Timewaster's Guide Archive

Kestrel,
Couldn't your extremely high praise of Brandon also be considered "Fanboyism"?  Also, don't you think one chapter of a book, especially one that requires reading of prior books in order to understand it, is too little a sampling to make a sound judgement?  As hard as it is for me to believe that a Fantasy enthusiast would be unable to at least read through and respect Tolkien, never mind Jordan, I respect your opinion.

I don't know if I'm a fangirl. It's hard to say where one is just a huge fan and where one's love is more irrational. I also am not entirely sure if I'd agree that one needs more than a single chapter to judge a book by. Maybe for a more detailed judgment, but I think one can tell from the outset if they'd at least -possibly- enjoy a book.

As for Tolkien, I don't like him for the same reason I don't like Jordan--dry, overly wordy, etc. I don't see being overly verbose as any sign of intelligence or a hallmark of great literature. I'm also just not a fan of Tolkien-esque elements in fantasy--regardless of the author, I have little interest in orcs, willowy, woodsy elves, hobbits/halflings (*shudder*), the list goes on.

Also, there are apparently some misunderstandings that Kestrel needs to have cleared up, really to many to go into in any great detail. Basically, I would recommend the person to learn to read more widely.

Haha, oh wow. Wow. I'm sorry for laughing, because I haven't posted here often enough for anyone to know much about me, but to even suggest I need to read more widely. Dear, I read everything from Dickens to Murakami, from Nabokov to Saramago to Yoshikawa, to any more "pulpy" fantasy you'd pick up on a Barnes & Noble shelf. My reading experience has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I think Jordan is overly wordy. It's the same reason I can't stand Tolkien. It's too bloody dry.

Just because Kestrel said that the chapter was boring doesn't mean that you need to say that Kestrel is, essentially, ignorant...Kestrel pointed out the things he (or she, not quite sure) that he didn't care for...

Thank you. I didn't think I was coming off as overly inflammatory, though I am aware that Wheel of Time fans seem to be incredibly devoted--after this many books, I'm not surprised. Hell, I dated a hardcore fan for three years, I'm aware of people's love for the series. And it's she, just to clear that up.

I do feel that when someone "goes out" as hard as Kestrel did in this case, they should expect some opposition.

Don't worry, I did. xD I wasn't trying to troll or anything, but I certainly expected disagreement.

Sanderson's published work is clearly inferior to Jordan's by any yardstick.

Agreeing with Bookstore Guy in saying "not by mine." I've read nearly everything Sanderson's released by now barring the Alcatraz books, and I'd choose him as the more enjoyable and more capable author than Jordan any day--no offense to Jordan, of course. Like I said, Brandon seems much more capable when it comes to his systems of magic (though I do enjoy what exists in WoT), infusing characters with life, and the amount of detail put into his work in general. By detail I don't mean how I complained about Jordan's descriptions, I mean how things all connect--such as the ending result of Sazed's religious studies in Mistborn.

Kestrel's was needless raving that i found offensive

I explained exactly what I found to my displeasure about the chapter, my post was hardly "needless raving." I understand some Wheel of Time fans are to literature what console fanboys are to video games, but I've been as polite as possible in the matter--I would appreciate if you did the same, regardless of differing opinions. I'm not attacking you for your love of a book I find dull, am I? I fail to see how you could find that 'Offensive' unless you'd been the author yourself.

Wait, what comes out this month? o_o

And yes, that is certainly a great thing. Few authors seem to be as prolific as he's been managing!

The description of the wind is something that only happens in first chapters of Wheel of Time books. The rest of the chapters will be more character-focused.

But:

Quote

Even when we finally do see the characters, they're barely there for a paragraph before it launches off into more melodramatic scenery.

Surely you're exaggerating.

Erm, no...? There was perhaps the equivalent of a single paragraph of dialogue, then more shoveling in of unnecessary details, then another small bit of dialogue, then still more shoveling. If you want to count characters' inner voice, then the amount of non-descriptive text in the chapter increases by only a miniscule amount. Like I said, I love description and detail in books--I myself have quite a bit of it in the novel I'm editing--but at some point it starts getting ridiculous.

Call me the voice of dissension, apparently, because I absolutely hated it. I read it through three times, and I couldn't stand it at all. I've never been a fan of Jordan, but I was hoping such a fantastic author as Sanderson could make the books actually interesting to read. I'd have read through all of the first Wheel books if these ended up half as promising as anything else Brandon's ever done.

But, no...This was just as boring as the writing that turned me off of Wheel of Time from the very first book. It didn't sound like Brandon's style at all. It's too descriptive...I love details, but not this much! Even when we finally do see the characters, they're barely there for a paragraph before it launches off into more melodramatic scenery. Part of what I love so much about Brandon's writing is the dry, witty dialogue, and so far I've seen none of it here.

Completely disappointed...The only good thing I can see from this is not having to read a bunch of boring books just to get to Brandon's greatness. Sigh. Will be eagerly awaiting the Stormlight Archive, I guess, and hope Brandon's style doesn't get infected by writing in this voice.

Sanderson is easily my favorite right now. I recently started going through the Mistborn books with my girlfriend, and they're absolutely fantastic. Hands down some of the best books I've read in ages. No one comes close right now. xD

Other than that, I don't really have a particular order. Tamora Pierce is probably the only other author I enjoy that comes close to Sanderson, but while I enjoy a lot of others I really can't say that they'd be ranked as favorites.