williamsan
Member
Same, but I've read Stormlight and Warbreaker. I'm very excited to start these!
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Brandon Sanderson - The Cosmere |OT| there's always another secret...
- Thread starter ExMachina
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Same, but I've read Stormlight and Warbreaker. I'm very excited to start these!
Incandenza
Banned
I've started down the Cosmere path recently with The Final Empire. I'm about 70% through now and enjoying it! My only real issue so far is the prose. I knew not to expect much but even by fantasy standards it's... not good. I hate to say it feels like a young adult book since there's a lot of really great, complex YA fiction out there, but that's kinda the vibe I get sometimes. A lot of this could just be that I'm just coming off finishing Malazan, which is about as far in the opposite direction from Sanderson as you can get. I've also read The Emperor's Soul and Sixth of the Dusk earlier this year to get a sense of his style and didn't have any problems with the prose in those, so maybe it's just because this is an earlier work of his.
I am having a lot of fun with it though. I've read like 400 pages over the span of three days, so there's definitely something there!
I am having a lot of fun with it though. I've read like 400 pages over the span of three days, so there's definitely something there!
Basileus777
Member
Yeah, Sanderson's prose is really plain, his strengths as an author lie elsewhere, mainly in his plotting. He has gotten better with it, the prose in Elantris is much worse than what he's writing nowadays.
FYI, you can put in a request on his website's contact form and get TWO unpublished, unedited but complete cosmere novels. Aether Of Night and White Sand. All you have to do is ask for them and agree not to share the text (which I'm not here). His assistant might take a while to get it to you, but it's worth it.
Jest Chillin
Member
White Sand is gonna be a graphic novel though. So people may want to wait for that.
It's a little plain in the Mistborn books (although if I'm remembering correctly, the third Mistborn book was better in that regard). His Stormlight Archives have good prose, though. Not a lot of floweriness, but more complex than those earlier books.
Very true all around.
His character work is getting better, but it is also pretty lacking as well.
HamPster PamPster
Member
Good assessment. I read The Way of Kings as my first Sanderson book, which set the bar pretty high. Mistborn bored me when I first started it so I didn't finish.
However, I recently decided to give The Final Empire another chance, and I actually like it! About 50% through.
RepairmanJack
Member
I'm about 20% through the third Mistborn book currently and plan on reading Way of Kings next. Just subbing here for later.
Jag
Member
I always thought Mistborn would be a fantastic MMO or open world game. Tons of varied powers and a very detailed world with lots of characters.
Incandenza
Banned
Okay, over halfway through The Well of Ascension now.
What the fuck at the whole Zane/Vin thing? This whole weird dark side of the force temptation angle seems so out of character for her, especially when she KNOWS Zane isn't trustworthy and Cett is the biggest thing keeping Straff's army at bay.
Elend going out and stabbing koloss also felt really out of nowhere. Maybe this will all shake out and make sense in the end but right now some of these plotlines just aren't working for me.
Elend going out and stabbing koloss also felt really out of nowhere. Maybe this will all shake out and make sense in the end but right now some of these plotlines just aren't working for me.
The Outsider
Member
It took me a few months (I'm a terrible reader), but I finished The Way of Kings a couple weeks back and enjoyed it. Got a HC edition of Words of Radiance for Christmas. I'm currently in Star Wars mode and catching up on all the new canon books and comics, but it's back to the Cosmere for me afterward. The third book (always forget the working title) is supposed to release by the end of the year, right?
Sanderson said that it may end up releasing in 2017 after all is said and done. We'll see. I really hope it's this year, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
Ben Morales
Member
Okay, so I was reading Doctor Sleep by Stephen King last month, and the way he describes the psychic abilities in that book reminded me of this thread. So I went and grabbed The Final Empire and omg I'm in love with this book already. I love the magic system.
I think Well of Ascension is the weakest of those three. Stuff happening randomly just to advance the plot and way too much angst for me. Just finished Hero of Ages tonight and enjoyed it a whole lot more. Now to decide if I wanna read the next Mistborn series or go to the Stormlight Archive next.
I LOVED Well of Ascension (especially all the political stuff), but I HATED the
love triangle
Zane
Incandenza
Banned
Done with Hero of Ages now! That was definitely my favorite in the series. It was awesome and really exciting the whole way through.
I also think I spotted a few Cosmere-specific references, based on some very limited stuff I've heard about the way it's all set up. I've been highlighting stuff in my kindle version so I can piece it all together as I go.
My only real complaint is that the very end wraps up pretty suddenly and it felt like Vin and Elend didn't really get the attention they deserved. Sazed was really the star, which makes sense I guess given how everything worked out, but Elend's death in particular felt strangely anticlimactic.
I would have been a bit disappointed were this the actual end of the series, but with the knowledge that there are more eras to come, I'm just excited to see what comes next!
I was incredibly impressed with how he managed to make you rethink your whole impression of how the world worked, just by introducing the rules of hemalurgy. When it gets revealed that the kandra were just the original Terris feruchemists, I was smacking my head because it made so much sense and yet I never would have suspected it.
I would have been a bit disappointed were this the actual end of the series, but with the knowledge that there are more eras to come, I'm just excited to see what comes next!
I was incredibly impressed with how he managed to make you rethink your whole impression of how the world worked, just by introducing the rules of hemalurgy. When it gets revealed that the kandra were just the original Terris feruchemists, I was smacking my head because it made so much sense and yet I never would have suspected it.
I also think I spotted a few Cosmere-specific references, based on some very limited stuff I've heard about the way it's all set up. I've been highlighting stuff in my kindle version so I can piece it all together as I go.
Just finished Shadows of Self. Really enjoyed the ride, and thought it was far better than The Allow of Law (although I would recommend re-reading this before starting Shadows of Self, as you're expected to know the story and characters).
Only disappointment was I guessed the big twist in advance, but ah well.
Looking forward to the sequel, which thankfully is due out in only a few weeks. (And then Calamity in February; Sanderson is a machine.)
Only disappointment was I guessed the big twist in advance, but ah well.
Looking forward to the sequel, which thankfully is due out in only a few weeks. (And then Calamity in February; Sanderson is a machine.)
Sadly after that, my next book I wait from him is Stormlight 3 that is due sometimes in 2017. That will be a long wait.
No joke. Damn, the ending of the Way of Kings was fantastic. Both the climax and all the crazy things wrapped up and revealed afterwards:
Kaladin's vindication, the true nature of the Parshmen, the reveal of who's giving Dalinar visions, the other big reveal of who was recording the death prophecies and how, and of course, Dalinar literally beating the sense into his nephew.
Can't wait to start Words of Radiance.
The Outsider
Member
Yep, those last 200 pages or so are just bombs being dropped left and right. It was awesome (and well worth the 800 page build up to that point).
Just finished the Mistborn(1-3) series. What a epic ride, I really like how Sanderson flesh out the characters, that I thought were non -factors, but later on made them into main characters.
I decided to continue to the Mistborn series becuase its still fresh in mind, but looking forward to the Storm light series next.
I decided to continue to the Mistborn series becuase its still fresh in mind, but looking forward to the Storm light series next.
Nice deal. I'm a audibook listener.
I just finished up Shadows of Self last night, and I really like how he blends in the old and new.
Cant wait for The Bands of Mourning in 2 weeks!
Good to know.
Suikoguy
I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
Anyone read or listen to his Alcatraz series? I'm a Christopher Moore fan.
Dandy Crocodile
Member
I listened to the first. It's very well done, but if you haven't read them before be aware that it is definitely fiction for children. Like a snarkier Harry Potter sort of thing.
Sanderson really puts his humor on for it as well. If you cringe at the puns in the Reckoners books, his humor is even more hit-or-miss here and some of his jokes are terrible, but some are great.
Suikoguy
I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
Oh, Christopher Moore is more adult humor. Still I might check it out.
Can't wait for Bands. Personally I never picked up the second novel that came after Steelheart. Wondering if I should pick it up, that one was a little too YA for me to be honest. Whatever, gotta follow up on the cosmere though. Should I do it? It's Firefight right? Not sure if it's worth the plunge, I didn't hate Steelheart, but I wasn't enamored with it either.
I burned through Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series while waiting for Bands. I'd highly recommend anyone who is into Sanderson's style of in depth magic systems.
I burned through Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series while waiting for Bands. I'd highly recommend anyone who is into Sanderson's style of in depth magic systems.
The Reckoners is hit and miss with me but, I enjoyed Firefight. I think the main draw of The Reckoners for me is the the "magic system" and how he handles the super powers. I love that the foil for an epic can be absolutely anything, and it creates some interesting fight scenes.
The Reckoner (Steelheart) series isn't a part of the Cosmere. So feel free to skip them if they're not your thing.
Which is a shame. Calamity could easily be one of the shards.
You can now pre-order a signed and numbered copy of The Bands Of Mourning.
http://store.brandonsanderson.com/the-bands-of-mourning-fulfilled-by-weller-book-works
He's going through his store for signed and numbered books instead of the book store doing Paypal invoices themselves.
Also, to curve the # of special requests he is requiring a charitable donation of $5 for a small line and a personalization with the signature, or $20 for a more elaborate request.
I guess if 1,000 people ask you to inscribe this or draw that it can take a while to get through them all.
Also, if you get the cheapest shipping, price has gone up by $4 since the Shadows of Self pre-orders.
http://store.brandonsanderson.com/the-bands-of-mourning-fulfilled-by-weller-book-works
He's going through his store for signed and numbered books instead of the book store doing Paypal invoices themselves.
Also, to curve the # of special requests he is requiring a charitable donation of $5 for a small line and a personalization with the signature, or $20 for a more elaborate request.
I guess if 1,000 people ask you to inscribe this or draw that it can take a while to get through them all.
Also, if you get the cheapest shipping, price has gone up by $4 since the Shadows of Self pre-orders.
Incandenza
Banned
Finishing up Warbreaker now. Unfortunately I didn't like this one nearly as much as Mistborn. Story kinda spins its wheels for a long time, and then there's Lightsong and his awful dad jokes. Ah well. On to Alloy of Law then.
I'm a huge fan of his, and the signed copy is pretty cheap really. $12 or so more expensive. I thought about it for a bit, but I really don't care about shit like this. Certainly not enough to to pay more for it.
I always figured ordering a signed copy would be significantly more expensive, not to see that's not the case here. For people into that kind of stuff.
Jest Chillin
Member
I liked signed copies of books for authors I collect. I certainly like that it is super easy to get autographed copies of Sanderson's works.
Also, in the grand scheme of things, he is much cheaper than other signed / numbered editions out there. Subterranean Press offers signed / numbered editions for many authors and they're often very expensive, even into the hundreds of dollars.
Also, in the grand scheme of things, he is much cheaper than other signed / numbered editions out there. Subterranean Press offers signed / numbered editions for many authors and they're often very expensive, even into the hundreds of dollars.
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