JPalentch Posted April 28 Report Share Posted April 28 (edited) This book is not only great but a welcomed version of the "I suddenly find myself in another world, now I can leave my awful, under developed, self behind and be loved by everyone... especially the ladies" plot. Whereas many of these types of stories, specifically the anime that have been coming out recently, focus on providing wish fulfillment for overworked (or lazy) and under appreciated young men, Brandon's book portrays a young adult who is int he same situation but, instead of trying to escape into a fantasy land, faces his problems and inadequacies and chooses to gather his will power and try again. A much needed story for the many young men who feel unfocused and adrift in their lives. Thank you Brandon for putting forth your perspective on this kind of story. Edited April 28 by JPalentch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king of nowhere Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 On 28/4/2023 at 8:20 PM, JPalentch said: Brandon's book portrays a young adult who is int he same situation but, instead of trying to escape into a fantasy land, faces his problems and inadequacies and chooses to gather his will power and try again. A much needed story for the many young men who feel unfocused and adrift in their lives. I noticed the person who mostly failed at everything in life, then get tossed into the plot and has to try again and overcome his inadequacies - especially his past - is a very common brandon archetype. kaladin is pretty much its embodiment; pretty much anyone in bridge four has elements of it. siri also fits well this description. dalinar and navani both have shades of it. wayne already overcame this situation when we met him, but he was that when wax spared his life. elend was this, in regard to politics, when tindwyl started his training. alcatraz has a strong theme of overcoming his self-loathing. another common theme in sanderson is the brother swap: there are two brothers, one is the epitome of virtue and capacity, the other is a good for nothing. the good brother has a very important and difficult task, and he excels at it. but the good brother becomes unavailable, and the bad brother has to take his place. at first he's overwhelmed, but eventually it becomes clear the good brother was never all that good at the job, and the bad brother was actually better. examples are siri and vivenna, kelsier and marsh (marsh was the rebel leader and kelsier was very accomplished but selfish and edonistic, until kelsier had to take over the rebellion), gavilar and dalinar (the prologue of stormlight 5 makes clear that gavilar was never a good king in the first place, though everyone idolizes him). Well, Ryan is not John's brother, but they are very close friends, and they share the same dynamics there. Up to and including competing for the same woman. I'd say this is a very quintessential sanderson book 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPalentch Posted April 30 Author Report Share Posted April 30 1 hour ago, king of nowhere said: another common theme in sanderson is the brother swap good point on the brothers dynamic, I hadn’t noticed that one. Yeah overcoming internal obstacles is Brandon’s bread and butter for sure. I’ve even heard him say he’s really only interested in writing those kinds of stories. And that’s why I love his books because those are the stories I am most interested in. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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