anf that is how I took it. I was just showing how potentially easy it can be to get caught in that slippery slope.

 

 

Fish

[AltonJakeStorey]

Well, there are plenty of people out there who agree that the characters have lost their voice so I don't think its necessary to prove that. It seems to be accepted as etheir BS screwing up or chalked up to "difference in writing style".

 

Some quick examples of sheer laugh out loud terribleness in writing:

 

Finally, now, he knew precisely what it was like to watch as he killed those he loved.

"It is done," Rand whispered.

"What?" Min asked, coughing again.

"The last that could be done to me," he said, surprised at his own calmness. "They have taken everything from me now."

"What are you saying, Rand?" Min asked. She rubbed her neck again. Bruises were beginning to show.

He shook his head as—finally—voices sounded in the hallway outside. Perhaps the Asha'man had sensed him channeling when

he'd tortured Min.

"I have made my choice, Min," he said, turning toward the door. "You have asked for flexibility and laughter from me, but such

things are no longer mine to give. I am sorry."

Once, weeks ago, he had decided that he must become stronger— where he had been iron, he had decided to become steel. It

appeared that steel was too weak. He would be harder, now. He understood how. Where he had once been steel, he became

something else. From now on, he was cmndillar. He had entered a place like the void that Tam had trained him to seek, so long

ago. But within this void he had no emotion. None at all.

They could not break or bend him.

It was done.

 

Not sure how anyone else feels about that passage above, but it is completely out of place in this series IMO. Totally corny and written purely because it "sounds cool". Exactly what I'm talking about when I say that BS comes off as a rabid fan fic author. Repeatedly saying "it is done"...I mean really? WHAT IS DONE? All that was done here is that Sanderson thinks it sounds cool to write that particular bit. Is it really necessary to spell out with painstaking explanations what exactly just happened? We all read and saw the event that occured, and now we need the teacher to sit down and explain it line by line to us like kids? This is a terrible habbit that Sanderson has and he repeats it over and over throughout his writing. He states the obvious when he doesn't need to. For more stupidity like this see his Aiel portions where he explains Ji'e'toh - they are terrible.

 

The man looked back at Almen. Meeting those eyes, Almen felt a

strange sense of peace. "It is likely," the man said. "Men are often speaking

of me. He smiled, then turned and continued on his way down the path.

"Wait," Almen said, raising a hand toward the man who could only be

the Dragon Reborn. "Where are you going?"

The man looked back w i th a faint grimace. "To do something I've been

putting off. I doubt she w i l l be pleased by what I tell her."

 

Not sure if I really need to explain the above. This just is flat out the corniest scene that has been written. When has Rand ever talked like that? When has any character talked like that? Yes, Rand is supposed to be changed. But this part reads like an amateur novelist wrote it. "Men are often speaking of me."...I mean wtf?

 

"You are wounded?" Aybara asked.

"My ankle," Galad said.

"On my horse," Aybara said.

 

How many "saids" and "asks" is he going to string together without any other descriptions or sentences breaking this up? This mistake is akin to using "I" too often when writing a letter and realizing at the end of it that you look like an idiot. Sanderson frequently does this - he has ongoing lines of conversation with no descriptives between. Maybe some see it differently, but I see that as poor quality writing. RJ would string together their movements, how their tone of voice was, their facial expression, etc. between recurring lines of dialogue. The result was that the reader came away from a conversation feeling as if he stood there in person and watched what had happened.

 

Galad grunted, kneeling beside a soldier w i t h a red cloak and turning

h im over. It wasn't a red cloak; it was a white one soaked in blood. Ranun

Sinah would not see the Last Battle. Galad closed the young man's eyes,

breathing a prayer to the Light in his name.

 

I dont know what more to say other than to bold the above. That paragraph, and specifically the bolded portion, is what you expect to see in high school work.

 

So....those were just a couple quick examples. Some may be good examples, some may not be too great. They are all examples of very small issues, but when you consider there are 100 other "differences in style" like this...the end result is that they all add up and they add up to a writer that is just not very good. As I said before, Sanderon has talents and those talents are in creativity and story building. Prose and quality of writing are definitely his weak points IMO.

 

Wow...

 

I read this and chuckle. You are pointing out style differences between BS and RJ, and, because you prefer RJ's style, you are deriding BS's style. That's fine. He doesn't use as many details and descriptions as RJ does and you prefer the descriptions. The fact that you claim that those deferences are marks of inferior writing is foolish in the extreme. I suggest you start reading the greats in Literature. You will find authors that make RJ look bare bones on details, and you will find authors who make BS look flowery and detail obsessive. RJ is NOT the great standard of all writing, and claiming that BS is a bad writer because he doesn't do it they way RJ does is inane.

 

Yes, there is a brilliance to RJ's writing that you WILL NOT FIND in BS's writing. But BS shines in areas where RJ comes close to being an absolute failure. Again, if your looking for the same KIND of brilliance in BS, you will not find it. But BS is a very good author, who is only getting better. I wouldn't be surprised if The Stormlight Archive proves to be equal to (and possibly, dare i say it, better then) the WOT.

[safwd]

I dont disagree with you on most points Mark D.

BS isnt as good of a writer as RJ right now (in my opinion), he would most likely tell you the same, but in 10 years or so that may not be the case.

 

I guess i came in with the expectation that the last couple books would feel different. As i said before, i was worried. But i have enjoyed each of the books BS put work into, they have not taken away from the whole for me. So i am good with that.

 

Would RJ have written them better, i imagine he would have. As the creator I'm sure these characters are like children to him, to the fans they are at best friends.

 

Was BS the best choice, Harriet obviously thought so. All i know is BS has big shoes to fill. You have one of the most epic fantasy series which as spanned the last 22 years and you are called upon to write the end, and not mess it up.

Most famous authors would take a pass on that, most young authors would wet themselves. BS has done a pretty good job in my book.

 

And i didnt hate the scene with Rand in the white tower, nor the one with him in the apple field. Did they make me say Wow, no, but they didnt make me put down the book either.

[David Selig]

The fact that you don't seem to even understand some of the examples that I pointed out leads me to conclude that you are in no position to qualify the statement that RJ is not even close to Faulkner or Nabokob as an author. Just randomly picking two famous and respected authors from history and announcing that RJ is nowhere close to them is a pretty silly way to prove your point. How about instead of trying to say RJ was not a world famous and historical author you comment on Sanderon's writing and give examples of how it is equal to Robert Jordans?

How about you cut down on the patronising tone? I understand fine, I simply disagree. And I never said Sanderson's writing is equal to Jordan's. I think he's a bit worse overall, but the gap is nowhere near as big as Jordan's biggest fanboys think.

 

I picked Nabokov and Faulkner to illustrate how absurd your claim that Sanderson's style "especially poor when comparing it to RJ." You made it sound as if Jordan is some historical great author with a style which can be used as a kind of gold standard for writing, but inarguably this is not the case at all. Even if we considering fantasy only, there are plenty of authors who are clearly much better with their prose than Jordan.