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That is simple and good. I love all the ouroboros imagery in the series; one of the big themes that drew me to it.
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Dec 17, 2018 15:57
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All my books have this cover, they vary only in their color. It's very cool.
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Dec 17, 2018 16:08
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Ya'll don't know nothing about lovely book covers if you did not read the LOTR early 90s paparbacks:  Just finished Words of Radiance, starting Oathbringer. So, do all of Sanderson's books have 400-800 pages of somewhat boring setup followed by a frantic fast paced final 1/3rd? It's hard to come off of the end of Radiance into the start Oathbringer, as it was hard to do with WOTK -> WOR. Anyone else have this issue?
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Dec 17, 2018 18:41
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spandexcajun posted:Ya'll don't know nothing about lovely book covers if you did not read the LOTR early 90s paparbacks: Yeah, the last 1/3 of his books are usually called the Sanderson Avalanche. He’s aware of it as a shortcoming, and while it’s not completely gone, he’s gotten much better.
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Dec 17, 2018 18:46
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It used to be more of a 90/10% thing. Its probably why he was well suited to WoT, since he's generally better at ending books than starting them.
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Dec 17, 2018 18:50
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Proteus Jones posted:Yeah, the last 1/3 of his books are usually called the Sanderson Avalanche. He’s aware of it as a shortcoming, and while it’s not completely gone, he’s gotten much better. i've seen interviews where he talks about how the Stormlight books are each structured as a "trilogy" internally, and I think Oathbringer was actually the best at this so far and maybe the first book he's avoided the standard avalanche. The emotional climax is really at the end of the second part, with them terribly failing in Kholinar and having to flee in a very Empire Strikes Back way. Cool big things do happen later, but it felt more like the good guys finally getting their poo poo together rather than having big plot dumps.
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Dec 17, 2018 20:31
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Sanderson has definitely been getting better at putting smaller climaxes throughout his books, and he (in his usual workmanlike way) tends to leverage them to raise the stakes or flip things on their heads. It's on its best display in the Stormlight books, which are long enough to give him room to really set up the dominoes. But it's still there in the later Wax/Wayne books and you can see him trying (but not really succeeding) at doing it in Skyward. Skyward was just too short.
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Dec 17, 2018 20:44
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I love the Sanderson Avalanches. Literally the only author who has legit given me an adrenaline rush reading the last 10% of a book. He makes it come together so so well.
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Dec 18, 2018 01:41
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I prefer the term Sanderstorm, personally  And yea I love it too.
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Dec 18, 2018 02:48
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spandexcajun posted:Ya'll don't know nothing about lovely book covers if you did not read the LOTR early 90s paparbacks: Man my family had this edition of the book growing up, brings back memories. spandexcajun posted:
I've seen a lot of people bringing this up and I don't really get it. In each book I thought the setup was absolutely great (with minor exceptions of course... Like the flashbacks of Kaladin as a kid), the world building, the details of the characters and the scenarios, they brought such vibrance to the story, and anticipation for what was coming. Like, in book 1 the teasing and buildup of the characters almost meeting, waiting desperately for Kaladin and Dalinar to meet, waiting for Dalinar and Jasnah to find out about Kaladin being a radiant, etc. The brief interaction between Kaladin and Adolin earlier in the book served as such a good tease to the reader. I guess in a way I can see how that would be frustrating to someone but it provided such great buildup along with the great backdrop of the rich and detailed world, by the time the climax came it was one of the most intense and exciting I had ever read. Once I reached the end of the book I was dying to tell anyone near me about how crazy and rewarding it was. My poor GF had to listen to me talk about it for days because I couldn't stop thinking about it. Someone brought up the mini-trilogy aspect of Oathbringer with the battle at kholinar but ironically I thought that section was out of place. Maybe because it so closely followed the very weak section at the spiritual realm? Despite that, Oathbringer is probably my favorite of the series. Between the deep back story and the jaw dropping finale it was really something incredible.
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Dec 18, 2018 05:40
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Apparently Brandon's outline originally had Amaram dying at the end of WoR, and Sadeas surviving. I feel like that might have been a stronger choice and he shouldn't have second-guessed it.
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Dec 18, 2018 07:02
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Sadeas' death was unexpected and, and it was wonderful the way it happened, but the fallout was weak.
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Dec 18, 2018 07:06
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The climax of Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning have such great emotional hit. Shadows of Self came out of nowhere for me, and the next book tied it up nicely with the conflict with Wax and Harmony.
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Dec 18, 2018 08:11
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ConfusedUs posted:Sadeas' death was unexpected and, and it was wonderful the way it happened, but the fallout was weak. Agreed. That was a huge moment, and the instant it happened your mind jumped to all the potential consequences that could result, creating a lot of tension. Then.... there weren't really any consequences at all. P.S. you should probably spoiler that, I know most of us have read these books but not everyone has! I first came to this thread after finishing book 1 and was very worried about hitting spoilers like that.
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Dec 18, 2018 09:38
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The general rule in the Book Barn is that you don't need to use spoilers for books which have been out for more than 6 months. We're currently using spoilers for the later WoT books because at least two active posters are in the process of reading them. But they came in here and told us that they were about to do so. We similarly used spoilers when you first came to this thread after reading WoK, but again, that was just a natural courtesy. Basically, you should not be surprised to read spoilers for older books in the general thread of an author. This is a space to discuss these books, and it makes little sense to use spoilers for a book that has been out for half a decade already. People worried about spoilers need to do what you or Sab669 did and tell us that you're new to the thread and haven't read/listened to certain books. Then we'll happily use spoilers. But I think it's unreasonable to be unable to openly discuss the events in a five year old book.
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Dec 18, 2018 11:09
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I call this cover "Moiraine Sedai has had enough of your poo poo today." (alternatively, "Matrim Cauthon rediscovers short jokes in this turning of the wheel.") rndmnmbr fucked around with this message at 11:17 on Dec 18, 2018 |
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Dec 18, 2018 11:13
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Is there a Dresden Files thread? I have a theory I would like to discuss/ ask about
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Dec 19, 2018 15:56
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RC Cola posted:Is there a Dresden Files thread? I have a theory I would like to discuss/ ask about Yes.
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Dec 19, 2018 15:59
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Thank you. I saw people with Dresden Files avatars and hoped. You are amazing. Here is a dog. 
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Dec 19, 2018 16:14
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New State of the Sanderson dropped today. Short version: Skyward squeakual coming out late next year (already written, needs revision). Then it's on ice for 1-2 years to allow for Stormlight and Mistborn 2:4 to come out. Skyward Trilogy to balloon out and become a Quadrilogy, to the surprise of no one. Stormlight 4 and 5 to be outlined starting...now. He's done a bunch of plot swaps and needs to track out where everything will fall for the last two books of this half of the arc. Most of next year is devoted to Stormlight 4, with tentative release date of November 2020. Final Wax/Wayne novel slipped due to the MtG story eating up his planned "free time" so he'll try to squeeze it in sometime in 2019 for 2020 release. 2019 may only have 1-2 books/stories released from him. 2020 similar, but they'll be Big Ones. Latter half of 2020 will pick up Skyward and maybe Rithmatist. Apoc Guard is getting bounced off another author for concept/story review. Maybe some day. The Necromancer Pizzaguy story is getting made. Only he's dropping the pizza aspect. White Sand graphic novel 3 due out next year. No novelization planned but he may mess around with Taldain for other stories. Bunch of rumination on Movie/TV optioning. Basically his material is in shopping hell. The WoT series is filming and has been consulting with him off and on.
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Dec 19, 2018 22:59
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OAquinas posted:
Every time I hear about this one, I want to see it more. I love the switch from pizza dudes to metalheads.
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Dec 19, 2018 23:03
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OAquinas posted:The Necromancer Pizzaguy story is getting made. Only he's dropping the pizza aspect. good news quote:My agent once told me that about 1 out of 30 of the properties he saw get optioned eventually got made into a film or show. An option is absolutely an important step, but a lot of times fans see an option agreement in place and start expecting a film any day—when really, this is just the first exploratory step in the process he'll be up to 30 in like.. a year, at this rate
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Dec 19, 2018 23:16
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OAquinas posted:New State of the Sanderson dropped today. Squeakual isn't actually a word
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Dec 20, 2018 23:31
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mewse posted:Squeakual isn't actually a word I guess we're fighting then.
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Dec 21, 2018 00:24
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OAquinas posted:I guess we're fighting then. I'm actual real fuckin mad he called it "Starsight" and not "Skyward Squeakual"
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Dec 21, 2018 01:05
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So Stormlight 4 will realistically come out sometime in 2021. That's less than three years away at this point, and I'm fine with that. I'm a little bit unhappy that the MtG novel ate up time marked for The Lost Metal. I really want to know how the Wax & Wayne books end!  I still haven't read White Sand 2, I'll probably do it shortly before WS 3 gets released. Overall, there are no big surprises. He's still a machine, and I really appreciate all the work he's doing.
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Dec 21, 2018 08:17
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I look forward to reading the Magic novel, but yea - W&W obviously would have been cooler  But between WoT and slowly plinking away at Skyward, this just gives me more time to re-read Mistborn Era 2 before the last book comes out. (Lets face it: and I'll probably want to re-read Era 1 too)I must have skipped the "Death By/Without Pizza" stuff if he's talked about it in the past, but after reading about it in this post I'm all aboard that train. As a metalhead I'm really curious what kinds of people he talked to (what subgrenes of metal  )
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Dec 21, 2018 14:20
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20 Hours into Crossroads of Twilighty; 6 hours left. It's certainly not Great but I don't think it's any worse than the last 3 books. Egwene ever so slowly inching towards Tar Valon. Elaida learned the rebels can travel so she's feeling less confident about her position.
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Dec 26, 2018 18:53
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If it's your first read I guess it's ok to actually read that book and Knife of Dreams completely. On my current reread I started skipping most of the Egwene and Elayne chapters and all Perrin ones since Winter's Heart. The fun is watching the mental things Rand and the silly things Mat do.
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Dec 27, 2018 03:36
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Did anyone go back and read mistborn 1/2/3 AFTER reading secret history? It seems like the scenes with the ghostly figure would make a lot more sense after knowing what was going on with Kelsier in the spiritual realm
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Dec 27, 2018 03:59
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Tahirovic posted:If it's your first read I guess it's ok to actually read that book and Knife of Dreams completely. On my current reread I started skipping most of the Egwene and Elayne chapters and all Perrin ones since Winter's Heart. Am I in the minority, having read the series multiple times while waiting for Jordan to finish the series? I started sometime in 2003 or 2004 and have read the series over at least once a year since until the last book was written.
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Dec 27, 2018 07:32
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mewse posted:Did anyone go back and read mistborn 1/2/3 AFTER reading secret history? It seems like the scenes with the ghostly figure would make a lot more sense after knowing what was going on with Kelsier in the spiritual realm Yes, and it did. It was also much more satisfying instead of frustrating.
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Dec 27, 2018 16:43
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The Gardenator posted:Am I in the minority, having read the series multiple times while waiting for Jordan to finish the series? I started sometime in 2003 or 2004 and have read the series over at least once a year since until the last book was written. I've also reread the books a number of times. We're probably in the minority. At least I was lucky enough that I "only" had to wait for the Sanderson books to come out. But it was really devastating when Jordan died 
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Dec 27, 2018 17:47
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mewse posted:Did anyone go back and read mistborn 1/2/3 AFTER reading secret history? It seems like the scenes with the ghostly figure would make a lot more sense after knowing what was going on with Kelsier in the spiritual realm Ahem, excuse me, I believe you mean the cognitive realm? And yeah it's super cool knowing that behind the scenes stuff. Makes you wonder if that was his plan all along or if he spun it out because of what I assume is Kelsier's position as favorite character in the series.
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Dec 27, 2018 17:54
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The Gardenator posted:Am I in the minority, having read the series multiple times while waiting for Jordan to finish the series? I started sometime in 2003 or 2004 and have read the series over at least once a year since until the last book was written. I did the same. So maybe not minority
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Dec 28, 2018 07:18
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SynthesisAlpha posted:Ahem, excuse me, I believe you mean the cognitive realm? It's possible that Sanderson expanded Kelsier's role when it became apparent that he was a fan favorite. But in Hero of Ages, somebody gave Spook the message he sent to Vin (don't trust anybody pierced by metal), and Spook thought it was the real Kelsier this time. Ruin very much wanted to know what kind of message it was, and used Marsh to intercept it. So it wasn't Ruin, but who else could it have been? And Sazed himself wrote that making Spook a full Mistborn was Kelsier's idea.
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Dec 28, 2018 09:13
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Torrannor posted:It's possible that Sanderson expanded Kelsier's role when it became apparent that he was a fan favorite. But in Hero of Ages, somebody gave Spook the message he sent to Vin (don't trust anybody pierced by metal), and Spook thought it was the real Kelsier this time. Ruin very much wanted to know what kind of message it was, and used Marsh to intercept it. So it wasn't Ruin, but who else could it have been? I've gone through the series twice now, and I really should take notes (or look up the notes of someone who already did the work). My impression is that while Sanderson did leave some gaps to be filled in at a later date, there are other elements that seem completely retconned to make things fit together. For instance, the mist spirit's motivations seemed pretty clear by the end of Well of Ascension, but he had to change it so that sometimes the mist spirit was Preservation, but other times it was actually Ruin. The same thing happened the mist spirit Vin sees in the last book (or maybe she only senses it with bronze?), which I recall being sorta pointless, but it then ("oh well it was Kelsier loving around, and then also Ruin loving around pretending to be him"). I can't remember if it's in Hero of Ages or Secret History that it's established that Preservation can hear people's thoughts, and Ruin can speak to people's minds (the latter of which isn't well supported by the text always, where Ruin seems to know exactly what Vin's thinking. But this is partially "explained" by Vin recognizing she is also having delusions of her brother not caused by Ruin, but it's a lovely explanation). But this does give justification for Kelsier (who somehow can communicate to people via Connection to them, and possibly his connection to Ruin) being the one to whisper to Vin a few times, and also to pass a message to Spook.I actually can't remember if the outcome of spook's message (ie, it being read only by Marsh and Ruin) is alluded to at all in Hero of Ages, so even that might be another unecessary expansion by Sanderson.
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Dec 28, 2018 09:55
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Also, I just read that the Lord Ruler's arm bracers were apparently supposed to be hemalurgic spikes too (based on confirmation from Brandon, unless people are misunderstanding his responses, or unless they were transcribed incorrectly). Since those spikes were responsible for "his most dramatic effects", I wonder if that will ever be explained, since Rashek is basically irrelevant at this point in the story.
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Dec 28, 2018 10:00
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So I read the Mistborn and Stormlight books and found them really good but the overarching mythos is kinda beyond me. Like, I gathered from the random snippets of dialogue between chapters that Odium used to just be some dude but nothing more than that. But apparently Odium is the same thing as Ruin and Preservation and there were a bunch of others, too. I've learned more from various posts online than these books which were really good but "self-contained" stories if you get my meaning. What do I need to read to learn about the Cosmere or whatnot? There's Arcanum Unbounded I found on Audible so that's good for me and my lovely eyesight. How about Warbreaker?
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Dec 28, 2018 19:41
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NikkolasKing posted:So I read the Mistborn and Stormlight books and found them really good but the overarching mythos is kinda beyond me. Like, I gathered from the random snippets of dialogue between chapters that Odium used to just be some dude but nothing more than that. But apparently Odium is the same thing as Ruin and Preservation and there were a bunch of others, too. I've learned more from various posts online than these books which were really good but "self-contained" stories if you get my meaning. All of Sanderson's works (unless they happen on Earth or reference Earth) are part of the "Cosmere," a shared universe. Sanderson has deliberately made this all kind of obtuse because he doesn't want to build a dependency chain where people have to read ALL of his works to make sense of one of them. Think of it more like a big Easter egg for turbonerds than anything required. The basic story is that, a long time ago, a bunch of people killed God and took parts of his power. They became demigods, (known in-universe as "Shards") with a portfolio centered around the power they absconded with. Ruin, Preservation, and Odium are all Shards. The various magic systems in play around the Cosmere are (almost) all related to/caused by/a side-effect of one or more Shards. There are three main ways to figure out Cosmere stuff from the books themselves: The various appendixes in the books are all written by an in-universe scholar and provide some insight. A guy named Hoid appears in most Cosmere books (he's Wit in Stormlight) and is another worldhopper with an agenda of his own; any chapter with this guy touches on the Cosmere in some way. Arcanum Unbounded has a bunch of forwards written by this same scholar, and is the best source of Cosmere lore. There's also a wiki called "Coppermind" where people have pieced it all together for you.
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Dec 28, 2018 19:57
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