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Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

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Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#31

Post by TylerE »

edgyquant wrote: post #21
m348e912 wrote: post #2

I hadn't heard of Brandon Sanderson until I went to a book store in Provo, Utah. He is a very much a big deal there and had two complete bookshelves dedicated to his work. He went to BYU so there is a local connection, but it caught me by surprise because I wasn't aware of his popularity.

He’s the Stephen King of Tolkien-rip off fantasy. He churns them out, sure, but I don’t consider the quality all that high.

Except King can actually write dialog that isn't 100% cringe.

Sanderson's refusal to have characters ever actually curse is just infuriating.

Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#32

Post by zargon »

veganjay wrote: post #13

First time hearing about this author - what's the hacker news angle here? From what I gather it is that: 1) he's a very popular sci-fi/fantasy writer, 2) it's an incredible amount of funding for a kickstarter campaign I'm genuinely interested - for someone new to his work, where is a good book to start? Edit: as mentioned in other comments: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/where-do-i-start/

An option no one has mentioned yet is Skyward. It's a "girl and her spaceship" type of story. It's how I got started down the Sanderson rabbit hole. Some may say it's it's not representative, as his first scifi work, but I think I got a better introduction to a more experienced Sanderson by starting there. (Without embarking on the 10-book series of thousand-page books, Stormlight Archive. Though there are also standalone cosmere novels that could work well, like Warbreaker.)

Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#33

Post by hannofcart »

TylerE wrote: post #31
edgyquant wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He’s the Stephen King of Tolkien-rip off fantasy. He churns them out, sure, but I don’t consider the quality all that high.

Except King can actually write dialog that isn't 100% cringe. Sanderson's refusal to have characters ever actually curse is just infuriating.

He uses "storming" as a proxy. :)

Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#34

Post by fredophile »

jonathan-adly wrote: post #26
veganjay wrote: post #13

First time hearing about this author - what's the hacker news angle here? From what I gather it is that: 1) he's a very popular sci-fi/fantasy writer, 2) it's an incredible amount of funding for a kickstarter campaign I'm genuinely interested - for someone new to his work, where is a good book to start? Edit: as mentioned in other comments: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/where-do-i-start/

I would start with the stormlight archive series. Honestly, I think when it’s all said and done, that series would overtake LOTR in its cultural significance. It already surpassed a song of ice and fire (game of thrones).

I'd disagree and recommend the mistborn books as a better starting point. The mistborn trilogy is finished. You can buy all three books today. The stormlight archive is not.

Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#35

Post by edgyquant »

TylerE wrote: post #31
edgyquant wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He’s the Stephen King of Tolkien-rip off fantasy. He churns them out, sure, but I don’t consider the quality all that high.

Except King can actually write dialog that isn't 100% cringe. Sanderson's refusal to have characters ever actually curse is just infuriating.

I wasn’t saying King and his are the same quality, just that the speed of writing is similar. With that said King writes his fair share of cringe dialogue.

Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#36

Post by edgyquant »

lolinder wrote: post #29
edgyquant wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He’s the Stephen King of Tolkien-rip off fantasy. He churns them out, sure, but I don’t consider the quality all that high.

> Tolkien-rip off fantasy You're free to dislike the books, but this is an extremely unfair characterization. Sanderson's books bear very little resemblance to Tolkien's beyond the genre and the elaborate nature of the worldbuilding.

It’s not unfair. The genre he writes is a genre of Tolkien ripoffs of which he is the most prolific.

Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#37

Post by lolinder »

eduardosalaz wrote: post #20
abakker wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And given how bad some of the later books like Alloy of Law are compared to the original misborn? Some of the b reel books are terrible.

What did you dislike about Alloy of Law?

Not OP, but it felt less polished to me than his others. Part of it was also that he was intentionally tweaking his style for the series (inspired by pulp Westerns). No dramatic difference, but enough to be slightly off.

Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#38

Post by jimbob45 »

m348e912 wrote: post #2

I hadn't heard of Brandon Sanderson until I went to a book store in Provo, Utah. He is a very much a big deal there and had two complete bookshelves dedicated to his work. He went to BYU so there is a local connection, but it caught me by surprise because I wasn't aware of his popularity.

https://youtu.be/-6HOdHEeosc

He teaches at BYU as well (still).

Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#39

Post by TylerE »

hannofcart wrote: post #33
TylerE wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except King can actually write dialog that isn't 100% cringe. Sanderson's refusal to have characters ever actually curse is just infuriating.

He uses "storming" as a proxy. :)

Yes, and it reads like something a prudish 60 year old would write for 5 year olds.

Re: Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

#40

Post by lolinder »

edgyquant wrote: post #36
lolinder wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tolkien-rip off fantasy You're free to dislike the books, but this is an extremely unfair characterization. Sanderson's books bear very little resemblance to Tolkien's beyond the genre and the elaborate nature of the worldbuilding.

It’s not unfair. The genre he writes is a genre of Tolkien ripoffs of which he is the most prolific.

If you're including Game of Thrones and Wheel of Time, then I guess Sanderson broadly falls into that same category. I'd hardly label any of them "rip-offs", though, especially given that there are books out there blatantly ripping off Tolkien right down to elves, dwarves and halflings.
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