Relient A
[insert clever usertitle here]
Has anybody here ever heard of this guy? I hadn't until the 6,027th time I refreshed Robert Jordan's (real name James Oliver Rigney Jr. If you paid attention you'd notice his initials are JOR) wikipedia page and saw that Harriet had finally chosen someone to complete the series after Jordan's untimely death.
I was actually pretty unhappy with that decisions for awhile. I mean, at that point he had 4 (nationally) published books, and I had never heard of any of them. But, being a loyal WoT fan, I picked up his first two published novels, Elantris and Mistborn.
I started with Mistborn because it looked cooler... and I sortof regret the decision. Elantris is a standalone and Mistborn is part of a trilogy. But anyway, what is immediarely striking about Sanderson's work is that he loves putting a twist on his stories that not many people attempt. The two best known examples are him saying a number of years ago (before Jordan's death) that if WoT is about peasants who become kings, he writes about kings who become peasants. Or asking the question what would happen if the hero fails and the dark lord wins?
Anyway, he is now hands down one of my favorite authors. His writing, even with him being generally still "new" to the craft on this level, is amazing. There is a perfect blend of complex character depth, action, descriptions, and pretty much anything else you'd expect from epic fantasy. And his magic systems are crazy... I care not to try and explain them.
Anyway, it was his birthday yesterday, so I'm doing some more advertising for his work. I'm a good fanboy like that.
I was actually pretty unhappy with that decisions for awhile. I mean, at that point he had 4 (nationally) published books, and I had never heard of any of them. But, being a loyal WoT fan, I picked up his first two published novels, Elantris and Mistborn.
I started with Mistborn because it looked cooler... and I sortof regret the decision. Elantris is a standalone and Mistborn is part of a trilogy. But anyway, what is immediarely striking about Sanderson's work is that he loves putting a twist on his stories that not many people attempt. The two best known examples are him saying a number of years ago (before Jordan's death) that if WoT is about peasants who become kings, he writes about kings who become peasants. Or asking the question what would happen if the hero fails and the dark lord wins?
Anyway, he is now hands down one of my favorite authors. His writing, even with him being generally still "new" to the craft on this level, is amazing. There is a perfect blend of complex character depth, action, descriptions, and pretty much anything else you'd expect from epic fantasy. And his magic systems are crazy... I care not to try and explain them.
Anyway, it was his birthday yesterday, so I'm doing some more advertising for his work. I'm a good fanboy like that.
