Atrias Posted September 12, 2019 Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 Greetings Highlords, Highladies... Brightnesses all! I stumbled across The Final Empire in my local bookstore last year whilst looking for a new and intriguing series of books to get my teeth into during a period of extended sickness. I had never heard of Brandon Sanderson before and, despite the old addage, I totally judged a book by its cover and was sold immediately on the premise written on the UK edition cover "What if the Dark Lord won?". I scurried home eager to dive into a new world of fantasy, completely unaware of what was in store for me. I read the prologue and the first few chapters and was completely and utterly blown away by the characterisation, world-building, grounded magical systems and so on... so I promptly set down my book with a resigned feeling of "Oh no, here we go again" and returned to town to purchase the other two books in the series as I knew this was something special. In my defense, not wrong, but little did I know how deep the rabbit-hole truly went! I devoured Mistborn Era 1, then decided to read Elantris to see where it all began (from a published works \ bibliographical sense) and noticed thematic similarities, connections, the same dedicated attention to detail and fantastic cast of characters. I, like all of you before me, had discovered the Cosmere. I was hooked, but like taking the first few rubs of firemoss, I was still naive as to what would happen next. I found Brandon's website. I found to my delight that there were MORE COSMERE BOOKS. I read Mistborn Era 2. I read Warbreaker. Amazing. Outstanding. Could it get any better? Then Stormlight dropped from the heavens and its four almighty tomes that comprised Book 1 and Book 2 proceeded to give me as comprehensive an emotional roller-coaster as I had yet experienced in my 31 years of life. I had to have more... like waiting for Pullman or Pratchett (RIP ) or Canavan, the itch just begged to be scratched. As luck would have it, I was fortuitous enough to have finished SA2 to find that Oathbringer was also available for me to purchase immediately. Such a weighty and majestic hardback I have never before held in my hands! The rest is history. I began cross-reading, lurking on these forums, reading annotations, deleted scenes... you all know the drill! What I find is something so fascinating, so brilliant, beautiful and compellingly powerful within his works. His ability as a writer to speak to the many facets of my own mental health issues has helped me immeasurably over the past year. His ability to give me back feelings and emotions I had long buried and the pervading hope that everything is going to be ok has, without question, saved my life. For that, for him, for his works I am eternally grateful. I look forward to continuing this journey with you all and hope to further expand my own knowledge and understanding in Brandons works, and by extension my own growth and healing, by participating in this board. Your patience in reading my intro post is greatly appreciated and I hope to get to know many of you better in time! Life Before Death Strength Before Weakness Journey Before Destination ~Atrias~ 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted September 12, 2019 Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 Wow, that intro was fun to read, even though I already kinda knew what was going to happen (you reading all the books)! Welcome to the Shard! Who’s your favorite Sanderson character? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghanderflaffle Posted September 12, 2019 Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 Welcome to the Shard! We have ghanderflaffles, at least we do in TLT. What’s your favorite Sanderson book? Have you read anything non cosmere? Have you read the Arcanum Unbounded? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karger Posted September 12, 2019 Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, Atrias said: Life Before Death Strength Before Weakness Journey Before Destination I believe these words have been accepted. Welcome. PS. Have you read Arcanum unbound yet? Edited September 12, 2019 by Karger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atrias Posted September 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 Firstly, Rebecca, Ghanderflaffle and Karger, many thanks for your kind welcomes, pleasure to meet you all! Rebecca: it was a bit of a foregone conclusion wasn't it really? Hehe! Always leave em wanting more . My favourite Sanderson characters thus far are: Kaladin - as I identify so strongly with both his depression and his desire to protect and care for other people. Kelsier - again, I identify with his struggle against the status quo and desire to fight for whats right. Also... whats not to love about the badass?! Teft and Dalinar - I have long struggled with addiction and self-medication to cope with my various issues including a lack of self-worth... "I will protect those I hate. Even...even if the one I hate most is... myself." is a line that resonates with me deeply. To be honest... I could go on and on answering this question as Sanderson's characterisation is so strong and I haven't come across a character that is poorly written thus far! Honorable mentions go to Lift, Rock, Lopen, Breeze. Ghanderflaffle: I hazard a guess that a Ghanderflaffle is RAFO for something I've not come across yet? If not, what an exquisite name! Favourite Sanderson book is also pretty hard to call... they've all been amazing so far. Probably The Way of Kings though, as from the very beginning I was enthralled by the ideas in the book (the whole prologue gave me the strongest of chills) and the fact that it was ONE BOOK IN TWO PARTS which I had never encountered before. Kaladin's journey and that of Bridge Four was something monumentally page-turning and I (pun intended) stormed through it. I haven't yet read anything Non-Cosmere but I have my birthday coming up and I'm hoping to plug those holes expediently. My main drive was Cosmere books once I realised there was this whole interconnected narrative and big picture stuff. I have, to that end, read the Arcanum though. I love a short story done well - one of my favourite modules at University - and I found the Arcanum to be simply tantalising. Would love to have more expanded narratives especially on things such as Sixth of Dust and Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell! Karger: Thank you, your Radiance! Yeah, as above, absolutely loved Arcanum. The Edgedancer and Mistborn Secret History segments were also particularly special of course with how they complimented their larger narrative counterparts (OMGKELSIERWTF!!! - I had moved onto Stormlight by that point when I picked up AU and was sorely tempted to dive back into Mistborn for a re-read following all the revellations, but Oathbringer awaited me, haha!) Again, many thanks for all your kind words. Your humble Stick, ~Atrias~ PS - I had to resubmit this post because apparently us newbs can't post links?? I only included @ tags to the three of you so that I could respond to you personally... seems a bit mean 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted September 13, 2019 Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 2 hours ago, Atrias said: Kaladin - as I identify so strongly with both his depression and his desire to protect and care for other people. Awesome! Kaladin’s my favorite too. The rest of your favorites are all amazing characters as well. 2 hours ago, Atrias said: PS - I had to resubmit this post because apparently us newbs can't post links?? I only included @ tags to the three of you so that I could respond to you personally... seems a bit mean Yeah, sorry about that. That’s done to avoid spam accounts. You should be able to post links and mention people after a couple more posts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadCom Posted September 13, 2019 Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 Hi! This was an amazing post, and I'm excited to see you around the Shard! I used to spend a lot of time in the theories section, and I usually return there after new books come out. But I also spend quite a bit of time now in the Community Sections, playing Brandon Sanderson-based Games. My favorite one has been Coined Sanderson Elimination. It's like Mafia or Werewolf, but adapted for a forum setting. Great fun. What are you most interested in on the website? I also really enjoy Kaladin as a character. He is extremely well written! I also think that Vivenna and Siri are often underrated. As well as Vasher. To be clear, my favorite books are the Stormlight Archive books, but I don't think enough weight is put on the characters from Warbreaker, and I am excited to see a new book that sheds light on the Warbreaker characters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overlord stick Posted September 13, 2019 Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 Hello, welcome to the shard! Ghanderflaffles are an animal people made up on The Longest Thread, a bunch of silly posts telling a wacky story about whatever, in an attempt to create the longest thread. Also, If you're into roleplay, I highly recommend The Alleyverse, in the RP subforum. We're about to start Era 4, so now's a good time to join in. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atrias Posted September 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 @Rebecca gotcha, that was what I figured and I suppose the message I got did clarify that to an extent but I felt a little sad I wasn’t able to mention you guys directly for being so kind as to come and speak with me! I’m in the clear now it seems tho so, woo, one day I will make it out of the bridge crews !! @Cadmium Compounder Many thanks. I have a passion for writing and even on forums try to write in a way that’s entertaining to read. Before joining I spent my time lurking in the various cosmere book sections just seeing what sorts of things people discussed; I think I’m probably going to be joining you in theories and things as I love a good deep read and exposition of thoughts and things but I want to ensure my knowledge is up to scratch first! I might also take a look at the writers forums I see you have here. It’s been a long time since I’ve put my hand to any prose or poetry of note so that seems to me like a gentle way to ease my way back into things with like minds. I’ve frequented many a forum before but never entered into any games but you might just have convinced me to dip my toe over there as well! Agreed with your thoughts on Siri and Vivenna... brilliant characters and underrated; but i think things like Elantris and Warbreaker are easy to forget sometimes when stacked up against Mistborn and Stormlight... the beauty of it is, as you touch upon, the knowledge that these parts of the cosmere are not “done” with and the roles they have to play in the larger scheme of things will come out in due course (providing Brandon is able to continue his breakneck writing pace and maintain his deific level of skill ). @Lord Furret I see!! I will have to check this out, Color me intrigued! Nice to meet you too! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liranaril Posted September 13, 2019 Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 To all those in a world I've just recently discovered, Two years have passed since I first heard of Brandon Sanderson, and I'd be lying if I said his books haven't had an impact on me. But it's been a journey, and it definitely had a rough beginning. I was fifteen years old, still wet behind my ears when it came to fantasy since all I had read were the Inheritance Cycle and the Ranger's Apprentice series (and all books relating to it). I didn't really know what good fantasy looked like - no disrespect to Paolini or Flanagan, but Sanderson's work leaves almost everyone in the dust. I was introduced to Brandon's books by someone I barely knew, and for the first month or so I was a little skeptical of the book he had lent me: a huge, thick, 1000-page tome titled "The Way of Kings." I believe I got through the first 150 pages or so, but by that time I had had the copy so long that the owner began to wonder if I intended to give it back. So I did, and for a few weeks I completely forgot about it. Then I met another fan of Sanderson who told me that The Way of Kings was probably not the best place to start, and recommended Mistborn and The Reckoners. So I read the Reckoners, and my mind was blown. I went back to The Way of Kings soon after, this time with an amount of trust in this Brandon Sanderson person, whoever he was. I read The Way of Kings in about three weeks, which isn't anything special, and again my mind was blown. It was like nothing I'd ever read before, and even LOTR seemed slow and inconsequential in comparison. Two years and dozens upon dozens of hours of reading later, I'm firmly convinced that Sanderson is the best fantasy author today. I haven't even read all his books (Mistborn Era 1, Warbreaker, Elantris, and of course Arcanum Unbounded are still on my list) but I know they will, as always, blow my mind and leave the competition far behind. This is a special and important era in the world of fantasy, and we are the ones lucky enough to see it happen in our day. These past two years have only been the beginning. - Liranaril 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghanderflaffle Posted September 13, 2019 Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 6 hours ago, Atrias said: Ghanderflaffle: I hazard a guess that a Ghanderflaffle is RAFO for something I've not come across yet? If not, what an exquisite name! Favourite Sanderson book is also pretty hard to call... they've all been amazing so far. I wish, but no it’s just something we made up. Come join The Longest Thread in the community tab. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wander89 Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 Hey! Welcome! That's been one of the best introductions to read 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Aragorn of Gondor Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, Wander89 said: Hey! Welcome! That's been one of the best introductions to read That intro was very storming amazing. I definitely wouldn't have the patience to write all that down. Edited September 14, 2019 by Aragorn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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