Hollow
Finishing a book/series always leaves me feeling... empty somehow. I may be left thoughtful of the tale related, but there's always a sense of loss at the cessation of of ideas. This last six months or so, I really have come to appreciate just how much reading fantasy novels makes me feel more inspired.
I just finished Warbreaker. I put it off initially because it's in hardcover. As I thought about it, though, Brandon Sanderson is one of perhaps two authors I'd splurge for the expense on rather than waiting for a paperback version. That, coupled with the fact that he's now finishing out the Wheel of Time series for the late Robert Jordan - which I probably won't read as I gave up on that series years ago, convinced me to go ahead and buy it.
I'm not sorry I did. While it's not quite as fleshed out or, perhaps, "grand" as the Mistborn trilogy, it stands alone well. Sanderson has another unique (to my knowledge) sort of magic in this world and clashing religions, including one that worships very human-like "gods." Hmm. There are shades of previous characters in this book, but none of them are truly copied, and most of them are interesting in their own rights. The story is sound, and there are a couple twists that are able to actually surprise.
Previously, I finished reading The Troy Game... quadrology? Tetralogy? Series! It was okay. I did like the epic nature of the story that stretched over multiple lifetimes. I really liked... some of the changes, in some of the characters, some of the time. At the same time, though, I find progress in each segment feeling slow to me, and even by the end there were times I wanted to smack characters for being dense and unable to get over themselves. One of the little blurbs from a review on the cover described the first book as a "soap opera for the ancient world" or somesuch. That's reasonably accurate, but not altogether a good thing in my estimation. Soap operas have a way of dragging things out too long for my tastes.
Edit: I suppose it's worth mentioning one other reason I was hesitant to purchase Warbreaker - it's actually available in PDF for free here. But y'know what, for all the text I read on-screen, I feel far more comfortable with physical novels when it comes to large bodies of text.
I just finished Warbreaker. I put it off initially because it's in hardcover. As I thought about it, though, Brandon Sanderson is one of perhaps two authors I'd splurge for the expense on rather than waiting for a paperback version. That, coupled with the fact that he's now finishing out the Wheel of Time series for the late Robert Jordan - which I probably won't read as I gave up on that series years ago, convinced me to go ahead and buy it.
I'm not sorry I did. While it's not quite as fleshed out or, perhaps, "grand" as the Mistborn trilogy, it stands alone well. Sanderson has another unique (to my knowledge) sort of magic in this world and clashing religions, including one that worships very human-like "gods." Hmm. There are shades of previous characters in this book, but none of them are truly copied, and most of them are interesting in their own rights. The story is sound, and there are a couple twists that are able to actually surprise.
Previously, I finished reading The Troy Game... quadrology? Tetralogy? Series! It was okay. I did like the epic nature of the story that stretched over multiple lifetimes. I really liked... some of the changes, in some of the characters, some of the time. At the same time, though, I find progress in each segment feeling slow to me, and even by the end there were times I wanted to smack characters for being dense and unable to get over themselves. One of the little blurbs from a review on the cover described the first book as a "soap opera for the ancient world" or somesuch. That's reasonably accurate, but not altogether a good thing in my estimation. Soap operas have a way of dragging things out too long for my tastes.
Edit: I suppose it's worth mentioning one other reason I was hesitant to purchase Warbreaker - it's actually available in PDF for free here. But y'know what, for all the text I read on-screen, I feel far more comfortable with physical novels when it comes to large bodies of text.
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