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Contra Calculus posted:So I liked the Mistborn Trilogy and Alloy of Law. Still haven't read his WoT books because I've only read the first three (and I dread reading the ones after that based on what people have told me). So the Stormlight Archives series is pretty good though? I wasn't a huge fan of Rothfuss' writing is the only thing and the OP claims that it's comparable to that. One can write pages worth of arguments about WOT and such, but the truth is that Sanderson has done a phenomenal job of bringing the book series to an drat exciting conclusion this coming winter. Its a massive undertaking to read through all of them, and the quality of Jordan's series does take a dip right about books 7-10, but you have the advantage of being able to keep reading right on through to the next one instead of waiting 3-4 years in between them. Even beter, you can come post your thoughts about them in the re-read thread as you go along. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3460087 Even though we are up to book 5, new people are always coming into the thread and their discussion is always welcome. Most will agree that Sanderson's writing in Stormlight has greatly matured from his previous books. The next book will not be out until next summer at the earliest, most likely the fall. Furhtermore, you may not realize yet that ALL of Sanderson's books (non WOT that is) are tied together in the same cosmere. There is a character called Hoid who has shown up in some fashion in Mistborn, Warbreaker, Elantris, and especially Stormlight, but he is really just the begining in how they are tied together. The fansite https://www.17thshard.com is your best source of information if you want to learn more, just beware of book spoilers if you start reading their coppermind/wiki. Essentially, each of the gods in the books are in possesion of a "Shard" that used to be a piece of a mega-god of all things called Adolnasium. These Shards allow the gods to do their thing like Allomancy and such. Theres a whole lot more to talk about here, but doing so at this point would spoil a lot of it. Trust me though that the way Sanderson is linking everything is well thought out and owns.
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Apr 19, 2012 15:47
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The 4th and 6th WoT books are generally agreed to be the two of the very best, so you're missing out on that at this point anyway.
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Apr 19, 2012 17:05
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Contra Calculus posted:So I liked the Mistborn Trilogy and Alloy of Law. Still haven't read his WoT books because I've only read the first three (and I dread reading the ones after that based on what people have told me). So the Stormlight Archives series is pretty good though? I wasn't a huge fan of Rothfuss' writing is the only thing and the OP claims that it's comparable to that. I just clarified that since I guess it could be a little misleading. It's not the writing that's similar, but the fact that they've both obviously put lots of time into thinking about the settings. The worldbuilding in TWoK is extensive and very well done if you like that sort of thing.
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Apr 19, 2012 17:13
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All right, I guess I'll get on the WoT books after all. I do enjoy his writing so I would hate to miss out on any of his books.
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Apr 19, 2012 17:45
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Contra Calculus posted:All right, I guess I'll get on the WoT books after all. I do enjoy his writing so I would hate to miss out on any of his books. WoT really isn't that bad until you get to around book 8 or 9, I forget which, then it stumbles for a few. But then it picks back up right before Sanderson took over/a dead man published more books than Gurm. Also there's no reason not to read Elantris and Warbreaker.
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Apr 19, 2012 18:14
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Contra Calculus posted:I wasn't a huge fan of Rothfuss' writing is the only thing and the OP claims that it's comparable to that. There's no thinly-disguised self-inserts or goony treatment of women in TWoK if that's what you're worried about.
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Apr 19, 2012 19:37
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coffeetable posted:There's no thinly-disguised self-inserts or goony treatment of women in TWoK if that's what you're worried about. Yeah, Sanderson never does inserts of himself. Friends and his editor Moshe, that's another matter entirely (see: Demoux in Mistborn).
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Apr 19, 2012 19:45
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quote:Rothfuss & Sanderson However there's no creepy Nice Guy attitudes in TWoK and none of the characters seem like self insertion. Parts of TWoK struck me as juvenille in their appeal, but Rothfuss has me scoffing out loud every few seconds and literally rolling my eyes clockwise non stop when I read. Sanderson doesn't come off as a massive neckbeard douchebag, also.
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Apr 19, 2012 21:03
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Above Our Own posted:Both authors are horrible at distinguishing characters, they all sound really similar. I dunno, I was able to figure out who was writing the epigraphs in Hero of Ages within the first 3 or so chapters, just from the writing style.
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Apr 19, 2012 21:14
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404GoonNotFound posted:Yeah, Sanderson never does inserts of himself. Isn't Elend considered a self-insert?
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Apr 19, 2012 21:27
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Contra Calculus posted:So I liked the Mistborn Trilogy and Alloy of Law. Still haven't read his WoT books because I've only read the first three (and I dread reading the ones after that based on what people have told me). So the Stormlight Archives series is pretty good though? I wasn't a huge fan of Rothfuss' writing is the only thing and the OP claims that it's comparable to that. Stormlight Archives is pretty far from Rothfuss. I personally loved Rothfuss' books, but I'll admit Kvothe is a Mary Sue and he's got some Internet Male views on stuff. You won't find any of that poo poo in Stormlight, the worst thing is that there's Yet Another Spunky Princess (and her ... quips), but she's actually a really interesting character. e: oh, hey, there's a whole 'nother page saying this exact thing. Herp.
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Apr 19, 2012 23:22
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Silver2195 posted:Isn't Elend considered a self-insert? I think he just still wasn't very good with characters by that point. Elend is too perfect in the way that Sanderson did/does tend to write his protagonists as just too perfect, not necessarily self-insert too perfect. It's too regular a pattern over all his books to call Elend a self-insert. I still think Sanderson has a ways to go improving his writing, but he has definitely gotten better about that and his "witty" characters.
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Apr 19, 2012 23:23
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Above Our Own posted:Sanderson is equally bad with the bland, one dimensional Dragonball Z characters Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Above Our Own posted:
BENGHAZI 2 fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Apr 20, 2012 |
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Apr 20, 2012 00:39
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Sanderson has a long way to go to write complex subtle individual characters. Mistborn Trilogy bordered on Young Adult because of this. He's getting better but his strength is world building.
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Apr 20, 2012 00:48
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Thanks Awful App for posting twice. Love you otherwise though.
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Apr 20, 2012 00:48
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Dickeye posted:Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Dickeye posted:You're trolling, here, right?
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Apr 20, 2012 03:41
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wellwhoopdedooo posted:Stormlight Archives is pretty far from Rothfuss. I personally loved Rothfuss' books, but I'll admit Kvothe is a Mary Sue and he's got some Internet Male views on stuff. You won't find any of that poo poo in Stormlight, the worst thing is that there's Yet Another Spunky Princess (and her ... quips), but she's actually a really interesting character. The thing that makes this bearable for me in Way of Kings is that everybody else in the book finds her quips to be annoying too.
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Apr 20, 2012 04:20
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I wouldnt say the characters suck, but they are very simple in terms of motivation and personality.
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Apr 20, 2012 04:21
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BananaNutkins posted:I wouldnt say the characters suck, but they are very simple in terms of motivation and personality. I mean, I wouldn't say Goku sucks as a character either.
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Apr 20, 2012 04:41
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Amarkov posted:I mean, I wouldn't say Goku sucks as a character either. Can I then?
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Apr 20, 2012 05:02
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BananaNutkins posted:I wouldnt say the characters suck, but they are very simple in terms of motivation and personality. Above Our Own fucked around with this message at 05:21 on Apr 20, 2012 |
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Apr 20, 2012 05:18
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Maytag posted:We can never openly discuss these books because new people are born all the time. On the other hand, the Red Wedding.
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Apr 20, 2012 07:24
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computer parts posted:On the other hand, the Red Wedding. I normally don't care too much about spoilers, but for my friends who are watching the show but haven't read the books, I am keeping my lips completely sealed in that regard. I mean, and here they were shocked when Ned died  - too bad it's still pretty far away, alas.
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Apr 20, 2012 08:40
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I stopped reading this thread when people started discussing Alloy of Law (with spoilers) and came back after I read it.
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Apr 20, 2012 14:54
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Above Our Own posted:You can't have a good character that is also a simple character. You can have a good character that depicts a simple person, some examples are the guy from Mice and Men or the main character in Sling Blade, but even boring people have interconnected motivations and distinguishable personalities. The narrative may call for some simple characters and that doesn't make a book bad, but even all the mains are pretty straightforward with Sanderson so far. Its a light, fast paced read. Not everything has to be highbrow literature. Heck, I read and mostly enjoyed Ice Station by Matthey Reilly and his characters are too busy shooting their .50 Desert Eagles at killer whales to have anything resembling human emotions. That said, the points where Mistborn really fails for me are the introspective segments, especially with Elend in the third book. None of the characters are deep enough to be able to carry a scene like that. The closest thing is Sazed, and he seemed more like the author trying to work through the irrationality of his religion than an actual character.
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Apr 20, 2012 16:43
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Here is the Brandon Sanderson approved reading list.Brandon Sanderson's twitter posted:Anne Mcaffrey, Pat Rothfuss, Brent Weeks, Robin Hobb, David Farland, Melanie Rawn (her Sunrunner books in particular.)
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Apr 21, 2012 14:36
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What, no Jim Butcher?
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Apr 21, 2012 15:47
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I wish he wouldn't push Brent Weeks. His first trilogy is the only series I've ever finished and then looked back upon the time I spent reading them with regret. Not because I spent a lot of time or anything. Because the author's worldview becomes clearer (its pretty shallow and childish), and his writing skills actually seem to regress.
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Apr 21, 2012 16:15
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I think that list was him trying to talk up underappreciated authors. But I still wouldn't agree with it because Robin Hobb, Melanie Rawn, and Pat Rothfuss are all pretty bad authors with super simplistic self insert characters or just really poo poo ones (Rawn).
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Apr 21, 2012 16:21
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BananaNutkins posted:I wish he wouldn't push Brent Weeks. His first trilogy is the only series I've ever finished and then looked back upon the time I spent reading them with regret. Not because I spent a lot of time or anything. Because the author's worldview becomes clearer (its pretty shallow and childish), and his writing skills actually seem to regress. Quotin' dis. That was the worst twenty bucks I ever spent.
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Apr 22, 2012 03:12
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IRQ posted:I think that list was him trying to talk up underappreciated authors. Say what you want about Melanie Rawn (I like her, but I've never pretended to like good books) but the cover of Sunrunner's Fire is gorgeous.
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Apr 22, 2012 05:26
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neongrey posted:Say what you want about Melanie Rawn (I like her, but I've never pretended to like good books) but the cover of Sunrunner's Fire is gorgeous. I just checked, and really it's not very impressive. I have the paperbacks of those though, maybe yours are different. Also, my god, I read 6 of those? I only remembered there being 3! Also I didn't say I didn't like the books... just that they're bad. Except Rothfuss, I really didn't like The Name of the Wind at all.
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Apr 22, 2012 05:42
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IRQ posted:I just checked, and really it's not very impressive. I have the paperbacks of those though, maybe yours are different. Come outside and say that.  This is the internet, nobody's allowed to have different aesthetic opinions so I will beat you to death until you agree. That's like my favourite Whelan picture ever.quote:Also, my god, I read 6 of those? I only remembered there being 3! Yeah, two trilogies. Been a long time since I read either of them, but it's a standard x-years-later dealie. quote:Also I didn't say I didn't like the books... just that they're bad. Except Rothfuss, I really didn't like The Name of the Wind at all. Fair enough then. I like a lot of stuff that's objectively crap.  Of course, she takes not finishing stories to a level that GRRM could never hope to aspire to. The Mageborn Traitor was released in 1997. Still hasn't written the third. I remember that setting having some interesting things to it, too. Really heavy-handed in places, but, eh, whatever. neongrey fucked around with this message at 12:48 on Apr 22, 2012 |
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Apr 22, 2012 07:22
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I sort of zoomed through Night Angel pretty fast without really digesting it, but I finished it with a positive impression even if it was just a shallow but entertaining action trilogy - I'm surprised to see such vitriol.
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Apr 22, 2012 11:41
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Wolpertinger posted:I sort of zoomed through Night Angel pretty fast without really digesting it, but I finished it with a positive impression even if it was just a shallow but entertaining action trilogy - I'm surprised to see such vitriol. I wrote a post about it a little while back: Banananutkins posted:
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Apr 22, 2012 22:26
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Wolpertinger posted:I sort of zoomed through Night Angel pretty fast without really digesting it, but I finished it with a positive impression even if it was just a shallow but entertaining action trilogy - I'm surprised to see such vitriol. As BananaNutkins says above, the Night Angel books are both very derivative and very juvenile. The whole thing reads like a repressed 14-year-old boy's action fantasy. The kid (a loser) has amazing potential (like every loser's mommy says) but his potential is blocked! (oh noes) But then he meets this super cool assassin man (father figure) who takes him in! Father guy teaches loser kid to be a badass ninja (gently caress yeah!). Then he gets the magic Whatsit that unlocks his hidden potential! WOOOOO! Now a badass ninja, loser kid finds out that the girl he had spent his whole young life protecting is now a major hottie (gently caress yeah!). But she's so sweet and virginal (count how often she's wearing white. I dare you.) and her situation is complicated. So he starts passive-aggressively pursuing her (because badass assassin ninja boys can't just, you know, ask her out for date). And then, oh noes, it's a love triangle, because the SUPER HOT SLUTTY ASSASSIN NINJA CHICK (with SEX MAGIC) has the hots for our ninja hero! More stupid drama happens and suddenly the world rests on our conflicted ninja hero's shoulders. At this point we take a break from the first interesting thing to happen to our hero and, instead, focus on a side character. There's some interesting things happening with this conflicted side character (a prophet, no less) that turns him into an evil god-king who (as mentioned before) rapes the gently caress out of some 13 year old girl, in front of her father and sister, just to prove a point! But in the end it means jack poo poo because this guy throws off his evilness all on his own without our ninja hero doing a drat thing. Which is weird! That whole side plot was pointless as gently caress. But whatever. Back to our ninja hero. He-- gently caress it. I'm done. Those books are terrible. The author writes a pretty good action scene but the rest is garbage.
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Apr 22, 2012 23:42
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The Night Angel Trilogy was very derivative, and definitely juvenile, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I have a thing for unknown shepherd to badass hero journeys since I got hooked on fantasy with The Belgariad by David Eddings as a young'un. I also liked the first book in The Lightbringer series that he wrote after Night Angel, The Black Prism. It's far less derivative (at least as I remember it), and the magic system is at least original. Speaking of heroes journey stuff, does anyone have any recommendations? I think I've read all the good ones (and the bad ones).
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Apr 23, 2012 01:20
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I really liked the Night Angel trilogy, but when I read it I hadn't read much other fantasy at all. I kind of flew through it so I wasn't examining everything just enjoying the ride. I don't want to re-read it now.
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Apr 23, 2012 01:34
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I finished the last of the Mistborn trilogy today as requested and the ending to the third book is a bit off putting. So, if I understand this correctly, Sazed is actually the Hero of the Ages, Elend and Vin combined spiritually to get rid of Ruin, the mists, and fix the planet, and Sazed (?) was the one who wrote all that flavor text preceding the chapters. Maybe its because Mistborn is YA fiction but I expected something else from the ending. Everything else was super great especially since Sanderson filled in all these holes in the story. Finding out where the Koloss came from was genuinely surprising. And Vin's earring: Did she not have to have any metal on her to use the mists or...? Pretty good trilogy either way though.
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Apr 23, 2012 04:25
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Mistborn isn't supposed to be YA. Sanderson just writes very simply, and has soft, family friendly sensibilities due to his religious beliefs.
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Apr 23, 2012 04:31
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