don't look at any comments until you watch the video
In this video, Brandon Sanderson admits he is providing arms and other lethal aid for Hank The Tank.
Idk anything about this guy other than what I learned in the video, and the general knowledge that he's a popular fantasy author, but how the fuck can you write that much without being on like cocaine or something? As someone who considers themself to be some degree of a writer (scripts/screenplays, thus far unsuccessfully) for at least the last 4 or so years in a serious capacity, I cannot fathom writing THOUSANDS of pages of fiction prose in like 2 years. That's fucking crazy to me. Clearly my work ethic is very different form this dude. Writing kicks my ass. I love it, but it can feel like pulling teeth sometimes, a laboring process of focus and problem solving and self criticism, not to mention the general difficulty of finding motivation amidst depression and having non-writing work to pay the bills. I wish I could contain whatever inherent drive and motivation this guy has inside of him to create.
At the risk of riling up his passive aggressive fanbase....his prose isn't that good. Are the stories good? No idea, I can't stomach reading any of his books for too long. Stephen King also churns out books like a printing press but he's got skill at prose. Branderson's writing makes me feel dead inside. Literature can be absolutely beautiful, and the last unicorn by Peter Beagle must've been one of the more beautiful things I've ever read. Stephen King is also a master of the craft, to the extent that in his novel misery whose protagonist is an author, you can read the fantastic prose of Stephen's versus the average, mediocre writing of his protagonist whose works is excerpted in the story (the contrast is brilliant).
Branderson....can certainly pump those books out, but they lack the beautiful imagery and literary tools you can get from others. I've heard the novel Gormeghast (spelling?) was written by a guy who also paints and who used his knowledge of painting in his literature so I feel like I'd like to read that one day. One of the other issues is that Branderson is an avid gamer.....and in at least one of his novels you could almost swear you knew what he played before he wrote it. He's a big fan of magic systems, and in at least in 'way of kings' and 'mistborn', you could almost swear these would be great for video games. Heck, there's even limited mana-like qualities to the magic.
But honestly for me the worst offender is the truly lackluster (basically non-existent) prose. I just can't read any of his stories all the way through.
As a fan of his work, you're absolutely right. Sanderson himself is pretty upfront that he's not a prose focused author. I enjoy the stories he tells and the greater world he fleshes out but they're light reads. Which I don't think there is anything wrong with but is also something that people who like his work need to be realistic about.
You hit the nail on the head. I got about halfway through The Way of Kings before I had to put it down, there was just nothing compelling about it.
You're right about it feeling like a video game. Portions felt like watching someone else play Dynasty Warriors.
Yeah, but his characters and the situations they face are enough for me. And those delicious plot twists at the end.
I know there were some gripes from WoT fans after he took over the last three books, the story was finished in a respectable, workmanlike fashion but some of the magic of Robert Jordans prose was lost.
remember that this was on top of his scheduled stuff, so it was these five novels as well as working on his other fantasy series, his books are doorstoppers as well, usually over 1000 pages. Man simply cannot stop writing, like he said he usually takes a break from writing his regular books by writing novellas. Now he just had a lot more time.
I still remember the last time he did this, so I kind of saw the twist coming. Guy is an inspiration to writing, even if his own personal beliefs are kinda garbo
I was hoping he'd tie in the writing productivity and advocate for yourself and the sake of it. Or offer some worker solidarity.
Or have an actual scandal I was totally sure he did at the start. But I'm a messy man who loves drama and mess.
I'm not a fan of his work, but I like some of the ideas he works with
And that's totally fair. I just saw the potential of pivoting towards more radicalism
I started with The Way of Kings, part of the Stormlight Archive which will be 10 books in total and probably his magnum opus. I just got it randomly from Amazon as an ebook and had no idea it would be 1000+ pages long. So if you want his most refined work you can start there.
The Mistborn books are also very good, the stakes are raised in every book.
If you just want to get a feel for him as an author you could read his YA books, Skyward is pretty good.
And finally you could read his first published book, Elantris, although it can feel pretty raw at times.
