I love fantasy, but snobbery had me avoiding Sanderson. However chatting to an enthusiast at a party convinced me to try the mistborn series.
Yes the prose is rather bland and direct, there’s not much poetry to be found. Yes Sanderson’s habit of constantly offering exposition through a characters self analysis was grating. In fact all the characters were inclined to mull everything over in their heads, sometimes pausing during a fight to ponder something or other. Yes the dialogue is clunky at the times, and the friendship dynamics make me slightly reminiscent of PlayStation 2 games.
That being said, this mistborn series has been a bloody good yarn. The world is captivating, and lots of things are uncovered through satisfying story beats. The action is often cool, decently varied, and doesn’t outstay its welcome. The characters feel believable without being too predictable. In fact I grew to love these characters, seeing them grow and change (though Sanderson isn’t subtle about it 😅).
The twist and turns in plot are exciting, and I found myself wondering how things will pan out. I’ve still got a few chapters to go, but I thought I wrote this out while it was in my mind.
It’s not fancy writing, but it is fantastic fantasy. Give it a try if your pretensions were putting you off.
by Reasonable-Ad-3271