Author Topic: The Way of Kings : pre-release  (Read 36024 times)

Inkthinker

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #75 on: May 11, 2009, 07:10:03 PM »
I wouldn't be too concerned about that... Brandon is big on establishing logical rules and then slowly revealing that logic to the reader.  That underlying structure is one of those things I find appealing about his books.

Abercrombie is pretty awesome, but I found the ending to Last Argument of Kings incredibly dark, and I'm hoping Best Served Cold will kick it back up a little. Lynch is just good stuff, though I was a little irritated that Red Skies was obstensibly a heist story that became a pirate story only to become a heist story at the end again. It felt like he realized his heist wasn't enough to hold a whole novel, and so he tossed in pirates to spread it out a little. I enjoyed it, but I found that to be a little jarring.

Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #76 on: May 11, 2009, 07:10:23 PM »
I actually want Brandon to be more complex than his current works . . . but more accessible than Erikson.
Both highly likely. (No comment on the Jordan part. I think claiming anything on that front would be premature and impolitic.)
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Bookstore Guy

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #77 on: May 11, 2009, 08:56:23 PM »
I actually want Brandon to be more complex than his current works . . . but more accessible than Erikson.
Both highly likely. (No comment on the Jordan part. I think claiming anything on that front would be premature and impolitic.)

no doubt, plus my Jordan comment is a personal view that i doubt most people around here agree with.

Inkthinker - glad to see another person who is reading the stuff I am. I personally found the ending to LAST ARGUMENT to be very defeatist. It was actually my least fav. of the 3 (though the Logan sections were full of win). The 2nd one was my fav.

I'm excited to see what Brandon does. I'm glad he is doing WoT (picked the best person for the job imo), but I am much more excited for him to get back to his own stories.
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Andrew the Great

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #78 on: May 11, 2009, 11:02:53 PM »
I'm not necessarily talking more complex as far as plot and world go... I was thinking more characters. With Erickson, you get to like the characters and know a little about them. I always ended up wishing I knew more of them though, their thoughts, motivations, feelings, which is something I think Brandon does quite well. I would also think Brandon's style would make something of the same complexity as Erickson much more readable and understandable. Brandon explains  things clearly and logically, whereas Erickson drops you into the middle of a war and lets you see it and try to figure it out that way (which only works about half the time. I can think of about three different instances in those books that something pivotal happened that I still don't understand. Don't get me wrong, they're great, just confusing sometimes.).

But as far as a more convoluted plot or more insane worldbuilding? No. It just doesn't happen. He could possibly equal it, and do very well with that, but more complex would just get to the point where it's completely impossible to keep track of.

Sorry for the confusion.

I actually haven't read Abercrombie or Lynch. I'll have to give them a try.

But the point is, Way of Kings is going to be much more complex than anything we've seen from Brandon so far. I think he'll compete with the other authors of epic series very well.
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Inkthinker

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #79 on: May 12, 2009, 08:35:14 AM »


Inkthinker - glad to see another person who is reading the stuff I am. I personally found the ending to LAST ARGUMENT to be very defeatist. It was actually my least fav. of the 3 (though the Logan sections were full of win). The 2nd one was my fav.


All of Ninefinger's story was epic win, but that's part of why I didn't care for the last book. It's not that I didn't think the ending, especially Logan's,  wasn't appropriate, it's just that I don't care for flat story arcs, and in the end I felt like that's what Abercrombie delivered with the third book. Even characters who advanced in plot or personality often had that growth undermined by the events of the third book. Call it "dark" or "defeatist", all I know is that after I set down Last Argument of Kings I felt like someone drowned my puppy.

It's still an awesome series of books. The Bloody Nine is probably the best "barbarian" character I've ever read, and I've read a few. I like Abercrombie's personalities and I love his action scenes. That's why I'm torn over it, 'cause I feel like I should recommend it to friends, but it's SO depressing at the end.

Best Served Cold is coming out soon, and while I know it's not part of the trilogy per se, it's set in the same world and in a time period only a few months or years after the events of the trilogy, so I'm hoping for better closure of SOME sort for the original cast. If it ends even a little better and I don't feel like he wrote it just to mollify squeaky wheels like myself, I'll put it back up as one of my favorite new series. There's a sample chapter on his site, and it's pretty good stuff. This book starts out dark as hell, so I'm hoping the way out is the way up.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2009, 08:50:07 AM by Inkthinker »

mccullough

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #80 on: May 12, 2009, 01:48:48 PM »
I you want defeatist try Robin Hobbs' Soldier Son series. I had to get counseling after reading it.  :P

Rrikor

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #81 on: May 12, 2009, 03:48:23 PM »
Soldier Son was on odd series.  It had its good parts and bad parts.  I didn't particularly like the ending though.  It seemed that he was to attached to the characters so everything had to turn out perfect.

Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #82 on: May 12, 2009, 04:58:24 PM »
Robin Hobb is a woman. But I barely finished the first book—during the epidemic near the end I realized I just didn't care about anyone. I was not inclined to pick up the second.

I love her other books, especially the Liveship books, but that book just didn't do it for me, and it sounds like I was right to stay away. (I don't want defeatist.)

It's something I really like about Brandon though. The ending to Hero of Ages was incredibly risky, but he was able to finesse it so most readers loved it instead of hating him.
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Bookstore Guy

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #83 on: May 12, 2009, 06:13:23 PM »
It's something I really like about Brandon though. The ending to Hero of Ages was incredibly risky, but he was able to finesse it so most readers loved it instead of hating him.

The ending to Hero of Ages was great, and it reminded me of how some of Erikson's novels end. I look forward to these types of endings in the Way of Kings series.
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Hero of Ages

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #84 on: May 12, 2009, 06:31:08 PM »
I felt the same slog/piling on atmosphere from Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice series.  Nothing seemed to go right for the main character.  Even the ending was meh.  I liked the series but I won't be rereading it anytime soon because of the oppressive tone.
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Rrikor

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #85 on: May 12, 2009, 07:11:41 PM »
The Assasin's series was great.  I read it many times.  I even got pulled out to get additional screening at the airport once due to them picking up the book and reading the title.  I was reading Royal assasin at the time.

Inkthinker

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #86 on: May 12, 2009, 07:57:41 PM »
The difference between HoA's ending and LAoK is that however sad the ending might have been for some, he didn't negate the characters' growth arcs, and ultimately it WAS a happier ending for the world at large. I don't think Abercrombie can say the same about his trilogy.

I think it has something to do with the whole issue of "promises" that Sanderson et al have discussed in Writing Excuses... whatever you do, you have to fulfill the promises you make to your readers. You can do it in unexpected or twisty ways, but if you pull out the rug you just leave 'em disappointed.

I'm fairly confident that Brandon won't always give me the ending I personally want, but he'll give me what he's promised.

mccullough

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #87 on: May 12, 2009, 08:01:49 PM »
I really enjoyed Hobb's Assassin series and the Liveship series was all right, but I definitely find myself liking her writings less with each new series.

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #88 on: May 12, 2009, 08:32:12 PM »
The difference between HoA's ending and LAoK is that however sad the ending might have been for some, he didn't negate the characters' growth arcs, and ultimately it WAS a happier ending for the world at large. I don't think Abercrombie can say the same about his trilogy.

I think it has something to do with the whole issue of "promises" that Sanderson et al have discussed in Writing Excuses... whatever you do, you have to fulfill the promises you make to your readers. You can do it in unexpected or twisty ways, but if you pull out the rug you just leave 'em disappointed.

I'm fairly confident that Brandon won't always give me the ending I personally want, but he'll give me what he's promised.

exactly.
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: The Way of Kings : pre-release
« Reply #89 on: May 12, 2009, 09:04:24 PM »
Hobb's Farseer (assassin) trilogy definitely had depressing parts, especially in the second book, and the third book had some retconning problems. I was very happy with the end of the Fool trilogy, though, which follows it (and also follows the Liveship trilogy). I thought the end was very good—the characters deserved to be happy for once, doggone it. So if you liked the Assassin books but weren't thrilled with the ending, keep reading the Liveship and Fool trilogies and you won't regret it in the end.
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