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About 4 years ago I was trying to get back into books (I read a ton in school and college, then dropped off when I started working full time) and someone recommended me "Mistborn" as a good fantasy novel. I read it, really liked it and then went on to read "The Well of Ascension" which I also enjoyed. I started "The Hero of Ages" and stopped about a third of the way into it because I was going through a rough time at work and fell off reading for a while. Somewhere in there I passed along the recommendation for "Mistborn" to my brother, who has never been a book guy outside of "Dune" and "Zodiac" for some reason. About a month or so ago he tells me he's reading "Mistborn" and really liking it. He wanted to discuss the books with me, so that got me off my rear end and I re-read what I'd already read and then finished "The Hero of Ages" which I thought wrapped the series up pretty drat well. My brother went on to jump into the Stormlight Archives while I read "The Alloy of Law" which I found to be a breezy and enjoyable pulp action-adventure story that was way different from the Mistborn trilogy in a way that I loved. Because he was talking up "The Way of Kings" so much I read that next. I'm a much faster reader than him and I basically ran through that book in a week. I then waited for him to catch up (passing the time by reading "Shadows of Self" which is loving great) and we started "Words of Radiance" together. Again I blasted past him and finished it in about four days. We're both enjoying the Stormlight books quite a lot, and I think Sanderson has cemented himself as one of my favorite living authors. Some folks who have also read Sanderson recommended that we read "Warbreaker" before going into the next Stormlight book so now we're going to try and book club our readings and limit ourselves to 400 pages a week and not talk about the book between weekly discussions. I'm reading "The Bands of Mourning" right now while he finishes WoR and like the other books in the series I'm loving it. I might gently caress around and post some more detailed thoughts on the books I've read later.
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Aug 10, 2021 15:02
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 20:25 |
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Mordiceius posted:
For me, the one scene with Wax and Steris at the party took her from being what I thought was a one-note character to one of my favorites in the series. It was kinda amazing how much those few pages made her into a well-rounded and fun character. But I suppose being kidnapped for most of book 1 and not getting much to do there leaves a lot of room open for her development.
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Aug 11, 2021 01:04
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I just finished reading "The Bands of Mourning" and recording a podcast about the Mistborn trilogy, so I figured I would type up my thoughts on the books. I'm gonna throw spoilers on most everything because I'm not sure what is and isn't okay to talk about without them. If they're not needed just let me know and I'll edit them out. The Final Empire This was the first Sanderson novel I read, and sadly I can't even remember who recommended it to me. I really liked this book, and I felt like even if there had been no sequels it ended in a pretty satisfactory way that would sorta come to define Sanderson's work. The idea of a fantasy heist (that evolves into a revolution) is pretty intriguing and I don't think I had encountered that concept before this book. The concept of the crew, each with the own magical power and roughly-defined but well-cast personalities was engaging. Things like Ham constantly annoying Breeze with his philosophical questions or Clubs' grumpy disdain for everyone were very simple character traits but they gave me something consistent to associate with all of them and I thought they played off each other very well. Shout out to my boy Dockson who has to put up with all of Kelsier's poo poo and also keep the crew on-mission and within the budget. The relationship between Kelsier and Vin, that sorta surrogate father-daughter and master-apprentice thing, was also pretty simple but honestly it worked really well. I feel like Elend comes in a little too late in the book and I don't entirely buy the romance between him and Vin, but this I'll have more to say on that later. I think that, similarly to Elend, Marsh enters the book a bit too late, and its too bad that we don't get a little more of him and Kelsier interacting before he gets nailed. The thing that hooked me with the book to begin with was the first real action scene where Kelsier attacks Keep Venture for the atium. Sanderson writes the best, most easily-readable action scenes out of any of the authors I've read. I know people give him so flak for his relatively simple prose, but personally I prefer his direct, punchy writing to some of the things that are held up as modern standards (looking at you "The Name of the Wind" which I couldn't get through more than 150 pages of). Action scenes best sell Sanderson's skill, as his straightforward prose really lets you visualize what is happening even in a pretty complicated fight scene. My go-to example of this is the fight between Kelsier and the Inquisitor 3/4 of the way in where Kelsier jumps through a cage thrown at him, pushing against all sides to stay centered. It is described with such vivid detail that I was struck by it and I don't think he's written anything that quite reached those heights, but all his action scenes are high-quality. I've always thought of action as being one of the hardest things to convey in writing, but Sanderson makes it look easy. Kelsier dying is a massive twist that I did not see coming. It took me off guard like the death of Kamina in Gurren Lagann. Everything after it as well, especially Vin going into Kredik Shaw and trolling those Inquisitors, was so good. Kelsier's death had thrown me off so badly that I wasn't sure what would happen, and for a moment I did think that Vin might also die. I've seen some people compare it to Ned Stark dying and how that sorta redefines your expectations for what will happen next, but I think Kelsier's death was more effective because he was just such a larger-than-life character, it totally changes everything but his influence is still all over the story that happens afterwards. I've also had some people complain that Vin burning the mists to defeat the Lord Ruler is a bit of a cop-out, but I think this pays off big time later on. Overall, this book owns. 4/5 easily. The Well of Ascension This is the book where Elend comes into his own. I loved how his experiment with democracy just ends up with him getting kicked in the dick over and over again. Seriously, that was one of my favorite parts of the book. He just wants to do the right thing and he get mercilessly owned for it at every turn. This book is great. I like that the focus stays on Luthadel and we get a lot more of Sazed and Elend this time around. Fleshing them out as characters was a very good idea. Sanderson also gets a little better at writing relationships here. Sazed and Tindwyl's whole arc together was so sweet and then her death is heartbreaking. The fact that it leads Sazed into a very interesting series of developments later on is just icing on the cake. I even liked the weird love triangle with Zane and Vin and Elend! I felt like there were some very interesting moments where you get some real-rear end manipulation techniques from Zane that felt like a great set of hints and payoffs. The fight scene with Zane is probably my favorite in the trilogy too. Not only does it reveal the crazy huge twist of TenSoon, it also is just a well-written scene of brutal, quick violence that ends with a moment that could have been a cop-out if it didn't work so drat well. I really enjoyed the koloss and kandra in this book as well. Sanderson takes two fantasy stereotypical species: the berserkers and the shapeshifters, but puts just enough of a spin on them that they're recognizable but decidedly unique. The visceral descriptions of the koloss and their weird skin are just so vivid. And the kandra are a really interesting take on the shapeshifter, as they have unique rules that limit them. Like everything in Sanderson's books, setting/discovering rules and then working within them is one of the best parts. Few things sum that up better than the OreSeur/TenSoon switcheroo. I was floored by that twist, and I loved how it is so totally obvious in hindsight. Really just great work there. Also I love how Sanderson gets a little gnarly here. Vin headbutts a man so good his skull explodes, and later on she falls out of the sky and cuts Straff Venture and his horse in half with a single blow. That poo poo owns. Sanderson knows when to skirt ultraviolence and when to pull back. Some books like to really luxuriate in horrific brutality, and Sanderson can still deliver that but in a restrained way that leaves those moments shocking. Also a 4/5, this may be the middle book but it carries on the high quality of the first and gets better when you read it again. The subtle hints at Ruin's influence by changing the journal as you read it are brilliant. The Hero of Ages Okay this book is a doozy. Here's where Sanderson convinced me that I was gonna be a big time fan. His skill at taking all the threads laid out in the previous books and just wrapping them all up neatly is honestly incredible. I've read so many books with disappointing or just average endings, but this book manages to bring the trilogy to a close in stunning fashion. Let me just say, I loved the chapters with Spook and TenSoon. In the same way that the Elend and Sazed chapters in "The Well of Ascension" really helped flesh them out, the Spook chapters added a lot of depth to a character that did most of his growth offscreen in previous books. Here we see him really going through his own journey as he tries to emulate Kelsier. The part where he wakes up with the ability to burn pewter was one moment where I sat up and said "holy poo poo" out loud. And the way that all ties in to the big reveal towards the end is perfect. TenSoon's chapters are great because we get an inside look at kandra society and Sanderson really made me wait to see the truly weird poo poo, but I loved it. Their decorative bones and weird bodies and their entire multi-tiered culture was so fascinating. I loved every TenSoon chapter quite a lot. But of course, the big moment here is Vin's earring. The Marsh chapters that lead up to it, the stuff with Spook, and then the final reveal of it were all just teed up and executed perfectly. Finally a mystery from two books ago is answered, and it just unlocks everything about Vin's backstory and her entire role in the world. I know that at its core it's just "chosen one" nonsense, but it is pulled off so well that I don't even mind. Sanderson is a master writer, that's all I have to say about this. The low point of the book for me is the Citizen and his whole deal, which just feels like taking shots at the French Revolution or trying to ape Animal Farm for some reason that I can't quite discern. It was funny when Elend's attempts at representative government blew up in his face, but this just felt like beating a dead horse. I felt like the idea of a competing nation-state that served as a dark mirror for Elend's project was done better with Yomen. Watching Elend and Yomen become frenemies because of their opposing political goals but mutual love of being loving nerds was so good, and the argument where Elend tries to distract Yomen was a real high point of the book. But I have to shout out the funniest part of the entire trilogy, which I'm just gonna quote here: quote:"Have fun dancing with our enemies," Ham said as Vin hopped from the boat, then Pushed herself up through the mists. Elend waved farewell, Pushing himself into the air as well. As he shot away, his tin-enhanced ears heard Ham's voice talking to Cett. I laughed so god drat hard at that part I dropped my kindle. I'll give this one a 5/5, definitely among the best endings I've ever read, and this book sold me on reading everything else Sanderson's done. This went way longer than I thought it would, so I'll stop there and come back with my thoughts on the Wax and Wayne books later.
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Aug 13, 2021 02:56
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Just finished up Edgedancer, about to start up Oathbringer. All I'll say is that Lift is the best and her dynamic with Wyndle is truly endearing. Oh and what the gently caress was up with that monster made of bugs? That's some Worm That Walks poo poo. I also read Warbreaker and my big takeaway from that book is that is amazing to see just how far a writer can progress over the course of their career. That book was loaded top to bottom with problems. Still an enjoyable enough read, but I'm glad it wasn't my first Sanderson novel.
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Aug 31, 2021 19:50
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A few months back I was making my way through the Stormlight books, and I got off track at the beginning of "Oathbringer" and put it down until a few weeks ago. I recently finished it off. Great book, Dalinar is the best character, the ending was amazing. But after that I immediately plowed into "Rhythm of War." My brother has already caught up on the Stormlight books and is racing me through the Wax and Wayne books, which I already read. Tonight I finished up RoW and I have some thoughts. -The Navani chapters were the best parts of the book. They were the equivalent of the Dalinar chapters from Oathbringer to me. I'm a Neal Stephenson fan, I love long dives into nerdy science poo poo, and these chapters were a better version of that, because they were relatively constrained but still managed to deliver that scientific process goodness. Also the relationship that forms between Navani and Raboniel was a huge part of the book to me and the way it culminates in Raboniel achieving her true purpose of showing mercy to her daughter was, to me, the emotional climax of the book -Second to that were the Adolin chapters. I was very interested in the things happening between him and Maya and the implications it had for the Deadeyes as a whole. I had predicted way back when that the spren had agreed to the Recreance, so it was nice to have that confirmed. I was hooting and hollering for Maya to speak at the trial, and it was such an excellent moment -Kaladin and Shallan are the weakest parts of the book. How many times is Kaladin going to be driven down into the deepest pits of despair only to bounce back stronger than before? How many times can Shallan have to wrestle with hidden memories of her past? It's old hat now, get new arcs. I did enjoy the parts of the book where Kaladin is desperately resisting the occupation of the Tower, those were neat. I didn't care so much for Shallan's spy hunting paranoia, but her story got interesting when Kaladin's didn't. I liked the scene with Formless and Kelek and her ultimate rejection of the Ghostbloods. That has very interesting implications going forward. -I absoluetely did not see the swerve with Taravangian killing Odium and becoming him coming. That was pretty wild. I was thinking at some point "man they gotta kill off Odium in the next book, right?" Well lol to that -It was nice to see Wit finally suffer a consequence. Dude's been untouchable for way too long -The interlude with Chiri-Chiri was pretty wild, I liked getting the perspective of a weird bug with a very catlike personality -I eventually came to like the Venli chapters. I was shaky on them at first, and I'm still not sure I like Venli as a character, but it really did lead to some very interesting insight into the Listener/Singer culture and I enjoyed learning more about their internal politics through her. -Big shoutout to Rlain and Dabbid, finally the least-developed Bridge Four members got some love. I liked what went on with them and I was glad Rlain finally got a spren. A corrupted one, no less. -Moash is the biggest motherfucker in any of these books, holy poo poo. But I liked that, even though he killed Teft, Teft died defying him. I initially liked and agreed with Moash, but Sanderson has done a good job of making him into a truly hateable villain. -I'm guessing they're going to make this Thaidakar guy the big villain of Shallan's next arc, and El the villain for Dalinar. Since Kaladin and Szeth will be off in Shinovar. The next book is going to take place over ten days, I assume? That's pretty interesting. I'm curious to see how that will play out. -Speaking of Szeth, I really want to know more about this guy. We don't get much about Shin people lately, I'm very interested in their culture and why his family were given the Honorblades. -I do like how Warbreaker introduced Nightblood but not a single solid fact about where it came from or why it is the way it is. The sword is such a fun character and the moment where it chipped Ishar's Honorblade and freaked everyone out was great. -I didn't quite understand the bit where Lift was captured in the Tower. I guess the parrot lured her into a trap? At first I thought the guy who stepped out of the shadows was Nale, but was it Mraize? Some other Ghostblood? The way he talked made it sound like he knew Lift, but I didn't get that from the rest of the book. -Speaking of Lift: Lifelight?? That was a really interesting reveal and then suddenly there's all kinds of new Lights showing up. The plan is to wait until my brother finishes "Bands of Mourning" (he's like 70 pages off) and then read "Mistborn: Secret History" together. Serf fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Feb 1, 2022 |
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Feb 1, 2022 04:51
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Oh yeah, that reminds me, I did read Dawnshard and it really had a major issue for me personally that I'd like to talk about. Let Rysn have her legs back. All the stuff in the story is very clearly the result of talking to experts on disability issues and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It is executed quite well, and is very true to life. And its also completely unsatisfying. I've got mobility issues because I lost my left foot in an accident, so I always get very interested when it is depicted in fiction by non-disabled authors. I liked Lopen because I'd consider him a accurate representation of people I've met who have lost an arm, and really amputees in general. A lot of us develop coping mechanisms that involve humor. I've met my fair share of gloomy and depressed types, don't get me wrong, but I'd say most of us take a different approach. I was pretty happy that Lopen grew his arm back because it's not something you often see. Wish fulfillment and power fantasy are often things denied to the disabled. Many authors think, for whatever reasons but I would say lately it's listening to disability experts, that we should be represented by depicting our struggles with obstacles in the real world. Rysn is a good example and good depiction of someone learning to overcome their disability in a world that exists before a lot of modern-ish aids existed. Again, this is all well and good. But I've been in a lot of support groups since I was a kid, and I worked in the prosthetics industry for a while and spoke with other patients about our experiences. What I'll say is that despite adopting a number of coping mechanisms, I haven't met anyone who wouldn't rather get magically healed and be whole again. Because the truth is that disability sucks. There's no nobility in having to put on my prosthetic leg every day, or stand on one leg in the shower or having to take the drat thing off when it fills up with sweat. It's just one more added struggle that I would rather not have to deal with. So my essential issue with Rysn's story is that she exists in a world where the potential to be healed exists, but this opportunity is denied to her. They can give her the Professor X flying chair, but that doesn't do it for me. If I want representation of my life experiences, I can read plenty of fiction that depicts it. Let me get a little wish fulfillment by seeing a person who suffers from a similar issue as me have that issue removed. I know Sanderson doesn't have to do that (and from reading his books I know that he isn't the sort of writer who overly indulges in wish fulfillment), and it's really that big of an issue, but it is one of those things where it annoys me for strictly personal reasons and I'd rather see it go a different way.
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Feb 1, 2022 18:28
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I was looking at cards from the new Magic The Gathering set and the art on this one sure reminds me of a certain sword I've read about. Also I read Secret History and I did not see any of that coming, but I guess it does explain who the Sovereign is. Super interested in the next Wax and Wayne book now.
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Feb 8, 2022 17:38
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 20:25 |
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I have read all of Stormlight and Mistborn at this point and still had no idea so I just googled the character. The spoiler warning they have on that article isn't quite as all-encompassing as it should be lol. I still had to google more to figure out how people had made that connection and now I'm not surprised. I wasn't gonna remember an offhanded comment Wit made in a book I read like 8 months ago. I get it now, but I'm very curious to get the details of what exactly happened.
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Feb 8, 2022 22:01
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