Comments on: 5 Things Mistborn Taught Me About Writing

By: Joshua H Wolf

Joshua H Wolf — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:17:01 +0000

I, like you, came to Sanderson as a Wheel of Time fan. When I had read that most of Sanderson’s awards at that point had been from romance writing, I cringed to think that he would be carrying my most beloved characters to the slopes of Shayol Ghul for the Last Battle, so I felt that I had to read Mistborn just to figure out how I felt about the announcement.

I loved every page. Instead of feeling like my favorite series was going to be lost to some unknown, some hack brought in to stumble through the master’s work, my fears were completely obliterated. In fact, Sanderson became my favorite author after I finished reading Hero of Ages, replacing Robert Jordan.

Mistborn remains my favorite trilogy today. His work on Wheel of Time has been great, although I’d still rather have seen Robert Jordan finish it all. I enjoyed Elantris and Warbreaker, and I am trying very hard to be patient and await the next installment of The Stormlight Archive, which doesn’t even have a tentative release date yet because of A Memory of Light (which I also want, even more, actually).

Before I sound like a rabid fanboy convert, I feel it is my duty to state that I do not think Mistborn was perfect. I merely don’t share the same objections as you.

By: Avi Elliott

Avi Elliott — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 02:01:02 +0000

Oh and, it’s The Hero of Ages for a reason. It’s like The Days of Doom and not The Days of the Doom (not from a story, I just made it up as an example.) Also, think of it this way; Brain Boru, a man who united Ireland in the past, is know as The Lion of Ireland. He saved Ireland from continued wars between clans and therefore he was the hero of Ireland, not the hero of the Ireland. It just doesn’t make sense that way. Also anther example; The Hero of Time, not The Hero of the Time. Get it? It’s not a hero to be remembered for ages, (which is what would make it The hero of the Ages) but the ages is what the hero saves, so it’s written The Hero of Ages. You see?

By: Jarryd

Jarryd — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:06:10 +0000

I found that I was completely content at the end of the third book. I haven’t ever felt that about another series, so it really surprised me when i found B.S had done it.
I thought that Vin and Elend having something together in the afterlife, where they could finally be away from all of the troubles that had previously plagued them, was about the best thing that B.S could do for them.
The fact that Vin wasn’t the Hero of Ages was pretty cool too. It’s kind of annoying to consistently read stories about a prophesied hero who beats the baddie. To find out that she wasn’t the hero everyone thought she was, was in my opinion a great plot twist.

I did think that Hero of Ages sounded a little funny though. I chose to just ignore how he’d written it and think of it as Hero of the Ages anyway.

By: Avi Elliott

Avi Elliott — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 01:19:50 +0000

First off, I wasn’t nearly as bugged as you seem to think I was. The only part that bugged me was what you said about Brandon messing with The Wheel of Time. I find the fact that you hate the end rather amusing. The reason I said what I did was even with saying that you respected him as an author, you were making it sound like he was some kind of monster, so I was pointing out to those who didn’t know that he isn’t. Also, there will be two more trilogies set in the world of Mistborn, not just one. And there will be guns. (Sazed says in one of the chapter headers that guns already existed, but the Lord Ruler suppressed them.) and Suman, obsidian is a rock, not a metal.
And one last thing; If you ever intend on reading his other works, Elantris’s ending as well as The Way of Kings’s aren’t as. . . surprising. Warbreaker’s might make you a little mad, but not nearly as much.

By: Suman

Suman — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 01:19:47 +0000

Christina,
I liked your article a lot. However, I felt satisfied with the ending, and I thought you may want to know why ( Please forgive the typos, if any).
I really liked Sazed from the beginning, for his rebelliousness and doing what he thought was right. He said his mind in the most polite way possible.
The biggest red herring possible? You are right. However, I was amazed, and not angry, at how he pulled this off without alerting me.
When Vin died, I felt bad; but then she was happy, and she seemed like someone who would be happy. Taking rest with Elend after working hard her whole life must be nice (for her).
I felt Elend’s death was unjustified emotionally, as he would want to care for his people. But then Sazed said Elend was happy… so I suppose it is okay.
I loved the ending. It is hard to explain why, but I felt it is time to start a new trilogy.
“Once you know the rules, you can break them. But only in moderation.”
I totally agree with you on this. Brandon did many things like –

Sam entered the room, and stood opposite Red. His face was tired; his braids we all over the face, the different rubber bands highlighting the variety of products available at the factory.
Sam fell down, dead.

While they were nice sometimes, it was cliche other times.
Moreover, he kept saying – Vin paused. Elend paused. (…)
That got irritating at some points.

Do you know why obsidian can(not) be pull(sh)ed? If you do, please share.

Thanks for reading!

By: Christina

Christina — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 15:54:00 +0000

Wow, guys. Not everyone has to love every book. Did you miss the part where I said the writing was so brilliant I couldn’t put the books down? Also, any book that can arouse an intense emotion like anger over the ending…the writer gets credit for being able to get readers that emotionally invested.

I told Brandon Sanderson I hated the ending when I met him at the 2010 New York Comic Con. Said it to his face. And he didn’t have nearly the reaction that you – Avi and Garry – had. We had a nice discussion about how he’d planned it from the beginning, and I said I understood why he did it, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. He was very cool, and he told us about the Mistborn short story/novella he’s working on…before he officially announced it. And that he’s going to write a second trilogy.

I’m still a Brandon Sanderson fan, but I still hate the way the Mistborn trilogy ended. And I’m entitled to my own opinion.

By: Garry

Garry — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:03:33 +0000

All that I can say to what you have written is, “wow…” You were left so angry, not because the books ended poorly or because you couldn’t guess where the story was heading, but because everything wasnt all happy dandy and perfect. The books were amazingly constructed. The plot line was so unpredictable that it awestruck me when it all came together, not because I wasn’t expecting it, but because how even though I didn’t expect it, it still fit together so well. You wanted everything to end perfect thats quite understandable if you are still reading childrens fantasy novels. Most of us however, Like novels that throw a curve ball that hits you right where you weren’t expecting it. I highly reccomend never reading George R.R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire because I would not want you to blather about how it did things you weren’t expecting and probably made you cry. The books shocked you from your normal reads and made you think, “Wait! Things dont end perfect sometimes?” And if you could not follow that section with all the “burns” in it then I advise stepping down to some simpler authors, such as Dr. Seuss, but be careful because he can be quite unpredictable because you can never quite guess what words rhyme with “hop” or “fish.” Lastly about Nynaeve’s hair pulling in Wheel of Time, it’s her character. Its there because its how she was developed. It would be awkward if it didn’t mention it. It would lead me to assume that she was possibly taken over by a poorly trained Kandra. Do not tell the world that you were angry about a book because it wasn’t happy go lucky at the end or you’ll probably continue to get comments like this.

By: Avi Elliott

Avi Elliott — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 06:03:37 +0000

Sorry for all the typos above.

By: Avi Elliott

Avi Elliott — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 06:01:23 +0000

I have to say that you took the book the wrong way. You should have started reading Brandon with his first novel Elantris which would have gotten you ready for Mistborn. And let me be very clear on this; Brandon would NEVER write The Wheel of Time like his other books. (See this and you’ll know why: http://brandonsanderson.com/blog/550/EUOLogy-Goodbye-Mr.-Jordan) Now first off, if you had began with Elantris you would know that having so little region in books 1&2 was the thing that felt wrong. Two go back and carefully read the chapter headings for the first book, particularly the things pertaining to the hero. Look at the heading for chapter 8, or really any chapter. The one were he references the stretched out ear lobs the hero is soused to have, which Sazed does and Vin does not. you’ll see that Brandon is quietly pointing at the hero the whole time and i have really meet people who had guessed that Sazed was the hero. (Also look at what Kwaan says as well.) And he does speend a lot of time in book 3 helping you learn to love Spook who will take on Eland’s place as people begin life anew. Also you may like to know Brandon will be making Mistborn into a trilogy of trilogies, though i don’t know if it’s going to take place thousands of years latter or during the funding of Spook’s new empire. Now also, put yourself in Sazed’s shoes. his emo stag was the right thing to do. And if he hadn’t had it he would have guessed out what was going on and prevented the death of Eland. (Though Vin does have to die so Sazed can take the powers.) Really if you re-read book three (which im doing now) you’ll see he gets close to the answer often but gets side tracked.

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