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Anyone here read Brandon Sanderson's books 'Elantris' and 'Mistborn'? I must admit to actually shying away from new fiction, especially fantasy as it's become rather stale lately, but when I finally picked up these books (I read 'Mistborn' first, then 'Elantris') I kicked myself in the head for not doing so sooner. I can't remember the last book I've actually been glued to like I was with these. In my opinion, he's one of the best and I hope his career really takes off. He's definitely an inspiration for my own writing and proves that there are still new ways to tell fantasy without the standard elves, orcs, spells, etc. I think he's on par with Card, perhaps better, in my opinion (although I usually dislike comparing authors).
What do you think?
Posts: 42 | Registered: Nov 2005
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I liked Elantris, loved the first two Mistborn books. While his writing shows a definite learning curve, I find his characters to be very likable, and his plots interesting.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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I liked Elantris and loved Mistborn. In fact, I loved Mistborn enough to go buy The Well of Ascension in hardback...and ended up abandoning it after around 200 or so pages. I felt he still had all of the problems of his earlier books (awkward dialogue and clunky characterization were the ones that bothered me the most), but since it is the second book in a series, he couldn't rely on his main strength--world building and intriguing rules of magic--to keep me interested. Plus, to paraphrase a review on Goodreads, I guess a novel about keeping a kingdom isn't as exciting as a novel about winning it. At least when Sanderson writes it...I know there are writers who keep me absolutely intrigued by political machinations. Jacquelyn Carey comes to mind...Sanderson, not so much.
Since I invested in the hardback, I might try to pick it up again sometime and give it another 100 pages to get better. But as I constantly tell my students, life is too short to read bad books. Posts: 834 | Registered: Jun 2005
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I don't really think that keeping the kingdom is the main point of the second book, although the characters think that it is. It's pretty tough to write a book where the characters don't actually know the real plot until the end, and I think it was a bit beyond Sanderson's abilities. Still, the ending made the whole book worth it, and I'm looking forward to the third one.
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I almost abandoned Well of Ascension after a hundred pages or so...it just didn't seem to be going anywhere. But it did end well and got me excited about the next one.
Brandon's got some of his work posted on his website that you can download and read, including all the drafts of another novel he's working on. Check out http://www.brandonsanderson.com/.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I thought Elantris was somewhat fun, though his writing was often awkward and his characters never really grabbed me. I started reading Mistborn and stalled around 100 pages in. I think the writing was a little better, but the characterization was still pretty poor, in my opinion, and the plot wasn't moving forward enough to keep me interested. Maybe I'll give it a second chance sometime, especially since he's finishing Robert Jordan's A Memory of Light.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by advice for robots: I almost abandoned Well of Ascension after a hundred pages or so...it just didn't seem to be going anywhere. But it did end well and got me excited about the next one.
This is pretty much EXACTLY how I felt about nearly every Wheel of Time book. Especially the first 2. The beginnings were always slow to me, but by the end, I couldn't put em down and I practically flew into the next one. Fitting that he should be the one to finish the series. Posts: 636 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Well of Ascension was a little slow, and something of a departure from the action and tone of Mistborn, but I found it quite satisfying, and the ending was great.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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I've read Mistborn and Elantris so far. I've loved them both and am looking for a place to pick up well of ascension.
Posts: 208 | Registered: Sep 2007
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I saw the paperback of Elantris in a Barnes & Noble the other day. The only reason I looked at it was because there was a quip from Orson Scott Card on the front regarding the merit of the book.
I didn't get it, but I thought about it. I was just browsing as I'd just about a CD from Best Buy and didn't want to spend anymore money. But I did notice it. And I added it to my mental database of books I want to read.
I also noticed the Jack Spratt mystery novels by Jasper Fforde. Has anyone read these? Are they good? They sounded like something I might like, but I wanted a second opinion before I picked any of them up.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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I saw those too. But I didn't pick them up off the shelf. I was tickled too much by the concept of the other books. But if his other books are good, I might check those out first.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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I came in on Elantris late, reading Mistborn first. It took a little time to get used to the setting, characters and system, but I definitely wasn't stalled in the beginning of it. I was completely enthralled by this new story with entirely new concepts. I've had my fill of elves, orcs, dwarves, wizards, etc (Aside from Tolkien -NOT the movies-, I don't think I can stomach another fantasy with the typical cast of characteristics). Brandon's books have been extremely refreshing and satisfactory from cover to cover.
I can't say the same for Robert Jordan (yawn) or some of Card's work (Empire was like a kick to the groin... which is NEVER good and I just HAD to return it. Couldn't get rid of it fast enough).
They've all got their own styles but Brandon's was, I think, the only author I've read in years that actually caught my attention past the synopsis and cover art.
Posts: 42 | Registered: Nov 2005
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The first Jack Spratt book is excellent. I actually liked it more than the Thursday Next books, because I sometimes get annoyed by the silliness of the Book World.
The second one's weaker though -- Fforde undid some of the nice characterization from the first book in order to create some unnecessary plot tensions in the second.
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I read the second Jack Spratt book, but I'm uncertain if I liked it. It was entertaining while I read it, but nothing stuck with me the moment the book was done.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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