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computer parts posted:I liked it, but I personally found the mystery of "why did the power go away" to be sufficiently captivating, along with the whole "guy tortured about his faith" angle. "Why did the power go away" is definitely what's keeping me reading, and I really like Raoden's storyline. It's definitely slower-paced and more awkwardly-written than Sanderson's later stuff though.
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# ? May 10, 2013 20:16 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 03:19 |
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The Puppy Bowl posted:Just finished my first reading of WoK and I'm pretty sure that is just foreshadowing something that will be revealed in a later book. I felt pretty much the same way about Sanderson and the book. It took quite a bit of effort not to skip Shallan's bits because they were kind of...embarrassing to read if it makes sense. Picturing someone saying those lines was just an awkward scene in my mind. I think Sanderson did a good job with Wit though, if only because he was less witty and more just openly an rear end to everyone. I also felt really stupid because I was way, way too excited about that bit in the end. I felt like a little kid watching professional wrestling going "C'MON! GO BACK! GO BACK!" the entire time.
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# ? May 10, 2013 20:19 |
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For Elantris, it's more about which two plot threads you like and which one you hate.
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# ? May 10, 2013 20:33 |
Hrathen is a cool-rear end dude.
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# ? May 10, 2013 22:12 |
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I liked Hrathen's, as a mormon it was very obviously inspired by Sanderson's experience as a missionary in Korea and probably more generally informed by knowledge of church history.
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# ? May 10, 2013 23:38 |
veekie posted:For Elantris, it's more about which two plot threads you like and which one you hate. Raoden and Hrathen are awesome. Princess what's her face? Not so much.
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# ? May 10, 2013 23:58 |
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Sherringford posted:I felt pretty much the same way about Sanderson and the book. It took quite a bit of effort not to skip Shallan's bits because they were kind of...embarrassing to read if it makes sense. Picturing someone saying those lines was just an awkward scene in my mind. I think Sanderson did a good job with Wit though, if only because he was less witty and more just openly an rear end to everyone. I also felt really stupid because I was way, way too excited about that bit in the end. I felt like a little kid watching professional wrestling going "C'MON! GO BACK! GO BACK!" the entire time. I'm not sure, but I kind of get the feeling that nobody else in universe finds Shallan as witty as she thinks she is. I think Jasnath basically says at one point 'you're trying to be witty, but you suck at it, stop it'.
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# ? May 11, 2013 00:53 |
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Cicero posted:It's a part of the shardverse (and on the same planet as the excellent The Emperor's Soul) so just slog through. DO IT.
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# ? May 11, 2013 01:57 |
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Tunicate posted:I'm not sure, but I kind of get the feeling that nobody else in universe finds Shallan as witty as she thinks she is. I think Jasnath basically says at one point 'you're trying to be witty, but you suck at it, stop it'. Also it's very heavily implied (or at least I thought so) that the earlier comments from sailors and the like on her wit is just brown nosing because she's a lighteyes or aryan-noble or whatevs.
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# ? May 11, 2013 02:01 |
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Tunicate posted:I'm not sure, but I kind of get the feeling that nobody else in universe finds Shallan as witty as she thinks she is. I think Jasnath basically says at one point 'you're trying to be witty, but you suck at it, stop it'. I thought so too, but then Sanderson went on to say that he had a lot of fun writing Shallan's witticisms during a podcast(I think it was this podcast but I can't be sure. I'm pretty sure the podcast itself warns about this, but it's probably worth noting it has a few spoilers in it.) and the tone he used gave me the impression he actually thought she was funny. I could be remembering the podcast wrong though(my computer doesn't seem too keen on working properly today so I can't check) so maybe you're right. Hopeford fucked around with this message at 02:17 on May 11, 2013 |
# ? May 11, 2013 02:01 |
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Elantris is hamstrung by Brandon's triptych plotting. Like you'll get really invested in one thread and then have to wait two chapters to get back to it. But the novella, the Emperor's Soul, takes place on the same planet and there are things you may pick up only if you've read the original. Not that it doesn't stand alone of course.
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# ? May 11, 2013 02:53 |
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Xachariah posted:Also it's very heavily implied (or at least I thought so) that the earlier comments from sailors and the like on her wit is just brown nosing because she's a lighteyes or aryan-noble or whatevs. What I think he was trying for was that those people just don't have much of a sense of humor/wit, but what actually happened was that Shallan(and Sanderson by extension) was really bad at being funny.
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# ? May 11, 2013 03:21 |
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veekie posted:What I think he was trying for was that those people just don't have much of a sense of humor/wit, but what actually happened was that Shallan(and Sanderson by extension) was really bad at being funny. I dunno, most of Chapter 29 is Jasnah starting with "You often seem to say the first passably clever thing that enters your mind," then telling Shallan to try to think before just blurting out inappropriate and 'clever' comments. That said I actually liked the lightsong segments in warbreaker, so I might not entirely be the best person to judge this.
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# ? May 11, 2013 03:31 |
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Yeah but Jasnah also acknowledges that Shallan's commentary is clever. Just inappropriate(and that she should work to be clever while being appropriate).
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# ? May 11, 2013 03:34 |
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Fezz posted:Elantris is hamstrung by Brandon's triptych plotting. Like you'll get really invested in one thread and then have to wait two chapters to get back to it. I had this problem the first time I read The Hero of Ages--I didn't give a drat about Spook or Elend (when he wasn't with Vin) and was annoyed every time I turned a page and saw I was about to read a Spook Chapter or Elend Chapter. I think I just have a very low tolerance for angstiness. I don't mind it nearly as much on re-reads, though, probably because now I know it all ties together nicely and those chapters actually are somewhat important. I also really enjoyed Lightsong even though Sanderson's sense of humor generally annoys me to no end. There was just something appreciable about how he was openly being a jackass and doing so with a point. Sanderson seems fond of the rear end in a top hat With a Heart of Gold type of character.
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# ? May 11, 2013 03:52 |
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Someone in this thread described it best for me, Lightsong was the god of dad humor. I hosed loved that character's cheesy as jokes but there might be something wrong with me.
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# ? May 11, 2013 16:04 |
Clinton1011 posted:Someone in this thread described it best for me, Lightsong was the god of dad humor. I hosed loved that character's cheesy as jokes but there might be something wrong with me. Lightsong gets a pass because he knows his jokes are terrible. He revels in how bad he is. Shallan thinks she's funny, and people treat her like she's funny. But she's more awkward than anything. Lightsong, though? He's horrid, and the only people not rolling their eyes at his "jokes" are the priests. Lightsong spends the entire book trolling the other gods, the priests, the servants, basically everyone in his life. And the humor comes from the irony that most of these people are too wrapped up in dogma to recognize his trolling, and treat it as prophecy. So yes, he's funny in a "dad humor" sort of way, but the real humor is in the irony. Shallan is just shallow, flighty, and awkward in comparison.
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# ? May 11, 2013 16:13 |
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Shallan's been sheltered all her life and is what, 19? Less? I expect her to be awkward, shallow and flighty. She's not likeable, but inasmuch as that was book 1 of 10 I don't think she's really supposed to be. It was an introduction to a character that's marked for development. I wish there was somewhere that offered Stormlight Archives betting lines because I would load up on Adolin's going to die well before the series is over.
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# ? May 11, 2013 17:32 |
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Eric the Mauve posted:Shallan's been sheltered all her life and is what, 19? Less? I expect her to be awkward, shallow and flighty. She's not likeable, but inasmuch as that was book 1 of 10 I don't think she's really supposed to be. It was an introduction to a character that's marked for development. really? My money is elsewhere but nearby. Cicero posted:I liked Hrathen's, as a mormon it was very obviously inspired by Sanderson's experience as a missionary in Korea and probably more generally informed by knowledge of church history. I must've missed the "convert or die" portion of training at the MTC Raoden is by far my favorite story in Elantris, followed by Hrathen, whatever her face is "okay" and only picks up towards the end the crazy Jiskari Mysteries cult thing is pretty cool Raoden's pay off is worth the book though
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# ? May 11, 2013 17:49 |
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treeboy posted:really? My money is elsewhere but nearby. I view that as a given, pretty much. The point is it seems obvious to me that Renarin is being set up to be a major character with basically a Male Siri (ignored non-heir child suddenly thrust into the heir's responsiblities) flavor of development.
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# ? May 11, 2013 18:15 |
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treeboy posted:I must've missed the "convert or die" portion of training at the MTC To be fair, it's more "convert or we'll do it for you posthumously". Ah, good ol' Mormon antics.
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# ? May 11, 2013 20:03 |
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Eric the Mauve posted:I view that as a given, pretty much. The point is it seems obvious to me that Renarin is being set up to be a major character with basically a Male Siri (ignored non-heir child suddenly thrust into the heir's responsiblities) flavor of development. Yeah, I've had this impression as well. Either that, or Dalinar and all his family will get separated in some way soon. If only because if Adolin, Kaladin, and Dalinar (and Renarin and Moash) are all in one fight, Sanderson will have too much trouble showing how cool each one is without one getting overshadowed and without making the fight take way too long. So, if I could bet, I'd bet on there being troubles in Dalinar's home country soon and that some (but not all) of the protagonists will go back home.
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# ? May 11, 2013 20:26 |
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The Puppy Bowl posted:Shardverse? Does that have something to do with The Stormlight Archives? Yeah, the majority of Sanderson's world and magic systems are set in one giant universe and the magic systems in each book come from shards. He has a character who is present/mentioned in each one of his books and is part of an overarching theme. So basically all of his book series are introductions to his giant cosmere one in however many years, if I'm right.
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# ? May 11, 2013 21:36 |
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drat, I saw 30 new posts and had hoped they had announced a publication date for Stormlight 2
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# ? May 12, 2013 05:44 |
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^^^^Sorry, that has to be pretty disapointing. I just read up on the Shardverse and it seems neat as a kind of wink/nod to his longtime fans but if interaction between the world's of his different series ever became a significant plot that could be real bad.
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# ? May 12, 2013 08:28 |
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Aside from the recurring character, there's an entire sub-chapter of Way of Kings involving a group of travelers from other Cosmere settings.
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# ? May 12, 2013 14:21 |
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The Glumslinger posted:drat, I saw 30 new posts and had hoped they had announced a publication date for Stormlight 2 The first draft is 83% finished so we'll probably see a release date by the end of the month.
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# ? May 12, 2013 15:21 |
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The Puppy Bowl posted:^^^^Sorry, that has to be pretty disapointing. Well, look at it this way: by the time he gets around to writing anything heavily cosmere-crossing, he'll have written like 20 more books by then. Compare Sanderson now to Sanderson in Elantris. That was about 20 books ago. If anyone will be able to pull off something like that by then, it'll be Sanderson.
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# ? May 12, 2013 15:48 |
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Clockwork Gadget posted:Well, look at it this way: by the time he gets around to writing anything heavily cosmere-crossing, he'll have written like 20 more books by then. Compare Sanderson now to Sanderson in Elantris. That was about 20 books ago. If anyone will be able to pull off something like that by then, it'll be Sanderson. Yeah... there are some hints the 'mistborn in space' trilogy will start a lot of meeting up with other shardworlds, and that's scheduled for... let's see... Rithmatist is coming out in like two days Steelheart comes out September, and it's the first in the (non-cosmere) trilogy, so three books there. Words of Radiance (October/November) Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Short Story in the Dangerous Women Anthology )- May 2014 Then the dialogue for Mistborn: Birthright... again in 2014 Alcatraz 5 sometime in 2014 Elantris II sometime in 2015 Shadows of Self (Alloy of Law Sequel) sometime around then. Then there's Nightblood (warbreaker II) 8 more Stormlight Archive novels, the second mistborn trilogy (set between stormlight 5 and 6), and probably a reworking of some of the other Cosmere novel drafts like Silence Divine or Liar of Partinel... and there will obviously be noncosmere stuff interspersed in that... So that's what, 23 books we can guarantee will come out before the crossovers start happening as part of the plot? I think the original plan was for 38 books total in the shard universe, but stuff like Alloy of Law and Emperor's Soul seem to be pretty organic and spontaneous, so I'm not sure they count. But yeah Sanderson is like the Rock Lee of novel writing.
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# ? May 12, 2013 18:43 |
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The Puppy Bowl posted:^^^^Sorry, that has to be pretty disapointing.
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# ? May 12, 2013 18:49 |
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treeboy posted:I must've missed the "convert or die" portion of training at the MTC
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# ? May 12, 2013 21:38 |
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Tunicate posted:Yeah... there are some hints the 'mistborn in space' trilogy will start a lot of meeting up with other shardworlds, and that's scheduled for... let's see... Jesus, I never really realized how many books he has already written and intends to write. Its unreal
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# ? May 12, 2013 22:47 |
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The Glumslinger posted:Jesus, I never really realized how many books he has already written and intends to write. Brandon does not eat or sleep, he lives off of printer ink and Magic cards.
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# ? May 13, 2013 00:05 |
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Don't forget, Sanderson's take on Young Adult, The Rithamatist, releases on Kindle tonight! http://www.amazon.com/The-Rithmatist-ebook/dp/B00AJGNICW Amazon.com posted:From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson: his debut novel for the young adult audience Reviews posted:“The Rithmatist, while it’s definitely as clear and exciting as a YA novel should be, is every bit as deep and richly invented as the best of Sanderson’s adult novels…. Sanderson at his best, for adults and young readers alike.”—Orson Scott Card, New York Times bestselling author of Ender’s Game You can also preorder his next book, Steelheart, which release on September 24th. http://www.amazon.com/Steelheart-ebook/dp/B00ARHAAZ6/ Amazon.com posted:From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson, comes the first book in a new, action-packed thrill ride of a series—Steelheart.
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# ? May 13, 2013 23:39 |
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Went to Amazon to preorder but Amazon said that I already preordered them, back in February! Feels like I'm getting free books.
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# ? May 14, 2013 00:54 |
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I just finished the Rithmatist (no spoilers) and I have to say that the 16 year-olds act a lot more like 8-11 year olds. I'm not thinking that YA is going to be Sanderson's wheelhouse, which doesn't make me have a lot of confidence in Steelheart.
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# ? May 14, 2013 11:43 |
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But a lot of 16 year olds do act like 12 year olds.
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# ? May 14, 2013 11:59 |
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Recommendation? No recommendation? Was this the one where he was inspired by pro Starcraft?
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# ? May 14, 2013 12:00 |
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Superstring posted:Recommendation? No recommendation? I don't know about the Starcraft thing. I would personally rate it pretty low on the Sanderson scale. If you had a problem with the "Press A B B A A+B down down" aspect of parts of the Way of Kings and Mistborn, you are going to hate the poo poo out of this book.
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# ? May 14, 2013 12:56 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 03:19 |
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navyjack posted:I just finished the Rithmatist (no spoilers) and I have to say that the 16 year-olds act a lot more like 8-11 year olds. I'm not thinking that YA is going to be Sanderson's wheelhouse, which doesn't make me have a lot of confidence in Steelheart. Which kinda makes sense since it's aimed at the 5th-7th grade, same as his other YA series, Alcatraz.
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# ? May 14, 2013 13:34 |