I've heard from a lot of people that Mistborn and Elantris are the most common starting points for new Sanderson readers. As it happened, Way of Kings was the first book I read by Brandon Sanderson. This rescue was the moment when my feelings about Brandon Sanderson's work palpably deepened to something more than casual enjoyment. It was the moment when I decided that I needed... more. More of this. ...And Brandon delivered.
Man I relate to this so hard! I want people to read the way of kings because I feel like stormlight is a more complete series (though unfinished). I feel like mistborn is a bit close to YA compared to his other works although I cant comment on elantris as I havent read.
I think I would recommend Mistborn to younger readers, and either Warbreaker or The Way of Kings to older readers. I don't think I would ever recommend anyone read Elantris first since it's noticeably lower in quality than his later books. It's still worth reading if you're a fan of the setting, but I don't think it's a good starting point.
@@MistaHoward Yeah, it's pretty obvious how much Brandon improved since Elantris. There are so many moments when he tells instead of showing, such a weird obsession with giving Hrathen, Sarene and Raoden equal screentime at the expense of the entire book's pacing, and such a lack of tact regarding how to introduce the reader to the world. There are also numerous weird editorial mistakes. Of course, it's not a bad book, but still by far Brandon's worst. I suspect part of the reason he is delaying the second book in the Elantris Trilogy for so long is because he knows just how jarring the change in the writing quality will be. At the very least he hasn't forgotten the planet, seeing as both Rhythm of War and The Lost Metal reference Elantris pretty heavily.
@@Erick-tv8oq I have only read the 10th anniversary edition of Elantris, which I hear fixes some of the editorial mistakes. You're definitely right about the pacing, there are a lot of Raoden and Sarene sections that feel like filler and even a few Hrathen bits that border on it, and it tends to infodump a lot more blatantly than Sanderson's other works. The saving grace of Elantris is Hrathen, who is still one of the best characters Sanderson has written and carries the entire book to the point where I would honestly rate it above the Well of Ascension at the very least. The setting has plenty of potential so I am excited for the sequels, especially after The Emperor's Soul, which I think is not only Sanderson's best work, but also one of my personal favorite short stories of all time. Hopefully the timeskip and change in setting in the second Elantris book will make it a bit less jarring for any future readers who happen to read them back-to-back.
@@MistaHoward It’s amusing how different my vision of this book is compared to yours. I’m enjoying Raoden’s chapters far more than the others, with Sarene as a second and Hrathen as a third. Reading Hrathen’s POV is exceedingly boring for me specifically, because there are just so many capitalized words thrown around, and their actual meaning is introduced at such a slow pace at times it feels like I’m reading a conversation in an entirely different language. I’m at about the halfway point in the book, at the part where Dilaf is slowly being revealed as more ambitious than he seems. I just read the chapter where Hrathen’s faith is questioned, and honestly he’s becoming a much more interesting character. I just wish I hadn’t gone through half a book of religious babbling before being introduced to an actually intriguing character conflict. I’m excited for Emperor’s Soul though, it seems to be the first work of Sanderson’s to actually showcase his writing ability.
This, right here, is why I love Sanderson as an author. There is little more compelling than a character overcoming their struggles and doing the right thing.
Each of the books has a scene like this. This scene is my favorite from WoK, followed closely by "The Blade for your Bridge-men, All of them." Some others are "Honor is Dead, but I'll see what I can do" and "You Cannot Have My Pain" I have both the audio book narrated by Michael Kramer and the Graphic Audio versions (the ones here). I personally prefer the Graphic Audio versions. Their different people for each character, their narrations and the extra effects they put with the scenes just FEELS more epic to me. Well worth the extra price IMO
Id say graphic audio is better for when you are actively listening while Kramer is better for having it in the background while you like drive or do something mindless
God there are way too many many amazing lines that it makes it hard to pick favourites. But if I had to they'd probably be. "I had to make the choice that let me sleep at night." "He couldn't win, but he kept running. And when the storm caught him, it didn't matter that he'd died, because he'd run for all he had." "I will not lie and say that every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing."
@@COSMEREAUDIO Sadeas had just pulled out of the assault. The bridge crews were told to follow. Kaladin's crew was lagging behind because the betrayal was weighing on their minds. Kaladin then realises they can escape by just lagging farther and farther behind. When sadeas is out of sight, kaladin has a choice to make. Either escape sadeas and the shattered plains or go back for dalinar. That's when he speaks the first ideal. Dalinar fighting eshonai is after kaladin speaks the 2nd ideal.
@@COSMEREAUDIO this is the moment he swears the first ideal. The lighteyes don’t care about life, Lirin had said. So I must. So we must. So you must…. Life before death. I’ve failed so often. I’ve been knocked to the ground and trod upon. Strength before weakness. This would be death I’d lead my friends to… Journey before destination.…death, and what is right. “We have to go back,” Kaladin said softly. “Storm it, we have to go back.”
This reminded me Tien actually gave strenght to the other messanger boys who stood with him. One may be cinical and think "they died anyway" but dying running away cut down and dying standing...
