Brandon Sanderson

I have a new favorite author: Brandon Sanderson.  He’s not new to writing (depending on your definition of new).  I’m just new to reading his stuff.  His first book was published around 2003.  You can read all about him here.  He’s also a Sagittarius.  One of my favorite astrological signs.

I have lots of favorite authors.  But, there are qualifications of favorite.  Some stuff I love to read, but I would never want to write.  George R.R. Maartin falls into this category.  I love reading the “Ice & Fire” books, but it just seems, to me, that it would be quite dull writing them.  It’s kind of like listening to Jazz music.  I love listening, but I’d never want to play.  You’d probably find me yawning at the keys if I were made to do so.  Of course, that’s also assuming I would be good enough to do so.  Which I am not.  Nor am I good enough at writing to write a book.

When I was a teenager and I saw the long hair fools singing in rock bands I liked the music and decided that I could probably do that.  I sang in a rock band for 4 years.  We never did anything spectacular except getting the cops called occasionally for disturbing the peace, but I did it.  Try to follow the logic here.

The point is, there are certain people or events that encourage you to try something new.  Or make something seem fun enough that you think, “Man, I’d like to try that!”

This is what Brandon Sanderson does for me.  His books are fun, fun, fun to read and when I’m reading them I am thinking, “Man this would be fun, fun, fun to write!  I wish I could write!”

Very few authors get the fun to read and fun to write scores.

I discovered Brandon because one of my other favorite authors, Robert Jordan passed away before he could finish a series, “The Wheel of Time” I had been reading since the first book, “The Eye of the World” was published in January of 1990.

Brandon Sanderson, who was a fan of the series as well, was hired to finish off the series.  He’s already published the first one, “The Gathering Storm” and is almost done with the second, “Towers of Midnight” in a promised trilogy-ending to the 14 book Wheel of Time series.

I can’t imagine being asked to finish off a series as big and as complicated as The Wheel of Time.  Yet, to me, The Gathering Storm was much better than expected.  Brandon Sanderson managed to continue the series without disappointing the series.  In fact, of the 12 books finished so far in the series, I’d go so far as to say The Gathering Storm was in the top 5 as far as entertaining.

I just finished reading “The Mistborn Trilogy” by Brandon Sanderson.  Excellent, excellent stuff.  A good combination of magic and science.  Or using physics to explain magic?  I don’t know.  How do you explain Allomancy, Feruchemy and Hemalurgy?  Maybe “cool” will have to suffice.