He and Martin (Maybe I'll throw in Rothfuss after I read Day 2) are almost all you need as a fantasy fan. Everything else is just filler.
Um, yeah, wrong. So very very wrong. Like, so wrong you've redefined the word 'wrong'.
Sanderson, Martin, Rothfuss - they're all good, but they are, honestly, but a small segment of fantasy, no matter how big they are. And calling writers like Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher, Michael Moorcock, Robert Jordan, etc nothing more than "filler" is a downright insult. By stating such, you are implying that there are no other worthwhile fantasy novels out there, and, again I must declare you so very wrong it is almost painful.
Ouch. Scratch that, it IS painful.
I love Brandon's books. I mean, it should be obvious, if you consider my work on 17thShard.com. But to be honest, he hasn't been around long enough to be a true staple of the genre yet. He will become one, though, in time, and is rising fast. But he isn't quite there yet. Neither is Martin, is you ask me - let the man get some bloody books out on a bloody timely basis and maybe I'll consider it.
To consider all other fantasy "filler" is wrong and insulting, to both the authors who write it, the readers who enjoy it, and the genre as a whole.
You're taking the whole comment way too seriously, and you're adding meaning to my words by saying I'm implying they aren't worthwhile. If you intend to respond to my statement then please limit yourself to responding to what I actually said and not to what you BELIEVE I am implying. Conversation breaks down pretty quickly when you start responding to imaginary comments.
And in clarification I was referring to current "in progress" series, I truly believe there is very little work out there at the moment that is of the same caliber of quality as those I stated. (For the record I almost included Butcher) There is -some- recent work out there that is as good, which is why I said "ALMOST all you need" and not: "You don't need anything else". But generally speaking I stand by my comment.
And lets try not to get quite so offended quite so easily. I mean really, you're entitled to disagree with me, but lets not get into the whole: "What you said is so terrifyingly wrong that I've had to redefine words and my eyeballs have melted out" thing.