Brandon Sanderson Comments

Christopher Lee

Formerly BluePhoenix711
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Since there is no sub-forum for the young rising fantasy author, I would like to start a thread. You can say whatever you want: favorite book, why you like him, why you don't, other comments. Anything about Brandon Sanderson is on topic in this thread.

I'm about to read his Way of Kings novel (trying to see if I can dig epic fantasy like I did as a child), so I'm just curious what everyone else thinks of him.
 
Brandon is one of my favorite authors for sure. The first book I read by him was Elantris and I quickly devoured everything else of his that I could. Lucky for me he has written a lot of books for being published for such a short time.

I have read all of his books including the novellas and YA book The Rithmatist (excluding the Alcatraz kids books)

He has a free flowing writing style that grabs me and he always has a unique and cool magic system in each of his worlds.

I even decided to reread and finish the Wheel of Time series just so I could get to read his 3 books in the series. I was glad I did because I truly enjoyed the whole series.

A lot of people seem to feel his writing is more suited to YA and I partially agree. I think that part of the reason I like his so much is that in the current age of grimdark, he is a light shining through. He doesn't have sex, swearing or brutal violence in his stories and while I do enjoy some gritty, darker books, his writing does invoke the feeling of epic books from our childhood.

And just to top off my Sanderson obsession; I have a signed copy of Mistborn and a Signed limited Memory of Light 2'x3' Michael Whelan print, signed by Sanderson and Whelan.

Way of Kings is a great read and it only touches on the vastness of what is to come in the series I think. I am more than excited to read the second in the series (due out in January I think)

I hope you give him a try and let me know what you think!
 
I very much intend to read Branderson (sorry, can't help mangling his name all the time!!! :eek:) after I've finished the Wheel of Time. Seph and I have Elantris and the Mistborn series here, and Seph's on book two of Mistborn and loving it. The writing isn't very polished, but Branderson has never claimed to be a stained-glass writer. He prefers functional writing, and it does the job. However, I think his writing is becoming richer with each book... His magic systems have been highly praised, too, which I'm looking forward to reading because I LOVED that about the WoT.

My only concern is that some say that for a tale about what happens after the Dark Lord has won, the first half of Mistborn's book one doesn't seem, well, dark enough, and things seem a bit too light-hearted. I've heard that it improves a lot in the end half, however, so I'm keen to read it (and Seph is loving it!)! :)


But yes, for what he gave us WoT fans, I love him! Without his workhorse ethics, we'd never have the WoT finished (and all while writing his own series!!!). And I can't wait to read his Stormlight Archives one day, knowing how he's becoming better with each book. Plus, seeing Robert Jordan's vast notes and character sheets might have given him pause for thought in how he works himself. Who knows?

He's certainly one to watch out for in the future, if he carries on the way he's going.
 
Well thanks for the quick responses, guys. I'm even more excited to dive in. And thanks, I Brian, for getting a forum going for him. From what I've read and heard about him, he deserves it.
 
You can say whatever you want: favorite book, why you like him, why you don't, other comments. Anything about Brandon Sanderson is on topic in this thread.

While I'm not as dedicated a fan as Ratsy (kudos!) I've read Elantris, all his Mistborn novels, as well as his WoT books and Stormlight book one.

What I like about him is that his writing style is very straightforward and engaging without being obtuse or overly elaborate. He's a storyteller, plain and simple and gets to the business of telling stories, setting up characters, locations and worlds without making it feel intimidating or obstructive.

I suppose this is why some people may sneer and say he's a YA writer but I actually think it shares a lot in common with GRRM's style of drawing the reader into the world and characters as the story progresses by making it very accessible and gradual.

If I was harsh I would say what I don't like about his writing style is that he does take sometimes simplistic tropes and archtypes as character models so the good guys are univerally good and the bad guys venal or treacherous without much grey inbetween.

Overall though, he is one of the authors I enjoy reading and keep an eye out for new books.
 

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