btcannon

Mistborn Trilogy:

When you start assuming that random strangers are actually Hoid.

Dalinar's would be so sad-- Known as "The Blackthorn" Formerly married. Can't remember her. Interested in deceased brother's widow. Don't bother. Sixth wins this one--the island adventurer vibe would prove popular, I'm sure. Who would be the better wedding planner, Taravangian or Jasnah?

On behalf of Wyndle:

Welcome! Happy to have you here.

Welcome! Glad you're here.

Welcome! Since you say you're interested in philosophical fiction, which of Brandon's books would you say has been the most interesting to you philosophically? (My pick would be WoA.)

That's the thing about Brandon's books--they beg to be discusses, don't they? And it's tough when you don't have friends around who have read them too. Glad you've joined!

Welcome! Glad you are here!

Chills, man. So great! Love the song; love the application. Super cool.

Welcome! And don't worry--class lectures come and go, but stormlight is forever.

I know exactly how you feel. You just wanna eat sleep breath Sanderson till you're caught up, haha. It's the best problem to have!

Welcome! So excited for you to finish Mistborn. Huge payoff in store for you.

I am a stick.

Welcome Catie! Yeah, if you ever felt alone as a fan of Brandon, those days are over. Glad you're here!

SPOILERS FOR WORDS OF RADIANCE:

Probably Wayne, whereas Rosharan men are usually illiterate. Haha! Who would be the better babysitter, Amaram or Sebarial?

Why I think haters dislike Sanderson -Sense of humor (in almost all his books) revolves around nerdy wordplay and "gotcha" verbal gags (as well as byzantine, formulated insults) -Language (not talking about swearing). His dialogue is often arguably anachronistic. Lots of contemporary vocabulary that can jar someone out of the story (poop, awesomeness, etc.) -Somewhat formulaic exposition of magic systems across multiple books: We see the magic being used by an experienced user. We meet a character who can't use it and doesn't understand it (we don't either). The character learns that they can do the magic too. They struggle to learn it piece by piece. Training montages. We learn it as they learn it. They become boss at it. They fight with it. Etc. -Characters like Lift, [early] Spook, and Lopen, who seem to exist mostly as sideshows or comic relief rather than as vehicles for substance ALL OF THESE THOUGHTS ARE JUST OBSERVATIONS AND NOT VALID REASONS TO DISLIKE BRANDON, WHO IS MY FAVORITE AUTHOR.

I met Brandon at a signing he did in my hometown years ago. I hadn't read any of his work, but I had heard good things, so I went to see what all the hubbub was about. I listened to him address the crowd (many of whom were rabid fans) and was impressed, so I stood in line and waited to meet him. Most people were getting books signed, so when it was my turn I introduced myself and said that I hadn't read any of his books--I asked him where he'd recommend I start. I think he was a little caught off guard, but he mentioned both Elantris and Mistborn as good starting points. I was so impressed with him that I bought both Elantris and the Mistborn boxed set on the spot. I was delighted when he signed all four books for me. I read Elantris fairly soon thereafter, and my mind was blown. The mysteries, the religions, the setting, and the twists were amazing to me. Mistborn, however, being a larger project, sat on my shelf for years after. When I finally really began to read TFE--about a year or so ago--I was sucked in. As I moved through the book, my interest grew and grew, and the amount of time I spent reading skyrocketed. I rode that wave through WoA and HoA, and then jumped into Mistborn Era 2, followed by Stormlight and all the other Cosmere works. I'm currently reading the Reckoners trilogy and greatly enjoying it as I eagerly await the release of Oathbringer in November! I'm planning to meet Brandon again at the midnight release party in Provo, and I can't wait! Brandon has singlehandedly made me fall in love with reading again. I can't thank him enough.

I love Elantris, but I agree that it's a bit less polished and interconnected with the rest of the Cosmere. I think that's simply because it was Brandon's first published novel. The Cosmere wasn't entirely fleshed out in his mind as he wrote it (he wasn't even sure it would be published), and some elements like the dialogue and characterization were (in my opinion) less developed than in his other work simply because he was a less-experienced writer at the time. I feel like it's still an incredible book, featuring all the classic Brandon hallmarks: Great setting, fun world building, unique magic system, and lots of intriguing mysteries. I just think he got better and better with each successive book.

It's all good, haha. I actually wouldn't hate a couple of them if they happened, but yeah, it was mostly intended to get chuckles.

My post was satirical.

This is a tough one. First thought - As was mentioned before, during TFE the Lord Ruler controls the Inquisitors and Ruin controls them during HoA. Absent those controlling agents, Vin or someone else may well have been able to step in and assume power over them. BUT, if that is true, how was Marsh uniquely able to resist TLR's control long enough to assassinate the other inquisitors at the end of TFE? Maybe becuase TLR was distracted enough to allow him the wiggle room to do it, much like Ruin was distracted long enough in HoA to allow Marsh to pull out Vin's earring. Or maybe TLR never absolutely controlled the Inquisitors, and they obeyed him out of mortal fear/respect rather than being controlled like puppets. But if that was the case, why couldn't Vin or someone else control them before Ruin took over dominating them later on? Perhaps the nature of Inquisitors is such that they were powerful enough that only Ruin or a similarly powerful being could ultimately control them, and they simply obeyed TLR freely. Tricky.

For me, after reading WoK and WoR, my clear choice was Lift. When I found out that Edgedancer was all about her, my response was a huge inner sigh. After reading Edgedancer, however, I feel like we definitely saw some character development and got some hints as to her encounter with the Nightwatcher that cause me to suspect that when we learn more about her background, we will perhaps feel more sympathetic to her eccentricities (which admittedly drove me crazy). We even saw her begin to question whether Wyndle was actually a voidbringer, finally. I also agree that Lopen is hugely overhyped. As a character who (let's admit it) exists almost exclusively for comic relief, he hasn't contributed much to the depth of the plot thus far, in my opinion. I feel like he is kind of a cheap caricature. (Not to say that I didn't chuckle at a few of his lines--I simply feel jarred out of the story by his character from time to time.) It would be a lot like Brandon, however, to prove me absolutely wrong about him going forward. He has a way of taking characters that I don't love (Lift, Spook) and making them much more interesting over the course of multiple chapters and books.

The ideas on this thread are too well-thought-out to actually happen. How about some cringey, mainstream Hollywood choices: Kaladin - Harry Styles Shallan - Emma Watson (ft. hair dye) Rock - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Adolin - Leonardo DiCaprio Dalinar - George Clooney Lift - Millie Bobby Brown Wit - Johnny Depp Voice of Wyndle - David Attenborough Chasmfiend - $12 million CGI budget Szeth - Eminem ***EDIT: THIS POST IS SATIRE***