Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

cheese posted:

A friend of mine who likes a lot of the same books just finished and said he had mixed feelings. The action and word building was good, but he said it read sort of like a humorless Malazan Book of the Fallen. I love me an epic fantasy series but is it really that devoid of light hearted scenes? One of the best things about Malazan is that while some of the humor was a little on the corny 'he talks funny' side, it was amusing and timely enough to break up otherwise heavy storylines. Is that not the case here and if so, how do you see that impacting the series? Even Joel Ambercrombies First Law series, some of the darkest fantasy I've read, had the odd humorous exchange written in. I don't think I can do 8k pages devoid of comic relief.

The main story is pretty serious, but there are interludes between each of the four main parts that contain some more light-hearted bits.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Danith posted:

I just finished the Way of Kings, and while I know the Brighteyes women keep their safehand covered, and touching someone with it is an intimate gesture I don't remember the book explaining anything about the meaning of the safehand. What is the purpose?

Random cultural differences, intended to reinforce that this is a world apart from our own, and that societal norms are weird when viewed from the outside? My guess is he needed an excuse for Shallan to be able to carry around the broken soulcaster all the time.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Kalas posted:

Sazed's intro mentioned (from his perspective) that Shardplate would interfere with his Surgebinding.

Probably because the second he drew stormlight into himself, he'd de-power the plate.

And yet, in one of Dalinar's visions he clearly sees a Radiant wearing plate do something very much like surge-flying.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Kreeblah posted:

Yeah, I just sent a PM to LooseChanj to try to get the thread title changed. I've already got some general info about Sanderson in the OP, but I'll just keep adding new books and such as they come out.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Brian Sanderson hasn't written a drat thing, actually.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.
Can we mark which book we're spoiling? I'm halfway through my first trek through Sanderson's collected works.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Mahlertov Cocktail posted:

Who do you think doesn't get cooler in Hero?

(HoA)Sazed gets better right at the end of course, but he's a tedious, repetitious bore of ridiculous depression for 90% of the book.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Thoguh posted:

Regarding the end of the The Hero of Ages


A big plot point is that Eland and his army use up all the Atium, depriving Ruin of the ability to gain back his power. However, barely a chapter later Sazed uses the combined power of Ruin and Preservation to remake the world, and the impression I got was that he required the power of both to do so. Am I missing something? Did he only use Preservation?

Having just finished it, I've got this fresh in my mind: There are three components to each god: mind, spirit, and body. Ruin's body was the atium. At the point of that fight, Vin+Mist is 2/3 of a god and Ruin+HisSpirit is 2/3. The other 1/3 of Preservation (his body, I think?) is busy powering allomancy and the atium is, as you say, used up. This means they cancel each other's powers out and neither can act. But if Ruin could get the atium it would be 3/3 vs 2/3 and he could do what he wants. So when Vin headbutts Ruin and they kill eachother, Sazed is able to take the spirit component of each god and become the joint mind of the new, reunited, 4/6 of a god.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.
So, I finally finished my Sandersonathon. Well, except for Alcatraz. Anyone here tried those? How different is the style from his fantasy?

Warbreaker was pretty dang good; I'm looking forward to sequels eventually.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Silenced Parrot posted:

I honestly don't think he ever will. He is an amazing person and really doesn't seem to be the type of person to force his views on people. :)

That seems mostly the case for now, yeah. Read his essay on the gays, though. He says that while he intellectually respects their rights, he can't square that very well with the fact that he knows 100%, because of his religion, that it's in their best interest for him to vote against their right to equality. That seems a slippery slope to me.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.
I actually think that if Sanderson's books were to be adapted into visual media, an animated series would probably be the best choice -- they're not quite grey and sexy enough to get the HBO treatment, like ASOIAF. They're a bit too complex for movies. And they'd be way too expensive to film for any network to do them live-action. An animated series with a target age range of, say, 15-20 seems to be just about the right thing. For Mistborn in particular, giving each book a 13 episode season should work quite well. Unfortunately, though, those types of shows are much less common in America than elsewhere (Japan, for instance).

Jorenko fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Apr 17, 2011

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Democratic Pirate posted:

Take the team behind Avatar: The Last Airbender and give them control over some of Sanderson's stuff. I would watch the poo poo out of this.

Edit: By your avatar I take it you would agree with me..

I think they'd do a good job, though I don't think Nick would buy it without toning down the content in some parts. Really, I think Bones would be a fantastic choice. Maybe they could pioneer the idea of an animated series that is written and specifically produced with the idea of simultaneous release in both English and Japanese? They could put it on Adult Swim and Noitamina, with new episodes airing the same week! Probably not, but a man can dream.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

A Nice Boy posted:

Don't forget about Warbreaker. It had some pretty clearly stated sex stuff, such as when the princess who has to marry the God King is simulating the sex night every night, moaning and bouncing on the bed. He even describes in detail how she builds, then kind of screams at the end or whatever, then stops. So, it's not like he's not acknowledging that sex and orgasms and such exist. He just chooses not to write about it all the time.

If he truly did pretend that sex didn't exist or something, I'd be way more irritated about it. He knows it's there, he just doesn't go off on it for pages.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm 100% on your guys' side about this: he shows it enough, and all that. But it's interesting to note that Warbreaker was the first book he wrote after he lost his V card (on his honeymoon, no less), and that it had the most explicit and close to on-screen sex yet.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

More good stuff. There's one of his standard lackluster attempts at humor in there, though. Oh well, nobody's perfect. I like where the plot is going and the new allomancy details are interesting.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.
Does anyone know if this plot-hole that opened up in Hero of Ages due to information we've gotten since then has been addressed anywhere?

Preservation's message to his creation was the repeated 16s: 16 allomantic metals, 1/16 of the population snaps in the mist. That 1/16 of those had worse snapping symtopms and became atium mistings was a major plot point at the end of the book, and I thought the ratio was because the new mistings were evenly divided among the 16 metals. However, Sanderson has since revealed that atium is not one of the set of 16 standard allomantic metals, but one of the 'god metals' (as we've just been discussing, there's chromium, cadmium, bendalloy, and nicrosil make up the extra four missing from the ones we already knew, minus god metals.)

Maybe it was never stated definitively that the new mistings were evenly divided, and the 1/16 atium mistings were just extra special, rather than a even slice of the misting pie?

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

ImpAtom posted:

So I was reading Mistborn and reasonably enjoying it but...

is it true that Brandon Sanderson is anti-Gay Marriage? I seriously will not support any writer who holds that viewpoint so I'd really like to know before I pick up any further books.

Long story short, he's mormon, and believes it enough that he thinks outlawing gay marriage is saving them from an eternity in hell. More here: http://brandonsanderson.com/article/51/EUOLogy-Dumbledores-Homosexuality

Edit: turns out he's updated that post with a much more reasonable position since the last time I was there. I'm glad he's coming around.

Jorenko fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Feb 18, 2012

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Bullio posted:

Wait, so Alloy of Law is standalone? I was hoping to get more of Wax and Co. I loved that book.

He's said he might do another standalone mistborn book, but whether it would focus on wax & co or some other group of characters or even another time period is undecided.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Maytag posted:

Star Wars has been a stale universe for over 15 years and Brandon shouldn't waste his time with it.

Especially when he's already got his own sci-fi trilogy planned (in like 10 years, but still).

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.
Only a dozen or so can join the video chat at a time, but it's an "on air", so unlimited non-participants can watch.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Mahlertov Cocktail posted:

I think you mean two because nobody is going to find Hrathen uninteresting. :colbert:

I didn't really like him at all until his last 3 or 4 chapters.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.
Do I remember hearing about Legion getting optioned for TV at some time recently? I hope so. Although if JC is anyone but John Goodman (a la Walter from Big Lebowski) I'll be sorely disappointed.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Affi posted:

Tobias is so Morgan Freeman.

Holy poo poo. This warrants a reread.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Democratic Pirate posted:

Is The Emperor's Soul worth buying? Just took a work break and checked out his site and Sanderson said he thinks it might be his best writing yet which has me intrigued.

Basically, do I get it now or later?

You can read the prologue for free at Tor.com right now. Based on that much, I'm pretty excited to dig into the rest.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Democratic Pirate posted:

Are his novellas connected to his overworld? Because the Imperial Fool is totally Hoid

Just starting the Emperor's Soul ebook so I could be wrong.

Not all of them. Obviously Legion is on Earth. But Emperor's Soul is -- it's actually on another corner of the same planet as Elantris.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

The Glumslinger posted:

Forget about another reread for a while, I just started to read TWOT series

Heh, so did I. I'm up to book 9, and I don't think I'll be done by the time Rithmatist hits. The first two books were good, if pretty formulaic, but three was excellent, and the pressure never lets up after that.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Nitpicking time! By the scale in that map, the UIA is 1200 miles across. The USA is around 3000 miles wide. It doesn't even make any sense if you consider the smaller squares as 50 miles each.

Edit: Loved the book, though. The plot twists were pretty easy to anticipate, but it's a great example of (relatively standard) YA fantasy, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.
It's almost done!

https://twitter.com/BrandSanderson posted:

Getting really close to finishing Words of Radiance. I might right the ending tonight, as a matter of fact, depending on how late I stay up.

Turning on a little bit of music by Explosions in the Sky for a writing soundtrack tonight. Let's see how this goes.

Also, yes, let's pretend I said I'll WRITE the book instead of RIGHT it. My brain is elsewhere at the moment. :) Onward.

1,000 words into the climax of Words of Radiance. Still not sure if I'll be able to finish tonight, but it's possible.

Music is now the new Daft Punk album. I like it, but I might need something...louder for this next scene. Keying up Metallica in case.

Update: at 1500 words after two hours of writing tonight. A good clip, but the next part will be slower. Novel stands at 310k words so far.

Hour three was slower, as expected. 2,000 words total. This was a tricky scene to write.

Going to go ahead and turn in for the night. Need to ponder on this next sequence a little more. Might finish tomorrow night.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Grundulum posted:

At least, that's how it works until he starts writing the (multiple?) series where the Cosmere is a major factor. Can't look right now, but there was definitely at least one series that would bridge the multiple worlds and really lay bare some of the underlying cosmology.

Way of Kings laid out so many hints that it's hard to imagine this won't be a major factor in Stormlight down the line.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Dravs posted:

just finished, that was really good, enjoyed it a lot. I know people are happy that finally Sanderson has written a book without a clearly defined set of laws to the magic system, however I really want him to explain it later in the series.

I figured that Steelhearts weakness was being hurt by accident. I guessed that Megan was an epic, however I didn't see Prof being one, that one got me.


I am really excited by this series now. He doesn't often do non fantasy, but after reading this, firstborn and the infinity blade novels he is really getting a feel for it.

Also he looks like he has written this specifically with a movie being made in mind, so, quiz time, what actors should play what part?

Shia Lebouf for David?
Jean Reno for Prof?
Mila Kunis for Megan?

Prof is CLEARLY Morgan Freeman. I couldn't not hear his voice every time the man spoke. Unknowns for everyone else, though.

Well, maybe a couple of the epics could be big names, I guess.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Benson Cunningham posted:

Has Sanderson said yet if steelheart exists in the same cosmere as the rest of his books? I know two of the worlds were as of yet unidentified.

It does not; none of his stories set on any version of earth are cosmere.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Benson Cunningham posted:

Read the new book.

I think it would have been much cooler if Megan was schizophrenic and only one of her personalities knew it had epic powers.

It was pretty good. Definitely aimed at young adults, not overly complex. Interesting setting, hope he leaves the city for the next book.

Do you know the difference between schizophrenia and multiple personalities disorder? This brings up a cool thought though: a schizophrenic illusionist epic. Maybe they THINK they're a gifter for some other power. But they only "gift" to their projections?

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.
Are we allowed to discuss the stories? Because holy balls. Good stuff.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Fezz posted:

Yeah, it was great. Engaging action, new answers as well as new questions. The government reminds me of Twoflower's home in the Discworld books. Obviously taken from the same real world source

If you haven't yet, read Sixth of the Dusk.. If the rest of it is like the excerpt, it will be on par with the Emperor's Soul.

Do we know which book the Sixth is from? I haven't heard anything about that one, but it sounds like a pretty interesting setting.

All the others were pretty amazeballs, especially Lift. Can't bloody wait for WoR.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Sherringford posted:

I think Sanderson's sense of humor can be...a bit off most of the times, but (in my opinion at least) he's really good at writing funny characters who are openly dickish. For example, Lightsong in Warbreaker seems genuinely amusing when trying to be funny. Like he wasn't so much trying to be funny as he was just going on about whatever came to his head because he very clearly didn't care, and that seemed funnier than...you know, metaphors.

Then again pretty much everything in Warbreaker is a bit different from Sanderson's usual style. It felt more Robert Jordanish than Sandersonish in way, if that makes any sense.

That was one thing about both the Shadows excerpt and Lift: I think he's getting a lot better at this. There were a few purposefully lame things with Wayne of course, but nothing as tone-deaf as has been the norm for him before, and some really good moments, too. I am optimistic.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

@BrandSanderson posted:

With Firefight first draft done, Peter is doing a quick pass edit for me. That gives me a few days free time. Time for the Legion sequel.

Never change, Brandon.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Shakugan posted:

I'm not saying it wasn't obvious that it was coming at some point, but rather that it happened in a pretty poor way. We go from "OMG Kaladin, you're the one I've been looking for" to "Dalinar the Radiant" in 5 seconds flat. I think Stormfather should have said no to Dalinar, at least for now. I think it would have made for better development if he had formed the bond in some moment of need rather than just say the words, become radiant wham bam thankyou ma'am.

I'm also not sure I really like Dalinar being the one to bond Stormfather, or that anyone bonded him at all. In Way of Kings, it was Kaladin who had the connection to Stormfather through his dreams. It was a weird change that now it's suddenly Dalinar who has the strong connection to him to allow bonding (yes, we hear that it was Stormfather who sent Dalinar the dreams via Honor, but that felt like backsplanation to me), and Kaladin's implied connection was basically discarded.

Maybe part of it is me being silly, thinking Kaladin should have the "most powerful" spren bond on account of being the true protagonist (yes, we get books from different PoVs, but Kaladin having the first book cements him with the status of actual protagonist). So this makes me think at some point Kaladin is going to get an even more crazy powerup to be more powerful than Dalinar/Stormfather.

Speak of power creep, I feel like WoR was easily Sandersons most anime book to date. But most of these moments were so awesome I didn't care. When Kaladin first learns to fly, and later on when he goes super saiyan against Moash and Graves... so much fist pumping.


It was so freaking anime. There were multiple moments when someone was getting a beatdown, but then stood back up with a burst of energy, and my brain just belts out, "DON'T LOSE YOUR WAY!"

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

syphon posted:

Has it been explained where the root of (WoR spoiler about Taravangian) his odd affliction is? So far, we've only been told about Surge Binding as a magic system in addition to something called 'old magic'. Has there been any more in-depth explanation?

It's the old magic. Several characters have mentioned it briefly. A mysterious woman called the night watcher or night mother will grant you any boon you ask, but always with some ironic downside. She is likely to be a spren of some kind, maybe Cultivation's analog to the stormfather. This is also why Dalinar can't remember his wife.

Edit: wiki link http://coppermind.net/wiki/Nightwatcher

Jorenko fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Mar 12, 2014

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

mossyfisk posted:

If you assume that the KR orders had a hierarchical system, it makes a lot of sense. It's not just saying the words and having to stick by them, it's understanding them and really believing them. Some members have sworn the first, some the first two, but only a few would be able to say the third and really mean it.

So while they can all do a lot of good, only knights who have sword the third have the authority to do big stuff like making policy decisions.

It was explicitly stated that all orders share the first ideal, then do their own thing for the rest. Some orders have more ideals of their own that are unique, and some (like the Lightweavers, as Pattern told Shallan) do something completely different (tell deep personal truths, in this case). For my part I think Kaladin really did say the third. There's no way he'd get such a huge powerup from just restating the second. I think that each order's ideals will be specialized, so it makes sense for the Windrunners' to focus on protection as a theme.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Habibi posted:

Except it's still an incredibly dumb delineation. If those are separate oaths, then the WR ideals have a loophole that somehow allow Kaladin to not worry about protecting people he doesn't hate who can protect themselves, which would be a pretty stupid thing (given he has to protect people he hates even when they can protect themselves).

There are more oaths left. Also, I don't think the spren are going to let you wiggle through a loophole that defies the spirit of the law.

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

Hopeford posted:

By the way, not sure if this thread is the best place for this, but I remember someone here recommending Promises of Blood as a book that was kinda Sandersonian. I finished it a few days ago, and while I liked it, I did have a few issues with it. I'll leave the most spoilerish stuff under the tag just to make sure, but I think the big thing is that it does the opposite of the "Sanderson Avalanche." I did like the magic system though, so there's that.

(Spoilers for Promises of Blood)
(Not really spoilers, more about the book structure and what it does-doesn't do, but just to be safe...)

(Again, just in case someone hovers over this by accident, spoilers for promises of blood)
Mostly, it felt too...trilogy-y. There was very little resolution in the main plot, and I don't feel like any of the characters evolved at all. They kind of remained the same person throughout the book and never really learned or changed at all. There was a nice setup for book 2, but while I was expecting some questions to be unanswered by the end of book 1, basically none of the questions I had were answered. Ka-poel and Taniel's backstory was barely elaborated on, Vlora's situation basically went nowhere and she barely even had lines in the book, Bo's deal didn't go anywhere, we never see the consequences of Adamat's decisions...it's just a lot of "Buy book 2!"

I did enjoy the book, but personally I wasn't a fan of how little book 1 solved. I understand some of it has to be set up for the rest of the series, but ehhhh.


Still a good book to read if you are looking for stuff that's sorta similar to Sanderson though.

This. And: the combination of Vlora being ignored and Ka-poel's muteness meant that the book failed the Bechdel test pretty hard. It was pretty disappointing when compared with the much more progressive epic fantasy we've been getting from many authors recently. But, like you, I still enjoyed it, particularly for the magic, and for Mihali. I think I'll be picking up the sequel, but maybe not til the ebook is on sale.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Jorenko
Jun 6, 2004

I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

nucleicmaxid posted:

Then so do most comic book characters.

Kaladin and Szeth had a swordfight while standing in mid-air and radiating visible auras of energy. An action scene doesn't get more anime than that. Not to say that I disliked it. It was awesome. But it quacks, and I call it a duck.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply