Quiver he/him Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 A casual look over Brandon's blog reveals that he rather likes the Wheel of Time. I've also seen some comments or interviews where he mentions other fantasy books(like Tigana), and he contributed to Dangerous Women and World Builders, so I'm guessing that he minimally approves of GRRM and Rothfusses works. That said, has he ever definitely discussed other fantasy series the way he has Jordan's? Has he said anything about things he likes, admires or downright hates in The Lord of the Rings, Malazan, A Song of Ice and Fire? Or has he ever discussed/evaluated other, less well known fantasy books? I'd be very interested to read Brandon's thoughts on the genre outside of his annotations, so I was wondering if anyone could point me towards comments or interviews he's made.
Aether he/him Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 I haven't really been paying much attention to his reading habits, but from what I remember, he admires G. R. R. Martin, but cannot actually go through his books. He tried the first one, but it got too brutal for him . =P
Radda she/her Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) Brandon has mentioned his dislike for Goodkind several times. Well, it's more like he hates it but is too polite/considerate to say that out loud. He also frequently named Pern series among his favourites and some of Brent Weeks books (can't remember which ones, sorry). Edited out autocorrect fails. Edited January 15, 2014 by Radda
Who Sharded? Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 He's recently become a huge fan of Terry Pratchett's Discworld. He even wrote a blog about it on Tor.com, gushing over it. I'm a Malazan fan so I try to pay attention to what some authors say about it. Brandon has been known to praise the series when fans ask about it at signings, but he hasn't said a whole lot on the internet. I don't think he's read all of the books, but I'm not positive. It can sometimes be hard to know what authors truly think about other authors' work. A lot of them know each other in real life and are friends. I think the only times Brandon criticizes other books is when he's writing about "mainstream" books that are more popular than his own. GRRM used to give honest opinions on other peoples' work, but he is no longer able to do that without repercussions.
Metacognition he/him Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 Branding has mentioned his dislike for Goodkind several times. Well, it's more like he hates it but is too polite/considerate to say that out loud. He also frequently named Pern series among his favourites and some of Brent Weeks books (can't remember which ones, sorry). You probably mean the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. He also has the first book in a new series called Black Prism. Sanderson was the one that drew me to Weeks' books and he was spot on.
Mysty she/her Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 Listen to writting excuses, the podcast brandon is on. There he talks about many different books he likes, fantasy and otherwise. There is always a recomended book of the week, but interspersed throughout are notes on how good other writers are and what you can try to learn from them. http://www.writingexcuses.com 1
firstRainbowRose she/her Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 To clarify a couple of things: He's been a fan of Pratchett for a while. I belive he got into him as a kid. (I know he recommend him to me like five or so years ago when I asked for his suggestions) Also, by way of Malazan I think he has read at least the first book. The comment I've heard about it is if you want a book that has a very steep learning curve, but once you understand what's going on it's a pretty good book. I don't know if he's read anything past the first book. A couple of other books I've heard him mention is Dragon Prince by Melene Rawn (I can't spell her first name), and it's sequels, also Dragonsbane, which is the book that got him into fantasy. I'll edit this if I think of any others.
Who Sharded? Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 To clarify a couple of things: He's been a fan of Pratchett for a while. I belive he got into him as a kid. (I know he recommend him to me like five or so years ago when I asked for his suggestions) That's interesting. Post from April 2013: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/04/terry-pratchetts-discworld-might-be-the-highest-form-of-literature-on-the-planet
PeterAhlstrom he/him Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 He didn't read Pratchett as a kid, but started a number of years ago. Brandon read the first ASoIaF book and thinks George is a genius writer, but the content is just not the type of thing he wants to read. Also, Brandon thought the first Goodkind book was a rather good read, but he never felt like continuing. Right now Brandon is not really reading series. He's reading a bunch of different books from a bunch of different writers. It's more like reading for research on what's happening in the field than reading for fun. If he needs to take a break and read for fun he'll probably pick up a Pratchett or Kay. 4
Swimmingly he/him Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 He didn't read Pratchett as a kid, but started a number of years ago. Brandon read the first ASoIaF book and thinks George is a genius writer, but the content is just not the type of thing he wants to read. Also, Brandon thought the first Goodkind book was a rather good read, but he never felt like continuing. Right now Brandon is not really reading series. He's reading a bunch of different books from a bunch of different writers. It's more like reading for research on what's happening in the field than reading for fun. If he needs to take a break and read for fun he'll probably pick up a Pratchett or Kay. I feel like Hoid's character is very Pratchetty - witty, hidden depths, and you never know absolutely everything about him.
Aryanath Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 In my boxed set of Mistborn that I got fairly recently (2 months ago), Sanderson appendixed a chapter from Daniel Abraham's "The Long Prince Quartet" so I guess he thinks Abraham's pretty good to promote him like that.
PeterAhlstrom he/him Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 At one point someone asked Brandon who he would want to finish his books in the event of his untimely death, and he said Daniel Abraham. I don't know if that has changed, but of course Brandon is planning to stay alive. 2
Shardbearer he/him Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Do you guys have enough notes for someone to finish all of the major cosmere works if something drastic does happen to him?
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