Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere |OT| Journey Before Destination

RugoUniverse · Oct 7, 2019

I finally finished Words of Radiance after literally 5 years of stops and starts. Various reasons why that was but I loved it in the end. Somewhere in the middle of all that I went back and read Warbreaker but had the connection spoiled for me right after. I didn't really like Warbreaker

except for Vasher and Nightblood, so I guess it worked out in the end!

Still totally in love with Kaladin and his storyline. Enjoyed Shallan - especially her backstory. Her main story was a bit convenient in places, but she's a fun character. Incredibly excited for more Jasnah though. I was gutted she was barely in this one. Obviously the cover of Oathbringer basically spoiled her fate a bit, but I never really thought she was actually dead. Also hyped to get Dalinar's back story finally!

Anyway I really have enjoyed Stormlight a lot. It can be a bit overwhelming with the lore at times but I got through Malazan, so I feel I can handle anything thrown at me at this point.

I'm also consistently reminded how much better Brandon's writing is since he tackled the Wheel of Time. I always found Mistborn a bit lacking (especially the raw prose) and Warbreaker was pretty woeful imo. But he did a phenomenal job with WoT; and Stormlight, despite being so wildly ambitious, always feels like it has such a sure hand guiding you. I haven't read Mistborn era 2 yet but I'll get to it once I've read Edgedancer and Oathbringer. Hopefully they won't take me 5 years, but journey before destination and all that!

RepairmanJack · Oct 7, 2019

RugoUniverse said:
I didn't really like Warbreaker [/spoiler]

I think Warbreaker may be one of my favorite concepts of Sandersons and some of my favorite characters, but I think the execution isn't quite there and I really think the last act is really undercooked. So much of what happens in the last act just feels unearned. It's the one book of Sanderson's so far that I think was actually too short.

I'm also consistently reminded how much better Brandon's writing is since he tackled the Wheel of Time. I always found Mistborn a bit lacking (especially the raw prose) and Warbreaker was pretty woeful imo. But he did a phenomenal job with WoT; and Stormlight, despite being so wildly ambitious, always feels like it has such a sure hand guiding you. I haven't read Mistborn era 2 yet but I'll get to it once I've read Edgedancer and Oathbringer. Hopefully they won't take me 5 years, but journey before destination and all that!

My first exposure to Sanderson was Mistborn and after the end of book 2 and the first part of book 3 I almost just swore of Brandon because I really wasn't liking how it was developing. Cut to like 8 years later and I've pretty much read everything he's done in the span of a year. The writing has definitely evolved and only gotten better.

I think of his more recent stuff, a certain section of Oathbringer is probably my only low point for him.[/QUOTE]

RugoUniverse · Oct 9, 2019

RepairmanJack said:
I think Warbreaker may be one of my favorite concepts of Sandersons and some of my favorite characters, but I think the execution isn't quite there and I really think the last act is really undercooked. So much of what happens in the last act just feels unearned. It's the one book of Sanderson's so far that I think was actually too short.

Yeah I completely agree. Despite my problems with the book I'd be very excited to read the sequel whenever he gets around to it.

I actually just blazed through Edgedancer the last couple of nights and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Absolutely loving Lift and Wyndle - the relationships between all the Radiants and their Spren so far are wonderful but this is easily my favourite one. I'd read a whole trilogy about Lift. Hell, Wyndle might be my favourite character in the series at this point. Sighing as he forms into the Shard rod! I'm also really curious to see Nale more - could be a story of redemption coming for the Herald of Justice me thinks...

I usually cringe at a lot of Brandon's humour but something about the dynamic in this was pretty hilarious. Kinda makes me want to read the Mistborn era 2 books now, which I've heard are quite funny.

RepairmanJack · Oct 9, 2019

Good news is I think Lift will be a bigger character in the second half of Stormlight. At least I think I read that.

RugoUniverse · Oct 9, 2019

RepairmanJack said:
Good news is I think Lift will be a bigger character in the second half of Stormlight. At least I think I read that.

Yeah I did see that! Just a shame he's probably close to a decade from getting there!

gdt · Oct 9, 2019

RugoUniverse said:
Yeah I completely agree. Despite my problems with the book I'd be very excited to read the sequel whenever he gets around to it.

I actually just blazed through Edgedancer the last couple of nights and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Absolutely loving Lift and Wyndle - the relationships between all the Radiants and their Spren so far are wonderful but this is easily my favourite one. I'd read a whole trilogy about Lift. Hell, Wyndle might be my favourite character in the series at this point. Sighing as he forms into the Shard rod! I'm also really curious to see Nale more - could be a story of redemption coming for the Herald of Justice me thinks...

I usually cringe at a lot of Brandon's humour but something about the dynamic in this was pretty hilarious. Kinda makes me want to read the Mistborn era 2 books now, which I've heard are quite funny.

They are quite funny and super action adventure y, such great books. The last two especially my gawd

Poodlestrike · Oct 9, 2019

There's some solid funny moments in Wax & Wayne, though Wayne's bits probably aren't as funny as they're supposed to be (to me, at any rate). Steris is probably my favorite character from the series overall.

Buttchin-n-Bones · Oct 9, 2019

Poodlestrike said:
There's some solid funny moments in Wax & Wayne, though Wayne's bits probably aren't as funny as they're supposed to be (to me, at any rate). Steris is probably my favorite character from the series overall.

ASD representation is always great

crimzonflame · Oct 10, 2019

Just wanted to say I started reading WoK last Thursday and I'm about halfway done. I'm not much of a reader, but I can't put this one down. I am officially a fan. The funny thing is, not much has happened so far in the book, its still pretty much building up the world and characters. I have a short attention span, but for some reason I don't mind the 'slow' start so far. Can't wait to finish this book and read more.

RepairmanJack · Oct 10, 2019

crimzonflame said:
Just wanted to say I started reading WoK last Thursday and I'm about halfway done. I'm not much of a reader, but I can't put this one down. I am officially a fan. The funny thing is, not much has happened so far in the book, its still pretty much building up the world and characters. I have a short attention span, but for some reason I don't mind the 'slow' start so far. Can't wait to finish this book and read more.

Glad you're liking it! Is this your first Sanderson?

It is definitely an intentional slow build, it's completely necessary, but there's a reason Brandon usually says it's not a strong entry point because you basically have to trust him when you go in to it.

crimzonflame · Oct 10, 2019

RepairmanJack said:
Glad you're liking it! Is this your first Sanderson?

It is definitely an intentional slow build, it's completely necessary, but there's a reason Brandon usually says it's not a strong entry point because you basically have to trust him when you go in to it.

It's one of my first anything. Wasn't much a reader.

RugoUniverse · Oct 10, 2019

crimzonflame said:
Just wanted to say I started reading WoK last Thursday and I'm about halfway done. I'm not much of a reader, but I can't put this one down. I am officially a fan. The funny thing is, not much has happened so far in the book, its still pretty much building up the world and characters. I have a short attention span, but for some reason I don't mind the 'slow' start so far. Can't wait to finish this book and read more.

Nice, if you're that far through then you're basically at the crest of the rollercoaster. Just gets wilder from there!

Deleted member 37233 · Oct 11, 2019

I just finished Rhythm of War! What a book! I can't wait for more, I just love this world and all those characters. Especially Shallan, I need more Shallan!

Edit: Ugh, I meant "Oathbringer". It's confusing that they split those books into two parts in Germany.

RepairmanJack · Oct 11, 2019

Lichtsang said:
I just finished Rhythm of War! What a book! I can't wait for more, I just love this world and all those characters. Especially Shallan, I need more Shallan!

Edit: Ugh, I meant "Oathbringer". It's confusing that they split those books into two parts in Germany.

I was really confused for a minute.

Deleted member 37233 · Oct 11, 2019

RepairmanJack said:
I was really confused for a minute.

Yeah, haha. I confused the English names, because the release in Germany is pretty weird. First the translated names, and then every book is split into two books, of which every book has it's own name.
Oathbringer for example in Germany is "Der Ruf der Klingen" and "Die Splitter der Macht".

Buttchin-n-Bones · Oct 11, 2019

Lichtsang said:
Yeah, haha. I confused the English names, because the release in Germany is pretty weird. First the translated names, and then every book is split into two books, of which every book has it's own name.
Oathbringer for example in Germany is "Der Ruf der Klingen" and "Die Splitter der Macht".

It's more confusing given that Rhythm of War is supposedly the title of book 4

Yasuke · Oct 11, 2019

Finally started the Stormlight Archive back in July after hearing great things about it for so long (and enjoying a few non-Cosmere Sanderson works before).

I'm about halfway through Oathbringer right now (I love how big these books are), and damn, has this series got it. I'm not sure I know of a better example of how to build a fantasy world than these books. I haven't bothered to look up when the next book is due to come out yet because I want to avoid spoilers and don't wanna dampen my spirits if it's still a ways off (last year I read Kingkiller and Gentlemen Bastards for the first time, and was distraught at how both series have languished as incomplete works for a while now).

But I'm thinking I'll get into Mistborn next, it's been on my "to read" list for awhile now too.

RugoUniverse · Oct 11, 2019

Yasuke said:
Finally started the Stormlight Archive back in July after hearing great things about it for so long (and enjoying a few non-Cosmere Sanderson works before).

I'm about halfway through Oathbringer right now (I love how big these books are), and damn, has this series got it. I'm not sure I know of a better example of how to build a fantasy world than these books. I haven't bothered to look up when the next book is due to come out yet because I want to avoid spoilers and don't wanna dampen my spirits if it's still a ways off (last year I read Kingkiller and Gentlemen Bastards for the first time, and was distraught at how both series have languished as incomplete works for a while now).

But I'm thinking I'll get into Mistborn next, it's been on my "to read" list for awhile now too.

Scott Lynch finally handed in a completed manuscript in May for The Thorn of Emberlain. He's also been doing readings at the Summer cons, so it's looking good for that one at least. I don't expect to see The Doors of Stone for a long time, if ever.

Yasuke · Oct 11, 2019

RugoUniverse said:
Scott Lynch finally handed in a completed manuscript in May for The Thorn of Emberlain. He's also been doing readings at the Summer cons, so it's looking good for that one at least. I don't expect to see The Doors of Stone for a long time, if ever.

What the fuck is the deal with Doors of Stone, anyways?

It wouldn't be so upsetting if I wasn't sure the series wasn't gonna end with the third book like he planned.

Jest · Oct 11, 2019

Yasuke said:
What the fuck is the deal with Doors of Stone, anyways?

It wouldn't be so upsetting if I wasn't sure the series wasn't gonna end with the third book like he planned.

I'm not an authority on Rothfuss, so anyone who reads this please forgive me for inaccuracy, but I believe the third book needed a rewrite and then Rothfuss ended up having difficulties with writing. I don't think it's right to speculate. He's a private person that doesn't deserve that or the abuse he gets in a lot of places. It's just an unfortunate situation and hopefully he'll be able to complete the book when he can, in the best way he can.

RepairmanJack · Oct 11, 2019

Yasuke said:
Finally started the Stormlight Archive back in July after hearing great things about it for so long (and enjoying a few non-Cosmere Sanderson works before).

I'm about halfway through Oathbringer right now (I love how big these books are), and damn, has this series got it. I'm not sure I know of a better example of how to build a fantasy world than these books. I haven't bothered to look up when the next book is due to come out yet because I want to avoid spoilers and don't wanna dampen my spirits if it's still a ways off (last year I read Kingkiller and Gentlemen Bastards for the first time, and was distraught at how both series have languished as incomplete works for a while now).

But I'm thinking I'll get into Mistborn next, it's been on my "to read" list for awhile now too.

Luckily Brandon seems to not be able to stop writing, and he just announced that book 4 is about 2/3rds of the way through his first draft. He wants to release it next holiday and he just said a day ago he was now on schedule for that to happen. But he is about to start up travel for Star Sight so he said he may fall behind a little because of that.

I have a hope that when Brandon is in between book 5 and 6, he does similar thing to what he does in each book and releases a whole book of interlude chapters taking place in Roshar. I could seriously take a whole book of those chapters.

Those are the chapters I reread. So much worldbuilding and small character bits.

H.Cornerstone · Oct 11, 2019

Jest said:
I'm not an authority on Rothfuss, so anyone who reads this please forgive me for inaccuracy, but I believe the third book needed a rewrite and then Rothfuss ended up having difficulties with writing. I don't think it's right to speculate. He's a private person that doesn't deserve that or the abuse he gets in a lot of places. It's just an unfortunate situation and hopefully he'll be able to complete the book when he can, in the best way he can.

from what I gathered he is much more focused now on being a parent than writing. Which I understand and am fine with. The only issue I have is how combative he is and how he said from the beginning the entire trilogy was already written.

Also I read the first two books of gentlemen Bastards and feel like I am the only person on earth who wasn't a fan.

And yeah, Brandons ability to write is uncanny.

phaze · Oct 11, 2019

H.Cornerstone said:
Also I read the first two books of gentlemen Bastards and feel like I am the only person on earth who wasn't a fan.

Well, I can offer some moral support then.I read the first one and just wasn't at all enticed to go for more.

Jest · Oct 11, 2019

H.Cornerstone said:
Also I read the first two books of gentlemen Bastards and feel like I am the only person on earth who wasn't a fan.

And yeah, Brandons ability to write is uncanny.

phaze said:
Well, I can offer some moral support then.I read the first one and just wasn't at all enticed to go for more.

It took me 3 or 4 attempts before Lies finally grabbed me. Red Seas had it moments. Haven't delved into Republic yet.

H.Cornerstone · Oct 11, 2019

Jest said:
It took me 3 or 4 attempts before Lies finally grabbed me. Red Seas had it moments. Haven't delved into Republic yet.

I had the same problem with both books. They're both ~700 page books that really should be 400-500 pages.

Yasuke · Oct 11, 2019

RepairmanJack said:
Luckily Brandon seems to not be able to stop writing, and he just announced that book 4 is about 2/3rds of the way through his first draft. He wants to release it next holiday and he just said a day ago he was now on schedule for that to happen. But he is about to start up travel for Star Sight so he said he may fall behind a little because of that.

I have a hope that when Brandon is in between book 5 and 6, he does similar thing to what he does in each book and releases a whole book of interlude chapters taking place in Roshar. I could seriously take a whole book of those chapters.

Those are the chapters I reread. So much worldbuilding and small character bits.

The amount of content Brandon pumps out is uncanny.

Jest · Oct 11, 2019

H.Cornerstone said:
I had the same problem with both books. They're both ~700 page books that really should be 400-500 pages.

I would agree on that with the first book. The second book though felt less superfluous. It's more that there were segments that didn't drive me to keep going well into the night. I actually felt like it needed more pages specifically at the end.

RepairmanJack · Oct 11, 2019

Add me to the list of people that didn't love Gentlemen Bastards. I liked it fine enough but just didn't get a lot of the love. I've only read Lies but just haven't felt the need to read on yet. I will at some point probably.

People seem to talk so much about the relationships in Lies but I honestly didn't see that at all. I felt the rest of the crew was barely in it at all and a lot of the emotional moments in the book just seemed unsupported by just about anything. Plot and general style kept me going but overall it was just ok.

Poodlestrike · Oct 11, 2019

I adored the first Gentleman Bastards book, but I feel like the rest didn't really live up to it. The genius prose was still there, and I liked the setting and the character writing just fine, but... Part of it is that it doesn't really deliver on the fantasy.

Hero/protagonist thieves are really supposed to win , the Bastards mostly just get the shit kicked out of them. Which is fine, if it's on the way to the victory, but at a certain point it starts feeling like misery porn.

Tuorom · Oct 14, 2019

I am excited for the next book. Does anyone know the word on the street for what's being done next?
He's doing another Wax Mistborn book isn't he?

H.Cornerstone said:
from what I gathered he is much more focused now on being a parent than writing. Which I understand and am fine with. The only issue I have is how combative he is and how he said from the beginning the entire trilogy was already written.

Also I read the first two books of gentlemen Bastards and feel like I am the only person on earth who wasn't a fan.

I didn't like Lies either. The plot was meh, the characters weren't interesting, the villain was a mustache twirler, the two mains conveniently win a few major battles, the prose is alright, idk it just wasn't for me.

I think Rothfuss means he had the whole outline finished, but he had to do all the detail work to really finish it up. Idk why some people feel so entitled that they need authors to answer to their whims it's pretty annoying. I love both his books so far, and even if he doesn't finish the third, NoTW and WMF are my favourite books.

random88 · Oct 14, 2019

In Cosmere, he is currently working on Stormlight 4 and another Sixth of the Dusk story. As for the final Wax and Wayne book, it's a mistery. He said he'll try to write something during this year if he has time but I wouldn't expect it for at least another year, maybe even two.

He is also working on a Skyward sequel.

crimzonflame · Oct 14, 2019

Friends , I just blazed through the last 200 pages of TWOK today and I am totally amazed. Book started off slow but in the end it was totally worth it.

I read that it is recommended to read Warbreaker before starting the 2nd book, is it true? I really want to jump into book #2 and don't feel like reading Warbreaker which over 600 pages. Is really worth it?

random88 · Oct 15, 2019

It's not an absolute must read, but yes, it is recommended. There is a scene at the end of Words of Radiance that has a much bigger impact if you've read Warbreaker. There is also one more thing which you may or may not notice.

It is even more recommended before Oathbringer, so it's better to get it over with now.

RepairmanJack · Oct 15, 2019

Man, I'm coming to realize r/books really seems to dislike fantasy(That isn't Tolkein or Pratchett), and really seems to despise the love for Sanderson. Weird. It oddly seems to have only come about in the last year or so. Like he got so big so now it's more cool to hate him?

Tuorom · Oct 15, 2019

RepairmanJack said:
Man, I'm coming to realize r/books really seems to dislike fantasy(That isn't Tolkein or Pratchett), and really seems to despise the love for Sanderson. Weird. It oddly seems to have only come about in the last year or so. Like he got so big so now it's more cool to hate him?

They are probably jelly that Sanderson fans get such a steady stream of quality literature because he's a prodigy of the pen.

zdravkelja said:
In Cosmere, he is currently working on Stormlight 4

Hell yes, that's exciting!

crimzonflame said:
Friends , I just blazed through the last 200 pages of TWOK today and I am totally amazed. Book started off slow but in the end it was totally worth it.

I read that it is recommended to read Warbreaker before starting the 2nd book, is it true? I really want to jump into book #2 and don't feel like reading Warbreaker which over 600 pages. Is really worth it?

I would say to always stick with his books until the end. His culmination of all the story threads is always exciting and fantastic to read, and you're guaranteed to get one in every book.

I would recommend Warbreaker. There are some cool nods to it that you'll enjoy. Some subtle, some awesome. It's a pretty good book as well! I rather enjoyed it's take on the magic system.

MotiD · Oct 15, 2019

So, I'm not really a book reader but I do love fantasy and I'm itching to read a book for some reason and I keep seeing this man's work come up.
Will Way of Kings be a good place to start? I read some of the sample on Kindle and I was intrigued and really wanted to keep going
I did previously read the first GoT and some of two but things kept getting in the way and I never finished the second book, and I don't really want to deal with GoT in the near future

H.Cornerstone · Oct 15, 2019

MotiD said:
So, I'm not really a book reader but I do love fantasy and I'm itching to read a book for some reason and I keep seeing this man's work come up.
Will Way of Kings be a good place to start? I read some of the sample on Kindle and I was intrigued and really wanted to keep going
I did previously read the first GoT and some of two but things kept getting in the way and I never finished the second book, and I don't really want to deal with GoT in the near future

I'd probably start with Mistborn. It's a bit easier to get into, shorter and It's "Complete."

I read way of kings first so you can but I think Mistborn is the better introduction.

after that you can decide to continue with the Wax and Wayne series or shuffle into Stormlight Archive. (just make sure you read Warbreaker before Words of Radiance).

RugoUniverse · Oct 16, 2019

MotiD said:
So, I'm not really a book reader but I do love fantasy and I'm itching to read a book for some reason and I keep seeing this man's work come up.
Will Way of Kings be a good place to start? I read some of the sample on Kindle and I was intrigued and really wanted to keep going
I did previously read the first GoT and some of two but things kept getting in the way and I never finished the second book, and I don't really want to deal with GoT in the near future

I would jump in if it sounds like something you'd be into. I found Mistborn a bit basic when I read it, but it's still probably the other best place to start with Sanderson.

MotiD · Oct 16, 2019

I bought the first Mistborn book! Thanks for the replies

MotiD · Oct 17, 2019

I'm in chapter 3 of Mistborn and I'm having a great time so far
Unfortunately the kindle menu when you highlight a word has spoiled a possible big revelation about the relationship between two characters so that sucks

RepairmanJack · Oct 17, 2019

MotiD said:
I'm in chapter 3 of Mistborn and I'm having a great time so far
Unfortunately the kindle menu when you highlight a word has spoiled a possible big revelation about the relationship between two characters so that sucks

I'm trying to think what this could be and I'm thinking it may be wrong or you may be thinking something wrong from context? Maybe I'm just misremembering something but I don't think there's really any big relationship to spoil at that point?

MotiD · Oct 17, 2019

RepairmanJack said:
I'm trying to think what this could be and I'm thinking it may be wrong or you may be thinking something wrong from context? Maybe I'm just misremembering something but I don't think there's really any big relationship to spoil at that point?

It said that Prelan Laird was Vin's father, which seems like it could be a big deal from where I'm at in the story right now

RepairmanJack · Oct 17, 2019

MotiD said:
It said that Prelan Laird was Vin's father, which seems like it could be a big deal from where I'm at in the story right now

Ahh, it is very minor. I wouldn't worry about it too much. I want to say it comes out naturally pretty early, and doesn't really mean much.

MotiD · Oct 17, 2019

RepairmanJack said:
Ahh, it is very minor. I wouldn't worry about it too much. I want to say it comes out naturally pretty early, and doesn't really mean much.

That's good to hear. Thanks!

crimzonflame · Oct 19, 2019

Just finished Warbreaker. Now on to Words of Radiance.

MotiD · Oct 20, 2019

There's a sale for Way of Kings on Amazon, but only 1 of 2 versions is on sale and I can't figure out the difference between them?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H4XAXO?ref=em_1p_1_im&ref_=pe_3730140_444603800

https://www.amazon.com/Way-Kings-St...of+kings&qid=1571557871&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

RugoUniverse · Oct 20, 2019

MotiD said:
There's a sale for Way of Kings on Amazon, but only 1 of 2 versions is on sale and I can't figure out the difference between them?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H4XAXO?ref=em_1p_1_im&ref_=pe_3730140_444603800

https://www.amazon.com/Way-Kings-St...of+kings&qid=1571557871&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Top one is the UK edition. Bottom is the US.

MotiD · Oct 20, 2019

RugoUniverse said:
Top one is the UK edition. Bottom is the US.

Oh, I see.
Any knowledge on if there's a difference between the US and UK versions? I'm not a native speaker but I'm used to American spelling, terms etc..

RugoUniverse · Oct 20, 2019

MotiD said:
Oh, I see.
Any knowledge on if there's a difference between the US and UK versions? I'm not a native speaker but I'm used to American spelling, terms etc..

I don't know about text differences but I'm from the UK and buy the US editions in Hardback because the art job they do is so much more impressive.

The biggest differences there could be would be spellings of words (color/colour). I doubt that they bother though.

crimzonflame · Oct 21, 2019

Finished part 1 of Words of Radiance

- I have a feeling that Jasnah is not dead. Plus who's on the cover of the next book?
- Amaram is back!
- Loving the idea of a rivalry between Adolin (fav character) and Kaladin. Hope it does materialize.

Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere |OT| Journey Before Destination

Smooth vs. Crunchy

Actually knows the TOS

Actually knows the TOS

Smooth vs. Crunchy