I'm not gonna lie: I soooorta skimmed/skipped the flashbacks. Sanderson did a really great job of outlining what happened in Kal's past without needing to pound it home in flashbacks. Most of the specifics were really just not needed.
Kal could have talked to someone about his past and thus skip a few chapters easily, if it was even necessary.
I like the flashbacks because of some details they about the world but reading about Kal himself is kinda boring.
Of course, i'm not a big fan of Kaladin in the first place. Sure, he does have some awesome moments but... i dunno, he is a bit too depressed and indecisive at times. Having suffered from depression myself, i really don't care to read about that in fictional characters. Sanderson manages a bit too accurate description of depression, Sazed scenes in The Hero Of Ages come to mind. Of course, perhaps this is what make their moments of awesome even better...
One reason i like Sanderson's work is that they're optimistic and hopeful. I'm kinda fed up with the modern trend of cynicism and brutality.
Probably should listen to that Sanderson+co podcast about writing... Writing Excuses, was it?
Except reading is much faster than listening to something...
Writing Excuses are broken into very short episodes. Like 15 minutes I believe. Maybe 10?
I'm also not a huge fan of the ever dark and depressing style that seems to be common. They have their place but I like a return to a more classic hero's story every now and then.
It's why I enjoy Sanderson's works and additionally Weeks Lightbringer series.
To be blunt, I think it's because of Week's Night Angel series being a bit off putting. I read Lightbringer first and have loved every book but just reading some of the details of Night Angel made me hesitate. Eventually I gave it a shot anyways and though I finished the first book I couldn't be bothered with the rest.
Lightbringer so far though... Absolutely a must read for anyone that enjoys cool magic systems. The rest of it is great as well imo but that magic system is probably the biggest draw to anyone on the fence about it.
It is funny you mention WoR. I enjoyed it a lot, but I found
the Kaladin chapters to be such a drag. Mostly because you know what is going to happen, so it gets old seeing him whine and whine and whine and fall further and further.
It is funny you mention WoR. I enjoyed it a lot, but I found
the Kaladin chapters to be such a drag. Mostly because you know what is going to happen, so it gets old seeing him whine and whine and whine and fall further and further.
I'm definitely feeling more of what you're describing in the spoiler during my reread. First time through it wasn't so bad, but knowing now how it's going to go for sure it's just like ughhhhhh get over yourself.
400/568 pages into Warbreaker and it's a very enjoyable read. I'm on vacation and sitting on the beach all day reading it and oftentimes missing out on going to the water with my GF due to it.
During the summer I ended up listening to all of the six Mistborn books and both of the Stormlight Archive books, mostly thanks to me (re)discovering audiobooks (the books themselves being very enjoyable helped of course). I've always had some difficulty actually reading books because I have trouble staying focused and tend to get distracted for a second here and another there. Audiobooks completely eliminate that issue and at one point I even listened to The Way of Kings for almost 8 hours straight, more or less.
For the most parts I liked the first Mistborn trilogy but the second book felt like a bit of a chore at parts. What especially bothered me was the relationship between Vin and Elend (a relationship that I had liked in the first book) and how Vin refrained from telling Elend about everything that was happening to her. Then at other times the trust that Vin and Elend had developed between each other was seemingly used as a convenient way for things to be left unsaid. Clearly trust and lack of it was an important aspect of Vin's character and a theme overall but often it felt more like a transparent use of a tool for making things happen a certain way. I don't remember any specifics but I have to mark those down whenever I read the books again. I liked the first book the best and those balls with the political intrigue and Vin tryig to fit in might have been the high points for me. Very exciting action scenes throughout the trilogy as well.
The next three books featuring Wax, Wayne and Marasi were overall more entertaining, mostly thanks to the characters and more modern setting, the best one probably being The Alloy of Law. It was also a good idea, I think, to limit the main characters in terms of their allomantic and feruchemical abilities. The limitations have allowed for some really intense action scenes that have so far been more focused than the ones in the previous trilogy were at times. I can barely wait for the next book in this series, and hopefully we'll see more of Steris in it since I enjoyed her relationship with Wax so much. Actually all of the characters work really well together.
With only two books out of a planned set of 10 published I was a little apprehensive at first about getting into the Stormlight Archive series. Usually I like to wait so that at least the majority of the books of any given series have been released before I start reading. In this case I couldn't resist for long, and despite the no doubt excruciating wait that I have before me I'm not the least bit upset that I didn't wait for any longer than I already did. The third book doesn't appear to be terribly far away and sometimes the wait itself can rewarding. At the very least I can now discuss the books in the meantime.
Out of all the books that I have now read by Sanderson The Way of Kings was without a doubt my favorite one. The slow build up to the end was absolutely fantastic, though the flashback where it's revealed what happened to
Kaladin's brother Tien
was a little disappointing in terms of placement and execution. Words of Radiance was almost as good and I can't deny being completely taken aback when
Jasnah Kolin seemingly got killed so very unceremoniously.
Anyway, now I'm suffering from a severe case of "So now what?" when it comes to Sanderson's books and The Cosmere. I understand I maybe should have read Warbreaker before Words of Radiance. Is that something that I should look into reading/listening next?
It is funny you mention WoR. I enjoyed it a lot, but I found
the Kaladin chapters to be such a drag. Mostly because you know what is going to happen, so it gets old seeing him whine and whine and whine and fall further and further.
Anyway, now I'm suffering from a severe case of "So now what?" when it comes to Sanderson's books and The Cosmere. I understand I maybe should have read Warbreaker before Words of Radiance. Is that something that I should look into reading/listening next?
Finished Warbreaker two days ago and found it very enjoyable. However,
I feel like the last 15% of the book were the weakest. Denth and Bluefinger turned to cartoon villains describing presicely what they did, why they did it and what they are about to do as opposed to just fucking getting to it. That was not very good. Also, the books leaves a lot of questions unanswered for having been intented as a stand alone work. I understand Sanderson intends to write a second book now but surely, he must have had that in mind when he wrote Warbreaker too because the ending is not very conclusive.
I liked pretty much everything up to the end though. The Vivenna chapters were a little weak-ish but 3 out of 4 perspectives were really fast reads.
Out of all the books that I have now read by Sanderson The Way of Kings was without a doubt my favorite one.
During the summer I ended up listening to all of the six Mistborn books and both of the Stormlight Archive books, mostly thanks to me (re)discovering audiobooks (the books themselves being very enjoyable helped of course). I've always had some difficulty actually reading books because I have trouble staying focused and tend to get distracted for a second here and another there. Audiobooks completely eliminate that issue and at one point I even listened to The Way of Kings for almost 8 hours straight, more or less.
For the most parts I liked the first Mistborn trilogy but the second book felt like a bit of a chore at parts. What especially bothered me was the relationship between Vin and Elend (a relationship that I had liked in the first book) and how Vin refrained from telling Elend about everything that was happening to her. Then at other times the trust that Vin and Elend had developed between each other was seemingly used as a convenient way for things to be left unsaid. Clearly trust and lack of it was an important aspect of Vin's character and a theme overall but often it felt more like a transparent use of a tool for making things happen a certain way. I don't remember any specifics but I have to mark those down whenever I read the books again. I liked the first book the best and those balls with the political intrigue and Vin tryig to fit in might have been the high points for me. Very exciting action scenes throughout the trilogy as well.
The next three books featuring Wax, Wayne and Marasi were overall more entertaining, mostly thanks to the characters and more modern setting, the best one probably being The Alloy of Law. It was also a good idea, I think, to limit the main characters in terms of their allomantic and feruchemical abilities. The limitations have allowed for some really intense action scenes that have so far been more focused than the ones in the previous trilogy were at times. I can barely wait for the next book in this series, and hopefully we'll see more of Steris in it since I enjoyed her relationship with Wax so much. Actually all of the characters work really well together.
With only two books out of a planned set of 10 published I was a little apprehensive at first about getting into the Stormlight Archive series. Usually I like to wait so that at least the majority of the books of any given series have been released before I start reading. In this case I couldn't resist for long, and despite the no doubt excruciating wait that I have before me I'm not the least bit upset that I didn't wait for any longer than I already did. The third book doesn't appear to be terribly far away and sometimes the wait itself can rewarding. At the very least I can now discuss the books in the meantime.
Out of all the books that I have now read by Sanderson The Way of Kings was without a doubt my favorite one. The slow build up to the end was absolutely fantastic, though the flashback where it's revealed what happened to
Kaladin's brother Tien
was a little disappointing in terms of placement and execution. Words of Radiance was almost as good and I can't deny being completely taken aback when
Jasnah Kolin seemingly got killed so very unceremoniously.
Anyway, now I'm suffering from a severe case of "So now what?" when it comes to Sanderson's books and The Cosmere. I understand I maybe should have read Warbreaker before Words of Radiance. Is that something that I should look into reading/listening next?
I wasnt that taken aback when Jasnah was killed as the way it was written made me certain she wasn't dead. Sanderson does telegraph things sometimes. She also was a very interesting character still with a story to tell so there was no way he was bumping her off.
Re Warbreaker you really didn't need to read it before WoR but there are a few small scenes in it that link to it. I'd give it a read before the next SLA book comes out though.
So, something I picked up on my WoR reread... Roshar is absolutely lousy with secret societies/conspiracies, isn't it? Most fantasy series have, like, one, two at most. There's no fewer than 5 here.
Ghostbloods, Diagram, Sons of Honor, 17th Shard, and whatever Nale's weird deal is with his not-Skybreakers.
The last one is especially interesting because it's the group
Helaran
apparently joined up with, if Mraize is to be believed. Setting aside that there's probably going to be repercussions from that, it could explain why
Shallan's mother and her "friend" tried to kill her- they were Skybreakers following Nale's lead imperfectly, Helaran joined up after finding out that Mommy Dearest was part of some strange group. Also adds some very interesting implications to both his attempt to kill Amaram and his association with Hoid.
I'm on my second time through the Mistborn 1.5 and I'm finding myself to like it more than the originals. I enjoy the character interactions more than I did in the first I guess. As excited as I am for Stormlight 3, I'm looking forward to the next mistborn book more.
Now I love the first era, reading the first mistborn lead me into reading the entire comsere and now into the non cosmere stuff. Got a few friends into it as well.
I'm on my second time through the Mistborn 1.5 and I'm finding myself to like it more than the originals. I enjoy the character interactions more than I did in the first I guess. As excited as I am for Stormlight 3, I'm looking forward to the next mistborn book more.
Now I love the first era, reading the first mistborn lead me into reading the entire comsere and now into the non cosmere stuff. Got a few friends into it as well.
Haven't read enough Elantris to make a legit appraisal, but considering how little I'm enjoying what I'm reading I'd imagine it'll slot in under Mistborn 1.
So I gave the first book of Codex Alera a shot and it's ok. Not as bad as Windlass. I'm going to ride this series out. Should hold me over til The Blood Mirror comes out.
So I gave the first book of Codex Alera a shot and it's ok. Not as bad as Windlass. I'm going to ride this series out. Should hold me over til The Blood Mirror comes out.
So, something I picked up on my WoR reread... Roshar is absolutely lousy with secret societies/conspiracies, isn't it? Most fantasy series have, like, one, two at most. There's no fewer than 5 here.
Ghostbloods, Diagram, Sons of Honor, 17th Shard, and whatever Nale's weird deal is with his not-Skybreakers.
The last one is especially interesting because it's the group
Helaran
apparently joined up with, if Mraize is to be believed. Setting aside that there's probably going to be repercussions from that, it could explain why
Shallan's mother and her "friend" tried to kill her- they were Skybreakers following Nale's lead imperfectly, Helaran joined up after finding out that Mommy Dearest was part of some strange group. Also adds some very interesting implications to both his attempt to kill Amaram and his association with Hoid.
Speaking of Helaren, I can't wait for the fan base reaction when/if Shalladin happens and they have a truth or dare session and he tells her "oh soz, killed your bro" followed by her admitting she is working with the ghostbloods. He'll probably have her arrested the officious twat.
I'm on my second time through the Mistborn 1.5 and I'm finding myself to like it more than the originals. I enjoy the character interactions more than I did in the first I guess. As excited as I am for Stormlight 3, I'm looking forward to the next mistborn book more.
Now I love the first era, reading the first mistborn lead me into reading the entire comsere and now into the non cosmere stuff. Got a few friends into it as well.
Yeah I heard the second era books are good. I read both SA books and the first Mistborn trilogy back to back from November 2015 to March or April this year so I kinda needed a break from Sanderson after reading 5 of his books in a row. Loved them but I appreciated reading other authors too. I'll read the other Mistborn books eventually for sure. Elantris as well.
Speaking of Helaren, I can't wait for the fan base reaction when/if Shalladin happens and they have a truth or dare session and he tells her "oh soz, killed your bro" followed by her admitting she is working with the ghostbloods. He'll probably have her arrested the officious twat.
Trying to get into Way of Kings and it's hard. It's not as interesting as either Mistborn or Reckoners. I'm almost 250 pages in and it's doesn't really have me yet.
Trying to get into Way of Kings and it's hard. It's not as interesting as either Mistborn or Reckoners. I'm almost 250 pages in and it's doesn't really have me yet.
It's a slow build but it's worth it. It lays the worldbuilding and background groundwork for a series of books that's going to be at least 10 books long.
Trying to get into Way of Kings and it's hard. It's not as interesting as either Mistborn or Reckoners. I'm almost 250 pages in and it's doesn't really have me yet.
Keep with it. In the Stormlight books so far Sanderson builds to crescendos that will smash your around the face. You won't be able to put it down when you reach the final 3rd.
This. There's some slow stuff, but by and large it's very well paced, imo. What I don't get is people talking about the supposed escalation towards the end; the big disappointment of diving into the Cosmere has been, for me, the so-called "Sanderson Avalanche." There's nothing there, fam.
This. There's some slow stuff, but by and large it's very well paced, imo. What I don't get is people talking about the supposed escalation towards the end; the big disappointment of diving into the Cosmere has been, for me, the so-called "Sanderson Avalanche." There's nothing there, fam.
Hmm I don't know if I agree with that. He does a great job of bringing together a bunch of plot threads and resolving them in those last 100-200 pages. Way of Kings and Words of Radiance endings both FLEW by, pacing-wise.
Hmm I don't know if I agree with that. He does a great job of bringing together a bunch of plot threads and resolving them in those last 100-200 pages. Way of Kings and Words of Radiance endings both FLEW by, pacing-wise.
Honestly, it's a pretty standard climax. One of the ways Sanderson makes the Stormlight books' length work in their favor is more by spreading stuff out. You've got multiple climax-tier events and plot thread compressions per book, but that sort of results in the last one not feeling especially notable. And considering the number of multi-book threads, the rate of "plot referenced" to "plot resolved" isn't especially great.
It's not that the endings aren't interesting or compelling, but that they're nothing momentous.
This. There's some slow stuff, but by and large it's very well paced, imo. What I don't get is people talking about the supposed escalation towards the end; the big disappointment of diving into the Cosmere has been, for me, the so-called "Sanderson Avalanche." There's nothing there, fam.
Sadeas' betrayal? Kaladin leaping into the final battle with the Parshendi, reciting the Second Ideal and getting a massive power-up? Dalinar facing off against the Parshendi shard bearer? Kaladin asserting authority over light eyed officers in the middle of battle? Dalinar confronting Sadeas at the war camp, buying the bridge men with his Shardblade? Dalinar's confrontation of Elhokar? And that's before we even get to Shallan and Szeth! Nothing there? Bruh!
Sadeas' betrayal? Kaladin leaping into the final battle with the Parshendi, reciting the Second Ideal and getting a massive power-up? Dalinar facing off against the Parshendi shard bearer? Kaladin asserting authority over light eyed officers in the middle of battle? Dalinar confronting Sadeas at the war camp, buying the bridge men with his Shardblade? Dalinar's confrontation of Elhokar? And that's before we even get to Shallan and Szeth! Nothing there? Bruh!
I feel like I've already explained this, lol. It's not that there's literally nothing there, just that the last 10-20% of a Sanderson book don't really feel all that much more spectacularly over-the-top than the last 10-20% of any other (good) epic fantasy I've read, lol.
Finally....finally finished the Mistborn trilogy. The Hero Of Ages can be a slow read for the first half, but when they start figuring things out it really picks up. Didn't expect a lot of the revelations.
I'm starting to notice a pattern in Sanderson in that
whenever he has a puzzle the solution is often the most mundane thing that you wouldn't think twice about till it smacks you in the face that this is the thing.
I feel like I've already explained this, lol. It's not that there's literally nothing there, just that the last 10-20% of a Sanderson book don't really feel all that much more spectacularly over-the-top than the last 10-20% of any other (good) epic fantasy I've read, lol.
Way of Kings in particular felt like one of the most dense, most momentous climaxes I've ever read. Major revelations, huge swinging shifts in character relationships, multiple conflicts coming to a head that have been building for nearly a thousand pages... Doesn't feel like "any other (good) epic fantasy" I've read, that's for sure.
I'm starting to notice a pattern in Sanderson in that
whenever he has a puzzle the solution is often the most mundane thing that you wouldn't think twice about till it smacks you in the face that this is the thing.
Finished The Rithmatist. This is one of the books where, as you are reading you, you think "hmm, this is a pretty good book. Good, not great, but I guess I would read the next." And then when you finish it, it's firmly in the "let me google the release date of the next book ASAP." Sanderson always ends books in a way that leaves me wanting more immediately.
I guess light, non-plot spoilers....
Sanderson will never be able to convincingly capture relationships in his books - it just never clicks. I never really bought into the MC and Melody, and it often felt so forced. There was a bit too much Harry Potter in it for me - magic school, evil teacher who hates the MC, kindly old man who believes in the MC and helps him, dead parent(s), etc.
I'm also not really sold on the magic system. If a bucket of acids negates the magic, then it seems like it would be pretty easy to stop the bad guys at Nebrask. Just create moats of acid? Use hoses? I don't know. Just seems like cool but weak magic.
Anyway, overall I really enjoyed the book and it should be another fun series to follow.
Way of Kings in particular felt like one of the most dense, most momentous climaxes I've ever read. Major revelations, huge swinging shifts in character relationships, multiple conflicts coming to a head that have been building for nearly a thousand pages... Doesn't feel like "any other (good) epic fantasy" I've read, that's for sure.
Welp, now having to eat my words a little 'cause Elantris ended on a genuine avalanche. Only one unnecessary pace-killing cutaway, well done Sanderson! Last 12% of the book was just nuts. Shaped up as... I don't know if it's one of my favorites, but it easily surpassed my initial feelings. Not very well written, from a mechanical standpoint, but does a ton of interesting stuff with the cast, plot, and setting. I think I'd still rank Warbreaker higher, because I really liked the Lightsong stuff, but it easily beats out Mistborn 1 for me.
so I started reading mistborn a couple days ago and have been enjoying it well enough so far
I gotta say though books themselves aside if i'd known how awesome Sanderson is in general i'd have probably gotten around to reading his books a lot sooner than I did
I mean on top of his ridiculous writing pace he has progress bars for books he's currently writing on his website and chapter by chapter annotations for some of his books as well?
it's just flat out impressive,most authors write at a fraction of the pace and can't even manage to stick to the release dates they put out
so I started reading mistborn a couple days ago and have been enjoying it well enough so far
I gotta say though books themselves aside if i'd known how awesome Sanderson is in general i'd have probably gotten around to reading his books a lot sooner than I did
I mean on top of his ridiculous writing pace he has progress bars for books he's currently writing on his website and chapter by chapter annotations for some of his books as well?
it's just flat out impressive,most authors write at a fraction of the pace and can't even manage to stick to the release dates they put out
I was at the local independent book store today and they had seven copies of the stormlight companion in stock. I had no idea that it was still available or that some stores could still have copies (it did come out on April 30 right?)
Booksellers at laurelwood in Memphis if anyone is looking.
I was at the local independent book store today and they had seven copies of the stormlight companion in stock. I had no idea that it was still available or that some stores could still have copies (it did come out on April 30 right?)
Booksellers at laurelwood in Memphis if anyone is looking.
