Flights of Fantasy discussion

Discussing all things Brandon Sanderson!

Here is Sanderson's suggested Where Do I Start? guide.
(Thank you, Chris, for the link).

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Well fellow fans: As I was greedily downloading the Mistborn Trilogy from Amazon (on sale for $5.75 - yes the whole trilogy, as an omnibus) I discovered:

Firefight (Reckoners Book 2)

Release date currently listed as January 6th, 2015!

In another group, I took on a challenge to read books from new authors. Earlier today, as I entered my results I was somewhat startled to realize that I only discovered the brilliance of Sanderson THIS YEAR!

I've had him on my TBR shelf for a long time, but there are so many books, so little time. I started Mistborn: The Final Empire mid-May and by July 1st I had made my way through The Alloy of Law. At that point, I was pretty starry-eyed over Sanderson.

And then, I read The Way of Kings. It was breath taking. To be honest, it broke my rating scale. I had already given the Mistborn books 5 stars (and I stand by those ratings), but this book was way beyond what I felt for them. Words of Radiance was equally as awesome. I am still baffled as to how this did not earn the status Good Reads Choice top pick for Fantasy.

I suspect that in the coming year I will be reading even more Sanderson. I already have Warbreaker ready to go from Audible and The Rithmatist for Kindle.

What a wonderful endorsement!! :)

I look forward to reading more of Sanderson's work, in 2015, as well!

Valerie wrote: "In another group, I took on a challenge to read books from new authors. Earlier today, as I entered my results I was somewhat startled to realize that I only discovered the brilliance of Sanderson..."
You should read his first Elantirs, that's where I started, very different, thoroughly enjoyed it.

2014 was my first year of Sanderson as well. I read the first two Mistborn books and will be starting the 3rd any day now. Blown away. After having suffered through a few books that I really did not like (George R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie anyone...) it was refreshing to find an author who writes fantasy the way I like it.
I've also spread the word in my reading circles about Sanderson and now we've got a bunch of people in upstate New York devouring Mistborn.

Scott wrote: "2014 was my first year of Sanderson as well. I read the first two Mistborn books and will be starting the 3rd any day now. Blown away. After having suffered through a few books that I really did..."

I SO agree with you regarding Georgie (that is how I think of George R.R. Martin). I pushed through the first two Song of Ice and Fire books, and they are okay. However, I cannot justify spending any time reading them, since there is MUCH better written fantasy out there. I have not read any Abercrombie, so I cannot speak to that, yet.


Frank, thanks for the rec. This has been added to my TBR list.

I find Brandon Sanderson to be a bit hit and miss as far as my tastes go. I didn't like Mistborn all that much, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to it. But then I'm not a huge fan of fantasy books with a high level of overt magic in them so it's probably not surprising that it wasn't my cup of tea :)

On the other hand I really liked The Rithmatist and Steelheart and am so excited for Firefight!!

Sanderson shows us a glimpse of his Dropbox files:



Click for big image

^Tease. :)

So would starting with the FoF choice be a good place to start?

Homeinmyshoes wrote: "^Tease. :)

So would starting with the FoF choice be a good place to start?"

Mistborn is probably the place where most people start with Sanderson and is probably his best known series. Most of his stuff tends to be quite different (Steelheart is a superhero story whereas Mistborn is fantasy) so it's probably just a case of finding something that sounds interesting and giving it a go. I'm not sure there really is a best place to start necessarily.

Thanks. I'll have to look. It will probably be based on library availability.

Crap. I'm going to be in Atlanta two days before his signing.

You can't stay an extra day?

No, some of us are going for work to a conference. We'll have a rental car to get us up there.

When the car mysteriously breaks down it is not a coincidence.

It's Enterprise though. Don't they come and get you?

Has anybody read any of his shorter works? I just finished Sixth of the Dusk, and liked it quite a bit. I'm kind of a sucker for stranger settings in my fiction, and the dangerous island reminded me in a good way of watching an episode of Survivorman. Plus, it shows quite a bit of how his different works link together, and that's really interesting to me.

I've read Legion & Skin Deep, and they're really good urban fantasy.

Firstborn wasn't very good, and I wasn't crazy about "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" from Dangerous Women.

"Rysn" is a story in Epic: Legends of Fantasy and is really good. However, it's really just an excerpt from The Way of Kings.

Oh, and The Hope of Elantris is good, but you'd best read Elantris first or you won't get it. It's basically an epilogue to the novel.

Mitosis is very good, but again you'll want to read Steelheart first.

I had also read The Emperor's Soul. It was really good, too, and was also in the same world as Elantris. I'm a sucker for stories set in Asian cultures, though, so I was predisposed to like that one.

I think I'm going to try to do the Philly signing - so if I can, I'll get a copy signed for you, Chris. :)

Oooo, cool..♥

Ooh, this is fantastic! I've only read this Mistborn trilogy, which I enjoyed, but it's good to know the rest of his stuff is so diverse.

I read the Mistborn Trilogy and then AOL the first of this year. I cannot believe I have never read any of his books before completely blown away. I am planning on starting The Way of Kings after I finish my current read. I am really looking forward to this from what I hear the Stormlight books are even better than the Mistborn (right now that seems impossible to me). I plan on reading Elantris and Warbreaker afterwards.

I am intrigued with Steelheart because I can not see liking a book about super heroes at all but maybe that would be the best test for me. I admit I started Alloy of Law KNOWING I would hate it and I was completely wrong some parts of it were even better than the original trilogy for me. So I think I should suspend my preconceived notions and check out Stealheart too.

Matt, I got to "AOL" in your post and I just could NOT figure out what you were talking about. My brain just stalled, and I'm like "You've got mail? THAT AOL? Whuuu?" But thankfully my eyes kept moving and eventually I was like "OHHHHHH! Alloy! He means Alloy of Law! DURRR."

Seriously, it's a wonder I've survived this long. *SMH*

Anyway, completely agree with you. Love Mistborn and Alloy, and The Way of Kings is even better, if you love epic fantasy. I didn't like Elantris QUITE as much, but only by comparison. It's still a great read. Haven't gotten to Warbreaker yet. It's on the list!

Haha! That is an unfortunate acronym for a book.

Cover reveal for Brandon's new Mistborn book, Shadows of Self, coming out in October:

Gotta love those Chris McGrath covers.

Chris wrote: "Gotta love those Chris McGrath covers."

I agree. I love his work. And, I love Sanderson. Can't wait for this book!

I still wish I could skip to Alloy of Law...

You could... it would just give away some of what happens in the main trilogy.

Maybe I'll convince myself to actually read it someday.

Some of the magic might not be as clear either if you skip. He does a ton of explaining of the magic system in that first trilogy.

Chris wrote: "Some of the magic might not be as clear either if you skip. He does a ton of explaining of the magic system in that first trilogy."


*falls asleep*

Heh. While he does repeat his explaining a bit often, the explanations themselves aren't bad.

And you might even like the series. With all those comic hero movies/shows you like, Mistborn has a similar action feel.

Becky wrote: "Cover reveal for Brandon's new Mistborn book, Shadows of Self, coming out in October:

"

Ooo, I'm really excited for this!

Can't wait for that book too! I really liked what Brandon did with AOL and can't wait to see it continued plus the third book is already done! Wax and Wayne are on my top favorite book characters list.


Just finished the two Stormlight books. I have to admit I don't know what I think of the first one felt like a long drawn out prologue. The second book was amazing though and now I feel like I want to go back and re-read the first I think I will like it a lot more now.

Can't wait for that book too! I really liked what Brandon did with AOL and can't wait to see it continued plus the third book is already done! Wax and Wayne are on my top favorite book characters list.


Just finished the two Stormlight books. I have to admit I don't know what I think of the first one felt like a long drawn out prologue. The second book was amazing though and now I feel like I want to go back and re-read the first I think I will like it a lot more now.

Matt wrote: "Can't wait for that book too! I really liked what Brandon did with AOL and can't wait to see it continued plus the third book is already done! Wax and Wayne are on my top favorite book characters l..."

Alloy of Law was a ton of fun! I liked the tie-ins from the original trilogy, but the story's more..fun. The Mistborn trilogy is fantastic, but Alloy of Law was more playful.

I keep meaning to read Stormlight Archives, and I probably will at some point (I just have other books right now).

Has anyone else read Warbreaker?

Yes AOL is more of a fun story but I don't think you would appreciate it as much without reading the trilogy first.


I'm reading Warbreaker now. I stared Elantris but it didn't grab me so I decided to read Warbreaker first then go back. I like it so far but only 5 chapters in.

I purchased Warbreaker from Audible. I am scheduled to listen to it sometime between now and June.

LOL that sounds about like my schedule. ;)

I read the first Mistborn and thought it was decent. I bought the other two at the used bookstore near my house for only $2.50...couldn't resist :)

I really enjoyed the Mistborn trilogy and both The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. I did not, however, like Steelborn that much.

A thing that frustrates me about Sandersons books is how he uses his magic. I know all of this is fantasy, and the magic system doesn't have to make much sense (although with Sanderson, it is always creative and fairly well thought out) or be realistic in for example the conservation of energy. But I always feel that the use of magic is way too limited when it is given that the conservation of energy is not a thing. The amount of energy the magic users are able to CREATE, with virtually no consequence to themselves, could for example be used for awesomely cool contraptions. This is not an issue i have solely with Sanderson, but with most other writers I don't care as much. Because looking at Sandersons well crafted worlds and well thought out magic systems, I always find myself expecting more from how his magic is used.

Anyone else feel like this?

(This was poorly written, I am not really sure how to explain what I think about the subject i bring up)

Hmm machines being powered by magic. What about in the Stormlight books

(view spoiler)[ Spanreeds, The giant levitation fabrial Navani made and the Oathgates? (hide spoiler)]

Plus I'd bet there will be more to come over the next 8 books in the series there were mentions of people working on them.

In Aloy of Law there is mention of allomatntic machines being made by people in the south. There are two future Mistborn trilogies one set in about our current time and one set in the future with spaceships there are bound to be magic powered machines in those.

There is also a Novela Sixth of Dusk set in the future (sorry I'd link it but I'm on my phone). We see magic powered machines and space travelers!

Wow, i can't believe i had forgotten about the spanreeds. Some of the different applications of stormlight are definitely going towards what was thinking of when I wrote my last comment. The use of stormlight is also fairly limited, but that seems to be explained by way of lost knowledge and lack of understanding.

My main gripe was actually with the Mistborn trilogy, they have such powerful magic, but i feel like they use it in a very limited way. For example: (view spoiler)[ When Straff and Cett are besieging the town, they could have used Coinshots and Lurchers to create "catapults" that never ran out of ammunition, and working on an extremely fast pace (hide spoiler)]

Maybe it comes down to Sanderson being a fairly new writer at the time? He has certainly become more creative in the use of his magic in his later books.

I had not heard of the two mistborn trilogies you are speaking of, but they sound amazing! Its a bit frustrating that he has so many running trilogies and series. It will take AGES to finish any single one of them when he has to write six other books before coming around to a given series again. But I am not really complaining, I always welcome good books.

Yep I get what you mean. Mistborn was always planned as a trilogy of trilogies. The first taking place in pre-industrial time, second in modern and third in future (space traveling times). So I think it was purposeful we did not see machines integrated with magic in the first trilogy but it will play a big part in the future two trilogies.

He wrote Alloy of Law as kind of treat in between the first and second trilogies. This is set a few hundred years after the end of the trilogy. It is set in turn of the century earth time. The magic system is expanded on in a really cool way. It was mentioned allomatic machines are being made by "someone in the south". I am sure that will be a big part of the next two Wax and Wayne books one being released in October the other January. There is supposed to be one more book in the series. I really enjoyed this book and am eagerly awaiting the next ones in this series.

I think Sanderson's idea is to show how magic interacts with an evolving technology over the course of different time periods. It is really a cool concept we just have to wait. Of course Sanderson beats about all of the quality fantasy writers in speed of writing so that is good.


One thing I didn't know about Sanderson's books when I first started reading them is most of them are set in the same universe called the Cosmere. There is a bigger underlining Cosmere plot that is hinted at in the books. It makes reading them even more enjoyable trying to find the easter eggs about the Cosmere. There is character named Hoid that has the ability to "world hop" between the planets in the Cosmere. He shows up as different rolls in the books. Sometimes going by Hoid sometimes as a alias. The worlds are called "Shardworlds". Shards are what the different magic systems originate from. Here is more info about the Cosmere http://coppermind.net/wiki/Cosmere

I have now finished all the published Cosmere books and if you are interested in the Cosmere below is my suggested reading order to get the most out of it.


1) Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set- Should make you a Sanderson fan. Cosmere world of Scadrial

2) The Alloy of Law- Amazing follow up to Mistborn. Main characters Wax and Wayne are probably one of my favorite Sanderson characters. Also Scadrial 300 or so years after original trilogy.

3 ) Elantris- Sanderson's first book and you can tell. It is a stand alone book sequel is planned. Still a good read but I would rank it my least favorite book. Cosmere world of Sel.

4) Warbreaker- Stand alone book a sequel is planned. I really enjoyed this book. This is really the only one I would highly recommend you read in a certain order. There are tie-ins to the second Stormlight book that make it much more interesting if you read this before Words of Radiance. Cosmere world of Nalthis.


5) The Way of Kings Words of Radiance- Just epic! I admit though the first book is a little slow but you will appreciate it a lot more after the second book. Planned to have 8 more books. Again it is not a must but there are some big tie-ins to Warbreaker at the end of WoR that make it more enjoyable if you read it first. Cosmere world of Roshar.

Novelas
These you do not have to read in any order but offer more about the Cosmere. These are all stand alone.

1) The Emperor's Soul- This is set in the same world as Elantris in a different part of the world than the events in that book. You do not really need to read Elantris before this book. I actually liked this book more than Elantris. Cosmere wold of Sel.

2) Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell- This is the darkest Sanderson book I have read. It is set in a minor Shardworld meaning there is not a Shard present to power magic. In these people do not necessarily have magic powers they however interact with residual magic in the world presumably from "Shard Splinters". Cosmere world of Threnody.

3) Sixth of the Dusk- This is set farthest in the future of any of the other books. It is also on a minor Shardworld. Cosmere world of First of the Sun.

The Cosmere will be expanded on in future books. Sanderson has said there will be a series explaining the formation of the Cosmere (Hoid's books) but this will not happen until all the Mistborn books are written so decades from now. All the series are still stand alone from each other but this is just another layer to onion if you will I think is really cool.

I've read Alloy of Law as well. I liked it better than the Mistborn trilogy, and the further exploration of Allomancy and Feruchemy was pretty cool. I had no idea this series was called Wax and Wayne... that's a really good name!

Man, when I learned about the Cosmere, I spent several hours trying to figure stuff out. With this wiki-link you have probably ruined the rest of my easter plans :p

Thanks for the list, I will read Elantris next.

Matt, have you read The Hope of Elantris? It's a short story afterward to Elantris. It's available on Sanderson's website, I believe.

Øystein wrote: "Wow, i can't believe i had forgotten about the spanreeds. Some of the different applications of stormlight are definitely going towards what was thinking of when I wrote my last comment. The use of..."

I think there is some discussion of the laws of physics in the sequel to Steelehart, Firefight. I can't remember if the main character gets beyond "this is weird" or not though. I also think that's how some of the gadgets come into being.