Board 8 > My final(?) Brandon Sanderson topic! Almost all caught up (cosmere spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Lots of text so put on your reading glasses here we go

Let's see, finished Bands of Mourning, which I had thought was the final book of the trilogy... then after the book ended without a feeling of finality, I quickly learned there was one book left, and Alloy of Law was seen more as a standalone where Shadows of Self started the trilogy. Okay, it's a relief either way.

Followed that directly with Secret History, and that was the point where the overall cosmere started to hook me. Learning about the three different realms, the shards, Odium being an asshole motherfucker to not just Roshar, but all over the damn place.

Maybe I'm just still too new when it comes to novels, but I really consider Sanderson to be a genius. This entire universe of his is well crafted and just a delight to learn about...

I'm getting ahead of myself, I still had to read Elantris, which I just finished the other day. I really enjoyed the story of it, however the process of reading it was a chore sometimes. Sarene and Hrathen by themselves didn't at all interest me because I'm bored by both politics and religion (well, in the way they were portrayed here at least). I still liked them as characters, I just wasn't interested by their interests. I love Raoden though, he's the rare kind of idealistic leader that you would feel good about supporting -- y'know, the rare kind that doesn't exist in the real world.

The real fun of Elantris was discovering the mystery behind it, although I find it kinda hilarious that the solution to all their problems was as simple as drawing a fucking line in the dirt. Then the real intrigue came from learning about how the Dor truly works, within the cosmere. It harkens back to that whole "Odium being a motherfuckin asshole" bit.

To wrap this up, I'm currently reading Emperor's Soul, which I'll finish tomorrow. Shai is best girl. I'll have more to say about this after I'm finished.

Also happy to see there's more Elantris following this, hopefully Raoden has learned some cooler Aons.

Two more short stories and I'll be all caught up! (Oh I read the first volume of White Sand but wasn't interested enough to read the second yet, I feel like I got the gist, and I feel Khriss is more interesting as a worldhopper)
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I've read all of Mistborn, all of Stormlight and his Wheel of Time books.

What do you recommend next?

also there's an amazing sanderson meme group on facebook
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If you're interested in delving further into the cosmere as I have, read Warbreaker and Elantris. They're some of his earlier books, but a couple characters from Warbreaker are currently worldhoppers and have appeared in Stormlight. Elantris is getting a sequel, but Warbreaker probably won't. Although it's the better book imo.

I need to go find that meme group now
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https://www.facebook.com/CosmereSanderson/
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Warbreaker is completely essential.

<3 Lightsong
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Yeah, Warbreaker in particular is a good next stop from Stormlight. I assume you're including Edgedancer in that? If not, read that as well.

It's interesting seeing how much Sanderson has progressed as a writer from his early days with Elantris up to where he is now. I have to admire the creativity and level of planning that goes into his worlds.

I think I've read all his work so far outside of White Sand and Wheel of Time. Stormlight has to be my most anticipated sequel at the moment.
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read wheel of time
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Yankees posted...

It's interesting seeing how much Sanderson has progressed as a writer from his early days with Elantris up to where he is now. I have to admire the creativity and level of planning that goes into his worlds.

That was most evident reading Emperor's Soul directly after Elantris. It's like different writers.
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woodman posted...

read wheel of time

Coincidentally the first three books just arrived today
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Interesting that Shai is aware of the three realms, though I guess Jasnah is too. She can transfer to the Cognitive Realm at will, guarantee she becomes a worldhopper at some point.

Speaking of which, I'm guessing worlds are flat in that realm, otherwise how could there be borders
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Oh, hey, I just finished Bands of Mourning last night. I just have the short stories in the Cosmere Collection left to go. I ended up having to get it even though I already got the standalone Edgedancer. When I started reading Stormlight, I was determined not to get into Sanderson's weird multiverse bullshit and just stick with the one series. Then Oathbringer came out and here I am.

I agree that it's really interesting to be able to see his progression as a writer. I liked Mistborn Era 1, but it was pretty rough at times (especially Book 2). Stormlight, Wax & Wayne, and The Emperor's Soul are just on a completely different level.

Is any of his non-Cosmere stuff worth checking out? Besides Wheel of Time, I tried reading that back in high school and just could not get into it.
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im here to say i LOVE BRANDON SANDERSON HE IS THE BEST

I've been meaning to read more of his non Cosmere stuff but it's mostly Young Adult

Steelheart was really good, but it is definitely YA. It always weird me out when I see people say Mistborn is YA. Like... no it isn't. Steelheart is literally a YA version of Mistborn. That's what YA looks like.

Try Wheel of Time again imo. It's my favourite series of all time, and the reason I even got into Sanderson was because of his work finishing the series after Jordan died. I remember being extremely skeptical anybody could pull off finishing the series. I didn't even think Jordan could do it after the extensively tangled web he'd weaved. Then I read Sanderson's attempt to do it and thought THIS MAN IS AMAZING WHERE DO I FIND MORE
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The Steelheart books are quite good. I especially liked the second, IIRC.
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AquaArcane posted...

woodman posted...

read wheel of time

Coincidentally the first three books just arrived today

Congratulations, you've just been handed the best part of a Wheel in Time. Aside from a few of the better subplots, things only go downhill from there.

Unless of course Sanderson course corrects, but man, the desert of words you're going to have to wade through. I've been trying. Twice. I wonder if I'll try a third time.
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Interestingly, books 1-3 aren't considered the best books in the series among fans. 4-6 were always the most acclaimed section (until the Sanderson books at least).
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I guess that would make me not a fan then because I liked 1-3 best.
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I can only assume I'll like the last few books in the series the best, but we'll see.

HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

I liked Mistborn Era 1, but it was pretty rough at times (especially Book 2).

Hmm, I remember being completely hooked by all of Era 1, but that was where I started... and that was a few years ago. I have forgotten a lot, for instance I barely remember what happened in book 2. A lot of stuff has been filled in by Secret History and the good ol' Coppermind, though I still wanna go back and read those books again. It'll be a lot more interesting since I know everything that's going on in the background now too.

Plus Vin is still my favorite girl of the cosmere. Jasnah is probably second, but we'll see where Shai is at once I finish these last 20 pages.
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Yeah, I haven't seen much for polls since the Sanderson books came out, but they're quite highly regarded. Memory of Light is my favorite one.
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Holy ffff Shai > Jasnah

I was worried for a minute that she would be helpless against those fools at the end, of course I forgot she had a "turns into a Unknown God damn badass that eats challenge for breakfast" stamp.

The look on Zu's face
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Oh the Elantris one-shot is just a flashback

fuck that noise
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I think it's time I reread Emperor's Soul. Shai and Jasnah are top tier, but Dalinar is my favorite overall
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I was just counting the girls, overall I think Kaladin is my favorite. Wax and Kelsier are up there too.
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Elantris short story definitely disappointed, yeah.
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What are people's thoughts on Rithmatist?

I never hear it talked about but I really enjoyed it.
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I've only read the Mistborn trilogy and Emperor's Soul. I have a friend who's obsessed with Sanderson, but I merely enjoyed him.
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Maniac64 posted...

What are people's thoughts on Rithmatist?

I never hear it talked about but I really enjoyed it.

I wasn't a fan
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I have yet to gain interest for his non-cosmere works. I'm not particularly fond of the young adult category either. Still, it's Brandon Sanderson so I will most likely get around to reading Steelheart and Rithmatist... just not any time soon.

Probably after Wheel of Time, Song of Ice and Fire, Mistborn reread... something else to broaden my horizons... someday.

Thankfully I have become a much more diligent reader over the past year
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Anagram posted...

I've only read the Mistborn trilogy and Emperor's Soul. I have a friend who's obsessed with Sanderson, but I merely enjoyed him.

He gets better the more you read, I think.
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Rithmatist was ok, but nothing special. I preferred The Reckoners to it
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I can't get over how good that fight scene was in Emperor's Soul. I always thought Sanderson was great at describing action, that's one of the things I was most impressed about in the first era of Mistborn. Albeit those were simpler times.

Without thinking too hard about it, Kaladin vs Szeth is still probably my favorite fight.
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I really hope we get Mistborn movies someday just for Wayne infiltration missions. I feel like his solo activities would be so entertaining to watch
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Mistborn would definitely make some cool movies. They'd probably be easiest to adapt.

Wax cappin fools while flying through the warehouse needs to be on the big screen for sure.
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Oh shit, the fool who betrayed Shai was Hoid. I actually remember guessing that when he was first mentioned in the story, but at the end I totally forgot that possibility. Hmm, I wonder how Shai will deal with that, I'm sure she'll show up again at some point.

I mean she better, I already miss her.
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Cosmere is wonderful
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The Imperial Fool was the easiest Hoid identification of my life
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It crossed my mind when the Imperial Fool was mentioned, since that sounds like a disguise right up Hoid's alley. It simply slipped my mind near the end.

Besides he's way easier to identify on Roshar
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Hey, I'm also reading Cosmere stuff and just catching up! I'm in the middle of Oathbringer right now (maybe 60%) and can't wait to finish it so I can go read theorycrafting posts all over.

I really like the Shards and how they seem to interact. Gonna post some stuff with spoiler tags just in case regarding Shards for Mistborn trilogy and Stormlight Archives.

I love the setup of Preservation versus Ruin and how together they create life. Ruin mentions that a world without him, without change and decay, would basically be a hellscape where Humans don't live as they currently do. While Preservation seems to be a force of good in the context of the original trilogy, Ruin isn't actually evil. It's just the imbalance of power that makes him seem bad. The idea of a celestial figure that humans can't really understand the motivations and meanings of is cool. I know Sanderson is religious in real life, so I'm sure that's part of his argument for "if God is benevolent, why do bad things happen?"

My question then is how exactly Roshar works with three Shards. Cultivation seems to be a one-shard powerhouse that can sustain life all on her own. So then Odium (emotion) and Honor (connection) just came to duke it out on an existing planet? Odium by definition is widespread hatred, which explains why he wants war and balances out Honor, but he describes himself more as just emotion. Does that mean all spren are of Odium, and that's why spren exist on Roshar and nowhere else? Again I'm only halfway through Oathbringer so it's possible this gets answered or clarified more, but I'm really enjoying the world building behind multiple deities based on ideals.

Sorry for wall.
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CoolCly posted...

The Imperial Fool was the easiest Hoid identification of my life

Fun fact, he was supposed to explicity make an appearance in the intro chapter and talk to Shai while basically setting up the whole plot. You can read the deleted version on Sanderson's site. It's really bad, so it's a good thing he listens to his editor!
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He also apparently showed up at the end of Elantris in the 10th anniversary edition. For some reason that's not the version I got, so I didn't get to read about his antics. Apparently he tried to become an Elantrian? How would he even consider that as a possibility though...
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EDumey posted...

Sorry for wall.

I want to answer your questions, but for now I'll just say the Shards aren't confined to specific worlds. Odium has traveled all over the cosmere and has already killed a few other Shards.
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Does Hoid show up in every book? Because I got curious and looked up Mistborn and it only lists him twice in three books.
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He does show up in pretty much every book, but his appearances in the first Mistborn era are very minor.

This might help
https://coppermind.net/wiki/Hoid#Scadrial_.28Mistborn.29
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Anagram posted...

Does Hoid show up in every book? Because I got curious and looked up Mistborn and it only lists him twice in three books.

He's not mentioned by name in Mistborn 3. But we learn in Secret History that he was present during one of the scenes.

He has shown up or been mentioned in every Cosmere book so far, but not every short story.
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AquaArcane posted...

He also apparently showed up at the end of Elantris in the 10th anniversary edition. For some reason that's not the version I got, so I didn't get to read about his antics. Apparently he tried to become an Elantrian? How would he even consider that as a possibility though...

well that definitely makes sense - he's always attempting to gain other power systems.

Spoilers as of the end of Oathbringer: He's displayed perfect pitch showing he's attained the Second Heightening from the Warbreaker world, and we've seen him drink a vial of metal flakes. We don't know exactly what Allomancy he has but he's probably a full Mistborn the same way Elend was. At the end of Oathbringer, he appears to have bonded a Cryptic, so he'll have a shardblade. He has other abilities as well. He's gathering and combining abilities, so attempting to become Elantrian makes a lot of sense.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn the scepter he betrayed Shai for has some magical value.
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Oh I'm perfectly aware of him gathering powers from the different worlds, but why did he think he could become an Elantrian? Everyone in that location of Sel knows you have to hail from Arelon for that to work (because of Dominion), so did Hoid simply not know that or what?

I'm pretty sure he is a Mistborn as well, since he clearly stole the Lerasium from the Well of Ascension.
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EDumey posted...

He's not mentioned by name in Mistborn 3. But we learn in Secret History that he was present during one of the scenes.

He has shown up or been mentioned in every Cosmere book so far, but not every short story.

Thanks.
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Just finished Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, and thankfully the postscript says we'll be seeing more of Threnody in the future. I was really diggin' it, the Shades especially intrigued me. Such a unique type of enemy.

I wonder if we'll be seeing more of Silence when Sanderson returns to Threnody, or if it'll be more about Nazh instead -- since he's from that world, and apparently that's not his real name either.
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I didn't really like the horror atmosphere from Shadows, personally.
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I quite enjoyed it, but I have no experience with horror literature. It didn't even occur to me that this story was categorized as such. What'd you not like about it?
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I'mma just give this a quick bump for now.

I only have one short story to go so naturally I'm putting it off til later, I don't want it to be "over" yet.
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