Micanopy Reads Brandon Sanderson

This week we’ll take a look at one of Naomi’s favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson.

Brandon Sanderson is known for his epic fantasy series for adults. I was introduced to his writing with Elantris but many fantasy readers discovered Sanderson when he completed The Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan passed away.


Sanderson writes tomes. He regularly releases books over 1000 pages. I am a dedicated physical book reader but I purchased the eBook of Words of Radiance (Stormlight Archive #2) because I was afraid the hardcover would give me a concussion if I fell asleep reading it. Just look at the size of the manuscript.

 

Every series by Sanderson has a unique magic system. Allomancers on Scadrial ingest metal powders that give them abilities such as far sight, magnetic attraction, or soothing emotions (Mistborn). On Nalthis the source of magic is in one’s breath and the presence of color (Warbreaker). Spren and Stormlight have a close relationship to the magic system of Nalthis (The Way of Kings). All of these worlds and others exist in the same universe called the Cosmere. They all share a single creation myth and are all part of one overarching story. If this sounds intimidating don’t let it scare you away. You don’t need to know the overarching story to enjoy any of Sanderson’s books. I’ve been reading books in this universe for fifteen years and reading the Wiki to write this blog has my head spinning.

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Mistborn
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Warbreaker
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Way of Kings

Sanderson has also written several books for younger readers. I’ve read all of these except Skyward (just placed it on hold) and while The Rithmatist is my favorite, the idea of a cult of evil librarians in Alcatraz has a special place in my heart.

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Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians
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Rithmatist
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Skyward
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Steelheart

By NaomiB on January 23, 2021