Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

The Rithmatist - Brandon Sanderson

January 5, 2021.
Requested by Siobhan & Charlie .

Thanks Jenna! :)

Oh, I think i'll join. The one Sanderson I haven't read that has been sitting on my bookshelves awhile.

Rob wrote: "Oh, I think i'll join. The one Sanderson I haven't read that has been sitting on my bookshelves awhile."

That's great Rob! :)

Hi everyone. I got the book down from the shelf and am ready for this when you are. :)

Read the first two chapters and I'm hooked, this is excellent! (view spoiler)[ So from what I gather, chalk monsters are in the wild so Rithmatists are trained to fight them? (hide spoiler)]

Part 1 complete. (view spoiler)[ I really like Fitch, he seems like a good egg, I'm glad Joel is going to work with him.

Without any evidence, I've already decided that Nalizar is the big bad in this book, I hope Joel and Fitch outst him. (hide spoiler)]

Y'all are fast. I'll start this afternoon :)

Ok, this is going to be a great jumping-off point from having finished watching "Queen's Gambit" on Netflix yesterday.

I will start tonight :)

I've finished part 3, guys I've read 200 pages of this in one sitting today, something I very rarely do anymore. Let me just say, this is freaking great, I am so hooked. While the plot is much simpler than Sanderson's adult stuff, his storytelling powers of awesomeness aren't diminished one bit.

(view spoiler)[

I still think Nalizar is the murderer. I know that's probably too obvious and he likely save the day or something but I just don't like him.

Joel's poor mum. She's practically an indentured servant. She works double shifts every day to pay off a debt that isn't even hers to some (presumably) loan shark. This is not right. Someone needs to step in and help her. Maybe the nice police officer man, who I really like. He's a bit of a caricature, but that's okay.

Melody is really cool. I like that she’s a bit odd, I relate, as I’m sure do many nerdy types! Sanderson is good at knowing his audience and I think teenager me would have really loved her. I love her chalklings, especially her unicorns, very cool.

I’m super interested in the process of becoming a Rithmatist. Joel never even got a chance since he didn't go through the chamber thing. My hope is that he’ll eventually become one, because he deserves it!

(hide spoiler)] I’m super excited to read more of this (probably tomorrow) and to hear everyone's thoughts, i’m so into it.

Hello lovely people! :)

Yesterday I was talking about Sanderson books and we also discussed The Rithmatist. I think I already read it 3 times, but afterwards I really wanted to do a reread and remembered that I saw a Buddy Read Thread starting today. So I already started this morning not knowing who requested the thread, what a nice surprise it is to see some of my favorite Buddies here :)

Charlie - how have you read so much today?! 😱

Anni - yayyy welcome!!

Through chapter 2 - (view spoiler)[ I really like the premise, including the map at the beginning of the US broken up into islands! Very cool. I love a good map!
Joel seems like a sweet kid, I'm interested to follow his story as an underdog at this posh school. :) (hide spoiler)]

Welcome Anni, so glad you're joining us!

@Siobhan I don't even know?! I really liked (view spoiler)[ the map of the islands too. This world is similar to our world, but it's not our world and that is clear immediately by just looking at the map which is awesome. (hide spoiler)]

I may be the odd one out because I really don't care much about maps.
A few chapters in and I had forgotten how great this was!

I am such a map freak 😁 I want them framed and on my walls! Even just our actual world map, I love it. Want one on a big canvas 😅

Charlie wrote: "Part 1 complete. I."

I share your instincts here!! (view spoiler)[ I love Fitch too, bless him.
I didn't have much opinion on Nalizar yesterday, but listening to the audio today they make him sound like Snape and that is greatly influencing my hatred 😂 (hide spoiler)]

@Siobhan - I thought it was only me who made that analogy in my head!! :D He totally sounds like Snape to me too and I'm only reading. But that's sort of how I pictured him.

Same! I'm reading a physical copy and he immedietly reminded me of Snape! His sense of superiority and meanesss to children did it.

I have a physical copy and discovered it was on Scribd today and was overjoyed to hear Michael Kramer reading it. I'm through Chapter 5. Amazing I did any of this and prepped for a meeting tonight while streaming cspan/msnbc....

(view spoiler)[So Joel is instantly a relatable and likable protagonist. He's essentially all of us readers - dreaming of being able to do magic pretty much. Sanderson hasn't really dropped many hints yet, but looks like some focus will be on Joel's father's death as a background piece while the mystery of the missing rithmatist is about to take center stage. I had to turn it off just at the point where Joel was asking fritch about a summer elective. So far so good. (hide spoiler)]

Also noticing this buddyread was on the group bookshelf but doesn't appear to be there anymore and isn't in the list of "currently reading' for the fbr, strange.

Rob wrote: "I have a physical copy and"

He really is, I love Joel and i'm totally rooting for him. That's odd about the bookshelf, no idea what's happened there.

Siobhan wrote: "I am such a map freak 😁 I want them framed and on my walls! Even just our actual world map, I love it. Want one on a big canvas 😅"

Me too! I in general love the artwork of this book with all its graphics and drawings :)

I am very thankful for the drawings. I'm not sure how well he'd have gotten his points across without them or at least in a way that I'd understand them anyway :)

That's true, Rob!

I finished Part 2, and I love the characters, they are all so adorable, especially Fitch :) (view spoiler)[ I also love how dramatic Melody is :D I saw this picture earlier and it's fitting, isn't it?




Can't say much theory-wise but I really like how Sanderson implemented his magic system into the world. He also always adds heavy questions and topics that point out injustice. For example with Joel's mother, how much work she's doing without her getting any appreciation or helo to pay of the debt she Inherited. (hide spoiler)]

wow where is that art from? different edition?

No, it showed up as I googled Melody to make sure I got her name correctly. I guess it's fanart.

That is gorgeous Anni. :)

And I feel the same about the drawings Rob.

Sir Anni wrote: "That's true, Rob!

I finished Part 2, and I love the characters, they are all so adorable, especially Fitch :) ..."

That art is amazing, Anni! Good find :)

I'm up to chapter 17. (view spoiler)[ They've just visited the crime scene of the 3rd kid to disappear. I'm super interested by the magic system and how the killer seems to be using stuff Fitch doesn't even know.

One slightly jarring thing is the way the Inspector takes Joel's questions and input so seriously. He's not a Rithmatist, and he's a child! Like when would the police ever take him seriously?! 😅 Weird.

I feel like the magic system and quirky feel of this book are what Charlie Holmberg was aiming for with The Paper Magician - but what a swing and a miss!! This is 100 times better. (hide spoiler)]

Finished! Really enjoyed it :)

(view spoiler)[ I liked the twists with Exton and Harding. I felt like Exton was too obvious since we saw his name on that old class list. And then who on earth leaves that much incriminating evidence lying around?! 😅 I love that it was really Harding who was investigating the whole time, that's always a nice twist. Plus the extra, it was really Nalizar masterminding it thing.

I'm kinda glad Joel didn't just get to become a Rithmatist after his second chance test. Would have been too easy and convenient.

Can't wait to see the next book one day! Great world Sanderson has created. :) (hide spoiler)]

Rob wrote: "I am very thankful for the drawings. I'm not sure how well he'd have gotten his points across without them or at least in a way that I'd understand them anyway :)"

Totally agree with this! The drawing really help me understand. One thing I'm a bit confused about, the binding circles, is the rithmatsist inside of one or behind it?

Sir Anni wrote: "That's true, Rob!

I finished Part 2, and I love the characters, they are all so adorable, especially Fitch :) I also love how dramatic Melody is :D I saw this picture earlier and it's fitting, is..."

That art is amazing, I love it! The magic system is awesome, I honestly don't get how Sanderson comes up with all these amazing magic systems, guy is a genius.

Siobhan wrote: "Sir Anni wrote: "That's true, Rob!

I finished Part 2, and I love the characters, they are all so adorable, especially Fitch :) ..."

That art is amazing, Anni! Good find :)

I'm up to chapter 17. ..." The inspector bugs me too, he's very indulgent with Joel and the way he speaks, it's very middle grade, yet these characters are supposed to be 16 So this is a YA book? I feel like his character specifically sticks out and doesn't fit the tone of the rest of the book.

Charlie wrote: "Rob wrote: "I am very thankful for the drawings. I'm not sure how well he'd have gotten his points across without them or at least in a way that I'd understand them anyway :)"

Totally agree with t..."

Definitely feels middle grade Charlie, I agree. But you'd think with the age of the characters it should be YA.

Finished! I loved it! @Siobhan I agree with you, the twists were great, I was right (view spoiler)[ about Nalizar after all!! (hide spoiler)]

Finished it too and loved it.

And I totally agree. It feels middle grade.

It's been a while since I read this one, but I remember having the same impression of it being middle-grade, or at least younger than I was expecting. But it was still good fun, and leave it to Sanderson to execute a concept and magic system. I also remember liking the unicorns. Thanks for sharing the fanart, Anni!

Melissa wrote: "It's been a while since I read this one, but I remember having the same impression of it being middle-grade, or at least younger than I was expecting. But it was still good fun, and leave it to San..."

Yes it was great fun! :) Super cool original magic system.

I'm glad we read it!

Siobhan wrote: "Yes it was great fun! :) Super cool original magic system.

I'm glad we read it!"

Me too! I so wish that we get a sequel someday!

I'm so glad we all love it, and yeah, the unicorns were brilliant!

Still going. Up to chapter 19 here. It makes me really wish Sanderson wrote more stand-alone novels as the pieces are all coming together quickly though some of them, given this is a middle-grade to YA book is more obvious than in his other works. Still, love the characters and the worldbuilding. I'd like to hear more about the background of how the world came to be this way. Haven't seen much of that up through chapter 18. Not even quite sure what date is supposed to be, but guessing the early 20th century? If I get some chill time today for a change, I would like to knock it out before the day is over :)

Rob wrote: "Still going. Up to chapter 19 here. It makes me really wish Sanderson wrote more stand-alone novels as the pieces are all coming together quickly though some of them, given this is a middle-grade t..."

I'd love some more standalones from him too, even noevellas would be fine. As much as I adore long, epic series, it's nice to just read something and be done.

That's what I thought for the era too, Rob.

I also wish Sanderson would write some more standalones! It's great seeing what he can achieve on a smaller scale.

I stayed up late and powered through to finish around 1 in the morning last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit and now I get to join the throng of people clamoring for the next installment. So many unanswered questions!

Rob wrote: "I stayed up late and powered through to finish around 1 in the morning last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit and now I get to join the throng of people clamoring for the next installment. So many un..."

Hahaha! I love the GIF! I need to keep it in mind, because my goodness, I could use it for soooo many books.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Yeah, according to the latest State of the Sanderson, nothing expected until after Stormlight 5. Sanderson is fun, and prolific, but waiting on a particular series can be maddening for a binge-reader.

@Rob glad you enjoyed it! I think we can safely call this BR a sucess since everyone liked the book!

@Melissa so I get that he's booked solid for the next 5 years with his writing scheuled but I still think he might surprise us with someting small and unplanned in that time, maybe a novella or a sequel to this maybe? I can only hope.

I loved The Emperor's Soul so a novella would be great! :)

Finished this tonight! What a fun read. I'm fairly new to Sanderson but I'm absolutely loving his world-building and magic systems. I thought the illustrations were awesome and loved how it felt like we were learning side-by-side with Joel and Melody. Curious to see how the story unfolds in the next book...

Gave it a 4/5 stars