i mean yeah, just didn't know *when*
all good, i am at the halfway point in book 1 with no signs of slowing down
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Brandon Sanderson - The Cosmere |OT| there's always another secret...
- Thread starter ExMachina
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i mean yeah, just didn't know *when*
all good, i am at the halfway point in book 1 with no signs of slowing down
Wowfunhappy
Member
IMO, The Final Empire should be viewed as an individual, separate story arch. You could easily read it as a standalone.
Books 2 and 3 are a really big change in terms of pacing and tone—which is also the problem that I and a couple of others had with them. I kind of wish I'd been told going in what a departure the second and third books were going to be, so I could have adjusted my expectations accordingly.
Future PhaZe
Member
Progressing through The Hero of Ages--so far so good.
I like Mistborn trilogy but man, i never liked how books 2 and 3 lost the heist aspect. Though arguably even book 1 downplays that a lot pretty quickly...
Sanderson even notes this in the annotations, that heist films like Ocean's Eleven were an inspiration but that he also downplayed this aspect right away.
Elantris gets better as it goes along, I feel, though it is still kinda rough. Makes sense, its one of his first works, if memory serves.
It is his first, though I'm even reading off the edited 10th anniversary edition and it's still rough.
"Rough" is being generous
I think his older works are still worth reading, but you can definitely see how much he's grown as an author over the years."Rough" is being generous
I agree, and I am enjoying Elantris. All the hallmarks of a good Sanderson novel are there, great world building, interesting magic system, intriguing characters. Going to enjoy finishing it.
Future PhaZe
Member
finished HoA
good stuff--that book really moves
onto The Alloy of Law now--not sure what to think of the time change
good stuff--that book really moves
onto The Alloy of Law now--not sure what to think of the time change
You'll quickly get used to it. The characters are most important, and they are even better in the Victorian age.
Dalinar is one of my favorite fantasy characters EVER.
Yeah he's great. Really liking what little I've seen of Teft so far.
Even liking Adolin a lot.
Hell, the whole Kholin clan is good outside of the king.
I like the cast of the Stormlight Archive for most part.
The king is something of a loser but still an interesting character: what makes him what he is?
Kaladin being about the only exception, he spends too much time angsting, not inaccurate description of a character with depression but it isn't terribly interesting to read (Sanderson did this with Sazed once already) and i don't really need any more depression in my life. And he is a bit too much of a generic hero.
I like good (in moral sense) characters in fiction but Kaladin kinda lacks anything distinguishing, he is just a standard paladin.
The king is something of a loser but still an interesting character: what makes him what he is?
Kaladin being about the only exception, he spends too much time angsting, not inaccurate description of a character with depression but it isn't terribly interesting to read (Sanderson did this with Sazed once already) and i don't really need any more depression in my life. And he is a bit too much of a generic hero.
I like good (in moral sense) characters in fiction but Kaladin kinda lacks anything distinguishing, he is just a standard paladin.
Poodlestrike
Banned
Can confirm, Kal is about 90% garbage. He's good for... three things: the last fight in WoK, the duel, and that one bit where he got all doctor-y with Renarin. That was fun.
Oh, and he has Syl, who is great.
Oh, and he has Syl, who is great.
Jest Chillin
Member
I like Kaladin. He's probably my favorite character. His story is slow and painful but I feel like it makes sense given what he's been through and is going through. And the payoff is WELL worth it. I understand why people dislike him though. Dalinar, I feel, is a much more traditional character and I enjoy him gor that as well but I feel like Kaladin has the much more interesting arc ahead of him.
Halfway through Arcanum Unbound and I have enjoyed every story so far. I think I might push through finishing Elantris now that I know some of the ending spoilers. The
stories have been my favorite so far,
And just finishing the White Sands story has gotten me to purchase the graphic novel collection on Amazon/comiXology.
Kelsier
it was awesome to see what was going on in the background in the last two era 1 MB books.
Future PhaZe
Member
Alloy of Law not grabbing me so far.
To me, it's the weakest of the 3 books released so far. The next 2 get significantly better IMO.
It gets better from here, too, I feel. I mean I enjoyed the first trilogy but I also had some problems with it.
I feel that the Wax & Wayne era is leagues better.
Way of Kings:
Something's gonna happen between Dalinar and Kaladin. Just got to the part where Dalinar agreed to use
Gonna be interesting.
Something's gonna happen between Dalinar and Kaladin. Just got to the part where Dalinar agreed to use
the bridge crews. Kaladin does not believe in light-eyes and Dalinar is what he aspires to be. Also the latest vision talks of Honorspren. That's what Syl is, I bet.
Gonna be interesting.
Interesting analysis.
Really, i find it interesting to see how others read and interpret books. Personally i tend to read fast, absorb a lot of stuff but i don't notice connections or make assumptions whether something is connected, etc.. I focus on the present, so to speak. I'm often surprised by some things afterwards.
I usually plow through books but I'm doing something different with WoK.
I'm listening to it on audiobook but only while I workout on the elliptical at the gym. This gives me a good amount of down time between chapters to think.
I really want to continue, but by doing it this way it's forcing me to work out. It's like a treat for going to work out.
Future PhaZe
Member
I liked the Villain for Alloy of Law but that's about all I liked from it. Shadows of Self so far is a bit of a slog as well. Hopefully it picks up. This era probably just isn't for me admittedly.
WoK:
hoooooooooooooo
leeeeeeeeeeeeee
shittttttttttttttt
Dalinar is GOAT
hoooooooooooooo
leeeeeeeeeeeeee
shittttttttttttttt
Sadeus betraying Dalinar.
Kaladin saving Dalinar.
Kaladin going super saiyan.
Dalinar saving the bridgemen giving up Oathbringer.
Dalinar kicking the shit out of Elhokar.
Dalinar: 'oh by the way im fucking ur mom lol'
Kaladin saving Dalinar.
Kaladin going super saiyan.
Dalinar saving the bridgemen giving up Oathbringer.
Dalinar kicking the shit out of Elhokar.
Dalinar: 'oh by the way im fucking ur mom lol'
Dalinar is GOAT
Poodlestrike
Banned
You're goddamn right he is.
And to date, that Kaladin holding the bridge fight is still my favorite combat scene in the series. Possibly in Sanderson's entire works.
IMO Shallan got super interesting the minute I realized
Sanderson was telling us she had a shardblade
Man I need to reread The Way of Kings and the second one in preparation for Oathbringer. It's been a few years since I read them. Or is there a way to like watch a video refresher or read one?
On another note, I finished the 2nd Mistborn book. Pretty awesome so far, on the third one now, the twist was kind of interesting in book 2.
On another note, I finished the 2nd Mistborn book. Pretty awesome so far, on the third one now, the twist was kind of interesting in book 2.
He's development is great specially when THAT moment happens in WoR. Makes everything in WoK worth it.
And the last 200 or so pages of WoK are amazing.
Thoughts on WoK. Note this is the only work I've read/listened to of Sanderson's work.
I would have liked it probably a little more if
I don't know, it felt a little cheap. I would've liked them to piece together a couple more pieces before the big reveal. It didn't feel earned. Also the final couple chapters felt very rushed and short. I know that they're just chapters meant to build up the next book, but just as you were getting invested in the character's little arc they whipped you onto the next POV.
Kaladin went from fuckthisguy to alright, this dude's aight. I quite like Shallan, especially after she stopped being so witty. It was a little uncomfortable in the beginning where every other word was some clever quip. I've liked Jasnah from the very start. Dalinar remains GOAT. Actually, I am fond the entire Kholin clan, spare the king.
Also, I'm curious if the two characters that had random POV chapters in the middle actually matter at all or if they're just there for world building. That merchant woman and that wandering scholar. They kinda appeared and disappeared just as fast. I didn't care much for the scholar, but the merchant chapter was really interesting and built out the world quite a bit.
I'm still a little confused about the whole idea of 'existence' in this universe, so to speak. They talk about distant lands, planes of existence, and so on. Are these planets? Dimensions? Continents? Is Roshar like Earth or is it like North America? Basically I'm having trouble making a map in my head, and I fear looking up information as I'm sure the wikis and such are chock full of spoilers. But that just could be me missing a few key lines.
Anyway, loved the book, and it was a very different way of digesting it than I normally do. Listening to a chapter once every day or two lets your mind try to guess what's coming next, but it also gives a lot of time to insert facts you just made up and parse them from what you actually read.
Will probably wait a month or so then dive into the next one.
I would have liked it probably a little more if
Dalinar had not had that final vision.
Kaladin went from fuckthisguy to alright, this dude's aight. I quite like Shallan, especially after she stopped being so witty. It was a little uncomfortable in the beginning where every other word was some clever quip. I've liked Jasnah from the very start. Dalinar remains GOAT. Actually, I am fond the entire Kholin clan, spare the king.
Also, I'm curious if the two characters that had random POV chapters in the middle actually matter at all or if they're just there for world building. That merchant woman and that wandering scholar. They kinda appeared and disappeared just as fast. I didn't care much for the scholar, but the merchant chapter was really interesting and built out the world quite a bit.
I'm still a little confused about the whole idea of 'existence' in this universe, so to speak. They talk about distant lands, planes of existence, and so on. Are these planets? Dimensions? Continents? Is Roshar like Earth or is it like North America? Basically I'm having trouble making a map in my head, and I fear looking up information as I'm sure the wikis and such are chock full of spoilers. But that just could be me missing a few key lines.
Anyway, loved the book, and it was a very different way of digesting it than I normally do. Listening to a chapter once every day or two lets your mind try to guess what's coming next, but it also gives a lot of time to insert facts you just made up and parse them from what you actually read.
Will probably wait a month or so then dive into the next one.
The Cosmere is a connected universe with different planes of existence and each series takes place on it's own planet in the connected universe.
Here is a recently released map:
Roshar is a planet in the Cosmere universe but I wouldn't consider it earth even though Stormlight is the main series so far.
Here is a map of Alethkar where a lot of the action takes place in WOK:
Words Of Radiance goes a little deeper on the planes of existence I think.
NP, there is a lot to take in from these novels and it's easy to miss something during a read.
I can shed a lot of light on the Cosmere. The shared universe and magic system of Sandersons works (the worlds of Elantris, Mistborn, Warbreaker, White Sand, Stormlight Archive, etc. etc.)
But before I type up a bunch of stuff behind spoiler tags... Do you really want to know or discover it as you read more of the books?
One of the purposes of the interludes is to build out the world that the main characters will not get to explore themselves. To your question. the merchant woman is likely to be a POV character in the last 5 books of the Stormlight Archive, so not connected to the story of the first 5. The scholar, I am assuming you mean Axies the Collector.
This is worldbuilding and he is not likely to be a major player. He is an Aimian which was recently revealed in the short story Edgedancer to be a very interesting race of beings indeed.
I think the maps above were what I was looking for, but thank you for the offer. I'll discover it in time, I'm sure. I was just like, okay, are these places connected by sea? Land? How far? Is this a continent, a country, a planet, some other celestial body, etc etc.
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