Attn fantasy readers: What do you think of Brandon Sanderson?

[Gavster]

I'll second Abercrombe. Best Served Cold is great as is the First Law trilogy. I'm going old school soon and will be reading all of Feists' stuff. Wonder if it will be as good now as 20 years ago.

The first three Magician books do hold up and still kick ass. I read them first five years ago. His other books less so.

 

[bigdaddythunder]

Man i have the mistborn trilogy and the way of kings and just can't get into them. I'll read a page, put the book aside, and then go read something else.

 

[Bald1]

The first three Magician books do hold up and still kick ass. I read them first five years ago. His other books less so.

Cool. How about his books with Wurts? I've tried re reading some of my old favorites over the years only to be betrayed by fond memories. For some reason I don't want that to happen with Feist.

 

[Guestx]

It's different because there's more violence and the world is a harsher place. Kaladin starts off as a slave and endures some heavy events and emotions. Instead of getting angry like Vin did in Mistborn during a crisis, Kaladin will emotionally break down and give up. He's a potential suicide risk.
We see more of the villain in these books too.

He definitely writes for the PG-13 crowd, this series is more of a mature theme though.

One reason I looked into the Stormlight series was because someone described it as "a cross between Tolkein and Game of Thrones." I don't think I'm seeing much similarity to GoT though, because the obvious fact that they're both fantasy.

Can you relate to Kaladin as a character?

That's an interesting question. I'd say in some ways. He's an adventurous soul with who wants to do right by people and I at least try to be that way.

Do you? I assume so since you asked.

I used to avoid hyped material growing up but I've learnt that you can find some real quality in well reviewed and over suggested authors.

Well, you know, generally authors get their reputations because they produce quality work so it makes sense.

Abercrombie is quite raw compared to Sanderson but he's also fresh. If I had to liken a fighter to his style, I'd go with Robbie Lawler. He's not afraid of throwing down, a little blood and dirty language are fine too.

He has written one of the most inventive characters I've ever read. Here's his character profile:

Sand dan Glokta is a former champion swordsman and dashing war-hero in the King's Own, before his capture and torture by the Gurkish. Now a shunned cripple, he has turned torturer himself, as an Inquisitor in the King's Inquisition.

That sounds interesting. I'll have to give his stuff a look.

Breathing new life into the fantasy genre?

Well he completely nailed an exciting magic system from Mistborn on with specified rules and created the framework for others to do so. Not only has he shown how to create a believable magic system by giving logical explanation to it but has inspired others with how he brings an exciting and new version of magic into each story.

He has provided a blueprint for writing fantasy that has been lacking, fantasy authors often meander around and lose their structure. His structure is so tight. Reading his interviews or watching his how to write videos will provide a more indepth understanding of how he's been an evolution in the genre.

Cool, thanks.

I heard someone recently say that most fantasy just seems to be a rip off of Tolkein, with the worlds and the types of characters you find within those worlds being very similar. While I don't read enough fantasy to know if that's true I thought it was an interesting statement. One thing I can say about Sanderson's work is that Roshar and everything in it feels pretty original and does not strike me as very Tolkein-esque (or like GoT's world for that matter).

 

[Guestx]

Man i have the mistborn trilogy and the way of kings and just can't get into them. I'll read a page, put the book aside, and then go read something else.

Really? Maybe you should just take a couple of days to binge like 50 pages of Way of Kings. If you aren't into it at that point probably best to just abandon the quest.

 

[Bald1]

....

I heard someone recently say that most fantasy just seems to be a rip off of Tolkein, with the worlds and the types of characters you find within those worlds being very similar. While I don't read enough fantasy to know if that's true I thought it was an interesting statement. One thing I can say about Sanderson's work is that Roshar and everything in it feels pretty original and does not strike me as very Tolkein-esque (or like GoT's world for that matter).

While that might be true in some cases it just doesnt apply to the Malazan Book of the Fallen series or to the First Law trilogy. The characters are more complex and are shades of grey as opposed to good/bad 1/0 generalizations, and the themes are generally more adult oriented.

Hell, some people seem to think nothing has been original since Homers Iliad and the Odyssey. That definitely doesn't mean it's true.

 

[Gavster]

Cool. How about his books with Wurts? I've tried re reading some of my old favorites over the years only to be betrayed by fond memories. For some reason I don't want that to happen with Feist.

His first five were well received. Jimmy The Hand was a cool character but I just didn't enjoy his other characters so to me The first three rocked, the next two were decent but the rest were bad.

I haven't read his books with Wurts. His first five books were really well received, he started whiffing in 1989 from my perspective. That's when he started falling into the habit of writing out of present time and began overdescribing the story and using long-winded monologues to tell what had or would happen rather than showing it. He definately needed more revisions for it.

Wurts wrote the Empire Trilogy in 1987-1992 and they seem to be of a similar quality to his first five. So they should be good reads.

 

[Gavster]

One reason I looked into the Stormlight series was because someone described it as "a cross between Tolkein and Game of Thrones." I don't think I'm seeing much similarity to GoT though, because the obvious fact that they're both fantasy.

You're right. Those people don't know shit.

That's an interesting question. I'd say in some ways. He's an adventurous soul with who wants to do right by people and I at least try to be that way.

Do you? I assume so since you asked.

Yeah totally, out of all his characters I felt he was the most down to earth and had the most depth. The emotion I relate to most is sadness and the whole giving up and not having control over your own circumstances is totally relatable to me.

Cool, thanks.

I heard someone recently say that most fantasy just seems to be a rip off of Tolkein, with the worlds and the types of characters you find within those worlds being very similar. While I don't read enough fantasy to know if that's true I thought it was an interesting statement. One thing I can say about Sanderson's work is that Roshar and everything in it feels pretty original and does not strike me as very Tolkein-esque (or like GoT's world for that matter).

On ripping off Tolkien; In 1949, Joseph Campbell wrote The Hero With A Thousand Faces. And in it he explained how often there is a formula to writing that people fall into. So many authors were inspired by Tolkien, they weren't trying to rip him off. Though Terry Brooks was close. Tolkien had great worldbuilding and an epic journey so anywhere you see those two close together with fantasy, people say that it's Tolkien-esque. And it's true to a point. Fantasy is usually about a quest in an imaginary world.

Here's The Hero's Journey, see if you can put Tolkien and Star Wars neatly in it.

 

[Bald1]

On ripping off Tolkien; In 1949, Joseph Campbell wrote The Hero With A Thousand Faces. And in it he explained how often there is a formula to writing that people fall into. So many authors were inspired by Tolkien, they weren't trying to rip him off. Though Terry Brooks was close....

I always thought Allanon had a familiar feel to him.

 

[loyalyolayal]

I only knew about Sanderson because he finished what Jordan started and for that, I am grateful. I am not familiar with his other works & frankly, I don't have the time to read. If I do, It would be to binge read the Kharkanas trilogy-prequel to the Malazan tge book of the fallen.

 

[Gavster]

I always thought Allanon had a familiar feel to him.

Yeah, childhood ruined.

 

[milliniar]

i've enjoyed what i read. of his

 

[Guestx]

On ripping off Tolkien; In 1949, Joseph Campbell wrote The Hero With A Thousand Faces. And in it he explained how often there is a formula to writing that people fall into. So many authors were inspired by Tolkien, they weren't trying to rip him off. Though Terry Brooks was close. Tolkien had great worldbuilding and an epic journey so anywhere you see those two close together with fantasy, people say that it's Tolkien-esque. And it's true to a point. Fantasy is usually about a quest in an imaginary world.

Here's The Hero's Journey, see if you can put Tolkien and Star Wars neatly in it.

Indeed. Good points.

Thinking back now, I remember the two specific points that were raised about how in most of fantasy "everything rips off Tolkien":

1. the world in which the story takes place closely resembles earth, in the same way that Middle-Earth is very earth-like
2. the types of characters are often the same or very similar, with the usual cast of Tolkien regulars such as elves, dwarves, orcs etc being paraded out

This was on a podcast that I heard this and I remember the host was like, "Okay, so it's FANTASY. That means you can do ANYTHING you want, so what usually happens? They just re-do Tolkien."

Like I said, I don't read enough fantasy to confirm or deny. But I thought it was an interesting point.

 

[Guestx]

Just for curiosity's sake, anyone want to tackle Sanderson vs Tolkien?

 

[europe1]

1. the world in which the story takes place closely resembles earth, in the same way that Middle-Earth is very earth-like

Well to be fair to Tolkien that was the dominant way of doings things even before he absolutely towered over the genre. The Conan stories for example also feutures a myriad of earth-like cultures. As did his contemporaries novels like C.S Lewis Narnia books or Poul Anderssons Three Hearts and Three Lions.

I think it just boils down to human nature. People want to use fantasy to play with their understanding of the real world. Managing something you have a tangible connection to is more fun and relatable than starting from absolute scratch where you have absolutely no prior relationship to the matterial. It's the path of least resistence.

Probably the most overt example of blatantly copying from the real world is from Glen Cooks Instrumentalities of the Night. Basically an almost excact copy of Crusade-era Europe and the Middle East with the names changed and magic sprinkled over it.

All-in-all, I don't think Tolkien's work resemblaces earth to that great an extent, especially when compairing him to some other people in the Fantasy genre.

 

[o0obruceleeo0o]

I've only read his books that completed the Wheel of Time, and I think he did a pretty good job there. Some of his dialogue was cheesier than Jordans. That was my only complaint.

P.S. You should give the Wheel of Time a try. It gets dull in a few of the middle books, but IMO it all pays off in the end. I recommend that people give the first book a try, which will make you want to keep reading most likely.

 

[Guestx]

All-in-all, I don't think Tolkien's work resemblaces earth to that great an extent, especially when compairing him to some other people in the Fantasy genre.

I would say that Middle-Earth resembles earth much more than something like Sanderson's Roshar. It's mostly fields and forests and mountains and streams. Whereas Roshar is a cracked, rocky world that has very little in the way of vegetation and is truly foreign.

 

[Guestx]

I've only read his books that completed the Wheel of Time, and I think he did a pretty good job there. Some of his dialogue was cheesier than Jordans. That was my only complaint.

P.S. You should give the Wheel of Time a try. It gets dull in a few of the middle books, but IMO it all pays off in the end. I recommend that people give the first book a try, which will make you want to keep reading most likely.

I intend to check out Wheel of Time eventually. 14 massive books is pretty intimidating though, I have to say.

 

[Deleted member 220895]

2 weeks until Oathbringer comes out. I'm beyond impatient.

 

[Guestx]

2 weeks until Oathbringer comes out. I'm beyond impatient.

I have to be honest, despite my best efforts I have failed to get through Way of Kings.

I think Sanderson, and the Stormlight series, may just not be for me.