Timewaster's Guide Archive

hmmm, good point book - Viggo is a bit on in years...  the Eledn actor should be, probably around early to mid 20s. Maybe Tom Welling?

And all this after I tried to steer the conversation back towards the original topic

I do not believe I ever read the Immortality series. He has so many books, I would have to be very dedicated to read them all....

Anyway, I was pondering the WoT series in relation to Mistborn and Elantris and came to a revelation....


Most hero-fantasy novels, or even just hero-fiction novel in general follow a formulaic bent. For example, in many books and movies, there is the simple farm boy, or McDonald's worker or whatever who gets swept up and saves the day/becomes king etc. There are variations to this but pretty much this is how it goes.

The Wheel of Time follows that formula, initially. and branches out with similar things happening to princesses, etc.

Brandon twists that formula a little bit in Elantris and Mistborn. In Elantris, the heroes are the princess pawn and the heir to the throne who is reviled by his father. Mistborn has a similar theme, with one of the main heroes being the heir to the most powerful nobel being reviled by his father.

But there are striking similarities between WoT and Mistborn in terms of progression. In both series, the beginning hero/heroine starts out with a small group, and the cast of charachters gradually expands. But what is rather unique is that both series do not just expand the cast, they make all of the main and sub-main charachters dynamic. There is little of a charachter doing something out of characnter to progress a plot point (as has been the case on the TV series "Heroes" this season). Many books and authors introduce a great many charachters, but rarely do they make them dynamic, and rarely are we treated to an in depth look at them.

And I believe, ultimately, that is one of the reasons Brandon was annointed to finalize this series. His writing is obviously heavily influenced by the works of Robert Jordan, add to that his obviously great imagination (seriously, who ever would have thought about swallowing shaved metal as a magic system?) and his tenacious attention to detail. And Brandon could very well be "the next Robert Jordan".

I never read the Discworld books..  I dont remember what I read really, but he didn't land on my "authors to read" list at all from what I have read.

I read many of the Myth books as well, quite juvenile, but fun. As for the Phule's War set, I found them to be highly intelligent reads, if you paid attention.

Piers Anthony's high-brow stuff can be quite compelling, and like Brandon's books, can start off slow and one must have patience to get through the first few chapters. I felt that "But What of Earth?" his first book, reads alot like Elantris in style and pacing.

However, upon reflection, i think the Mistborn series can be compared to Fiest's Magician series in term of writing style pacing and payoff. (Granted, I have not yet read Hero of Ages). I would even go as far to say that "A Darkness at Sethanon" left me with the same feelings as "Well of Ascension" while I was reading and when I finished. Both left me agape in some areas and both had me afraid for the charachters and sympathetic of the villians (and pawns of villians).

Even though you already mad eyour decision, as a "newbie" here, i thought I would chime in.

I read Mistborn first (both books, waiting on HoA) and then Elantris. I think if I had not read Mistborn first, I would have given up on Elantris by the 2nd chapter. elantris started off very rough and somewhat confusing. You have to have alot of patience to make it past the 4th or 5th chapter. but the payoff is worth it. but since I had read Mistborn, I knew how good of an auther Brandon was already, so I stuck with it. New readers of his works may not be so inclined.


A tidbit concerning my fantasy/scifi reading background:
I first read Lord of the Rings when I was about 9 (or close to 30 years ago). Since then I have read several hundred, if not thousands of books. some by the bigger name authors like jordan, Pohl, Fiest, Eddings etc. some by middling, or unknown authors. I consider myself well versed in fantasy novels. I have never read Harry Potter.