traceria Posted July 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 EMTrevor, really enjoyed your use of bolding in that review of the review of....eh...you know what I mean. For those who've mentioned reading OSC's reviews in the past, I agree that at the heart of it this was a very positive review from him. A VERY positive review. I'll often check to see what he has to say about movies that come out and all, too, because he's very blunt and often has a perspective I appreciate in regard to the art of film or writing. I think it's like EMTrevor alluded to: By mentioning WoT and ASoIaF, a person reading the review who doesn't know any better might accidentally associate SA with those two long series and the even longer waits between books. It would be a shame to lose readership because of an accidental yet inappropriate association. More than anything, I've come to realize how much greater of a Brandon Sanderson fan I've become than of Mr. Card's writing (still a fan, though), and perhaps that's what is at the root of my defensive thoughts while reading a few points in the review. *shrug * Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterAhlstrom Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 I haven't gone and read the review yet, but it's not a mistake to associate the Stormlight Archive with the Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire. They are all series with 1,000-page books that use the "continuous narrative" style where one book picks up right after the last one left off. (At least for the first 5 books of SLA.) And reasons notwithstanding, we did already have a 3.5-year wait between the first and second books. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifth of Daybreak Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) I haven't gone and read the review yet, but it's not a mistake to associate the Stormlight Archive with the Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire. They are all series with 1,000-page books that use the "continuous narrative" style where one book picks up right after the last one left off. (At least for the first 5 books of SLA.) And reasons notwithstanding, we did already have a 3.5-year wait between the first and second books. My problem with the link wasn't the points he made on the possibilities of it dragging out over time or the need for him to write down plans (although that seemed to be redundant considering who he was giving that advice to,) but rather his link to the Wheel of Time and it's slow moving plot. He admits to not finishing reading it because of that, a link, even unintentional, is drawn between that sort of slow, tedious, pace and the SA, and that just isn't fair. The review is positive, once he starts actually reviewing it. My concern mostly is that he spends a good amount of time in the review complaining about that problem, when it's a non issue in the SA. It just feels like bad form to list a bunch of negative aspects about another book that isn't prevalent in the one you're reviewing, especially when you admit to not finishing the Eye of the World. Edited July 14, 2014 by EMTrevor 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Of course, it could be that I'm just still disgruntled over Shadows in Flight. It's been two years, and I'm still just so upset over the trite short excuse of a novel that was the conclusion to Bean's story. There is a such thing as too little show and too little tell...and too little plot...and too little characterization. Just for this you get a rep point and a (randomly bolded) AMEN from me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, Yeah I've been in a love/hate with Card ever since I started reading his stuff. Some of the stuff I love, I really do love it a lot. Ender's game I've reread close to 7 times. The two Empire books also really struck a chord with me. The first two Alvin books I really enjoyed. After that I didn't like where Card went with any of his books. While I'm of the same faith as Card, a lot of his writing about religion/society/books and stuff makes my skin crawl. Anyway this is just me explaining how I feel about Card. So yeah, I thought he was pretty patronizing and seemed to still consider Brandon a newb author( Probably me being slightly to defensive, but everyone else noticed soooo) I didn't mind the comparisons between the different series, but thought that they were off topic. Ummmmm, I guess I liked his praise about leadership and stuff and I do take that seriously because Card, Modesitt, and Brandon are the only authors I've seen who really do it well. I guess the tone of the review bothered me a lot more than the review itself. Over all. Three stars *** 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybrandt Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 I haven't gone and read the review yet, but it's not a mistake to associate the Stormlight Archive with the Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire. They are all series with 1,000-page books that use the "continuous narrative" style where one book picks up right after the last one left off. (At least for the first 5 books of SLA.) And reasons notwithstanding, we did already have a 3.5-year wait between the first and second books. So will the last 5 books (excluding flashbacks) take place before the first 5 books, at the same time as the first 5 books (overlap), or years after the first 5 books? (Note random bolding). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Years after, probably something like 20 or 30 years. Bolding noted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 I seem to recall 10 years being thrown around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 I mean I know he's written multiple hugely influential works in genre and burbled Brandon and Brandon loves him and does event for him blah blah blah... But, I just feel like he's so out of touch with modern goodness. I'm sure he has a good grasp on the craft of writing and storytelling, but you can tell from the review he doesn't know enough about what he's talking. He's essentially saying "it's good but I hope he has his s*&^ together". It's like asking Strom Thurman what he thought of the Lego Movie. ( I just Googled Strom Thurman and he's been dead since 2003.. Looks like I'm firmly throwing stones from this glass house and I love it!) Full Disclosure : My thoughts of him being a homophobic jerk heavily influence my attitude this post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 I agree with that completely. It sucks when someone can produce great works, but still be a terrible human being. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kari-no-sugata Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 I'm not particularly familiar with Orson or his work, so my comments are purely on what I read: I didn't find his comments to be too bad and reviews are not always very focused (or maybe I'm just used to this sort of thing). I think his point with his references to early WoT and other works is to say "the Stormlight Archive is a big epic fantasy series but the pacing is nice and brisk, in case you were worried about it being slow". If so he didn't connect it terribly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arondell Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Wow. Given how Card practically raves about how good the Stormlight Archive is along with all of Sanderson's other works I would hate to see how people would react to a lukewarm review. There are still six weeks of summer ahead of us. Plenty of time to read (or listen) to both of these thick, rewarding fantasy novels. I don't know how you could better spend your reading time. With a concluding comment like that and several other glowing comments throughout the review I think people are being a little oversensitive about this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Yep, we probably are. We're just getting a little protective of our little Sanderson, like Delightful said. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifth of Daybreak Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) Wow. Given how Card practically raves about how good the Stormlight Archive is along with all of Sanderson's other works I would hate to see how people would react to a lukewarm review. With a concluding comment like that and several other glowing comments throughout the review I think people are being a little oversensitive about this. I don't think so. He's pretty blatantly rude. The review starts off great, and finishes well, but there's a lot of space in between those two spots. I thought, as I read the first two volumes of Brandon Sanderson's magnificent fantasy epic Stormlight Archives,that this was obviously the best candidate to be the next sprawling feature-film-quality series to follow George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones. Then somebody in a position to know told me that Sanderson plans for this to be a ten-volume series. Ten? Really? Since Sanderson is the writer who was engaged to finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series of big thick fantasy novels, you'd think he'd be keenly aware of the fact that it takes a long time to write all those big thick books, and nobody lives forever. This part right here especially. Since Sanderson is the writer who was engaged to finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series of big think fantasy novels, there is no way he is not keenly aware of the fact that it takes time to write them. And then he derails and goes on that tangent about the pace of storytelling in Wheel of Time, but he makes sure to clarify that in no way shape or form is A Song of Ice and Fire like that. But then no mention about the wonderful pace that Stormlight Archives has. After that tangent (I might add that it goes on for four paragraphs), which really had no bearing on the rest of the review, and no relevance to the Stormlight Archives, he jumps back into critiquing Brandon for his decision on the number of books in the series, based on the off chance that it might not get completed. Everything up to this point is completely extraneous! It comes down to him being surprised about the number of books, and, at least from the vibe I picked up from the tone, his desire to micromanage. I just have a problem with him assuming that Brandon is going to fail before he's even gotten a good headway into the project. I mean, Brandon has a track record for publishing books at an astonishing pace. It's the same way with a supervisor that treats me like that. I know what my job is, I know what challenges I face, I don't want to be told I'm making a mistake before it gets anywhere reasonably close where that can be established as true. When it comes down to it, this felt more like an author review than a book review, and so my feelings are all based on "time and place." Reviewing a book that you enjoyed is neither the time nor place to say you disagree with what the author is doing. Obviously, he likes what Brandon is doing. I understand if he's worried, that's fine, be worried, but don't go magnifying the problem as if the sky is falling. Everything he says that is actually reviewing the book I have no problems with. I have a problem with him opening with "I thought this was really good until I heard that...." That's not fair. You thought the books were good. End of story. Wait for a problem to arise before you illuminate it to such a degree. Don't take time to review two other books/series (one of which you didn't complete,) and certainly don't wait until you are halfway through your "review" of the series to actually start discussing the series! Edited July 16, 2014 by EMTrevor 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybrandt Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Both BS and OSC are both successful writers, but I wonder if someone should send OSC a link to this topic since you can't comment on the review page. And why can't you comment on the review page anyway? Seems a bit cowardly to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Eh, not necessarily. Reviews are inherently internal things - people write them not to get comments and feedback on them, but to share their thoughts with the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I think I can agree with just about everything Trevor said. That sums it up pretty nice. I would also agree with Argent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delightful Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 So will the last 5 books (excluding flashbacks) take place before the first 5 books, at the same time as the first 5 books (overlap), or years after the first 5 books? (Note random bolding). Years after, probably something like 20 or 30 years. Bolding noted I seem to recall 10 years being thrown around. I'm 99.99% sure it's a confirmed ten year gap in between SA1 and SA2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traceria Posted July 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Also, the lack of ability to comment on the review is probably because there is a very active forum community over there already. If anyone wanted to comment on the review, it would end up in the appropriate section of the forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifth of Daybreak Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) And along those lines, it is his personal blog. If it was a professional review that was published I might agree, but he has the right to say what he wants. We have the right to complain about it, but not to force those complaints on him, at least in my opinion.I honestly wouldn't have a problem with it had he done the reviewing first, and then transitioned into the rest by saying "with that being said, I do have some concerns on the future of the series." It was the possible problem first presentation that really bugged me, and that's mostly aesthetic formatting and phrasing issues. Just like with my supervisor analogy, I might complain about it behind closed doors, but it would be just as inappropriate for me to challenge his authority in a public setting. Edited July 16, 2014 by EMTrevor 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Necromancer Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I don't understand the general consensus that the review was unfair. OSC was overwhelmingly positive in it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts