The Pick of the Litter
Entry posted by Nehex
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I come into contact with a lot of people who are looking for a good book. Of course, being the nerd I am, Brandon immediately comes to mind, and I recommend him to most everyone I meet. Many of those people go on to start their own pockets of nerdom, finding a new passion in Brandon’s books. It’s always fun for my friends and I to discuss which book is our favorite. My answer has always been the same: Mistborn.
I love Mistborn as a series, and tend to treat it like one big book with three parts, rather than three books. There are so many things about Mistborn that I will always love.
For a long while before I picked up Brandon, I had given up on finding any good fantasy books. I’d had some recommended to me, and I had found a few on my own, but none of them really struck a chord with me. I’d pick it up, but I wouldn’t ultimately feel any connection with the characters. The settings were always boring and stale. The plot was contrived and predictable. The magic was flat and unimaginative. I mostly spent most of my time reading the same few books over and over again.
True, my Brandon obsession started with Elantris, but there were problems with Elantris. The pacing in the first half was dreadfully slow, and Raoden was, perhaps, too heroic. I enjoyed the book overall, but there were things about it that bothered me. The Devil’s in the details, as they say.
Then, in 2006, I found what I was looking for.
I picked up Mistborn because I loved Elantris, and hoped that it would shine a light into the realm of fantasy that I thought was lost. It did not disappoint. I couldn’t guess where the plot would go. The magic was brilliant and cohesive. The characters were real and relatable. There were just so many things that clicked and brought back a life I once thought dead.
I felt a real, visceral connection with this book, and with the characters. I tend to get sucked into a book when I read it, but with a lot of books, the fascination dies down after a couple weeks after I’ve finished it. I couldn’t get Mistborn out of my head. Before long, I kept thinking of all kinds of fun things I could do with Allomancy. I still fantasize about leaping off tall buildings, pewter dragging through busy downtown streets, or of Pushing my way to work on the freeway, using cars and traffic signs as anchors.
In the end, I like to think that having read Mistborn has been a positive influence in my own life. It’s made me be more inventive in my own writing, and I’ve learned to be a better writer because of it. I’ve met a lot of awesome people in the fandom, and strengthened existing friendships by sharing Mistborn.
What about you? What is your favorite Brandon book and why?
Until the flame dies down,
Austin
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