Hello fellow book lovers, literary nuts and travelers of the internet!
I hope as the last vestiges of summer pass us by you are all getting in some memorable adventures before winter traps us all (at least for those of us in the colder hemispheres). I myself have been playing a bit of softball, prepping my child for school (first grade, here we come!) and plotting fall activities.
However, I am also committed to staying on course for my reviews and sifting through the horrors of popular reading to recommend books that I think are certainly worth a trip to the library, or at least downloading on to your tablet, kindle, or whatnot device.
To say the least, I am fully convinced anything by Brandon Sanderson is not only worth a car trip to the library, his works are also well worth paying full price at the most exorbitant stores. I adore the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres,however any fan will tell you they are filled to the brim with books that I like to refer to as aerodynamically sound: perfect for launching into space and little else. Brandon Sanderson however is a stunning example of how a talented author can weave a beautiful, intense, character driven story that will make a book into a treasured possession.
If you cannot tell, I am a fan.
Sanderson published his debut novel, "Elantris" in 2005 and was praised by Orson Scott Card, who wrote "Elantris is the finest novel ofthe fantasy to be written in many years. Brandon Sanderson has created a truly original world of magic and intrigue, and with the rigor of the best science fiction writers he has made it real at every level." While Scott Card and I do not agree on LGBT affairs, I trust his opinion in terms of the Science Fiction genre and absolutely agree with his assessment on Sanderson.
Due to the fact that I want everyone to immediately go out and read this novel once they have perused my post, I won't give much of the plot away, save that it is about the once great city of Elantris, a city of near gods who are suddenly cursed by the shoal, a disease that leaves its victims withered, covered with lesions, tortured with continual pain and yet seemingly unable to die. At first the plot follows Raoden, the prince of Arelon, who is struck with the Shoal and exiled to the city of Elantris. There he tries to piece together the mystery of what happened to the Elantrians to save himself and his home. That said, he is far from being the only main character. There is Sarene, who is his betrothed from other country, and Hrathen, a high level priest sent to convert the country of Arelon to his religion.
All of the aforementioned characters are impressively written, and even those who are side characters are as well done. Everyone in Arelon and Elantris has a life and a soul one can connect with through the text. Sanderson has a tale for every character and no one is just a simple place holder. It's also impressive how he can weave multiple plot points and keep the reader interested and from being completely confused. He is also an expert on keeping plot twists from being obvious. His books have a roller coaster effect. The events, coups, and tension builds and builds until suddenly there is the anticipation of the drop followed by a roaring series of events that finally come to an organized stop.
"Mistborn" accomplishes the same feeling. The first book in the Final Empire's trilogy, "Mistborn" takes us into the world of the Final Empire - a world that is continually covered in ash, and the people known as Skaa are subjected to indentured servitude by the nobles, and all serve The Lord Ruler. It is a world where a great hero was supposed to save them all, and that hero failed.
We follow Vin, a Skaa who has been abandoned by her brother and being used by a thief crew leader to manipulate victims into his schemes. Through a series of events, she ends up in the rebel crew of a man named Kelser, and discovers she is a Mistborn, an individual who posses the ability of Allomancy, and can ingest metals to gain extraordinary abilities. Kelser is not only a Mistborn, but he is known as the only individual who has ever survived being sent to the Lord Ruler's mines and escape with his life. Vin becomes entangled in Kelser's plan to destroy the Final Empire and works as a spy amongst the younger noble society to learn what she can to help the cause.
As I said before, Sanderson is a master of character development. "Mistborn" is almost a book you dread reading through because of what could happen to the characters. As I fell more entranced with Vin and Kelser, and the other characters, I couldn't help having to put the book down just so I could prepare for the next eventual danger they would encounter. Like his debut novel, Sanderson puts you on a roller coaster and doesn't let you off until the ride has left you gripping and wanting more.
Beyond just character development, Sanderson has creates worlds where magic has rules and feels tangible and reachable. Magic is not there " just because". Magic in each of his worlds has a very specific set of rules and limitations, and if a practitioner doesn't adhere to those rules, the worst will come to them.
I also have to say that Sanderson is also able construct character romances that are beautiful, heart wrenching and sincere. It's not often a writer has such a grasp of love that they can invoke the joy and tragedy it can bring in a believable, genuine sense. He does not fall for the trap of being melodramatic and instead gives the characters a chance to have the type of love few people can ever have, as opposed to the hyper sexual romances we see on T.V.
Brandon Sanderson is a writer that I can easily see standing the test of time in the Science Fiction Canon and he gives me hope that the genre is not lost to cheap plots and bad writing. I am confident that his books and stories will stand up against the ever waning test of time.
As an aside, he not only writes fiction, but also essays on science fiction and other rules.
If you love science fiction, or fantasy, I suggest you pick up one of Sanderson's books so that you can lose yourself as I did in his worlds.
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