Brandon Sanderson thread

Discussion in 'TMB Book Club' started by Gin Buckets, May 22, 2015.

  1. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    You'll miss some. It's worth taking the time to read prior to Oathbringer
     
  2. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    IMO Lift is the worst/most annoying POV character Sanderson has ever written, but Edgedancer is a quick read. You don’t lose a ton by skipping it but in classic Sanderson fashion I enjoyed reading it even though I don’t like Lift.
     
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  3. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    Damn it. I just want to get on with the meat of the story, but I'll read it first.
     
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  4. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    It's not required, but there are some Interesting bits about Roshar that get mentioned. And I'm also not Lift's biggest fan. I would read it; it's not that long
     
  5. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    There is some Szeth as well iirc

    And an Aimian
     
  6. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    I’ve audiobooked most of the series so the spelling on some of the names always surprises me when I see them writtten
     
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  7. BP

    BP Bout to Regulate.
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    Same. Its also fun to read the first book in a series then switch to audio and realize you're mispronouncing everything.
     
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  8. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    There are also times when the readers don't pronounce the same names the same. When the Shallan reader first said Sadeas I was slightly appalled. They should have fixed that for the 2nd book, because it was weird hearing the 2 readers say the same name differently.

    In other news, finished Edgedancer in like 1 day and am now into Oathbringer.
     
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  9. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Thoughts on Edgedancer. Spoiler as appropriate.
     
  10. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    I am glad I read it.

    I think it was nice to have more context to what is coming next in the story. It also helped fill in small gaps in the info we've received concerning the Knight's Radiant. I'm also assuming Nal (sp?) is a major bad guy coming up, so knowing what made him so bitter will be good. I am also curious to see where Szeth's storyline goes from here. I think we all want to like him, at least at this point.
     
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  11. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    [​IMG]
     
  12. Name P. Redacted

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    Just finished Warbreaker. I wish I would have read it before starting Stormlight.

    I listen to the audiobooks and couldn’t help but but use the SA narrator’s voice for the sword during Warbreaker.
     
  13. Name P. Redacted

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    BP Sanderson churns out work like none other and he keeps an honest accounting of his progress on his blog. It’s so refreshing compared to GRRM and Rothfuss. I really recommend you go through the Mistborn trilogy next.

    I’ve reading all three Stormlight, Warbreaker, six Mistborns. I have steelheart ready on audible, anyone have other suggestions?
     
  14. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Go ahead and finish his cosmere books. Elantris is the only other novel, but some good short stories and novellas. Then Steelheart is fun
     
  15. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Saw that he's already done some readings of sections from Rythym of War at conventions.
     
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  16. BP

    BP Bout to Regulate.
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    Agreed. He's has an amazing work ethic and love his transparency, I was just commenting on him seemly having a lot of projects going on simultaneously. But yeah I have about 10 hours left on Oathbringer then you guys have convinced me, so its on to the Mistborn series.
     
  17. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    Steelheart was my first Sanderson novel as it was one of the first book club books we read. It's a lot of fun, but I think his only novel for YAs.
     
  18. Name P. Redacted

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    Skyward definitely is YA.
     
  19. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    I don't know that one . :idk:

    Need to look back into it. I went through a Sanderson binge after the first Steelheart and just recently started re-reading a lot of his books. Still need to check out Wax and Wayne as well.
     
  20. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Reckoner's Series (Steelheart/Firefight/Calamity)
    The Rithmatist
    Skyward Series (Skyward/Starsight/TBD)

    Are all YA (and therefore non-cosmere)
     
  21. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    Haven't heard of Rithmatist either. Man I didn't realize how far behind I was.

    What was the one book he released, but didn't publish that you got your hands on a few years back The Blackfish ?
     
  22. The Blackfish

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    There’s a bunch of his unpublished stuff floating around. The two main ones are White Sand which is now out in graphic novel form and Aether of Night which I believe is available on his website. I haven’t read either of them.
     
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  23. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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  24. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    Slight issue with the Stormlight Archives after 3.5 books, and Sanderson in general. He’s literally my favorite author, so I don’t have many critiques — just this one.

    I just wish the reader was in a little more suspense when one of his main characters was in a precarious situation. No major character ever dies. I’m reading Oathbringer right now, and when Yasna (sp?) came back (I knew she was alive because of the end of the last book, but still) I just kind of rolled my eyes.

    Sometimes I wonder if it is things like that which keep his books from becoming major film or TV productions.
     
  25. BP

    BP Bout to Regulate.
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    Just finished Oathbringer. Are we still spoiling stuff for a 2 yo book?
    I see your point. But when the majority of the characters have god like powers it's tough to give them legit threats. Plus with 7 more books you gotta know most will get out of trouble.
     
  26. Name P. Redacted

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    Fair

    He even does that in the Mistborn part 2 series. Mistborn part 1 has a unexpected death, however. I don't mind it especially after subjecting myself to the GoT books.
     
  27. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    I think we should. Books are a little different than movies in that way imo. It's not much effort for the writer or the reader of spoilers, so it's definitely worth it imo.
     
    #477 Gin Buckets, Apr 9, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2019
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  28. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    Kelsier dies, but in order to save Vin or something like that, right? It's been over 5 years since I've read those.
     
  29. Name P. Redacted

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    mistorn spoilers
    Vin dies at the very end, like final few chapters
     
  30. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
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    and he does kill a couple in the crew, but not like major major characters.
     
  31. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    Stormlight-ish spoilers.
    Similar to the people around Kaladin, which are folks he cares about, but folks we aren't emotionally invested in.
     
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  32. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
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    The only one that I was a little disappointed about in Stormlight was Elhokar, but that was only because of what was going on when it happened. I didn't even really like the character much at all.
     
  33. ukcats8

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    Just finished Oathbringer. Sucks when you finish a great series and have to discover something new to get into.

    Anybody have recs for authors/books similar to Sanderson/Stormlight Archives?
     
  34. The Blackfish

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    Have you read Malazan?
     
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  35. Squints

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    From someone who has read a lot of Sanderson recently, the Malazan series has been a refreshing change. Not that Sanderson was wearing on me by any means, just something different.
     
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  36. ukcats8

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    Have not. Just read a few reviews, most of which is a little concerning, but if it grabs my attention, could be something to last for a while. I read about 50-60 hours per month, with a good chunk of that traveling/driving. Good narration can be a deal breaker for me. Any reviews of Malazan on that medium?
     
  37. The Blackfish

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    I have not listened to the main series on audiobook, just some of his and Erikson’s side series, but they were good.

    The barrier to entry is high, you’re thrown right into the story with little information and left to figure it out for yourself as you read, however it is some of the best writing and most rewarding series around with hands down the best characters. It is my favorite fantasy series of all time by a decent margin.
     
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  38. MORBO!

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    I can attest to this. I started listening to it and got about an hour in and was like "I have no fucking clue about anything just happened." I had wondered if I wasn't paying close enough attention and needed to start it over. I did that...it still made little sense. I haven't picked it up again since then.

    Not trying to dissuade you, but that was just my experience so far.
     
  39. Name P. Redacted

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    Same, but I'd actually started to like the character's growth a bit and felt some sympathy. Stung a little bit.
     
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  40. MORBO!

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    The character had become much more likable over the course of that book.
     
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  41. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    I own the Malazan first book. Started it once at a time when I was distracted and not ready for it. Will be giving it another shot in the very near future.
     
  42. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Stormlight Book Four Update #3
    [​IMG]
    Time for another update on your book, everyone! If you missed the previous update, it can be found right here. This update will get into some nitty-gritty outlining and wordcount details, which some of you might find boring. (Just a fair warning.)

    Since the second update, I've indeed started into the book full-time. However, you might have noticed a little delay in the progress bar ticking up. This is because at the end of February (just before going to Hawaii) I decided that Starsight (Skyward Two) needed some more work.

    I requested that the publisher push that book back a couple of months (it's now scheduled for first week in December) as I did a medium-sized overhaul based on some decisions I'd made after reading the beta reader comments. I'm pleased to say that revision went really well, and Starsight is in excellent shape. It did put me a little behind on Stormlight Four, I'm afraid. Looking at my tracking spreadsheet (which I used to gauge how I'm moving along) when I started into Stormlight four first part of April, I was about 45k words behind. I'm moving at a good speed, and am about 42k words behind now, with about 15k words finished.

    This is merely a way of marking guideposts; I don't intend rush the story in order to meet arbitrary deadlines. This is partially me just trying to give you, and my publishers, an idea of when to expect the book. If I finish it by January 1st, the book can come out Christmas 2020. If I don't, we will probably have to nudge it back.

    For reference, one percent on my progress bar is 4k words, and I anticipate the final book being 400k words long. A lot could happen during the next year of writing--the book could go super long, like happened with Oathbringer. Or I could run into some serious plot problems, which require time to work out. (For example, I've already thrown away chapter one after doing a short reading of it at an earlier convention--trying again with a slightly different tone.)

    That said, I really like the new first chapter, and am now well into the fourth chapter. I promised you an update on the outline this time, and I'm looking at this book in a different way from the last two. As you may remember, I tend to plot each Stormlight book as if it were three volumes, combined together. (Along with a short story collection in the form of the interludes.)

    With books two and three, the outline divided the novels into "books" by section. Part one of Oathbringer, for example, was "book one" of my three-part outline. Rhythm of War, however, is plotted more like The Way of Kings--meaning the separate books in it are divided by viewpoints.

    In TwoK, Kaladin's complete arc was "book one" of my outline. Dalinar's was "book two" and Shallan's was "book three" with all of them being interwoven into the final product, and with Part Five being a capstone epilogue to them all. This novel is similar, though with more viewpoints.

    We have what I'm calling the Primary Arc, which focuses on four characters who are all together in one place, their plots interweaving. The Secondary Arc is three different characters, their arcs interweaving, but in a separate location from the primary arc. The Tertiary arc is the last two characters, in a third location.

    There will be ties between the three arcs, but the book will read a little more like TWoK than Oathbringer--with several separate stories that imply interesting things for one another, but which generally focus on their own goals. Book Five should, then, be an interweaving like Book Two or Book Three.

    That's the plan, anyway! I'm not 100% done with the outline yet, as I want to explore some viewpoints first to make sure everything is lining up the way I want.

    The next update probably won't be until mid summer, as I want to take a nice chunk of writing time to determine how things are progressing before I come back to talk here.

    Until then, please enjoy listening to the community playlist of favorite epic tracks that remind them of Stormlight. This is what came of the previous thread, where I asked for suggested music to listen to while I work on Book Four. I've been doing so, and am slowly cultivating a shorter list of my favorite tracks that I'll release at a later date. Thanks to /u/DevilsAndDust- and my assistant Adam for putting this together.
     
  43. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    He’s the best
     
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  44. ukcats8

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    Picked up Book 4 of Mistborn again. Didn't get into it the first time right after completing the original trilogy. With a year, maybe 2 of time between 3 and 4, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Different tone from the first 3, and surprisingly short. Gonna burn through these in a week or two if the rest of the books are similar length. Sort of had a Dresden feel tbh (comedic action?), which is a plus. Was worried how the magic system would translate to a more modern setting when I originally read the plot details, but should never have doubted Sanderson. Highly recommended. 7/10
     
  45. Fargin' Icehole

    Fargin' Icehole 50% soulless
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    Finished the 1st three not long ago and have been debating picking these up. Reluctant because I enjoyed the ending so much in the 1st three. I know it's different characters and in the future but still it finished so clean.
     
  46. ukcats8

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    Was the same way. Honestly, it's basically a spin-off. Same world and magic, but it's a vastly different story and feel from the first three (at least book 4 l, can't speak to the rest). I finished it in a couple of days.

    If you can get over the difference in tone, you'll love it. Same great magic system, but some new wrinkles. Action scenes are great. Characters are great.
     
  47. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    Wax and Wayne > Mistborn don’t @ me
     
  48. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Wax and Wayne books are awesome and will in no way shape or form ruin the ending of the original trilogy for you.
     
  49. BP

    BP Bout to Regulate.
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    How do I become a beta reader?
     
  50. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Post a dumptime level amount on his boards with quality posts and maybe you’ll get picked.

    One of the girls that does the Tor rereads for Stormlight got chosen that way. He acknowledged a ton of usernames “call signs” at the end of Skyward
     
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