6 ms·
Sanderson sounds like an awesome guy. And I've heard great things about his books too. I should probably read some.
by mcv 4y ago
Sanderson sounds like an awesome guy. And I've heard great things about his books too. I should probably read some.
- _whiteCaps_ 4y agoThe Mistborn series is a great one to start with. His magic systems are really well done.
- coltonweaver 4y agoMistborn is definitely a great intro to the cosmere books. I'd almost definitely start there, see if you like it, and then get into the rest because it can be pretty overwhelming with how much there is.
- freedomben 4y agoMistborn (Era 1) is the best book(s) I think I have ever read. Truly remarkable.
- Jemaclus 4y agoRead more! ;) All seriousness aside, Mistborn (Era 1) is fantastic, especially as an introduction into Sanderson's world. Part of the reason it's great is because he was able to write all three books at once -- book 1 went to print as book 2 was in editing stages and as he was wrapping up the first draft of book 3. That means he was able to keep it tight and put proper foreshadowing and have everything kind of work out really well. You can see in his other books that it hasn't worked out quite as well. They're all good books, but Mistborn stands out to me as fantastic because of that. But back to my serious joke, read more! Sanderson's a great author, but he's far from the only good one, and there are some truly brilliant folks out there that just aren't as good at marketing themselves as Sanderson is, and they deserve recognition and more for their good work too!
- freedomben 4y agoDo you have any recommendations?
- Jemaclus 4y agoI do! - Django Wexler's THE SHADOW CAMPAIGNS - flintlock fantasy with demons! First book is titled "The Thousand Names" - Robert Jackson Bennett's THE DIVINE CITIES trilogy, of which the first book is THE CITY OF STAIRS. For what it's worth, everything Robert Jackson Bennett writes is fantastic. He's one of the authors I consider to be at Sanderson's level (or better!) without much of the acclaim. - Will Wight's CRADLE series, starting with UNSOULED. Like a lot of long-running series, first book is standard fantasy fare, but starting with the second book it turns into its own incredible world. If you like Dragon Ball Z and Chinese wuxia genre, this is fantastic. - Max Gladstone's CRAFT SEQUENCE - Imagine legal contracts as magic. A secondary world urban fantasy, wildly imaginative, mostly involving mysterious events and the characters that investigate them. First book is THREE PARTS DEAD. - Sebastien de Castiel's THE GREATCOATS series was described as the "Scott Lynchiest book since LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA." I don't really but _that_, but I did thoroughly enjoy the series, and have read everything else de Castiel has published on the strength of these books. Really good! - Scott Lynch THE GENTLEMEN BASTARDS, of course, has to be on the list, with the first book being THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA. The series is unfinished, sadly, but the way the stories are structured, you don't really miss it. LIES is one of my favorite books ever - Dan Wells' I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER follows a sociopathic kid named John Cleaver who... well, he's not a serial killer but he kinda wants to be. And it turns out he can hunt demons. Horror stories, but very well done. The series is complete. There's also a movie version of the first book! - Josiah Bancroft's THE BOOKS OF BABEL are my favorite reads of 2022. It follows a schoolteacher who loses his wife on a tourist trip to the legendary Tower of Babel. Wildly imaginative, engaging characters, and a crazy trip! Series is complete and the first book is SENLIN ASCENDS. - Fonda Lee's THE GREEN BONE SAGA is a secondary world fantasy following Godfather-style mafia families on an Asian-inspired island. Jade gives them super powers, which they use to enforce control over the island. Very political and violent. Trilogy is complete and the first book is JADE CITY! - For a standalone novel, check out M.L. Wang's SWORD OF KAIGEN, which is another secondary world fantasy following a Japanese-inspired honorable patriarchal society that more or less refuses to modernize with the rest of the world, but this island is the first line of defense against invaders. And, of course, there are invaders. Really good, character-driven story. - Michael Livingston's THE SHARDS OF HEAVEN is an alternate history fantasy following the children of Cleopatra, a few Roman soldiers, and Augustus Caesar as they hunt down magical artifacts known as the Shards of Heaven. Very well done, historically accurate (as much as it can be). Criminally underrated, IMO. - Evan Winters' RAGE OF DRAGONS is an African-inspired fantasy, with a character who grinds for power in a way that reminds of old-school video games. It's NOT a LitRPG -- it's straight up fantasy -- but the mechanic there makes me think of it. It's also a straightforward revenge fantasy ("you killed my father, prepare to die"), but it's told very well and both of the books so far are fantastic. Third book coming soon! - C.L. Clark's THE UNBROKEN is also an African-inspired fantasy, focusing on an imperial regiment that occupies a city in order to stabilize it, and one of the soldiers falls in love with the princess. It's sapphic, but I really enjoyed it. - Charlie Jane Anders' ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY is where urban fantasy meets science fiction. A witch and a wizard become friends in San Francisco and their lives intertwine over the years until they come face to face in a final confrontation. One of my favorite books. Anything by Charlie Jane Anders is gold, for what it's worth. Instant buys for me. - Mary Robinette Kowal is better known for her LADY ASTRONAUT series, which I thought were good (Sanderson-level), but I really enjoyed her most recent book THE SPARE MAN which is a murder mystery... on a cruise ship! in SPACE! A SPACE CRUISE SHIP! I wound up devouring the entire book in a single night, from about 10pm-4am. - Lindsay Buroker's DEATH BEFORE DRAGONS series is an urban fantasy set in Seattle. I wouldn't say Buroker is better than Sanderson, but she publishes more often -- typically 6 books per year -- and they're all really enjoyable reads. Not going to win any awards or anything, but if you want reliably enjoyable and cheap reads, she's your girl. DEATH BEFORE DRAGONS is her best, so far, but I've read all 60+ books in her catalog and I would recommend any of them to anyone who tires of the huge, epic fantasy worlds and wants something simpler. If Sanderson's Cosmere is STAR WARS, then Buroker's books are episodes of FRIENDS. - Daniel Green's LAWFUL TIMES series is surprisingly good. The first book, BREACH OF PEACE, is a novella, and it's dark and has horror-vibes. The second book is even better, though. I'm really looking forward to book three! Hope that helps. If you have more specific types of fantasy or sci-fi that you like, let me know and I can recommend some more :)
- _whiteCaps_ 4y agoTIL there is an Era 2 to Mistborn - just put holds on all of them at my library. 22nd in line for the most recent one!
- terafo 4y agoInitial concept for mistborn was to show epic fantasy world live through different stages of technological progress. Initially he planned to do three trilogies, one pure epic fantasy, one set in early computer age and one in space age, but since release date gap between epic fantasy and computer age was too large, he decided to write another series, which is set in industrial revolution. And I'd expect him to write cyberpunk series between computer age and cosmoopera.
- shostack 4y agoI hope the next five Stormlight Archive books are set in a more advanced time. He has all the underpinnings with fabrials and logic spren.
- dagw 4y agoSanderson is by far my favourite author whose books I just cannot read.
- beezlebroxxxxxx 4y agoSanderson's books appeal to a certain reader who is extremely invested in world building and "hard" magic systems. I would say his plots and characters usually play second fiddle to those things, and he infamously has his writing tics. I think the majority of his books would be vastly improved with a better editor, frankly (especially the last Stormlight one, jesus). But I'm generally in the minority in that respect. He has extremely devoted fans. I would set your expectations for the books at about Avengers movie quality, which for some people sounds amazing and that's exactly what they are looking for. Personally, I enjoyed the core Malazan books far more as fantasy with very intense world building sensibilities and a more mature edge. But I don't go to Sanderson looking for fantasy with literary sensibilities.
- nottorp 4y agoYep, world building and system building is what he does. The only book of his that wasn't like that... and which i liked most... Elantris... was never really continued.
- aardvark179 4y agoYeah. For big fantasy series I much preferred the Malazan books. Sanderson is fine, but if somebody really likes those books I know I can mostly ignore their other recommendations because our tastes just differ too much. That’s not to say hard magic systems can’t be done well, I think Robert Jackson Bennett does a superb job in the Foundaryside books.
- 4y ago
- astrange 4y agoHis completion of WoT was fine, and my favorite part was original to him, but it was pretty clear he’s the squarest man alive and has never been in the same room as the concept of sex. And one or two of the added characters were clearly there just to have extremely plot-convenient special magic talents. But that did lead to some very efficient KPI-meeting books. So if you’re a systematizing turbonerd, go wild.
- mkoubaa 4y ago"Someone has different taste than me, I must insult them" - parent comment
- gred 4y ago> has never been in the same room as the concept of sex He has 3 children, so he has certainly been more productive than I've been.
- astrange 4y agoCan’t say families with large numbers of children are typically better at writing romance just because they’re having Christianity-approved sex after marriage for the purpose of procreation. His Tuon/Mat writing was pretty cheesy. Less weird about women than RJ obviously, but in the opposite direction, so it didn’t quite fit. (And the Thom rescuing Moiraine plot wasn’t good, undercooked and too short. My guess was it was an early beta RJ wrote, but he just kept it when RJ would’ve rewritten it.)
- sbierwagen 4y ago> So if you’re a systematizing turbonerd, go wild. Scroll up and read the name of the website you posted this on.
- amluto 4y agoHe was completing WoT, which had a truly bizarre concept of sexual relationships. As far as I’m concerned, he did an amazing job completing a series that had largely fallen apart.
- CatWChainsaw 4y agoSanderson fan chiming in to promote The Emperor's Soul over Mistborn as a primer. From another comment: "It's a short novella, so you can finish it in a 2-3 hour reading session. And it will give you a taste of his writing style as well as a metaphysical primer to his Cosmere universe."