Amph Brandon Sanderson -- State of Sanderson 2015

Let's hope he's on time, then

 

AoL made it to #7 on the NYT Bestsellers list.

Evil.

 

Based on his previous work, I'm going to say I don't think it'll be a problem

 

I'm about a good way through Well of Ascension. Is it me, or has everyone besides Elend forgotten how bad it is for the ruler to have absolute authority?

 

They haven't forgotten how bad it can be. But that doesn't mean they don't think it can work at all, just depends on the person.

 

These ideas go beyond the person. Absolute monarchy isn't bad just because the Lord Ruler was bad. In the same way, strong-arming the Assembly isn't good just because your friend is doing it. Everyone seems to think that it's okay for Elend to be authoritarian, because hey, it's El! That's hardly justifiable.

 

Also, don't forgot that authoritarian government is all these people have ever known - they don't live in a world where democracy and other governments exist. As bad as it was under the Lord Ruler (and really, it wasn't so bad for the nobility, just the skaa), there's a certain degree of comfort in having someone in charge and not feeling rudderless, especially for those who really don't know anything else. Elend's ideas of democracy and such are incredibly radical in their world.

 

Dropping in to say hi, since I'm 1/3 of the way through Way of Kings and stood in line for 90 minutes today to get three of my Brandon books signed. While he was autographing, I mentioned that I had finally found a way to work Elantris into an academic paper and he had some amusing things to say about the leadership styles that he uses in his books. I think my favorite moment was when I said that I was discussing Raoden and Ien, he got this slightly bewildered look on his face and said "Ien? THe Seon... But you can't really call what he does leadership." Whereupon I had a short discussion about the flashback in which Raoden tries to set his Seon free and Ien's response.

One of the things that I've always liked about Brandon is this sort of approachability. A couple of years ago, I was discussing Warbreaker with someone in line for a symposium at my university and he turned around--we hadn't realized that he was in line as well--and started talking to us about what we had been discussing.

Anyway, as soon as I'm done with Way of Kings, I will be moving on to Alloy of Law.

 

I just got Alloy of Law from the library! I know what I'll be doing this weekend

I know Sanderson's been working hard to finish AMOL, but I wanted to know if there's been any word about his own work. He said he was going to try to get the Way of Kings sequel out this year, but AMOL took longer than expected to finish, and WoK was a thousand words in hardcover.

 

Yeah Ive been wondering for a while now if SLA 2 will be anywhere close to the size as 1 was. It was written 11 yrs ago I think until it got the ok for publishing so he had a long time to add to the draft. I hope its close to the same lenght and strenght as 1 though!!!

 

The original hope for SLA 2 was for it to be several months after AMoL (i.e., AMoL March 2012; SLA 2 late 2012)... so I think the earliest we could see the second Stormlight Archive book is probably April or so of 2013, and more likely somewhat later than that.

IIRC, Sanderson has said that all the SLA books will be quite long, though not necessarily as long as Way of Kings.

 

Makes sense. He has a lot to write, and then the editing process will take several months.

I wonder if he'll do a short novel or something just to put something out this year, like he did for Alloy of Law. The way he works, he probably can put out something short this year.

 

Yeah Im sure that sch he posted earlier this yr/late last yr is kaput now with the AMOL delay. Id hope for the Warbreaker sequel sooner then SLA 2 right now though Im sure it ll be atleast 2 yrs before we get that gem.

 

Oh, definitely. Such is life, though.

I'm not sure what'd I'd like to see next His plan is to do two SLA books every three years, with the third year being one of the Elantis, Mistborn, or Warbreaker sequels. For Warbreaker or Elantris, that might work, since Warbreaker has one sequel and Elantris's two sequels are, in his words, loosely tied together. But the two remaining Mistborn trilogies are, I'm betting, fairly connected within themselves. I'd prefer to see the three books in Trilogy Two come out in like a three-year period, then a break, then the third trilogy.

I really enjoyed SLA, and I'm excited for the new books, and I'm sure he needs breaks rather than writing the same story for a decade, but I think going back and forth between so many sequels all together might be a bit messy. But, hey, I'm sure they'll be good; I'm just impatient

His book Scribbler was, when he posted that list (just went back and re-read it), marked for early 2012, so I'm sure we'll be seeing that in a few months, since it's mostly done (or perhaps all done by now). According to the forums on his site, that pizza story has been scrapped, but something called Rithmatist will also be released in the not-too-distant future.

Looks like it'll be several years before the Warbreaker sequel; I think he's planning to write in the Elantris and Mistborn worlds first. Shame, because I really would like to see that.

 

Now I think he will do a fantastic job on those Elantris books now that he has more exp. That world has major potential I think and Im glad that Elantris was the 1st book of his that I ever read so I didnt get the dissappointed feeling with it compared to reading his other works first. Im really looking foward to his adv exp with this one.

 

I was fairly eh about Elantris. It was okay; it wasn't great. I agree, though, that his writing has improved and the series will benefit from it.

From the looks of it, we'll see SLA 2 in 2013, SLA 3 in 2014, and Elantris 2 in 2015.

 

Since it's been a couple of years since I've read the Mistborn books, I went back and re-read them before Alloy.

They're still fantastic If anything, I enjoyed them more because I wasn't spending the whole time worrying about who was going to die. And in re-reading, you always notice new things (especially if people have pointed them uot to you ). For instance, I had forgotten Hoid's brief sort-of appearance. Vin's supposed to meet him, but she feels weird about the area and turns away. The whole thing is pretty forgettable, and she doesn't seem to ever think about it again. It would be a total waste of space ... if Hoid didn't show up everywhere in the Cosmere

I also enjoyed one of Sazed's pre-chapter remarks:

Even now, I can barely grasp the scope of all this. The events surrounding the end of the world seem even larger than the Final Empire and the people within it. I sense shards of something from long ago, a fractured presence, something spanning the void.

I have delved and searched, and have only been able to come up with a single name: Adonasium. Who, or what, it was, I do not yet know.

Very interesting! And interesting use of the word "shard."



And then ... Alloy of Law.


First: Who names their kid "Waxillium"?

I like him, though. And I love Wayne The two of them have an awesome bromance going on, and their banter is hilarious.

It took some time to get used to the changed world, especially the religions. I'm guessing they weren't explained too well because that isn't the point right now and they'll be touched on in Trilogy 2. I'm VERY curious about Harmony. It seems like it would be Vin, especially with the earring thing (and the not allowing worship thing). She's known as the Ascendant Warrior, but that doesn't mean she can't also be Harmony without people knowing.

One of the things I liked about the plot was that it wasn't literally earth-shattering. It wasn't about the end of the world. It was fantastic and intricate and twisting in the usual Sanderson style, but it was light compared to the trilogy, which was nice.

And the cliffhanger! Oh, boy, the cliffhanger I hadn't guessed it. I was also hoping Wax would choose Marasi, though there's still hope. When's the sequel due?

And one more thing. I was going to ask if anyone knew what happened to Marsh. The first time I read Hero, I couldn't figure it out; after he kills Elend, he's not mentioned. I thought maybe I'd missed something, but when I finished the book a couple days ago, I still didn't know. I figured he'd died.

Guess not.

Looks like "Ironeyes" is still around, and thankfully with his sanity (and apparently the second eye-spike re-added, since Vin ripped it out before she turned to mist but Marasi saw two). I find his apperance very interesting. I'm not sure if he'll be explained in the Alloy sequel -- there's got to be one -- my guess is that Sanderson will wait until Trilogy 2 to get into what happened after the world ended.

Also, I find it funny, for some reason, that Wax is descended from Breeze.

Need. Alloy. Sequel. Now.

 

I'm sure Harmony is Sazed. He took up the shards of Preservation(Leras) and Ruin(Ati) and is now God to the Scadriel. Since he has Ruin's power he can talked to spiked people, that's the reason for the earring.

 

Started reading the Mistborn trilogy after my sister recommended it. The first book was great. I'm almost done with WoA now and I think I like it even better than the first... which is strange considering how much I loved Kelsier.


Then again, as much as I loved Kelsier, I think Zane> Kelsier. And the action is tons better in the second book. Can't wait to start Hero of Ages.

 

Yay!! Glad you like it

Zane's interesting, but he's also crazy.

 

Crazy is a nice way of putting it.

 

But....is he really?

 

He's not insane. Ruin told him that as he died. The voices in his head weren't a product of any sort of mental illness; they were Ruin's influence.

But that doesn't mean he isn't crazy.

 

who is Ruin? Is that who they refer to as God whenever Zane hears the voices?



Crap. I should stay away from this thread until I finish the series...

 

Should have HTRed that. Hurry up and finish!