Unpopular Brandon Sanderson Opinions

[+Ark1002]

Ooh, I think I know my least popular of opinions.

Kaladin is lame. He's boring as a character, he's annoying to other characters, and just generally about as interesting as a rock. But not Rock. Rock is very much more interesting then Kaladin.

[DramaQueen]

15 hours ago, I Used To Be A Fish said:

Yay! *Goes and starts club*

Did you actually? Or should I go do that?

You know, I should probably add some unpopular opinions.

I really like Elantris, especially Raoden and Sarene's relationship development. 

Wax should be with Marasi. I found the Wax/Steris/Marasi thing to be almost like a gender swap of Shallan/Adolin/Kaladin. An arranged marriage, a small section of romance against the arrangement, then returning to the arrangement, "falling in love" with the person they were going to be forced to marry anyway.

[I Am A Fish]

23 minutes ago, DramaQueen said:

Did you actually? Or should I go do that?

I was pressed for time so...

It would make sense for you to do that.

Tag me if you do it though.

[Raphaborn]

Mistborn Era 1 would have been a lot more interesting if the Shards had an inverted role with Preservation being a villain and Ruin a hero. Imagine if the plan of mutual death and a new God came from Shard destined to be an evil destroyer.

[Frustration]

2 hours ago, Raphaborn said:

Mistborn Era 1 would have been a lot more interesting if the Shards had an inverted role with Preservation being a villain and Ruin a hero. Imagine if the plan of mutual death and a new God came from Shard destined to be an evil destroyer.

Ruin isn't evil.

[Boomerang Guy]

On 9/7/2020 at 8:48 PM, Ghanderflaffle said:

Not necessarily unpopular, but Elantris was my least favorite Sanderson book. (There's a couple I haven’t gotten to yet, like White Sand and Legion). I know it is his first published work and all that, but it just isn’t super great. I had to struggle through a lot of it and will only reread it if there's a sequel. I just think it could’ve been done better. (Yes, I know he's learned since then, but just Mistborn compared to Elantris is like night and day to me).

Mini rant over, continue with your lives.

I agree for the most, and I do think Mistborn is better than Elantris, but I think Elantris still deserves more credit. 

[Ghanderflaffle]

10 hours ago, Frustration said:

Ruin isn't evil.

I agree, but I don’t have time to write out a support right now, so maybe later. 

[Jaywalk]

On 9/16/2020 at 7:26 AM, DramaQueen said:

Wax should be with Marasi. I found the Wax/Steris/Marasi thing to be almost like a gender swap of Shallan/Adolin/Kaladin. An arranged marriage, a small section of romance against the arrangement, then returning to the arrangement, "falling in love" with the person they were going to be forced to marry anyway.

I disagree with this for the sole fact that Steris is one of my favorite characters and deserves the world.

[I Am A Fish]

On 9/16/2020 at 9:26 AM, DramaQueen said:

Wax should be with Marasi. I found the Wax/Steris/Marasi thing to be almost like a gender swap of Shallan/Adolin/Kaladin. An arranged marriage, a small section of romance against the arrangement, then returning to the arrangement, "falling in love" with the person they were going to be forced to marry anyway.

Nooo,

Marayne, Wayasi, whatever you call it. This needs to be a thing

[FriarFritz]

1 hour ago, Jaywalk said:

I disagree with this for the sole fact that Steris is one of my favorite characters and deserves the world.

Same

 

1 hour ago, I Used To Be A Fish said:

Nooo,

Marayne, Wayasi, whatever you call it. This needs to be a thing

Fight me!

[Snorkel]

On 17/09/2020 at 1:26 AM, DramaQueen said:

Wax should be with Marasi. I found the Wax/Steris/Marasi thing to be almost like a gender swap of Shallan/Adolin/Kaladin. An arranged marriage, a small section of romance against the arrangement, then returning to the arrangement, "falling in love" with the person they were going to be forced to marry anyway.

I didn't really give a trat about the Shallan/Adolin/Kaladin stuff, if Shallan had got back from the Shattered Plains and ditched Adolin, I would have been totally fine with that.

But my favourite thing about Mistborn Era 2 was that Wax did not ditch Steris.  When Marasi showed up, I rolled my eyes really hard. "Oh, here we go, the pretty young girl, and now Brandon's gonna have to conveniently kill off Steris or something so that Wax can have his hot bird". And I have never been happier to be proven wrong. Wax and Steris is one of my favourite fictional relationships.

[DramaQueen]

1 hour ago, I Used To Be A Fish said:

Nooo,

Marayne, Wayasi, whatever you call it. This needs to be a thing

I can see that, too. The way she told him that he should move on, emphasizing that she had moved on, then when Wax and Marasi find Wayne and MeLaan on the train after the fight, Marasi's response almost sounds like, "Yeah, I told you to move on, but I didn't mean to her!" from the way that she's like, "That wasn't moving on, that was barging on at the speed of light" or something like that. Also, Wayne low-key flirts with her and downplays it.

11 minutes ago, Snorkel said:

I didn't really give a trat about the Shallan/Adolin/Kaladin stuff, if Shallan had got back from the Shattered Plains and ditched Adolin, I would have been totally fine with that.

But my favourite thing about Mistborn Era 2 was that Wax did not ditch Steris.  When Marasi showed up, I rolled my eyes really hard. "Oh, here we go, the pretty young girl, and now Brandon's gonna have to conveniently kill off Steris or something so that Wax can have his hot bird". And I have never been happier to be proven wrong. Wax and Steris is one of my favourite fictional relationships.

2 hours ago, Jaywalk said:

I disagree with this for the sole fact that Steris is one of my favorite characters and deserves the world.

38 minutes ago, FriarFritz said:

Same

I just felt like Steris was almost fake. She was boring, and she knew it. In Bands of Mourning, the way Brandon made her more likable seemed rushed, like, "Oh, crap, I need to make this character interesting and enjoyable to be around so that everyone isn't super mad when I make Wax marry her instead of someone with more personality than a brick." I mean, who enjoys working on finances and paying bills? And all of her lists got so repetitive and tedious. Steris is coming somewhere? Guess we're going to hear another mention of a list, probably including a bunch of the items on the list. Something surprising happens? Steris says something like, "Wow, that wasn't on my list" or "That was on my list, but it was pretty unlikely." or "Yeah, I predicted this. It was on my list."

Her name even sounds boring. Steris is pretty dang close to sterile, one definition of which is literally "lacking in imagination, creativity, or excitement; uninspiring or unproductive." The perfect description of Steris's character except for the few times Brandon decided he should make her more interesting. As if making her enjoy some adventurous stuff and come to love Wax will completely make up for the fact that she doesn't act like a normal human the rest of the time.

*takes a deep breath* sorry for that rant, I'll stop now. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

52 minutes ago, Snorkel said:

I didn't really give a trat about the Shallan/Adolin/Kaladin stuff, if Shallan had got back from the Shattered Plains and ditched Adolin, I would have been totally fine with that.

But my favourite thing about Mistborn Era 2 was that Wax did not ditch Steris.  When Marasi showed up, I rolled my eyes really hard. "Oh, here we go, the pretty young girl, and now Brandon's gonna have to conveniently kill off Steris or something so that Wax can have his hot bird". And I have never been happier to be proven wrong. Wax and Steris is one of my favourite fictional relationships.

30 minutes ago, DramaQueen said:

I just felt like Steris was almost fake. She was boring, and she knew it. In Bands of Mourning, the way Brandon made her more likable seemed rushed, like, "Oh, crap, I need to make this character interesting and enjoyable to be around so that everyone isn't super mad when I make Wax marry her instead of someone with more personality than a brick." I mean, who enjoys working on finances and paying bills? And all of her lists got so repetitive and tedious. Steris is coming somewhere? Guess we're going to hear another mention of a list, probably including a bunch of the items on the list. Something surprising happens? Steris says something like, "Wow, that wasn't on my list" or "That was on my list, but it was pretty unlikely." or "Yeah, I predicted this. It was on my list."

Her name even sounds boring. Steris is pretty dang close to sterile, one definition of which is literally "lacking in imagination, creativity, or excitement; uninspiring or unproductive." The perfect description of Steris's character except for the few times Brandon decided he should make her more interesting. As if making her enjoy some adventurous stuff and come to love Wax will completely make up for the fact that she doesn't act like a normal human the rest of the time.

I agree with both of these things so much.

 

[Snorkel]

1 hour ago, DramaQueen said:

She was boring, and she knew it.

That's exactly why I appreciated so much that Wax still gave her a chance.  I'm really tired of the trope of heroes being handed perfect girlfriends.

[DramaQueen]

1 minute ago, Snorkel said:

That's exactly why I appreciated so much that Wax still gave her a chance.  I'm really tired of the trope of heroes being handed perfect girlfriends.

I'm in a really odd mood today, so I will avoid turning this into a debate for the sake of not offending anyone. Also because it was stated in the OP to avoid starting debates. Just know that I have a lot of opinions on this and would be glad to talk to you about it if you want to hear more of my points. I will also listen to you and take what you say into consideration, giving you the opportunity to change my mind, but only if you're willing.

[NameIess]

My brother has one. He thinks I'm too into Brandon's books. It's not possible to be "too into"Brandon's books.

[Mat]

On 9/15/2020 at 4:59 PM, Ark1002 said:

Ooh, I think I know my least popular of opinions.

Kaladin is lame. He's boring as a character, he's annoying to other characters, and just generally about as interesting as a rock. But not Rock. Rock is very much more interesting then Kaladin.

I agree with this making it clear that he's my favorite character in book one, because of what he does with Bridge Four. Beyond that, yeah.

@I Used To Be A Fish Shallan is one of my favorites. Adolin is my favorite SA character overall, though.

But he's definitely gonna die book 5. Calling it here.

12 minutes ago, Nameless said:

My brother has one. He thinks I'm too into Brandon's books. It's not possible to be "too into"Brandon's books.

My sister says the same thing. 

[I Am A Fish]

1 minute ago, Matrim's Dice said:

I agree with this making it clear that he's my favorite character in book one, because of what he does with Bridge Four. Beyond that, yeah.

@I Used To Be A Fish Shallan is one of my favorites. Adolin is my favorite SA character overall, though.

But he's definitely gonna die book 5. Calling it here.

My sister says the same thing. 

I enjoy being tagged, (It means people know of my meaningless existence, ) but why have I been summoned?

Also Adolin is dead meat, like old bob:

Spoiler

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by I Used To Be A Fish
Adding an Adolin opinion

[Mat]

On 9/15/2020 at 2:10 PM, I Used To Be A Fish said:

This isn't unpopular.

Plus you added an extra "S"

Because of that on the last page, but I'm realizing now I should've tagged @Frustration

[Frustration]

2 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Because of that on the last page, but I'm realizing now I should've tagged @Frustration

 

6 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

I agree with this making it clear that he's my favorite character in book one, because of what he does with Bridge Four. Beyond that, yeah.

@I Used To Be A Fish Shallan is one of my favorites. Adolin is my favorite SA character overall, though.

I'm sorry I don't speak wrong, please translate into english.

[Raphaborn]

On 16/09/2020 at 9:25 PM, Frustration said:

Ruin isn't evil.

No one is, because evil does not exist. That is not the point.

[Frustration]

Just now, Raphaborn said:

No one is, because evil does not exist. That is not the point.

whether or not evil exists is a conversation I've had too many times on the shard, suffice it to say I think it does.

My point is that Ruin isn't an evil destroyer, it is the force of decay and entropy, not evil.

[Raphaborn]

2 minutes ago, Frustration said:

whether or not evil exists is a conversation I've had too many times on the shard, suffice it to say I think it does.

My point is that Ruin isn't an evil destroyer, it is the force of decay and entropy, not evil.

When I speak of "evil destroyer" it is in the sense of an villain archetype. The villain who wants to destroy the everything, doesn't care about people, etc.
Ruin may not be evil, but it is still a little stereotyped.

[Snorkel]

2 hours ago, DramaQueen said:

I'm in a really odd mood today, so I will avoid turning this into a debate for the sake of not offending anyone. Also because it was stated in the OP to avoid starting debates. Just know that I have a lot of opinions on this and would be glad to talk to you about it if you want to hear more of my points. I will also listen to you and take what you say into consideration, giving you the opportunity to change my mind, but only if you're willing.

Oh, I don't want to turn this into a debate. I am quite interested that we have almost completely opposite view of the same events, and both of those views are valid.

And, this is an unpopular opinions thread, so if people disagree with us, well this is the right place for airing those opinions!

(Edit: I probably shouldn't have posted my conflicting opinion, I just thought it was interesting that the reasons you didn't like it were the same as the reasons I did)

Edited September 18, 2020 by Snorkel

[Raphaborn]

4 hours ago, DramaQueen said:

I can see that, too. The way she told him that he should move on, emphasizing that she had moved on, then when Wax and Marasi find Wayne and MeLaan on the train after the fight, Marasi's response almost sounds like, "Yeah, I told you to move on, but I didn't mean to her!" from the way that she's like, "That wasn't moving on, that was barging on at the speed of light" or something like that. Also, Wayne low-key flirts with her and downplays it.

I just felt like Steris was almost fake. She was boring, and she knew it. In Bands of Mourning, the way Brandon made her more likable seemed rushed, like, "Oh, crap, I need to make this character interesting and enjoyable to be around so that everyone isn't super mad when I make Wax marry her instead of someone with more personality than a brick." I mean, who enjoys working on finances and paying bills? And all of her lists got so repetitive and tedious. Steris is coming somewhere? Guess we're going to hear another mention of a list, probably including a bunch of the items on the list. Something surprising happens? Steris says something like, "Wow, that wasn't on my list" or "That was on my list, but it was pretty unlikely." or "Yeah, I predicted this. It was on my list."

Her name even sounds boring. Steris is pretty dang close to sterile, one definition of which is literally "lacking in imagination, creativity, or excitement; uninspiring or unproductive." The perfect description of Steris's character except for the few times Brandon decided he should make her more interesting. As if making her enjoy some adventurous stuff and come to love Wax will completely make up for the fact that she doesn't act like a normal human the rest of the time.

*takes a deep breath* sorry for that rant, I'll stop now. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

I disagree with almost everything about his view of the character, but about the second part even more. Her sympathetic side has been demonstrated since SoS, in the end we even see her comforting Wax even when Marasi and Wayne didn't know how to help.

It reminded me of yet another unpopular opinion of mine. To show Steris as stereotyped as the superficial bore, and Marasi as the adventurous woman who doesn't fit the pattern just makes it obvious that Brandon wouldn't take the most obvious path. Remember how Marasi said she liked dresses and feminine things, it was a way to break the stereotype. He even took Steris off the screen in AoL so that Wax's decision not to stay with Marasi would not have the excuse that he really knew Steris and was in love with her. I know he used a lot of the Pulp trope, but Wax and Marasi would be just plain boring.