Sanderson Fan First or Jordan Fan First?

[Daniel M]

I was a WoT fan first. When I heard that Sanderson had been commissioned to finish the series, I decided to check out his work, and I got hooked by Mistborn.

exactly my experience too

[LevenThumps]

I hope he finishes a Memory of Light soon. I like the Wheel of Time series, but I prefer Brandon's work better.

[JadeGaiden]

Robert Jordan got me into reading. When I picked up EoW I was forever changed.

I didn't get into Brandon's books until I found out he was continuing WoT for Mr. Jordan. I picked up Elantris after reading Gathering Storm and I never looked back. I've read nearly everything Mr. Sanderson has written now. Soon the word "nearly" will not be in that sentence.

[Altonahk]

I read a mixture of Sci-Fi and Fantasy for years, but just kept avoiding WoT. Funny enough, it was the covers. I ussually liked slightly darker books, and leaned for more Dark-Ages feel. Just looking at the covers of WoT gave it a Reinasance-ish feel that I just didn't vibe with. But I cept seeing them EVERYWHERE and thought that they must be good. So a started the series and read up to book eight (The Path of Daggers), and couldn't take it. It was partially because that is my least favorite book of the series, and partially I had just read too much WoT and needed to cleans the pallet. It was also because it's the begginning of the slow part of WoT (The calm as the world waits for TG), and there was no Mat to liven things up.

I finally forced myself to finish it and read on. I enjoyed Winters Heart because it had Mat, and not for any other reason. The Crossroads of Twilight is one of my favorite books because of Mat and Tuon, but I had to force myself to read the rest of it so that I could get to more Mat (there were some good parts, but not as good as Mat). I finnished Knife of Dreams and went online to find out when the next one is comming out and...

.

.

.

.

He's Freaking DEAD? and some PUNK named "Brandon" thinks he can finish it? Arogant prick.

I didn't read anything of his just cause I was ticked. Then I reread some WoT for enjoyment and began to really worry about the last book... So I read Warbreaker; it hadn't been published yet, but the last draft was up, so I read the PDF... I bought his four other books the next day... then signed up for Audible because I was to busy to read and bought them AGAIN (for FAR MORE $$$) as Audiobooks. In otherwords, I'm a HUGE Brandon Sanderson fan.

[LevenThumps]

I thought the same when I first heard that Brandon Sanderson was finishing the series. I thought the ending would be terrible. I take that back now. His books are AMAZING!

[Tamzin Ashevai she/her]

Obviously, there are some very strong opinions and a lot of emotion in this thread. Foremost, I have to admit that I didn't even learn of Robert Jordan's W.o.T. series until I joined www.terredange.net and in the site's forum topic, Other Books. You might wonder just how a longtime fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and Frank Herbert had missed the genius of Robert Jordon. Sure enough, I did ... because I ceased reading fantasy fiction during my years following The Grateful Dead (i.e.: 1981-1991), and as a performer in an 8-woman, world-beat band by the name of Pele Juju. During these years (i.e.: 1991-2000), my focus was my music ... both its creation and delivery. Once the band ceased to exist (beginning in late 2000), I returned to passions I'd set aside for the sake of music and returned to reading favorite fantasy and science fiction authors whom I'd known previously. By one of my drumming students, I'd been encouraged to read the work of Jacqueline Carey when Kushiel's Dart was brand new. I was hooked as I'd never been since Frank Herbert's Dune (despite however different the genres.) It was the subject matter that drew me in! Were it not for the writing of Jacqueline Carey, I wouldn't have learned of the writing of Brandon Sanderson (and that of Robert Jordan). So, I have several sites before 17th Shard for which to be grateful (inclusive of adonalsium.net) because each author whom I'd read and each site with which I'd become affiliated led me here in a round-a-bout way ... and I'm really glad I'm here now!

[Morsk he/him]

I was a Robert Jordan fan first, but the .. um, pacing of the middle WoT books turned me off from fantasy entirely. Now that the series is almost over, I'm able to enjoy the books on rereads. But reading them the first time through was so incredibly frustrating.

[Voidus]

RJ first, a friend got me hooked on it in High School and forever increased my standards of fantasy novels and like most WoT fans started reading Brandons works when I heard he was finishing the series. Now of course I'm a Robdon Sanderan fan!

[Tamzin Ashevai she/her]

Of the WoT series, I've only read New Spring and I remember little of it. I'm going to have to read it again before I begin the WoT series in earnest. My goal is to do so next year ... in it's entirety ... from beginning to end. Given the opportunity, I'm very much this way with fantasy epics. While I might be a late-comer in most respects to the WoT, I'm still questioning just why I never knew of it when I was reading Frank Herbert's Dune series, because I first did so in the mid-1980s. I still wonder why I never knew of Robert Jordan until just a few years ago! Curiously, might it be that I grew up and lived in New England (i.e.: New Hampshire/Vermont)? Was the best of fantasy and science fiction being revealed mostly on the west coast?

Edited August 24, 2012 by Tamzin Ashevai

[Salmakia she/her]

I heard of Robert Jordan first, and even read a few pages of one of his books, but I was a Brandon Sanderson fan first! I haven't yet tackled a complete text by Jordan! However, 'Elantris' and 'Warbreaker' are two of my absolute favourite books. I'm reading the Mistwalker trilogy at the moment.

[Geoffray]

I've been a Jordan fan at the beginning. Then, I've learned of his demise and learned that Brandon Sanderson was supposed to finish the series. First, i've beed thinking about the poor lad, the overwhelming tons of work he was supposed to be doing (and I've sent him an email-to which he responded- wishing him good luck). I've then read Mistborn trilogy, and became a huge fan of his work and of his writting technique (dude this man can write, it's incredible ôO)

[JustinB he/him]

I was a Jordan fan first, as I started WOT in 95. When Jordan fell ill and was laid up for such a long time, I started to look for other authors. A buddy of mine recommended Elantris and I started reading a couple of months before Jordan's death. I was starting Mistborn when TOR announced Brandon would take over.

I was super stoked to hear that TOR and Harriet picked Brandon to finish WOT, and from the get go felt that Brandon could do a great job, which he did.

Of course, it's not Jordan writing, but different and better in a way. Brandon brought the excitement and fun back to WOT in these last three books, that had been lagging since COS. Who knows if Jordan had been saving it all for AMOL, but Brandon certainly stepped up and delivered.

[Harbinger]

It was Jordan first for me, simply cause I started reading the WOT in 1998, when I was in 10th grade. Only 7 books in the series had been released and I had become a huge WOT fanboy during my teenage years. It also got me into reading more "adult" fantasy books, I'd only been reading YA stuff and Star Wars up until that point. However with the decline in Jordan's writing in the later books, I'd completely given up on WOT by the time Knife of Dreams had been released. Just couldn't get myself to care after the disaster that was book 10. So in my never ending search for quality fantasy literature, I came across Brandon's first book Elantris in 2006, and I've been a fan ever since, and read all of his non YA stuff and loved it all. However even knowing Brandon was writing WOT to finish it, it's only been now that he's finished the last book that I've actually read all the WOT books I'd missed. Brandon has done a great job cleaning up that mess, and brought new life back into what was once my favorite book series of all time.

[Djando Je he/him]

I was a WoT fan and a Brandon fan and then being one became the same as being both

[chongjasmine]

I am first a Jordan fan, then I become a sanderson fan.

[Asha'man Logain]

Actually I was a RJ fan first, but I discovered Brandon and became a huge fan of his as the mistborn triology was finished, but before Mr. Jordan's unfortunate demise.

[Ethrien he/him]

I'm a Sanderson Fan first; however I picked Sanderson up because of hearing that he was finishing The Wheel of Time even though I hadn't started reading the Wheel of Time myself.

[Tamzin Ashevai she/her]

I'm curious to know just how this changes as Jordan fans then become Sanderson fans and vice versa. Any data?

[lDanielHolm he/him]

Jordan first--I started reading Wheel of Time in the early 'noughties--I remember waiting for Crossroads of Twilight to be released. When I heard Brandon was finishing the series, I looked up some of his books, though I didn't start reading them till some time early last year, I think; I read Mistborn (only the trilogy, though), then later the Way of Kings. Actually, now that I think about it, I read excerpts of the Way of Kings when they were posted on tor.com; that was my first exposure to Brandon's writing, and I remember what I read was tantalizing (though I'm afraid too long passed between that and when the Way of Kings was available; I forgot about it). While I think Brandon is a fantastic author, I don't think he has quite reached the level of Jordan yet. With the Way of Kings, he's getting very close, however; I enjoyed that book every bit as much as I enjoyed any of the Wheel of Time books. Brandon certainly has the potential to become my favorite author, though my current favorite is George R. R. Martin. I have no doubt that Brandon will shoot to the top of the list if the rest of the Stormlight Archive is as captivating as the first (though Pat Rothfuss certainly will give him competition in that regard).

That being said, I'm not 100% sold on the idea of the cosmere. I think it's a very interesting concept, and I think it's an excellent way to build bridges between his various novels, but it does mean that I personally feel forced to read the other books, as I want all the information on the cosmere I can get, and I generally hate feeling forced to do anything... though since this is reading, it is not really an unpleasant feeling.

Edited October 24, 2012 by lDanielHolm

[demented_yam]

I was an RJ fan, and then I picked up Elantris and became a BS fan, and then they became the same thing.

[Weekapaug she/her]

Sanderson first, my brother was huge into Jordan though. When I finished Elantris, which I loved, my brother read it. He loved it and then made me start reading the WoT series. I love Sandersons style much more, but Jordan was a great writer too.

[Stormfather]

Jordan first, since between CoS and PoD. While I'm sad that Mr. Rigney died, I can honestly say I would have never found Brandon without it happening. I've been told Idaho Falls was one of Brandon's largest fan areas before he started WoT, but I would have left there never hearing of him. I know I never read the Conan books that Jordan did, or his books he did under a different names. But every book by Brandon I hear about has such a damnation good plot or sounds intriguing enough that I convince myself I gotta read it (like Steelheart). Brandon's become one of my favorite authors from this. I just hope he doesn't go down to path that Jordan did and lose control of his characters. It seems like he wont because there are so many different series, but I worry about when they will tie in to be bluntly honest. Hopefully that is one of the things Brandon learned from WoT to not fall into.

[CastleWall he/him]

Elantris was recommended to me right before Knife of Dreams came out. Like others, I was both a Brandon fan and a Jordan fan. It was really really awesome seeing Brandon selected as the author to finish WoT.

[Fallible]

RJ fan first, and like so many on here, went out and picked up Mistborn after hearing Brandon was chosen to finish WoT. I devoured the trilogy.

I didn't start reading WoT until right after PoD was released. I'm really excited to be a part of Brandon's community so early in his career and watch was he perfects his craft.

[Rychek]

I count myself in the Sanderson first camp. I had heard of the Wheel of Time long before I ever heard of Sanderson, but I had never read any of it. I read Final Empire about three years ago and became a Sanderson fan almost instantly. I only began reading the Wheel of Time when I learned through some friends and co-workers that Sanderson was going to finish it. I didn't start reading it because of Sanderson though. It was more the fact that the series was going to be finished by someone. It was a great bonus (for me at least) that Sanderson was chosen as I refused to read a story as long and involved as WoT if it wasn't going to be finished.