10 Reasons Why I Think Brandon Sanderson is the Better Writer

[Agitel]

Don't you hate it when you're forced to rewrite an entire post because a cat steps on your keyboard and deletes your entire post?

 

 

I'm not saying Jordan is a bad writer. I really love WoT, but had a terrible time getting used to it. My mother loves reading fantasy, but couldn't get through and stopped after reading a quarter of EOTW. And BS is better in taking your breath right from the start. I believe he will be the better writer in the end, but that's all moot: they're both great writers!

 

One of the main problems with The Eye of the World is that the main cast and the POV characters are too reactionary. They are not making their own decisions. The most proactive they get is when they get separated after Shadar Logoth, but that's ended when they meet up in Caemlyn. And that just doesn't make as interesting a story. It's okay if a character starts off reactionary and becomes a proactive person, but it's less engaging for many when that transition doesn't happen. This is very much improved on in The Great Hunt, as it's when the characters decide to start doing their own thing instead of just what they're told to do, but that doesn't help The Eye of the World as a stand-alone. (Yes, EotW is the intro-novel and not just a stand-alone, and I love The Wheel of Time, but you can't really make excuses for an 800+ page book as "oh it's just the first in the series, it's only the beginning of the beginning", etc... the novel does need to have it's own engaging arc and characters even by itself). While it may not have been better for the saga as a whole, The Eye of the World would have been more engaging if told from Moiraine's POV, as she's the only truly proactive character in that book. Or Jordan could have kept the characters proactive after they got separated. Nynaeve in particular had an interesting start, choosing to go after the boys, but she goes from that proactiveness to becoming a follower of Moiraine for that book, even if she doesn't trust her.

 

I guess I'm dropping criticisms left and right (mostly on the EotW and the early books in the series), but do understand I love The Wheel of Time. It's very dear to me. Sanderson's books of course have their own problems, but while I've read them, I'm not as intimately involved with them as I am with this series.

 

EDIT: If EotW, tGH, and tDR had been a single book (as they were intended to be, from my understanding) the arc would have worked better. The first third of the book the characters would have been reactionary, but the last 2/3s they would have been making their own decisions (for the most part).

[kght22]

i still stand by my "different author is different" statement. but i do want to add that it was the prologue in teotw that hooked me, i just had to figure out wtf. but i have to admit that without that prologue i likely wouldn't have finished half of the first book, slow start is slow. but over the years i have not been unhappy, there is only one little bit in the prologue that i am waiting to be fit into the story; the voice. but i still believe that everything important to the story is shown in the first prologue.

[muddasssir]

I actually love how Robert Jordan portrais the female characters. For a man, I think he did great on writing the perspective of female characters. Furthermore I think it is great how he writes the characteristics of his characters. Especially how he uses their behavior to charaterize them. For example, Mat is far more away from 'home' than nynaeve. You see this in Mat's behavior, his sayings and the way he treats people. Nynvaeve is much closer to the two rivers, you see this in her old one-liners, in her approach to people and in her behavior (thick headed talking to Cadsuane at TGS).

 

 

really? you think RJ's portrayal of female characters is realistic? I know lots of women, and interact with them on a daily basis. Ever seen the post on FB- the drawing of women in WOT? they all have the exact same facial expression. like a little whiny bitchy kid who can't grow up. there's an abundance of them in the series who elicit Strong personalities and who brow-beat or manipulate other characters to get them to do what they want. where's the nice girl, who's very reasonable and intelligent, who with their strong common sense can get the AS and WO- all the whiny bossy ones to listen based on that?

 

this page is a good read on the relationship/character building between men and women of the WOT.

http://swan-tower.li...com/437323.html

 

this is of course not to bash RJ, but to point out a reality... this series doesn't portray women in reality in a balanced way. its largely one type of woman, like the author wanted to shy away from the delicate damsel who needs to be rescued so much that he went overboard the other way.

 

the female role topic aside... I really enjoy Jordan's WOT, and i don't think that its fair, either, to say he's not as good as Sanderson, because they write differently. if everyone wrote the same exact way, how would this life be any fun?

ok girls get ready to jump on me with daggers drawn but the whiny unreasonable ar the only kind of women in the world.If you disagree than you have never been married or in a serious relationship.

[fikkie77]

i still stand by my "different author is different" statement. but i do want to add that it was the prologue in teotw that hooked me, i just had to figure out wtf. but i have to admit that without that prologue i likely wouldn't have finished half of the first book, slow start is slow. but over the years i have not been unhappy, there is only one little bit in the prologue that i am waiting to be fit into the story; the voice. but i still believe that everything important to the story is shown in the first prologue.

wanting to know what happened in that strange scene is what kept me reading!

[moldham]

Just started reading Way of Kings by BS like it so far. I think BS is different not better. BS seems more fast paced but in a series like WoT I just can't get enough of the charachters, descriptions, and dialogue so I like the attention to detail and intricate world building.

[Mr Ares]

People you're al extremely biased! Most of you have been reading WOT for over 10 years, if not 20. I started much later (5 years ago).

I don't see why the length of time we've been reading is relevant. I've only been reading six years. I think RJ is a much better author than BS. I've been reading Bakker less time than I've been reading BS, but I prefer Bakker. So the length of time one has been reading an author doesn't help to determine how high that author rests on your favourite author pile, save that if you keep going back to an author over the course of decades you are probably getting something out of it.

 

ok girls get ready to jump on me with daggers drawn but the whiny unreasonable ar the only kind of women in the world.If you disagree than you have never been married or in a serious relationship.

Or perhaps we've just had different experiences to you.

[kght22]

different author is different.

[muddasssir]

People you're al extremely biased! Most of you have been reading WOT for over 10 years, if not 20. I started much later (5 years ago).

I don't see why the length of time we've been reading is relevant. I've only been reading six years. I think RJ is a much better author than BS. I've been reading Bakker less time than I've been reading BS, but I prefer Bakker. So the length of time one has been reading an author doesn't help to determine how high that author rests on your favourite author pile, save that if you keep going back to an author over the course of decades you are probably getting something out of it.

 

ok girls get ready to jump on me with daggers drawn but the whiny unreasonable ar the only kind of women in the world.If you disagree than you have never been married or in a serious relationship.

Or perhaps we've just had different experiences to you.

than you are luckier than you have any right to be lol

[fikkie77]

The whiny, unreasonable kind are the only kind of women in the world?

Boy, you really met the wrong women... my wife is certainly not that way and I met many more who aren't that way.

[muddasssir]

OK I am going to ad my two bit but I am not as politically correct as some of the people here and I don't mind offending people if I think that they are talking less than common sense but rally there is no comparison between RJ and BS. How many New York time best sellers he had before he was chosen to complete WOT? leave that aside how many of you had heard of BS before Harriet selected him. I hadn't. If you still want to compare RJ with BS. I guess you are entitled to your choices but for me there is no comparison. I haven't read much of him outside WOT and what I have is not really much to writ home about. So, I am not going to be reading anymore of his work, sorry.

[Agitel]

OK I am going to ad my two bit but I am not as politically correct as some of the people here and I don't mind offending people if I think that they are talking less than common sense but rally there is no comparison between RJ and BS. How many New York time best sellers he had before he was chosen to complete WOT? leave that aside how many of you had heard of BS before Harriet selected him. I hadn't. If you still want to compare RJ with BS. I guess you are entitled to your choices but for me there is no comparison. I haven't read much of him outside WOT and what I have is not really much to writ home about. So, I am not going to be reading anymore of his work, sorry.

 

Point understood, but how well known and successful was RJ before The Wheel of Time? That's not a rhetorical question, I'm curious. My understanding is that he'd only published his Michael Fallon trilogy and did a number of Conan the Barbarian stories. Sanderson was still a pretty pretty new author when he picked up The Wheel of Time, having only Elantris and the Mistborn trilogy under his belt (and maybe his Alcatraz children's books); it doesn't surprise me that he was lesser known. I'm just saying I'm not sure if it's an entirely fair comparison if there's such a great difference in how long they've been writing. While I still think Sanderson's prose is weaker than RJ's, it strikes me that Sanderson is very capable at story structure and coming up with original ideas. He needs to continue to improve in some areas, but he's a pretty strong author in others. He just lacked time to establish himself and got a boost by picking up The Wheel of Time. Harriet McDougal did choose him after being recommended one of his books to read (in consideration for someone to finish the WoT), so she obviously thought he was a capable author.

[Luckers]

There is an interesting point in that. One of my problems with Brandon is that since he became a part of the Wheel of Time--and the associated sales inherent in being linked to that series--he's stopped evolving as a writer. Indeed, if anything Alloy of Law shows a destinct devolution--in that book he frequently breaks the same rules he made and talks about in Writing Excuses.

 

 

[ChaosBorn]

There is an interesting point in that. One of my problems with Brandon is that since he became a part of the Wheel of Time--and the associated sales inherent in being linked to that series--he's stopped evolving as a writer. Indeed, if anything Alloy of Law shows a destinct devolution--in that book he frequently breaks the same rules he made and talks about in Writing Excuses.

 

But you must admit that aWoK has the potential to be genius, and I think it has the potential to be much more rounded than Mistborn, in terms of characters and world building, so surely this will be an improvement in his writing.

Also I haven't read alloy of law yet (still on Hero of Ages) so I can't comment on that, only aWoK.

[Luckers]

There is an interesting point in that. One of my problems with Brandon is that since he became a part of the Wheel of Time--and the associated sales inherent in being linked to that series--he's stopped evolving as a writer. Indeed, if anything Alloy of Law shows a destinct devolution--in that book he frequently breaks the same rules he made and talks about in Writing Excuses.

 

But you must admit that aWoK has the potential to be genius, and I think it has the potential to be much more rounded than Mistborn, in terms of characters and world building, so surely this will be an improvement in his writing.

Also I haven't read alloy of law yet (still on Hero of Ages) so I can't comment on that, only aWoK.

 

I think the world of WoK--and to a lesser extent the plot--is very complex and definately has the potential for genius. The character work and the actual writing, on the other hand, is very superficial.

[Agitel]

There is an interesting point in that. One of my problems with Brandon is that since he became a part of the Wheel of Time--and the associated sales inherent in being linked to that series--he's stopped evolving as a writer. Indeed, if anything Alloy of Law shows a destinct devolution--in that book he frequently breaks the same rules he made and talks about in Writing Excuses.

 

I enjoyed The Alloy of Law; I didn't notice a lot of the criticisms people had about it. Perhaps I should give it another closer read through. The Alloy of Law was one of Sanderson's "in-between" books that wasn't originally planned to be a full novel or even necessarily a full Mistborn novel. Perhaps that's why it ended up being weaker. That's not really any excuse; there should be an expectation that all books are top quality and show improvement. Perhaps I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's not as reflective of the path he's on as an author for his main series, and more him experimenting with different techniques. I know one of the things about Warbreaker (which is probably my least-favorite book from him) was that he was experimenting with different voices and tones for the different characters, and he wanted to continue with it even though some suggested it left the book feeling disjointed at parts.

 

I'm not sure whether he should be criticized for making a weaker (but still publishable) novel or applauded for being willing to experiment and take the risks.

[lostcause]

I still need to read BS's contributions so I can't state if I prefer his writing.

 

I will make a couple of points I find to be big flaws in RJs writing.

 

- His general portrayal of women, from barwenches to ageless Aes Sedai - they all have the same faults and demeanors, and it's not what I'd call positive traits.

 

- The lack of actual danger/deaths. I found myself increasingly immune to the "against all odds, risk taking endeavors!" our main characters attempt - simply because they succeed over and over again. When they first travelled the ways, I was hooked, drinking in every word. By the time we witnessed Elayne trying to unweave a gateway - I just read through it, wondering what miracle would happen to get them through this time. I'm also reading "A Song of Ice and Fire" and I know Martin is on the other extreme end of the scale. I'd prefer an equilibrium, but given the choice, Martins way definately makes me more involved in the story.

[Conan]

Honestly I didn't really get in to mistborn the way I do with WOT I don't think one is better in terms of writers its kind of like comparing sprite to coke both are soda but some people like coke

[Agitel]

- His general portrayal of women, from barwenches to ageless Aes Sedai - they all have the same faults and demeanors, and it's not what I'd call positive traits.

 

Are we supposed to view this as the result of a somewhat misandrous, female-dominated society, the same way that males acted towards females throughout much of history (and still today in many places)? Aes Sedai as a whole are quite guilty of misandrous attitudes, and I think that's quite intentional, given the make up of their institution and their status in society. I don't remember Seanchan or the Aiel being quite so bad.

[Gathering Storman Norman]

I think we will have a much more apt comparison as Way of Kings unfolds. Having said that I do not enjoy BS as a writer all that much. The first Mistborn book was good but they got progressivly worse in my mind. On those counts there are some purely god awful moments in TGS and ToM.

First let me say I absolutely loved Mistborn and aWoKs and disagree that the Mistborn books got worse as they went along. The ending of the trilogy was fantastic!

 

I want to know what parts of TGS and ToM you thought were god awful? They were two of my favorite books in the series.

 

One thing I do want to point out is I do think RJ did a much better job of world and character building, just in tEotW alone than BS accomplished in all three Mistborn books. Only a handful of the characters in the Mistborn series were anything but paper thin. There are already a dozen characters that you know more about in WOT than you do about Vin.

[Gathering Storman Norman]

- His general portrayal of women, from barwenches to ageless Aes Sedai - they all have the same faults and demeanors, and it's not what I'd call positive traits.

 

Are we supposed to view this as the result of a somewhat misandrous, female-dominated society, the same way that males acted towards females throughout much of history (and still today in many places)? Aes Sedai as a whole are quite guilty of misandrous attitudes, and I think that's quite intentional, given the make up of their institution and their status in society. I don't remember Seanchan or the Aiel being quite so bad.

RJ paints women differently based on what society or culure they came from. The one thing that is common is that women definitely have more power and voice in WOTdom.

 

It is funny, a lot of people see the wot women as overbearing, self righteous, or even men haters. I for one like the woman in wot. They are strong willed, capable, fiery, and usually very honest (not counting the AesSedia). Never have understood the dislike for them. And if you ask me they treat their men much beyer than a lot of today's women do.

[Agitel]

OK I am going to ad my two bit but I am not as politically correct as some of the people here and I don't mind offending people if I think that they are talking less than common sense but rally there is no comparison between RJ and BS. How many New York time best sellers he had before he was chosen to complete WOT? leave that aside how many of you had heard of BS before Harriet selected him. I hadn't. If you still want to compare RJ with BS. I guess you are entitled to your choices but for me there is no comparison. I haven't read much of him outside WOT and what I have is not really much to writ home about. So, I am not going to be reading anymore of his work, sorry.

 

Point understood, but how well known and successful was RJ before The Wheel of Time? That's not a rhetorical question, I'm curious. My understanding is that he'd only published his Michael Fallon trilogy and did a number of Conan the Barbarian stories. Sanderson was still a pretty pretty new author when he picked up The Wheel of Time, having only Elantris and the Mistborn trilogy under his belt (and maybe his Alcatraz children's books); it doesn't surprise me that he was lesser known. I'm just saying I'm not sure if it's an entirely fair comparison if there's such a great difference in how long they've been writing. While I still think Sanderson's prose is weaker than RJ's, it strikes me that Sanderson is very capable at story structure and coming up with original ideas. He needs to continue to improve in some areas, but he's a pretty strong author in others. He just lacked time to establish himself and got a boost by picking up The Wheel of Time. Harriet McDougal did choose him after being recommended one of his books to read (in consideration for someone to finish the WoT), so she obviously thought he was a capable author.

 

I just wanted to add that I've looked up reader reviews (not critic reviews) of the Michael Fallon trilogy, and for the most part a lot of people are speak of poor prose and characterization. Unfortunately, many of the reviewers seem to have been fans of tWoT first, and the Fallon books are historical romance, a completely different genre, so I wonder if some of the negative reviews are from people who just couldn't make the genre switch. Those that speak of the actual merits of the book themselves seem to consider it to certainly be inferior writing.

 

Luckers made a good post in response to mine about how many of us think Brandon needs to continue to evolve as a writer, but I wanted to follow up my point because I (and I'm sure many of you) are unfamiliar with Jordan's other works. You can see Jordan's evolution as a writer even within just the first couple of books of tWoT itself. The prose in tEotW was weaker than in tGH.

[muddasssir]

As I said before I have absolutely zero problem if you or anyone thinks that BS is the best thing since invention of wheel but if you will give him time. You will find that Having worked with RJs notes and his story line is going to start reflecting in his own writing. His story telling was much better in ToM than in tGS which in my humble opinion was still better than Mistborn however widely it was claimed. I have a habit of finishing books but still finishing the trilogy was a drag. I think you people will agree with me more after the release of AMoL.

[zidfrekle]

Having read the Mistborn series as well as WoT, I would not argue that either BS or RJ is a better or worse writer than the other; nor would I compare the two series. Both writers are human, therefore they both have strengths and weaknesses in certain areas of their writing. Yes, it is true that RJ has not killed off any of the main characters yet. He has, however shown death and it's effects on the main characters, eg. Mangin's hanging, the deaths of Perrin's family, Verin and her self-sacrifice, and many others. Having Egwene or Mat take an arrow or some such would not necessarily have had a better effect on the story. Another point that I would argue is that BS's portrayal of women is much more offensive than that of RJ: RJ has a good balance of female characters with very realistic personalities and roles. Each one of his characters, both male and female, has many different sides to their personality. BS only offers Vin the hero who was a timid, abused girl who grew up to be a fighter and doesnt understand men. From there on, the women in the Mistborn series are nobles who are all the traditional superficial spoiled childish females. Allomancy offers a tangible explaination for magic, not a better description of it. Allomancy vs OP is comparable to Science vs Religion. Allomancy being more realistic? Have you ever gotten stronger or faster or seen into the future due to eating/ingesting metal? Yes, Allomancy is based on tangible things and a more scientific sounding process, but the OP is also described very thoroughly and with its own set of rules and boundaries. I personally enjoyed both series of books because I did not try to judge them against one another. Just as with people, I love something for what it is; exactly the way it is. I liked the Mistborn trilogy because it was a nice, quick read. The plot was enjoyable, and for that series, it was great to finish in three books. I also read Elantris and Warbreaker, and those were also great individual books by BS. Each was finished quite nicely in one book. Both were cohesive and enjoyable within their own neat little packages. I also love reading and re-reading the WoT series. They are long, and require all of my attention as to not miss anything. I read RJ the way a 6 year old eats birthday cake; savoring every crumb, and always clamoring for more. WoT would not have worked as a single book, or a trilogy, and even as long as it is I would still enjoy it if it had continued to 30 volumes. Both of these types of series have their purpose and enjoyment. Both authors produce works that I love to read. From there, some people like split pea soup. I dont. You eat what you like and I'll eat what I like.

[Mr Ares]

OK I am going to ad my two bit but I am not as politically correct as some of the people here and I don't mind offending people if I think that they are talking less than common sense but rally there is no comparison between RJ and BS. How many New York time best sellers he had before he was chosen to complete WOT? leave that aside how many of you had heard of BS before Harriet selected him. I hadn't. If you still want to compare RJ with BS. I guess you are entitled to your choices but for me there is no comparison. I haven't read much of him outside WOT and what I have is not really much to writ home about. So, I am not going to be reading anymore of his work, sorry.

Given that success and quality are not the same thing, what does it matter that BS has had fewer bestsellers than RJ? Or that he was less well known prior to taking over the writing of the series?

[Guest Rabbil A Sikdar]

I think Robert Jordan's first five to six books were at a level that Brandon Sanderson hasn't matched..and RJ had a lyrical beauty few writers barring Tolkien had. Sanderson is a bit more direct but I like his books, the characters are less annoying, more realistic in how they react..and he isn't afraid to kill some characters. Robert Jordan's main characters incorporate of Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, Elayne, Min, Aviendha, Min and none have died. In thirteen books none have died, and that's bad for an epic-fantasy.

 

Robert Jordan is slower but the way he's designed his world and built his magical system is awesome and very complex, but Sanderson's magic systems are very imaginative.

 

Sanderson probably will end up as one of the epic-fantasy greats, certainly of this generation, and if Stormlight is anything as good as Elantris and Warbreaker, then he could definitely surpass Wheel of Time which I think derailed after the first few books. At the moment you can't call Sanderson better, but time will tell.