quigonejinn (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
quigonejinn) wrote2017-10-30 01:38 pm
quigonejinn) wrote2017-10-30 01:38 pm
on brandon sanderson and the mistborn trilogy
1. The Shadow Isle by Katharine Kerr
2. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
3. The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch
4. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
5. Precious and Grace by Alexander McCall Smith
6. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith.
7. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
8. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
9. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
I mean, in a lot of ways, the Mistborn series is the exact opposite of the Harry Potter books.
Because boy, if you're looking for a well-thought out, cohesive system of magic with a well-thought out, well-paced plot that was clearly not just, like, stitched together under deadline, Sanderson delivers and then some. The system of magic might, in fact, be unique among all the other fantasy that I've read, and the way he teaches it to you is pretty darn good. And the opening third of the first book is actually genuinely good -- I read it on a cross-country flight, figuring I'd read about 30 minutes worth, get motion sick as I do, and then nap the rest of the way to San Francisco. But I ended up reading in burning fury for the next four hours because I liked the system of magic he was building, and the internal moral compass of the world. Early on, there are some nice subversions of standard high-fantasy oppressed people tropes, and in the final act, there are some truly, truly lovely reveals that are genuinely delightful.
On the other hand, holy shit, guys. He is the worst at making you love a character.
HE IS SO
FUCKING B A D.
It's stunning. Like, one of the main characters of the three-book series is a hard-souled teenage murder-girl who grows up in an abusive environment on the streets and gains immense destructive superhuman powers, and you think I would go to town on that shit, just pull up my chair to the table and whip out my knife and fork and dig in, but lord, no. She has this grand love affair, but Sanderson never really gets into the push and the pull and feelings. Sure, he'll talk about Vin feels emotionally conflicted, but he never makes you feel it. He never makes you laugh. He never makes you cry. I'd argue that the only character that comes closest to being alive for the reader actually dies halfway through the first book -- and granted, I understand why he did that, and it was a super-interesting narrative choice that upends expectations in a more subtle and interesting way than, say, GRRM executing Ned Stark. But guys, the writing in the first book is just barely passable, like, the fucking Mendoza line of fantasy writing, and in the first part of the second book, it's FUCKING TRAGIC.
Like, Sanderson wants to set up this ~~~~ love triangle ~~~~~ between the main lady character and these two other characters who are half-brothers, and when he tries to describe Vin's angst and feelings of being torn between them, it's exactly as bullshit as you think it is. Everybody's emotional state gets spelled out in black and white text, and there's no subtlety or grace or life or humor or actual, real emotional connection to the characters. You get more of an emotional connection to Neville Longbottom in one frickin' visit to his parents at St. Mungo's than you do in TWO FUCKING THOUSAND PAGES OF VIN. The tiny glimpse of Knockturne Alley that you get in the first Harry Potter book is single-handedly more evocative and interesting than the entirety of Luthadel that you get in TWO FUCKING THOUSAND PAGES.
Then again, with JKR, the characters were engaging, and there was grace and life and humor, and if you didn't end up being charmed at some point by the books and the littlepuns and the jokes, you probably aren't human, but my God, where the fuck did we end up???? WHAT IS THIS THE LAST BOOK IS NOT ACTUALLY ABOUT HORCRUXES???? TEN THOUSAND YEARS OF FAFFING ABOUT IN THE WILDERNESS IN A TENT????
Also, somebody fucking tell Sazed about oral sex. For a dude who supposedly knows everything and has all the details of all the religions stored in metal minds, I guess he never fucking ran into a religion that talked about going down on a woman????????????????????????????????????????????????
2. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
3. The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch
4. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
5. Precious and Grace by Alexander McCall Smith
6. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith.
7. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
8. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
9. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
I mean, in a lot of ways, the Mistborn series is the exact opposite of the Harry Potter books.
Because boy, if you're looking for a well-thought out, cohesive system of magic with a well-thought out, well-paced plot that was clearly not just, like, stitched together under deadline, Sanderson delivers and then some. The system of magic might, in fact, be unique among all the other fantasy that I've read, and the way he teaches it to you is pretty darn good. And the opening third of the first book is actually genuinely good -- I read it on a cross-country flight, figuring I'd read about 30 minutes worth, get motion sick as I do, and then nap the rest of the way to San Francisco. But I ended up reading in burning fury for the next four hours because I liked the system of magic he was building, and the internal moral compass of the world. Early on, there are some nice subversions of standard high-fantasy oppressed people tropes, and in the final act, there are some truly, truly lovely reveals that are genuinely delightful.
On the other hand, holy shit, guys. He is the worst at making you love a character.
HE IS SO
FUCKING B A D.
It's stunning. Like, one of the main characters of the three-book series is a hard-souled teenage murder-girl who grows up in an abusive environment on the streets and gains immense destructive superhuman powers, and you think I would go to town on that shit, just pull up my chair to the table and whip out my knife and fork and dig in, but lord, no. She has this grand love affair, but Sanderson never really gets into the push and the pull and feelings. Sure, he'll talk about Vin feels emotionally conflicted, but he never makes you feel it. He never makes you laugh. He never makes you cry. I'd argue that the only character that comes closest to being alive for the reader actually dies halfway through the first book -- and granted, I understand why he did that, and it was a super-interesting narrative choice that upends expectations in a more subtle and interesting way than, say, GRRM executing Ned Stark. But guys, the writing in the first book is just barely passable, like, the fucking Mendoza line of fantasy writing, and in the first part of the second book, it's FUCKING TRAGIC.
Like, Sanderson wants to set up this ~~~~ love triangle ~~~~~ between the main lady character and these two other characters who are half-brothers, and when he tries to describe Vin's angst and feelings of being torn between them, it's exactly as bullshit as you think it is. Everybody's emotional state gets spelled out in black and white text, and there's no subtlety or grace or life or humor or actual, real emotional connection to the characters. You get more of an emotional connection to Neville Longbottom in one frickin' visit to his parents at St. Mungo's than you do in TWO FUCKING THOUSAND PAGES OF VIN. The tiny glimpse of Knockturne Alley that you get in the first Harry Potter book is single-handedly more evocative and interesting than the entirety of Luthadel that you get in TWO FUCKING THOUSAND PAGES.
Then again, with JKR, the characters were engaging, and there was grace and life and humor, and if you didn't end up being charmed at some point by the books and the littlepuns and the jokes, you probably aren't human, but my God, where the fuck did we end up???? WHAT IS THIS THE LAST BOOK IS NOT ACTUALLY ABOUT HORCRUXES???? TEN THOUSAND YEARS OF FAFFING ABOUT IN THE WILDERNESS IN A TENT????
Also, somebody fucking tell Sazed about oral sex. For a dude who supposedly knows everything and has all the details of all the religions stored in metal minds, I guess he never fucking ran into a religion that talked about going down on a woman????????????????????????????????????????????????
no subject
A whole bunch of people told me I would love these books, and so now I wonder why they hate me. I mean, yes, the magic system was brilliant, and I liked the structure of the first book, but he cannot write a woman or a believable romance (the FREAKING EUNICH had the best romance).
The second book - OMG - page after page of tedious political shenanigans. The third book - we will invent a blue species that is all powerful and then the ending, I can’t even with the illogic of the ending.
But yes, there are a bunch of good points to the whole thing and that makes it even worse that he didn’t pull it together into greatness.
no subject
And yeah, the ways it could have been good are so enraging. You could see it! You could feel it!
And the emotional hardness of the beginning, and the little bits and glimpses of actual characterization, all drowned in character nonsense and don't even get me started on how annoyed I am S T I L L about the so-called political maneuvering in the second book.
Sigh. I am glad to still see you around, tho!