Amph Brandon Sanderson -- State of Sanderson 2015

I did indeed! I have 3 books I have to read. Once I finish those 3 though, I'm just gonna go all out Brandon Sanderson and try to get through everything he's written.

The problem is he releases books faster than I read them. -___-

 

Yeah, I think the Way of Kings sequel is due out this fall ...

 

yeah, which is good cuz Way of Kings is the next one I'm reading lol

 

And I'm reading Elantris next right after I finish Ender's Game!!! So excited!!!

 

I'm nearing the last few pages of the Mistborn Trilogy, and so far my only gripe (alongside the question as to why the heck Rashek kept Alendi's journal for a thousand years) is all the typos! Seriously! I at first just ignored them in the first book, but the typos continued throughout the trilogy! It's very distracting and annoying, but it's not isolated.

The more newer books I read, the more typos I find sprinkled throughout. I don't remember finding many typos in older books. Are authors just getting lazy in this day and age? Or are editors not doing their jobs right? Seriously. WTH. I'm an amateur writer myself and have only succeeded in getting a couple short stories published in a few magazines, but you can bet that I spent grueling HOURS proofreading every single page for typos and grammatical errors.

It's just so frustrating reading a book with a good story only to keep being jerked out of that good story by silly typos that should have been caught by the author or proofreader or editor or agent.

 

Yay! Is this your first Sanderson book? If so, welcome Let us know what you think!

Ezio, that would be the copy editor and the editorial department at TOR (the ones responsible for catching typos). What version do you have?

 

nah, I forced her to read the Mistborn trilogy and Alloy of Law when we first got together. She read one more of his books too. I think Warbreaker.

 

Like Nat said, what edition are you reading? As much as I'd like to point fingers, I'm an amateur writer as well and I know that human error happens. You don't always catch everything. I'm re-reading Mistborn right now (I'm currently on The Well of Ascension) and I haven't noticed any typos in my copy (I'll get back to you about The Hero of Ages when I get there). That's unfortunate that the typos are putting you off the reading experience.

So, I may have convinced someone to put The Alloy of Law at the top of her reading list once she's done A Song of Ice and Fire. I told her she better hurry up.

 

I never noticed any typos in my copies of Mistborn, but I have the UK Gollancz editions, maybe they edit a bit better

Still not read any of Sanderson's non-Mistborn stuff. I probably will get around to Way of Kings or Elantris sooner or later, there's only so many times I can re-read all the other books I have.

 

I have the Nook version of the Mistborn Trilogy. Maybe my nitpicking stems from having worked as a proofreader, I dunno. Some of the typos were just so damn dumb, though. I understand human error can be present once in a while--but these typos were scattered throughout the entire trilogy.

I am presently reading World War Z (Nook version) and am very pleased to say that there hasn't been any such glaring typos so far.



Anyway, now that I've finished the Mistborn Trilogy, I feel able to share my overall thoughts/feelings about the piece. This was my first exposure to Brandon Sanderson and despite the plentiful typos I encountered, the story kept me turning pages...until the first book was finished.

Maybe it was Kelsier's magnetic personality that had me so enchanted with the first book, for I could not stop reading it. I was flipping through pages for endless hours, always eager to read what happens next. Kelsier was a damn great character, and his absence in the following two books had a profound impact on my enjoyment of them.

The second book almost bored me with Elend and Vin's seemingly trivial struggles with each other and their roles. Don't get me wrong, I still liked the overall trilogy, but I feel like everything took a dive after Kelsier's departure. Kelsier's final scene in the first book was, imo, the most powerful scene in the entire trilogy.

Yes, the story continued for two more books and evolved into a much broader conflict than Kelsier had anticipated, but bigger conflicts don't necessarily mean better stories. I continued reading the following books because I think I kept expecting another "wow" moment like the first book delivered. That never really happened, though there were a few neat scenes nonetheless.

I think that when Kelsier left the story, he accidentally took most of its greatness with him. Kelsier was an inspirational character that could even make readers smile with his determination, wit, and pure perseverance. His departure left a gaping hole in the story that none of other characters were willing to or able to fill. Vin actually seemed to talk poorly of Kelsier several times in the following two books, if only to make Elend feel better about himself.

I understand that the other characters had to remain true to who they were, and indeed none of them could fill the hole left by Kelsier. But story-wise, I felt that the trilogy sort of fell flat after that first book. I didn't particularly care about Vin needing to choose between Zane and Elend, or between being a noble girl or a ruthless killer. Likewise, I couldn't find much enjoyment in Sazed's loss of faith and his seemingly unimportant quest to regain that faith.

The only characters who were able to deliver some measure of enjoyment were Spook (particularly in the third book) and Breeze (and he was unfortunately given very little "screen time").

That said, I still believe the trilogy to be a good read overall. I just think that the greatness of the first book left a lot to be desired out of the underwhelming following two.

 

The first book is my least favorite of the three lol...

 

Kelsier's stand in the town square was really riveting imo. His battle with the Inquisitor was also far more exciting than any other subsequent battle in the trilogy (with the possible exception of Vin's fight with Rashek).

Every fight since the first book just seemed too easy. Oh, Cett is in Luthadel with an army. Ok, well, Vin could just go over there and easily kill 200 or so men without breaking a sweat. Oh, Koloss armies. Ok, well, Vin could just fly into them and slaughter them by the thousand before breakfast. Oh, there's an Inquisitor--one of the things that gave Kelsier such a hard time to fight but a great scene to read about! Well, Vin could just go over there and go all Super-Saiyan and rip his head off or something.

The fight between the Inquisitor and Kelsier was so enthralling to me because you didn't really know who would top who. The Inquisitor was all raw power, and Kelsier was strong, sure, but his real advantage was his cleverness.

The battles in following books just relied on an over-powered main character that really had no difficulty overcoming her physical adversaries. Even in the final book when she fought the 13 Inquisitors and Marsh, I didn't once doubt her chances of success. Sanderson had pretty much built her up to be this world's version of Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden (ie. unbeatable fantasy uber-warrior). Even when she seemed to be losing (ie. bones breaking) I didn't wince or feel any sort of anxiety for her, because it was clear to me by the flow of the story that she simply wouldn't be written to die like that.

With, Kelsier, however, it was different. There was more tension surrounding his plot and his character--less certainty and the reader definitely couldn't know which way things would go for him. For Vin...well, like I said. She was written with that Salvatore Drizzt Do'Urden-esque invincibility that kind of sucks away any sort of tension or excitement from her fight scenes.



Again, good trilogy. It wasn't flawless, but it was a good read.

 

I'm glad you liked it, at least!

So, guys. GUYS. Sanderson posted on his http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/1186/State-of-the-Sanderson]blog[/url] something he calls "State of the Sanderson," which we haven't had for a couple years. If you want to read the full low-down without my comments, click on that link. (These are in order of "urgency," he says.)

2. Steelheart sequel. I can't remember what Steelheart is, but it's due out in September. I probably won't be excited about this until I read the first.

3. Words of Radience (AKA WoK #2) is due out (well, TOR's pushing for it to be out) in January. A taaaad bit later than I hoped, but still, yay!

4. Rithmatist sequel. It's good that he's getting on that instead of letting it dangle (Wax and Wayne? WoK? Warbreaker sequel? Basically every series he's ever written?), but I'm not sooooo in love with it (though it was quite good) that I need it desperately. Unlike Wax and Wayne, WoK, Warbreaker ... you get the idea.

5. Shadows of Self ... sequel to the Wax and Wayne book! It ended on such a huge cliffhanger, so I'm DYING for this book. No word about whether it'll be the last one. But considering the first was only supposed to be a stand-alone, I doubt he'll know until he's finished

6. Stormlight (WoK) book #3. Sanderson's original plan was to put out two books every three years, but they're so epic that he can't do it (probably). He wants to give us one every 18 to 24 months; he says he doesn't want to make us wait three years between every book. (I think he got burned out publishing WoK and Towers of Midnight within two or three months of each other, and with AMOL still to go.)

7. Third Steelheart book; final in trilogy. Good that he plans to get it done without dragging us out too long.

8. Elantis sequel (he said last time that he has three planned). I wasn't so hot about Elantris. I'd be fine holding this off (though, of course, this is several years down the line).

9. Legion sequel. (I haven't read the first yet.)

10. Third and final Rithmatist book, though it might only end up being two.

11. Nightblood (Warbreaker sequel). BECAUSE FINALLY. Though in his words, "This one is still fairly far off." Cue the melodramatic tears from me, because I love Warbreaker.

And then he talks about some stand-alones. No word on the further Mistborn trilogies, which means they're too far away to talk about (boo). I love everything I've read of Sanderson's (with the exception of Elantris), but I worry that he's bitten off more than he can chew. I wish he'd concentrate more on the (now many many many) sequels he's planning than t constantly start new stuff we then have to wait for sequels for ... but he's so good that it's hard to complain too much.

 

That's a lot of series. I tend to think it's better for authors to concentrate on one, though of course it all depends on inspiration. Perhaps with such a scattergun approach he should have fewer cliffhangers.

 

Agreed

 

If anyone can pull it off....

Thanks for the update.

Rithmatist worth trying then?

I'm likely grabbing the US edition of WoR due to the Whelan cover, haven't yet seen that but I know it'll be cool.

Great that the follow-up to Alloy of Law is on the cards too.

 

Alloy of Law -- that's what it's called

Yes, it is. It's YA, but I enjoyed it (well, I like YA, anyway, but still ). It's a fairly quick read, but it is fun (much more fun than a description makes it sound ), and I am looking forward to the sequel or sequels.

 

Oh, hell yes!

Cover for The Stormlight Archive: 2: Words of Radiance by Michael Whelan!

Stuff it, this settles it, I'm grabbing the US edition for just over £14. For the Alloy of Law, I preferred the minimalist UK cover as it had a certain elegance but the same style can come across as cheap and on the UK Way of Kings cover? It did!

Now, feast yer eyes.....

 

SO cool!

I also found this http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/07/brandon-sanderson-words-of-radiance-cover-reveal-michael-whelan]blog{/link][/url] by Whelan about how he created it!

Unfortunately, the book has been moved to March

 

Arse!

Oh well, that time of year will be good with both this and Assail due!

 

I'm disappointed. However, AMOL did just come out in January; if Words is as long as WoK, that's a thousand pages in hardcover and not easy to turn out--especially since I think he was pretty exhausted after finishing AMOL.

 

Heh, Amazon.co.uk's listing for the UK edition says 600+, for the US 800+ ! I know which one I'm going with.

Will have to acquire via Foyles though as they're good at getting the US editions.

 

Whatever, John Scalzi's blog, has a recurring feature called The Big Idea, which is an author's article on an upcoming book. Hit the link to see Brandon Sanderson's article about Steelheart, which was published Sep 24. Just a note - John Scalzi allows language in his comments that isn't allowed here. What I've seen is fine but no guarantee on future comments.

 

Yuck, UK cover for Words of Radiance:



I really liked the elegance of the Alloy of Law cover for the UK, but the Stormlight Archive ones really irritate - probably because they just look much quicker and cheaper compared to the US ones. Conversely, I really prefer the UK Mistborn covers which are the same schema as used for Alloy of Law.

 

seriously dawg put the keyboard down for a second and, like, eat a sandwich or something