Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
If you have an email ending in @hotmail.com, @live.com or @outlook.com (or any other Microsoft-related domain), please consider changing it to another email provider; Microsoft decided to instantly block the server's IP, so emails can't be sent to these addresses.
If you use an @yahoo.com email or any related Yahoo services, they have blocked us also due to "user complaints"
-UE
If you use an @yahoo.com email or any related Yahoo services, they have blocked us also due to "user complaints"
-UE
Comments
@lrdgck: Eh, I'm not going to judge the book or anything, but it made me feel a bit icky reading it. I wouldn't say that's the reason I put it down but it was a contributing factor. (The larger one simply being I had other stuff I was more interested in reading.)
@ClockworkUniverse: Man, that might beat out "The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault."
I forgot how glorious that opening line is.
I really, really liked Elantris, but I still think the Mistborn trilogy are his best work. Of what I've read anyway - I still need to get around to Stormlight and The Alloy of Law.
EDIT: I was planning on attempting to tackle a reread of WoT next, but I might actually read Stormlight first. I can't believe I haven't yet.
Really liking this so far, but just going on WoK and Elantris, I have to ask: does Sanderson ever write stories in which some form of magic Skype doesn't exist?
Mistborn doesn't have anything like that.
Well, so far, Raoden is basically trying to be Kaladin. Looking forward to seeing if he can deliver on that.
Yeah I guess I should read Elantris sometime too.
Up to chapter 12.
I think Hrathen might have just weaponized hipsterism. (though a few pages later, that doesn't seem to be working for him)
So, CU, question: What do you think about Sadeas?
Hm.
Well, he isn't exactly a nice guy, but I get the impression that he's more of a product of the governmental system he lives in than just an ordinary asshole. Character development is possible, but for the moment he's most definitely a villain (or at least a face to embody the obstacles created by the nobility).
See, I got the impression that Sadeas is actually different from the nobility, too.
That is; I believe that he's a villain to Dalinar, but to the story as a whole, Sadeas is not a villain any more than Elhokar is.
So, other questions:
What do you think about Jasnah?
What do you think about Kaladin and Dalinar?
and, lastly, what do you think about the theme of honour throughout the book?
I'd say she's pretty awesome overall, though she's extremely hesitant to open up to other people about her world-saving research. Admittedly she has good reasons for that given that people are trying to kill her over it. Shallan's presence will hopefully change that to some extent.
They are awesome, and they're awesome in ways that reinforce each other.
Well, that's a big question.
Szeth, meanwhile, can't really be classified as a hero or a villain any more than a sword can. He's letting himself essentially be a tool because, as I understand it, his honor demands it due to whatever he did to become Truthless. This will likely lead to the philosophical question of whether it's possible for losing your honor to be the most honorable action in a situation in a later book, possibly the very next, since he's going after Dalinar next.
(for some reason, regular spoilers stopped working after the first one
)
It's hinted that something has happened to Jasnah in her past, too, to make her so reticent to open to others.
Can you go into more detail regarding Kaladin/Dalinar?
So, Elantris is pretty awesome. Can't compare it to WoK at this point since I'm only about 25% through, but it's up there.
Well, essentially, they're both defined by their honor and commitment, though in entirely different ways. Kaladin is all about keeping people alive, while Dalinar's goal is more to improve society.
Well, Kaladin isn't like that for part of his time as a slave, but he grows out of it.
Jasnah is complicated, but delightfully so.
Actually, now that I think about it, whenever things go wrong, they go wrong when some part of ten or five (half of ten) is lost. Nine forsaking the pact. Four great cities and one lost one.
I'd say that Dalinar and Kaladin are both defined by their roles.
Dalinar, meanwhile, is a warrior turned highprince. His entire life, he's been a killer, and he's very good at killing. Now, he's responsible for leading- and he is all too aware that leading is the ultimate form of service. Now, he's leading people into war, determined to keep them alive.
The difference is in how they view their role, really. Kaladin is a surgeon- he's worried about people on an individual basis; he wants to keep people alive because that's what he does. Dalinar is a leader- he's worried about his people; he wants to keep people alive because they are his people, and he serves them.
Kaladin protects them from among them, while Dalinar protects them from afar. Both are different methods, that achieve the same goal.
That sounds right.
So, about 2/3 done with Elantris now.
For those who haven't read it, I'd describe it like this: it's about politics, religion and magic zombies.
so the sequel to the shining comes out next year
Finished part 2 of Elantris.
This book is really, really awesome.
I'm about four pages later.
This book is really, really, really awesome.
Brandon Sanderson is pretty much my favorite author.
Maybe I should reread Elantris too, after Stormlight. It's been a while, I think.
Finished. 23 hours after starting.
Damn, that was the last fifty pages of Way of Kings all over again, though in WoK I didn't feel stupid for not guessing all the twists.
Overall, I liked this...almost exactly as much as WoK. Though I think the Stormlight books as a collective will likely be the better work just by virtue of there being so much more of them.
I kind of want to see something else in this setting, though I'm not sure what that would be.
Oh, and Hoid barely showed up. That was a little disappointing :c
now read mistborn
What do you think I'm doing?
yes good
What I've heard of Elantris is that the writing is a bit worse than usual for him, by virtue of being his first book, but that otherwise, it's good. I don't see myself reading that much Sanderson, though. I still have to finish a bunch of stuff.
Also, how long was it? You're just blazing through all these books and I'm reading three chapters of stuff each day.
487 pages.
The writing isn't quite as good, but it still met expectations. The story is really good. Three words: zombie Jedi artists.
-makes obvious Gurren Lagann reference-
So, I'm reading Trudi Canavan's Traitor Spy trilogy at the moment.
It's the third trilogy she's written, and the second trilogy taking place in her Black Magician universe. There is a standalone book taking place hundreds of years before either of the trilogys, too.
Ordinarily, I don't have a lot of good things to say about fantasy works- many of them are unoriginal, uninspired, and blandly written.
Canavan's works are... well, her writing is adequate, but it's nothing special. The themes she explores in her books, though, are truly worth something. She explores sexism, classism, homosexuality, and a lot of other things that are not often explored in fantasy. (Plus, it's a world populated entirely by humans, a true rarity in fantasy these days.)
I can't say a lot yet, as I'm barely into the second book of an unfinished trilogy, but if you're looking for more fantasy to read, I'd suggest giving Trudi Canavan a go.
at least
you don't go around and buy all these books to see if any of them don't suck
>
no, i do it for you
sheesh