Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Brandon Sanderson => Topic started by: RedMars11 on January 13, 2009, 01:23:50 AM
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For the "tldr" amongst you all, just go to the last paragraph. (But before the PS one)
Hello all. I have made an awful mistake. I've just finished Well of Ascension, which was amazing. But part way through I spoiled myself for the end of Hero of Ages. It used to be when I read I would peak ahead randomly for some reason. Giving me almost a movie trailer look into things to come. I've been popping out of this bad habbit, but the chapter where the Crew decides to send "the kids" away really got to me and I had to know if they would all die. I looked ahead and didn't see them near the end. I looked in THoA, and then I started to freak out when I didn't see Vin or Elend's names near the end of their own story.
I couldn't believe the guy who did Elantris would do this! Agh! I'm still banking on some anime-like hidden meaning sniper plot twist to it all as I go into THoA, but I doubt it.
So I come here asking for something else really good to read after that. Because I can't stop. These are some of the best realized fictional characters I've ever read. I cared enough for the crew to spoil myself silly, never mind the main two characters. I just can't be left hanging after this. I need something to bounce me back up. Because just knowing what's coming is tearing me up. I think it made me actually wake up in the middle of the night. Reading everything between the two now is like twisting a knife in my gut. The marriage scene was heartbreaking in its own way. Yeah, I'm going that melodramatic here. I really love this series and these characters. I'm going to need something to save my sanity after this is done.
Okay, I'm definitally being over dramatic. But anyway, what would be a great kind of short series to read after Mistborn? Sadly I've already read Elantris. I'm thinking something trilogy sized or thereabouts. I'm open to sci-fi and fantasy, although I'm not much in the mood for sci-fi, nor the elves/dwarves/goblins kind of fantasy. I just can't think of anything near this same level. I was depressed for a good week after reading His Dark Materials, never mind what's coming here. I'm looking for something with great characters and inter-character interraction. Romance would be a plus I guess, but maybe not necessary.
PS: This in a way is all a testiment to how good Mr. Sanderson is with words. The fact that I'm feeling so torn up over fictional people does nothing but show how good he is. I hope he doesn't make the "sad end" the norm, but I'll definitally read anything he writes. I actually bought all of these in hardcover, and went back and got Elantris in hardcover after having read it because I know I'll want to remember his works as more than a pop novel. I'm stingy with my book purchases, I've never bought a hardcover before at all. So yeah, he's got this tightwads endorsment.
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Stay as far away as possible from Gardens of the Moon. It's good and I recommend at least trying it, but I doubt it's what you're looking for.
For fantasy I'd recommend David Gemmells Troy series, or Robin Hobbs Soldier Son Trilogy. For Historical Fiction I'd recommend either Conn Iggulden's Emperor series or his Conquerer series. The Emperor series is based on Julius Caesar and is a completed 4 book series. The 3rd book in the Conquerer series will be published in March I think, and follows Genghis Khan and his descendants and will be a 6 book series. I found all these series hard to put down.
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Finish the books. Just---finish the books.
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And don't forget about Warbreaker. If you want to read the actual book, you'll have to wait until June but otherwise you can read it online.
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I also urge you to finish Hero of Ages. It's worth it. Don't fear it. Brandon pulls it off.
If you like characters you get emotionally attached to—and happy endings—then I recommend Lois McMaster Bujold's three Chalion books: The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, and The Hallowed Hunt. (I recommend all of her books, but you're looking for a trilogy. Though honestly, I don't think I've ever cried harder from a book than from halfway through Curse of Chalion. Eh heh heh.)
I'm doubting you'll like the Soldier Son books. So many people die at the end of the first book—and I just didn't care because I didn't like any of them. I'll probably read the other books someday to see if they get any better though, since the Assassin/Liveship/Fool books were so good.
I'm also a big fan of CJ Cherryh's Chanur books starting with The Pride of Chanur (or starting with the omnibus The Chanur Saga). They do have happy endings. I'm not sure if they really fit what you're looking for though since there's a lot of politics.
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I recommend Running with the Demon by Terry Brooks, it's part of a trilogy. I can't think of any other fantasy I know without elves or dwarves. Also it's set in Illinois.
And don't forget Warbreaker, or Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians.
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If you like characters you get emotionally attached to—and happy endings—then I recommend Lois McMaster Bujold's three Chalion books: The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, and The Hallowed Hunt. (I recommend all of her books, but you're looking for a trilogy. Though honestly, I don't think I've ever cried harder from a book than from halfway through Curse of Chalion. Eh heh heh.)
I recently read Paladin of Souls. At first I really had no idea that it was a sequel. It wasn't until about halfway through the book that I realized that there must have been, because all this backstory was coming forth and the author was assuming we knew a lot of it.
Really though I was starting to get very impressed. To me at the time it had seemed like the author was doing a really good job of only revealing her world bit by bit...then I figured out she thought I already knew all this. :P
As far as how I liked it, it was pretty good. The beginning was the best part, in my opinion. By the end of the third chapter, I knew it would be a book well worth reading; hard to find, these days. Unfortunately by the final chapter I had mentally shelved it into my "good, but not great" category.
EDIT: Oh yeah. Check out The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Its a morally ambiguous, extremely humorous, Ocean's Eleven- type heist story. The sequel, Red Seas Under Red Skies, is already released and I believe there is another book coming.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is purely amazing. Also very funny. Its part of a trilogy but the rest of the series has not yet been released.
And I cannot stress enough that anything by Matthew Stover is made of pure win. His style is just so alive. His stuff is really not very comparable to Brandon's, the stuff they write isn't all that similar, (still fantasy/science fiction) but he is just amazing. His characterization is brilliant. He doesn't just tell you a story -- he puts you inside it. And he writes fight scenes like you have never seen them written before.
double edit: I just had to go back and bold his name. He doesn't get nearly enough attention.
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Thanks for the advice all. I've already got the Alcatraz books on order, I just also want something meatier.
I've also got Warbreaker ordered, but the problem is I just can't read a lot online. At least not solid masts of continuous text. It bothers me a bit, plus I do a lot of my reading in bed, breaks at work, etc etc. I'm sure you know what I mean. And so I wait for the hardcover in June. Fifth hardcover I've bought in years, and fifth thanks to Sanderson. (I drive for work, so I can't bring the Hero of Ages hardcover with me. I haven't taken a lunch break in days.)
And I think I need to clarify: I'm definitely finishing Hero of Ages. Like I said, I am amazingly hooked. I just (In an amazing display of idiocy) spoiled myself silly, and so I know I need something to rebound off of. I'm psyching myself up for the hidden meaning/angle to the ending, but still.
Ookla, I actually have the Chanur omnibus sitting on my shelf, just waiting for the moment I'm in a sci-fi space opera kind of mood, I also definitally like a good political rangling. I guess I can shuffle things around, thanks for that suggestion.
Roberts: The political mess coming out of Illinois right now is all the entertainment I need out of that state for at least two years, thanks though. ;)
Also, it's not that I don't like a sad ending, it's just that after around 2,000 pages of characters this well written, it's a hard blow. There are some books where I may like characters, but just go "oh no, not 'him'" when they die, like in a Song of Ice and Fire book, or maybe a Wheel of Time book, and there are others where when it happens, I just feel like doing some cliched kneeling down and shaking my fist at the sky in anger and grief kind of thing.
Edit to an edit:
And I cannot stress enough that anything by Matthew Stover is made of pure win. His style is just so alive. His stuff is really not very comparable to Brandon's, the stuff they write isn't all that similar, (still fantasy/science fiction) but he is just amazing. His characterization is brilliant. He doesn't just tell you a story -- he puts you inside it. And he writes fight scenes like you have never seen them written before.
I've already read his Caine books. I can't wait for the next two to come out. I'm a little disappointed that one's a prequel though. I've been ranting about Mistborn to a few friends, and to describe the fight scenes I say "Almost as good as Stover" to which I get the response "Wow". I think on that alone I've sold three copies of Mistborn.
Edit to a second Edit: I totally agree. More people should read his stuff. What's holding him back is just his lack of output, and how much Star Wars work he does.
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Chanur Saga omnibus: Just so you know, it's not the whole thing, and you absolutely have to read Chanur's Homecoming right when you finish. Because books 2, 3, and 4 of the Chanur series form a trilogy that really should have been one novel in the first place; Cherryh hardly tries to make good endings/beginnings between the parts. (She mentions this in an author's note.) So the Chanur Saga omnibus ends on a cliffhanger.
Chanur's Legacy happens several years later focusing on one of the characters from the first four books, so you don't have to read it in order for Chanur's Homecoming to make sense.
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Seconded for Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora. I'd like to know where I can get some more of that, some fantasy heist caper stuff. That kinda kicked ass.
If you want characterization, I find it hard to beat Pratchett.
Actually, for most anything I find it hard to beat Pratchett. :)
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Seconded for Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora. I'd like to know where I can get some more of that
On the subject of Lynch, you may also look at the First Law series by Joe Abercrombie. It feels like a more distilled Steven Erikson story but with the wit of Scott Lynch (though in later books, Erikson has plenty of wit himself). The torturer character in the Abercrombie books is full of win.
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Conn Iggulden's books are great. I am not big into historical fiction but his Conqueror and Emperor series were fantastic.
Isn't Running With The Demon one of the Word and the Void books? If so then I never read any of them until he crossed the Word and the Void with the Shannara series. I wasn't the biggest fan of the crossover but his books are generally good and easy reads so it might be good.
Have you tried any David Farland? I think its a five book series called Rune Lords. I have only read the first two but the magic system is really good and unique. the story is sound and as far as I got into the series it was great. I just stopped to read the conclusion of a couple of other series including HoA, and if I might add it was amazing.
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John Marco: Inhuman Triology
"The Eyes of God"
"The Devils Armor"
"The Sword of Angels"
Karen Miller: King Maker King Breaker Duology
"The Innocent Mage"
The Awakening Mage"
these are mine :D
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How do the Mage books by Karen Miller compare to the Empress books? I read Empress and pretty much hated it, but the Accidental Sorcerer, also by Miller, writing as K.E. Mills, I really enjoyed. So I'm torn as to read the other ones, especially since my library doesn't have them and I would have to buy them.
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I gotta say that personally I didn't like The Innocent Mage. I thought there was some potential there but it sort of felt like it had been somehow both over and under-edited. Some parts that I thought could have been way more conscise dragged on for pages but others that actually had some interesting story ramifications were crunched down to half a page or even less.
I never did bother to read the second book since the first one was such a chore for me to get through but maybe that's just me.
I followed up HoA with Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky(sp?) but it is a pretty different style of book. I think the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks is a decent follow up to Mistborn though I will warn that the second one is much better than the first. Not a challenging read by any stretch but still fun.
Also if you haven't read the Wheel of Time it is a must read, especially since EUOL is finishing it off.
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How do the Mage books by Karen Miller compare to the Empress books? I read Empress and pretty much hated it, but the Accidental Sorcerer, also by Miller, writing as K.E. Mills, I really enjoyed. So I'm torn as to read the other ones, especially since my library doesn't have them and I would have to buy them.
I enjoyed them a lot. the 2nd book is by far the better when Asher learns what he is, and Godspeaker triology is ok The Riven Kingdom was good i think. Havent read Hammer of God yet. Im not a hardcore reader, i just started really reading like 2 years ago when i took up graveyard shifts. So take my opion with a grain of salt. I just really like the bond of friendship that Asher and Gar had :/
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RM, I and a friend of mine who I recommended Mistborn too are having a similar problem. After getting into the MB series, it's difficult to read anything else because it's just not as interesting and often not as cleanly written. She and I have tried to start other fantasy works (me, over the past year, and her, the past few months) and the only major works I have found have either been somewhat contemporary fiction, or the 'His Dark Materials' series by Phillip Pullman.
Read His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights, if you will), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Amazing story--amazing writing--and characters that feel all too real.
If you saw the movie and didn't like it, don't let it deter you. The movie, as always, was NOT a fair representation of the book. (Though, I did like the movie on a couple different levels.)
Also, the series is rather short...so you can burn through it rather quickly. :)
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I already read it, and I knew this would be worse:
I just can't think of anything near this same level. I was depressed for a good week after reading His Dark Materials, never mind what's coming here.
I loved the Dark Materials. I read the entire series in about five days I think. I'm not a quick reader, so I was involved with nothing but those novels for that week.
I was going to read the Chanur series due to Ookla's recommendation and already having it, yet now finding out I seem to have only about half of it, I've shelved it until I can find the rest. I probably have to find them used or such.
I ended up grabbing the Lies of Locke Lamora. It's okay thus far, but I'm not sure it's my kind of thing. Somehow I also got back into reading Pern books. I've had the series for years, and I've only read about a third of it. I'm reading the Harper Hall stuff now. Kind of corny, hoaky, and simplistic, but fun.
Oh man what did Sanderson do to me! The man is cruel. That week for His Dark Materials is going to be over a month this time around. I'm also kind of just MAD at the ending. It just... it didn't feel like it fit the rest of the series, and it felt abbreviated. At least the epilogue sections.
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Sorry, I fail at reading. ;D
How about A Song of Ice and Fire? A friend of mine actually thinks it's his favorite series (and he's a big Jordan and Sanderson fan). I was told that magic is low-key and the story he creates is quite...raw.
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if you dont mind language and sex its great. Martin is great at character PoVs. Raw is a very apt word for his novels.
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Wielder - A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) is a two edged sword. The books are great (as long as you don't mind "raw"), but the author is infuriating. He refuses to communicate with his readers/customers about the next book, A Dance with Dragons (ADWD). The book is years over due and people are now questioning if he'll ever finish the next book, not to mention the series. I don't really care if it takes him 10 years to write a book, I just get frustrated by the complete lack of communication. Martin used to give regular updates on his web site about the next book in A Song of Ice and Fire, but no more.
This artice was written almost a year ago; people were wondering what was up with ADWD then. The sad thing is this artice is still 100% up-to-date! There has been nothing released about the status of ADWD for over a year.
http://theaccidentalbard.com/archives/2008/02/what-happened-to-a-dance-with.php
I've read many fantasy series as the author was still writing them, and that is always a little frustrating. But that frustration has been taken to all new heights with Martin. I used to recommend ASOIAF to my friends, but I can't recommend him any more because of the disrespect he's shown to his readers/customers. Hopefully he will start publishing books again and that opinion will change, but we'll see...
You've been warned. I'm sure you would enjoy the books in ASOIAF so far, but at this pace the series will end where it stands now.
Edited to fix typos
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Wielder - A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) is a two edged sword. The books are great (as long as you don't mind "raw"), but the author is infuriating. He refuses to communicate with his readers/customers about the next book, A Dance with Dragons (ADWD). The book is years over due and people are now questioning if he'll ever finish the next book, not to mention the series. I don't really care if it takes him 10 years to write a book, I just get frustrated by the complete lack of communication. Martin used to give regular updates on his web site about how the next book in A Song of Ice and Fire, but no more.
This artice was written almost a year ago; people were wondering what was up with ADWD then. The sad thing is this artice is still 100% up-to-date! There has been nothing release about the status of ADWS for over a year.
http://theaccidentalbard.com/archives/2008/02/what-happened-to-a-dance-with.php
I've read many fantasy series as the author was still writing them, and that is always a little frustrating. But that frustration has been taken to all new heights with Martin. I used to recommend ASOIAF to my friends, but I can't recommend him any more because of the disrespect he's shown to his readers/customers. Hopefully he will start publishing books again and that opinion will change, but we'll see...
You've been warned. I'm sure you would enjoy the books in ASOIAF so far, but at this pace the series will end where it stands now.
This.
Also, i was talking with Brandon the other day, and some other author here in Utah has a pretty slick series coming out. The first one is called Servant of a Dark God. He's getting praise from guys like Farland and Sanderson, and his editor is top-notch (David Hartwell - giddyup!). Go to johndbrown.com to check it out - too bad he doesnt come out till September.
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This.
Also, i was talking with Brandon the other day, and some other author here in Utah has a pretty slick series coming out. The first one is called Servant of a Dark God. He's getting praise from guys like Farland and Sanderson, and his editor is top-notch (David Hartwell - giddyup!). Go to johndbrown.com to check it out - too bad he doesnt come out till September.
Bookstore Guy - Did you mean to add anything next to "This."
That is good info about John Brown. From the bio on his web site it sounds like he has a fun personality (and his wife too). Hopefully someone will remind me to read his book in September. ;)
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"this" was meant as a complete agreement with your words. Martin's communication issues kill me. he wouldnt really answer questions about ADwD at worldcon either, though from what I understood, he finished ADwD, and then started over on it. goodie.
Brandon read John Brown's first book and really liked it, so it feels like a safe bet come September. Im trying to get in touch with John to get more info out of him.
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Not really related, but looking for info on what Steve said about GRRM I found this article (http://scifiwire.com/2009/01/which-sf-writer-has-made-us-wait-the-longest-for-a-sequel.php) on Sci Fi Wire about which sequels took the longest to come out. Martin ain't even starting to get close.
A couple days ago Amazon delivered C.J. Cherryh's Regenesis, the sequel to 1988's Hugo-winning Cyteen, which came out within the last month. The cover says it's also a sequel to her Hugo-winning 1981 book Downbelow Station. I'm really excited to read it and am glad she's taking some time to right anything other than Foreigner-series books. (Those are pretty good but I like her Alliance/Union universe best.) She also released Fortress of Ice in 2006, a sequel to 2000's Fortress of Dragons. Though that's kind of the start of a next-generation series, so I really hope she gets back to writing more of that. Of course, ultimately, what I really want is more Chanur books. That's part of the Alliance/Union universe, so eventually there's got to be more interaction! (Unfortunately, the region of space that the Chanur books takes place in is on the opposite side of the Sol system, galaxy-wise, from the Alliance and Union, making the interaction a bit more difficult.)
(By the way, Brandon lent me the ARC of The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett, already out overseas as The Painted Man. You may have seen glowing reviews of this elsewhere, but I was really not impressed with it. I liked a lot of things about it, but the author just made so many bad narrative/plot choices, and it's got nothing original. There's a huge deus ex machina in the middle which really bugged me, and something horrible happens to one of the characters near the end which totally broke promises the author made to the reader [in a preached-against-in-Writing-Excuses way] and which led to completely unbelievable reactions on the part of that character. So no recommendation for The Warded Man from me.)
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Interesting. But from what you said it sounds like Cherryh has been producing novels all this time, just in a different series? I'd be interested in seeing those statistics, the longest wait for another book with nothing in between...
some people are probably waiting for a sequel to Elantris, lol
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Yeah, Cherryh writes about a book per year. She lists her current word count on her blog (and she's the kind of writer who does all her revisions as she's writing, so when a book gets to the end it's basically done, unlike Brandon who whips out a draft in a few weeks of solid writing and then goes back and revises, massively if necessary). She's writing the second book of the fourth Foreigner trilogy right now.
Oh! I see that a second Chanur omnibus has been released, Chanur's Endgame, so it's only two books now instead of a total of five.
GRRM also has the Wild Cards books, but I'm not sure if he's writing any of the stories or just editing.
A Canticle for Leibowitz, which is on that list, and its sequel are the only two novels Walter M. Miller ever wrote (he spent years and years working on the second one and it had to be finished by Terry Bisson when he died). Looks like he never even wrote any short stories during those years, after being quite prolific previously.
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I would suggest the Runelords series by David Farland. It has a unique system of magic like Brandon's books. I definatly enjoyed reading them.
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I just started Villains By Necessity by Eve Forward. It is really good.
It's like . . the world is too good, so they have to corrupt it a bit so it doesn't die.
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Okay that sounds interesting. I am going to have to find that book. It is just completely different when you have to try and ruin something to save it.
While I just looked it up and maybe I won't be reading it any time soon. It is no longer in print and hard to find. It is even considered a collectors item. :P
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Really? o.0
I have a paperback mint condition. xD
EDIT: OMGSHWOWZ! That's worth $50!
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Congrats. Can I borrow it ;) I promise it will come back in worse condition then sent to me :D
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i just wanted to say... the whole SOIAF thing makes me want to punch babies. I started reading it not knowing it wasnt finish, until a friend mine said "Yea, it to bad its not finished and probably won't be". Well anyways im still tring to finish WoT(on book 6) before or around the time AMOL comes out! ^-^
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ANYTHING BY ROBERT JORDAN! the Wheel of Time books, the Fallon Trilogy, or even his Conan books all great!
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I have to play devil's advocate here. George R.R. Martin's books (a song of ice and fire) (ASOIAF) are most definitely "raw" which is both good and bad. I agree completely on the issues regarding language, sex, and overall dark feel to the book. I enjoy these aspect myself but not everyone would. However while the author does lack communication skills and the book is taking a LONG long long long time, it's going to get finished, quite certainly. Martin seems to have more things on his plate then the one book, and ASOIAF is just one of his series he handles. he just got the next book out in the wildcards series for instance. I do agree he should communicate more, but that doesn't change the fact that the books are easily among my favorite I have ever read, and I am looking forward to reading the next ones when they are out
BTW. he started whats called "rewriteing" once he finished with ADwD. Its a process all authors do if they want the book to be the best it can be. The feel I get from this author from reading his blog for years (since he started blogging in his "not a blog" blog, is simply that he wants the book to be the best it can be, more then he wants this book (or the last ones) to be out fast. but he still SHOULD add a bit more info...... ok a lot more info...
Loki