Dec. 4th, 2018
I come bearing Fantasy recommendations.
Dec. 4th, 2018 04:31 pmI have been been reading the works of Brandon Sanderson and have been enjoying them greatly and so I wish to recommend them to you all so that we can talk about them and share in mutual enjoyment of some very good stories!
Brandon Sanderson has written a lot of books in a lot of different series set in different worlds, and one of the standout features of his works are his meticulously developed magic systems; no handwaving, no "a wizard did it", all the supernatural goings-ons follow their own rules faithfully and nothing gets conveniently bent or broken to save our heroes and heroines. If they want to survive, they need to learn how it all works and apply that knowledge correctly. This attitude also extends to the worldbuilding in general, and so the worlds really breathe and feel alive. The characters are engaging and well-developed, with many of them breaking from cliche expectations that you would have about them given the genre.
So, what works of his do I recommend? Well, there's...
Elantris, his first published novel. It is the story of a prince who has been cursed and trapped in a ruined magical city, a princess who must navigate the politics of her new kingdom, and a priest who must convert the people of this kingdom to his faith before his God-Emperor orders them all killed for heresy.
The Mistborn series, which is currently divided into two eras. The first era involves a woman living on the streets being recruited by a gang of thieves to perform the ultimate heist and kill the immortal Lord Ruler himself. The second era takes place some 300 years later and the world is in an industrial revolution and focuses on a lawman and his partner as they have to navigate politics, corruption, and conspiracies alike to keep the new society from crashing down around them and salvaging what's left.
Incidentally, the conclusion to the Era 1 books was nothing short of religious for me. And you know that means something when I'm an atheist!
Warbreaker is the story of four people, two princesses and two gods; one princess is arranged to marry the God-King while the other princess tries everything she can to rescue her sister, and all the while one of the gods of the court of the Returned makes a mockery of everything his society and religion stands for. And all the while, a mysterious man with a black blade lurks in the shadows, with a purpose that could change everything.
White Sand is a series of graphic novels about a world that is tidally locked, one side always facing the sun and one side perpetually stuck in eternal night. On the daylight side there are those who can magically command the sands to do their bidding, but one day their numbers are decimated in a sudden assault and its up to the one survivor, the son of the previous master, to save his dying art.
Finally, there is The Stormlight Archive; these books are ridiculously huge at over 1000 pages each but rest assured the padding is quite minimal. Each book is basically three or four novels running concurrently, each one affecting the others as they go along, informing the other stories so that it all comes together as greater than the sum of its parts. To summarize the first book in a sentence, it is the story of people who have been damaged and traumatized who have to come together to restore honor to their world.
If anyone has any questions they want to ask, please feel free to ask!
Brandon Sanderson has written a lot of books in a lot of different series set in different worlds, and one of the standout features of his works are his meticulously developed magic systems; no handwaving, no "a wizard did it", all the supernatural goings-ons follow their own rules faithfully and nothing gets conveniently bent or broken to save our heroes and heroines. If they want to survive, they need to learn how it all works and apply that knowledge correctly. This attitude also extends to the worldbuilding in general, and so the worlds really breathe and feel alive. The characters are engaging and well-developed, with many of them breaking from cliche expectations that you would have about them given the genre.
So, what works of his do I recommend? Well, there's...
Elantris, his first published novel. It is the story of a prince who has been cursed and trapped in a ruined magical city, a princess who must navigate the politics of her new kingdom, and a priest who must convert the people of this kingdom to his faith before his God-Emperor orders them all killed for heresy.
The Mistborn series, which is currently divided into two eras. The first era involves a woman living on the streets being recruited by a gang of thieves to perform the ultimate heist and kill the immortal Lord Ruler himself. The second era takes place some 300 years later and the world is in an industrial revolution and focuses on a lawman and his partner as they have to navigate politics, corruption, and conspiracies alike to keep the new society from crashing down around them and salvaging what's left.
Incidentally, the conclusion to the Era 1 books was nothing short of religious for me. And you know that means something when I'm an atheist!
Warbreaker is the story of four people, two princesses and two gods; one princess is arranged to marry the God-King while the other princess tries everything she can to rescue her sister, and all the while one of the gods of the court of the Returned makes a mockery of everything his society and religion stands for. And all the while, a mysterious man with a black blade lurks in the shadows, with a purpose that could change everything.
White Sand is a series of graphic novels about a world that is tidally locked, one side always facing the sun and one side perpetually stuck in eternal night. On the daylight side there are those who can magically command the sands to do their bidding, but one day their numbers are decimated in a sudden assault and its up to the one survivor, the son of the previous master, to save his dying art.
Finally, there is The Stormlight Archive; these books are ridiculously huge at over 1000 pages each but rest assured the padding is quite minimal. Each book is basically three or four novels running concurrently, each one affecting the others as they go along, informing the other stories so that it all comes together as greater than the sum of its parts. To summarize the first book in a sentence, it is the story of people who have been damaged and traumatized who have to come together to restore honor to their world.
If anyone has any questions they want to ask, please feel free to ask!