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Posts tagged Brandon Sanderson
Review: A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan
01 year ago
My Kindle re-read of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time continues with A Crown of Swords.
This was the termination of my initial read-through of the series — at this point Path of Daggers wasn’t out yet, and I was in for a long wait for the next volume in the series. I remember being particularly bored and disillusioned with the Wheel of Time by this point, particularly with the Ebou Dar storyline. I’ve found that on my second reading of the book some 13 years later that I enjoyed it a great deal more than during my original reading — particularly (and ironically), the arc centered around Ebou Dar and the hunt for the Bowl of Winds. Mat Cauthon is increasingly becoming my favorite character in the series and seeing him finally getting treated with the respect he deserves by the Aes Sedai was satisfying, as was Elayne and Nynaeve’s dealings with the “real” sisters and the Kin.
Although more significant events take place in Lord of Chaos, A Crown of Swords is shorter and therefore unburdened by its predecessor’s many filler chapters. Not to say that there isn’t filler here — the central storyline of A Crown of Swords is a bit of a cul-de-sac for the series, as the struggle to fix the world’s broken weather is nothing more than a distraction from the Last Battle. I found it to be a relatively brief read, and although it doesn’t further the story significantly, the character movement was satisfying, and Mat’s cliffhanger is still as strong as I remembered. Tangential though the story may be, it comes down to whether or not you like the characters — I happen to be fond of them, so spending some time with Mat, Elayne and Nynaeve in Ebou Dar wasn’t a bad way to spend a week and a half of reading.
However, on the negative side, the pacing of Rand’s arc was especially uneven. The showdown at the end seemed to come out of nowhere, given that the chief antagonist was barely mentioned in A Crown of Swords before the climax. It does show that Jordan was able to move the story when he wanted to and could have resolved many of his story lines within a few chapters. However, in this case the lack of any kind of build-up to the fight left me a bit bewildered. The ending itself is incredibly rushed, the payoff seemingly unearned given the similar ending (and better set-up) featured in The Dragon Reborn. This is something I remembered from my first read-through, and my opinion has changed little on the second.
At this point, readers know whether or not they’re invested in the series — if you like Mat, Elayne and Nynaeve, then A Crown of Swords will be a worthy read. But if you’re plowing through the series eager for the start of Tarmon Gaidon, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
Review: The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
01 year ago
Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy has been a surprisingly good read, and the final volume, Hero of Ages, ends the series in a way I never quite expected. The edge hard science fiction has always had over the other speculative genres has been its ability to comment on contemporary life through a high concept setting. Epic fantasy tends to be a simpler affair, focusing on the black and white battle between good and evil over examining the human condition. Generally, it’s Joseph Campbell recycled, but not so with Hero of Ages. In the final volume of the series, Sanderson deals with issues of faith and atheism, the inconsistencies of organized religion and how normal people can made into martyrs, messiahs and gods.
Picking up a year after Well of Ascension, Hero of Ages opens on the cusp of the apocalypse. The mists, once confined to the night, are staying out longer and longer through the daytime. People exposed to them are struck down by a mysterious illness or killed, and the ash mounts are throwing a near-constant spray of ash into the atmosphere. As Vin and Elend seek out clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that may hold the secret for saving the world, Spook, Sazed and TenSoon all have trials of their own to overcome.
The various character arcs converge on an endpoint that is moving, haunting and ultimately satisfying. The action sequences are as exhilarating as in previous volumes, and although some of the characterization can come off a bit flat at times, the greater subtext of the series, as well as the revelations regarding the nature of the mists, allomancy and the world itself have real resonance.
I fear saying anything more would give too much away, but the Mistborn trilogy isn’t just a great series, it also heralds the arrival of a massive (and prolific) talent. Brandon Sanderson is the real deal — I can’t wait to read his contributions to the Wheel of Time, as well as his upcoming novel, the Way of Kings. Once you get to the end of Mistborn you’ll understand just how serious he is as a writer — this is a man who walks shoulder to shoulder with George R.R. Martin. No mean feat, given how many authors have failed to live up to the comparison.
Review: Well of Ascension (Mistborn Book 2) by Brandon Sanderson
01 year ago
With every action, there is a consequence — and Well of Ascension, the follow-up to Brandon Sanderson’s excellent Mistborn: The Final Empire is all about unintended consequences and their impact on the residents of the Final Empire.
Following the events of the first novel, things haven’t quite worked out quite how Vin, Elend and Kelsier’s crew had in mind. Luthadel is under siege and strange things are happening in the mists. A mysterious Mistborn is stalking the streets of the city at night and many questions remain about the Lord Ruler, the Deepness and allomancy.
In the first half of the book, Sanderson begins his set-up and there are some interesting twists and turns, but it does tend to drag a bit. Vin deals with some internal struggles, which while logical, do feel a bit like the infamous “ball” sequences in the first novel.
Yet somewhere after the midway point Sanderson finishes assembling his plot and things begin to unfold in a surprising and exciting manner. Although the climax of Mistborn: the Final Empire is superior, the closing events of Well of Ascension are impressively rendered, offering Sanderson’s strong blend of compelling characters and huge action sequences. The ending expertly sets up book three, following the overall theme of “unintended” consequences that runs through the course of the novel.
Despite the slow start, Well of Ascension is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor and is more proof that Brandon Sanderson is the best fantasy novelist of his generation, the true heir to Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin
Book Review: The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
01 year ago
Moiraine Sedai
When it was announced that Brandon Sanderson was tapped to complete the Wheel of Time after the untimely passing of author Robert Jordan, I suddenly had my interest in the series piqued after many years of apathy. So, I began the somewhat titanic undertaking of re-reading the Wheel of Time, a task that I am still in the midst of while alternating between one Wheel of Time book and books by other authors.
My favorite books in the Wheel of Time series remain The Great Hunt and The Shadow Rising — although The Shadow Rising does start off particularly slow. The first four volumes remain by and large coherent works that while being part of a bigger series still introduce and resolve certain plot elements within their own pages. The Fires of Heaven is the first book to make the transition from a traditional volume in a series that stands somewhat on its own, to the “super-novel” approach adopted by later books. This is when the action begins to slow down and pages and pages are spent describing clothes or going round and round through the characters’ fears and insecurities. This is not to say that important things don’t happen in The Fires of Heaven — Moiraine’s fate, Rand’s growing madness, Mat’s transformation from an archetypal trickster into something a bit more and developments in Salidar are all important to the series.
Yet, one of the most important confrontations in the novel — the battle against the Shaido — has key moments occur off-screen, while much time is spent for a final confrontation with one of the Forsaken that is not built up much through the course of the book.
The Fires of Heaven is by no means a bad book, or the worst title in Jordan’s classic series (the dubious honor falls on the completely worthless Crossroads of Twilight). But it does remind me why I gave up on this series so long ago and why some volumes are going to be a slog to get through. Luckily, it’s high points outweigh its low points. But that won’t always be the case as the series marches towards the Last Battle.
Review: Mistborn by Brendon Sanderson
11 year ago
A friend of mine recommended Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn a few years back, but for whatever reason, I did not add it to my reading list until after Sanderson had been selected to complete Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time. I consider myself a fan of fantasy, but I am often extremely skeptical of the epic fantasy sub-genre because a significant percentage of it tends to be derivative (see: Brooks, Terry; Eddings, David; Goodkind, Terry). The gold standard for me would be either George R.R. Martin or Robert Jordan, as the two moved epic fantasy out of the zone of hackneyed Tolkien rip-offs and into territory that was original and far more interesting.
So hearing that Harriet McDougal, Jordan’s widow, had personally selected Sanderson based on both his heartfelt online eulogy to Jordan and the quality of Mistborn, I knew he was someone I definitely had to take a look at. And I’m very glad that I did.
If Martin and Jordan are the heavyweights of their generation of epic fantasy authors, then Brandon Sanderson is one of the leading authors of his own generation. Mistborn offers up a wholly original setting based on the question: “What would happen if the Dark One won?” And while it does adhere to the traditional Joseph Campbell model of heroic fiction, it does set it in an unusual world where ash falls from the sky and strange mists and creatures fill the night.
At its heart, Mistborn is a heist novel, where a crack team of thieves bands together to attempt the impossible — the destruction of the Lord Ruler and his Final Empire. And as trite as that may sound, the characters are so well-painted and compelling that they really are a cut above the traditional rogue stereotype found in epic fantasy, particularly works derived from Dungeons and Dragons.
Central among the rebels is Vin, a young girl who has discovered that she is actually a Mistborn, or Sanderson’s version of a mage and Kelsier, an older Mistborn and the charismatic leader of the rebels. Again, two mage/rogues would seem cliched, if Sanderson’s magic system and physics weren’t both so well-constructed and believable. Magic in Mistborn follows a strict set of rules and is never used in a way that isn’t completely believable. Often it can be employed as deus ex machina, but in Sanderson’s novels it has its limitations.
I don’t want to say much else about the book so as not to spoil it — but it is quite remarkable. There are great set-ups and pay-offs, and some of the climactic battle scenes are exhilarating to read.
The only downside for me is that I have four other books waiting to be read on my Kindle before I can get to the next volume in the trilogy. I tend to be a cynic when it comes to the genre, but I haven’t been this excited upon completion of a fantasy novel since I finished A Storm of Swords all those years ago.