authoroftheweek: Brandon Sanderson

Upon hearing that Brandon Sanderson had been chosen to complete Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series, I immediately went to the library to check out his work. Sanderson had released three novels: Elantris, a standalone, and the first two books in the Mistborn series: Final Empire and Well of Ascension

I tackled the Mistborn books first. I'm glad I did. Final Empire was extremely well-written, with a realized world, a unique magic system and fleshed-out characters. It tells the story of a group of people trying to take down a tyrant. Several of them are Allomancers, people who have the ability to "burn" a certain metal that enhances a certain ability. For example, "Thugs" have the ability to "burn" pewter in order to enhance their strength. Then there are the special people, Mistborn, who have the ability to "burn" all metals; in effect, they have all the different Allomancer powers. The main protagonists are Mistborn; unfortunately, the empire they aim to destroy also have their powers (Steel Inquisitors), while the tyrant is the most powerful one of all. Exciting book with a somewhat steampunk feel. A must read, even if you didn't know about the Wheel of Time stuff. This one's five stars, easily.

After eagerly finishing the first book, I went on to the second one Well of Ascension. We get to see the world fleshed out even further, with the introduction of more creatures and some more insight on how the world came to be. Unfortunately, the book suffers a bit from sequel-itis, and gets a bit bogged down in political discussions and philosophical debates. It's still a good yarn, however, and the last couple of chapters are pretty exciting, with one of the best fight sequences I've ever read. This one rates four stars.

Elantris was the last book I read, and was the first book that Sanderson wrote. It shows. The book reads a bit like a sixties/seventies SF novel (down to the cover), with the Elantrians coming across a bit as refugees from the Age of Aquarius, complete with disco balls and shiny robes and go-go boots (sorry, that was the imagery that came into my head). Yes, it's a bit cheesy. An okay read, but it's obvious that Sanderson was still trying to find his voice with this book. Three stars.

If I had only read Elantris, I would be nervous. Fortunately, the quality of Sanderson's work took a quantum leap with the Mistborn books, so I'd say the last book in the Wheel of Time cycle is in good hands.