Preface this by saying that I just got into the Cosmere last year, and I’ve only read a handful of the books (Stormlight, Mistborn era 1, and a few standalone novels) so I’m no expert. Yeah, he needs better editing. I don’t really notice the prose unless it’s distractingly bad, so I can’t really comment on a decline in quality.
Sanderson is an author I really want to like, if that makes sense. Based on what little I’ve seen from his lectures and interaction with other authors and influencers, he seems like a nice guy. I also appreciated his stance on Audible, and liked that he wanted smaller authors to be paid fairly. I like how involved he is with his fandom, and I really hope there’s no Gaiman stuff going on with him.
In case it isn’t clear from how much I write about him, I really enjoy his books. But I hadn't realized how corporatized he’s made it, and that bothers me. At least to me, he appeared to have a genuine passion for writing. I just hope that, in the future, he doesn’t sacrifice quality in exchange for quantity.
Thanks for reading, I get where you are coming from, I also like Sanderson as a person from what I've seen of him (and I hope hes not a Gaiman type, but i prefer not to idolize authors in general). I think I notice the prose more because I read a lot of literary fiction and I tend to prefer more polished writing in that regard, but it's ultimately very subjective. It does take me out of the book when he uses modern language in a fantasy setting and I think the humor doesn't hold up as well as it did when I first started reading his books, or maybe my sense of humor changed, because now there are many bits that come across as cringe.
His business-like approach to writing has been a major concern for me for a while, and it only seems to be getting worse. I hope he changes, because I still have some emotional investment in the Stormlight Archive, but for now I'm just not willing to commit to reading hundreds of pages just to be disappointed.
Brandon Sanderson has a specific writing quirk where he almost always has at least one main character be their own worst enemy for the entire book, until they come to an epiphany at the end and either weaknesses become strengths, or they have a great realization that lets them overcome their weaknesses.
After seeing it every single book for most of his books, it starts to fall a little flat.
Also if Brandon Sanderson is saying that wind and truth is more edited than his prior books, I question what the editors are adding and changing.
Another risk is checkboxing, where scenes or characters are added just to check off a box of including some specific thing that is thought to be necessary, but turns out to be unnecessary and disruptive.
Also he's completely wrong about spoilers.
The idiots studying whether spoilers are good or bad have constructed their studies without examining watching a movie twice.
They only study watching the movie one time with or without spoilers, not whether or not a person can enjoy a movie The first time when they are discovering what happens, then enjoy it more when they watch it again.
I agree, the way he writes character arcs can get repetitive. This became evident to me with the way he writes Shallan every book, the more secret traumatic backstories he gives to the same character the less interested I'm in their story.
As you say, sometimes it feels like the story is just a long checklist of things to get through.
im typically more of the esoteric side of genre fiction but i dont dislike sanderson as much as other people with my preferences do, i actually thought the firstg mistborn trilogy was solid. i really disliked the second one though, and since then i dont really keep up with his work
I feel similarly, I don't hate him, though I'm very critical of his latest works, there's still some good stuff. The first mistborn trilogy is what got me into Sanderson and I still think it holds up pretty well (with some caveats), but I really disliked the second trilogy.
really liked reading this piece! i’ve not engaged at all with sanderson’s work (mostly due to ties to the church i’d previously heard about etc.) but would you say giving his early books a read would be worth doing for someone who likes fantasy?
Thanks for reading! I think Elantris and the first Mistborn trilogy are very enjoyable for fantasy fans, specially if you are interested in hard magic systems :)
Nice breakdown of the Sanderson canon (honestly, good of you to take the time, because Christ there's a lot of ground to cover). I haven't read him, so I'm only tangentially aware of his body of work. One person I know read the Mistborns and hated them passionately, so I have never had the urge.
The extent to which he is pumping out these books and treating it like a business, even referring to 'crunch times' (a term I have only ever heard in the context of video games), just seems bizarre to me, I can't really get into the head of an author who would take this approach. Most genre writers would kill for a fraction of the income and name recognition he has, because it would mean the freedom to take things at your own pace, to be able to take your time on projects, and not have to scrabble for position in the market. Is it a Mormon thing? Like the Protestant work ethic, but even worse?
Speaking of, yeah, I personally feel very iffy about the tithing. Even ignoring the homophobia, the LDS church has a massive history of sexual abuse (and probably many other things; apparently they're currently no longer officially racist, I don't know if that just means they're unofficially racist). Maybe he means the reformist stuff, I don't know, but it seems like he must be very limited in what he can actually say against the church while still being a member (albeit a useful member, in terms of how much money he is giving them...).
Also, what you say about the AMAs is interesting, particularly relating to Moash and how Sanderson has kind of become influenced by fans and joins in with/legitimises hate of this character, even if only in a light-hearted way. I don't necessarily think authors being influenced by fan response is always a bad thing (a different example I'm aware of is Leigh Bardugo, apparently in the later Grisha books she made her condemnation of the Darkling much more textual and explicit, because he was a deeply nasty piece of work, but fans still thought he was more sexy and cool than he was supposed to be read as past a certain point), but in this case it seems like the danger is losing the nuance and reducing the character to what fans (or haters) think he is, rather than what he was originally supposed to be.
Would definitely be interested to hear more about your perspective on Moash, he sounds like an interesting character.
I'm not super well-versed in LDS beliefs but it does seem like they put a lot of emphasis on working hard and being "succesful", so that may be part of why he's like this. Interestingly, Orson Scott Card also created a very large universe with his Ender books, and there are a few other big sci-fi/fantasy authors that are part of the church. It's something that I would like to research more about in the future.
I have mixed feelings regarding the tithing and Sanderson's role within the church. While the way he handles minority groups in his work reveals a fundamentally limited worldview, I think his attempts to include more LGBT representation and having a large cast of people of color are an overall positive thing, and I don't think it's my place to judge someone for their religion (even though I agree that the LDS church is very problematic), so I try to give him the benefit of the doubt when he claims that he wants to create a safe space for LGBT people within the church. However, it would make me feel better about his work if he stopped supporting the church financially, even if he was still a member. It would certainly make him look more genuine.
Regarding the relationship author-audience, I agree, I think it can sometimes be a good thing for authors to adjust their work due to fan response, but like you say I'm worried that Sanderson is flanderizing/simplifying his own characters to fall more in line with the fandom. Moash is one of my favorite Stormlight Archive characters, and I'm very disappointed with how he's been treated both in and out of the text. My opinion may change after I read the latest book, but I think Sanderson just doesn't have the ability to carry out a satisfying arc for someone like Moash. His understanding of oppresion is too limited. I have been thinking about writting an essay about Moash, but to do that I think I'd have to also reread the previous Stormlight books and I don't have the time nor the energy for that.
I do feel a bit sorry for him, it seems like he is kind of stuck between his conservative background and (relatively) liberal fanbase. It kind of rankles that he is giving so much money to such a nasty organisation, but on the other hand I don't know if he could distance himself more from the church than he already has without losing friends and family. I'm sure he got a lot of heat from his own community for writing about LGBT characters, which no-one forced him to do, so I do have the impression that his advocacy is genuine.
Completely understand not wanting to re-read for essay purposes, I have a bunch of topics like that!
I read the second Ender book and I started the third (which I think is the one with a Brazilian colony), but I never continued reading. Ender’s Game is one of my favorite sci-fi novels, but knowing how much of a bigot Card turned out to be made me lose interest in the franchise, along with the weird vibe of the second book.
Great article. I stopped reading his books because of the treatment of its minority characters and the issues they faced. I didn't know much about the business behind all the work. This puts a lot into context. Thank you for writing this. Also. There is no room to disagree on what you said about Moash 🙏🏽 you were entirely correct 🙏🏽
Thank you! His handling of minority groups is very hit or miss for me, I think he has good intentions but he just doesn't understand how oppression works and can't really relate to the groups he writes about. It gets offensive sometimes (particularly around Moash and the whole darkeyes/lighteyes conflict). We Moash defenders have it rough!
Great article! I can't say I feel the same way since I'm only just getting into Sanderson's work, but I am starting to pick up on the same things you're saying.
Shared universe storytelling (not explicitly transmedia storytelling, but they often overlap) is one of my favourite things to watch and read, but oh man does it ever feel like it reinforces a capitalistic take on making art. I'm not sure if the Sandersonverse has fallen victim to it yet, but I definitely know that the MCU has. Like you pointed out, at some point the focus shifts from telling the story to getting units sold, which really diminishes what made the thing good in the first place. I know that post-Endgame, I've only watched a handful of MCU projects because I've disconnected with what they're trying to do now. I just don't see what the point of the MCU is anymore.
Which I really think is one of the big appeals of shared universes. It's kind of like looking at a map that's only partially revealed, or a historical event that isn't finished just yet. One of my favourite pastimes as a kid was just going down Wikipedia rabbit holes and reading everything I could, and I think this type of storytelling sits in that same vein. The issue that a lot of shared projects fall victim too is not having a definitive conclusion planned out, or not reaching that conclusion fast enough. If you've built a whole company up around this one shared universe, it's really hard to then go "and we're finished, great job everybody." There's no guarantee you'll get the same level of success with the next project, so why not extend this one a little further? It's not even a problem that's unique to shared universes, I know a lot of long running shows and movies series that fall victim to it as well.
It's just a shame since shared universes have such a big potential, but I haven't seen any of them maintain what they did at the start. Everyone of them has always pivoted into larger, not necessarily better, entities that fans just burn out on or get turned away from. While the jury might still be out on the Sandersonverse, it's not looking good as we'll be waiting another decade at least for his big epic universe to wrap up. Idk if it has enough momentum to keep going, or if the conclusion will live up to expectations.
I also really enjoy shared universe stories, but as you say they often fall prey to capitalist thinking, and when it become a big franchise like the MCU or the cosmere the line between art and content becomes so blurry. As you say, once something becomes profitable creators stop thinking about what's the natural path of the story they are telling and they just think of it as a means to an end aka profits. I think with Sanderson there's still some genuine love for writting and fantasy, but his business thinking gets in the way of his art.
I used to deeply love the Cosmere and recommend Sanderson to everyone I knew, so it does make me sad to see the direction that it's taken. I'd love to see Sanderson stick the landing somehow, but I think the Cosmere just isn't for me anymore.
I have seen that video on my feed, though I haven’t made the time to watch it yet. The Mormon-Fantasy Literature trend is something I want to learn more about in the future so I’ll give it a watch when I get the time.
I don’t necessarily agree with magic being opposite to rules, I think there’s some merit to the idea that magic should have some sort of consequences, mostly for narrative purposes. It doesn’t mean magic needs to fall into a neat system like Sanderson does, but I think a good story involving magic must have some limitations for the sake of keeping up tension. I think Sanderson takes it a little far, and over time I’ve grown more interested in soft magic systems where things are more vague.
Preface this by saying that I just got into the Cosmere last year, and I’ve only read a handful of the books (Stormlight, Mistborn era 1, and a few standalone novels) so I’m no expert. Yeah, he needs better editing. I don’t really notice the prose unless it’s distractingly bad, so I can’t really comment on a decline in quality.
Sanderson is an author I really want to like, if that makes sense. Based on what little I’ve seen from his lectures and interaction with other authors and influencers, he seems like a nice guy. I also appreciated his stance on Audible, and liked that he wanted smaller authors to be paid fairly. I like how involved he is with his fandom, and I really hope there’s no Gaiman stuff going on with him.
In case it isn’t clear from how much I write about him, I really enjoy his books. But I hadn't realized how corporatized he’s made it, and that bothers me. At least to me, he appeared to have a genuine passion for writing. I just hope that, in the future, he doesn’t sacrifice quality in exchange for quantity.
Thanks for reading, I get where you are coming from, I also like Sanderson as a person from what I've seen of him (and I hope hes not a Gaiman type, but i prefer not to idolize authors in general). I think I notice the prose more because I read a lot of literary fiction and I tend to prefer more polished writing in that regard, but it's ultimately very subjective. It does take me out of the book when he uses modern language in a fantasy setting and I think the humor doesn't hold up as well as it did when I first started reading his books, or maybe my sense of humor changed, because now there are many bits that come across as cringe.
His business-like approach to writing has been a major concern for me for a while, and it only seems to be getting worse. I hope he changes, because I still have some emotional investment in the Stormlight Archive, but for now I'm just not willing to commit to reading hundreds of pages just to be disappointed.
Brandon Sanderson has a specific writing quirk where he almost always has at least one main character be their own worst enemy for the entire book, until they come to an epiphany at the end and either weaknesses become strengths, or they have a great realization that lets them overcome their weaknesses.
After seeing it every single book for most of his books, it starts to fall a little flat.
Also if Brandon Sanderson is saying that wind and truth is more edited than his prior books, I question what the editors are adding and changing.
Another risk is checkboxing, where scenes or characters are added just to check off a box of including some specific thing that is thought to be necessary, but turns out to be unnecessary and disruptive.
Also he's completely wrong about spoilers.
The idiots studying whether spoilers are good or bad have constructed their studies without examining watching a movie twice.
They only study watching the movie one time with or without spoilers, not whether or not a person can enjoy a movie The first time when they are discovering what happens, then enjoy it more when they watch it again.
I agree, the way he writes character arcs can get repetitive. This became evident to me with the way he writes Shallan every book, the more secret traumatic backstories he gives to the same character the less interested I'm in their story.
As you say, sometimes it feels like the story is just a long checklist of things to get through.
Thank you for reading!
im typically more of the esoteric side of genre fiction but i dont dislike sanderson as much as other people with my preferences do, i actually thought the firstg mistborn trilogy was solid. i really disliked the second one though, and since then i dont really keep up with his work
I feel similarly, I don't hate him, though I'm very critical of his latest works, there's still some good stuff. The first mistborn trilogy is what got me into Sanderson and I still think it holds up pretty well (with some caveats), but I really disliked the second trilogy.
really liked reading this piece! i’ve not engaged at all with sanderson’s work (mostly due to ties to the church i’d previously heard about etc.) but would you say giving his early books a read would be worth doing for someone who likes fantasy?
Thanks for reading! I think Elantris and the first Mistborn trilogy are very enjoyable for fantasy fans, specially if you are interested in hard magic systems :)
i shall maybe give them a look once i’ve got through some more robin hobb then (:
Terrific piece, Maria. Really useful overview.
Thank you!
No, thank YOU! You've totally filled in my Sanderson-shaped blind spot. :D
Nice breakdown of the Sanderson canon (honestly, good of you to take the time, because Christ there's a lot of ground to cover). I haven't read him, so I'm only tangentially aware of his body of work. One person I know read the Mistborns and hated them passionately, so I have never had the urge.
The extent to which he is pumping out these books and treating it like a business, even referring to 'crunch times' (a term I have only ever heard in the context of video games), just seems bizarre to me, I can't really get into the head of an author who would take this approach. Most genre writers would kill for a fraction of the income and name recognition he has, because it would mean the freedom to take things at your own pace, to be able to take your time on projects, and not have to scrabble for position in the market. Is it a Mormon thing? Like the Protestant work ethic, but even worse?
Speaking of, yeah, I personally feel very iffy about the tithing. Even ignoring the homophobia, the LDS church has a massive history of sexual abuse (and probably many other things; apparently they're currently no longer officially racist, I don't know if that just means they're unofficially racist). Maybe he means the reformist stuff, I don't know, but it seems like he must be very limited in what he can actually say against the church while still being a member (albeit a useful member, in terms of how much money he is giving them...).
Also, what you say about the AMAs is interesting, particularly relating to Moash and how Sanderson has kind of become influenced by fans and joins in with/legitimises hate of this character, even if only in a light-hearted way. I don't necessarily think authors being influenced by fan response is always a bad thing (a different example I'm aware of is Leigh Bardugo, apparently in the later Grisha books she made her condemnation of the Darkling much more textual and explicit, because he was a deeply nasty piece of work, but fans still thought he was more sexy and cool than he was supposed to be read as past a certain point), but in this case it seems like the danger is losing the nuance and reducing the character to what fans (or haters) think he is, rather than what he was originally supposed to be.
Would definitely be interested to hear more about your perspective on Moash, he sounds like an interesting character.
Thanks for reading!
I'm not super well-versed in LDS beliefs but it does seem like they put a lot of emphasis on working hard and being "succesful", so that may be part of why he's like this. Interestingly, Orson Scott Card also created a very large universe with his Ender books, and there are a few other big sci-fi/fantasy authors that are part of the church. It's something that I would like to research more about in the future.
I have mixed feelings regarding the tithing and Sanderson's role within the church. While the way he handles minority groups in his work reveals a fundamentally limited worldview, I think his attempts to include more LGBT representation and having a large cast of people of color are an overall positive thing, and I don't think it's my place to judge someone for their religion (even though I agree that the LDS church is very problematic), so I try to give him the benefit of the doubt when he claims that he wants to create a safe space for LGBT people within the church. However, it would make me feel better about his work if he stopped supporting the church financially, even if he was still a member. It would certainly make him look more genuine.
Regarding the relationship author-audience, I agree, I think it can sometimes be a good thing for authors to adjust their work due to fan response, but like you say I'm worried that Sanderson is flanderizing/simplifying his own characters to fall more in line with the fandom. Moash is one of my favorite Stormlight Archive characters, and I'm very disappointed with how he's been treated both in and out of the text. My opinion may change after I read the latest book, but I think Sanderson just doesn't have the ability to carry out a satisfying arc for someone like Moash. His understanding of oppresion is too limited. I have been thinking about writting an essay about Moash, but to do that I think I'd have to also reread the previous Stormlight books and I don't have the time nor the energy for that.
Again, thanks for reading and commenting!
I do feel a bit sorry for him, it seems like he is kind of stuck between his conservative background and (relatively) liberal fanbase. It kind of rankles that he is giving so much money to such a nasty organisation, but on the other hand I don't know if he could distance himself more from the church than he already has without losing friends and family. I'm sure he got a lot of heat from his own community for writing about LGBT characters, which no-one forced him to do, so I do have the impression that his advocacy is genuine.
Completely understand not wanting to re-read for essay purposes, I have a bunch of topics like that!
I read the second Ender book and I started the third (which I think is the one with a Brazilian colony), but I never continued reading. Ender’s Game is one of my favorite sci-fi novels, but knowing how much of a bigot Card turned out to be made me lose interest in the franchise, along with the weird vibe of the second book.
Great article. I stopped reading his books because of the treatment of its minority characters and the issues they faced. I didn't know much about the business behind all the work. This puts a lot into context. Thank you for writing this. Also. There is no room to disagree on what you said about Moash 🙏🏽 you were entirely correct 🙏🏽
Thank you! His handling of minority groups is very hit or miss for me, I think he has good intentions but he just doesn't understand how oppression works and can't really relate to the groups he writes about. It gets offensive sometimes (particularly around Moash and the whole darkeyes/lighteyes conflict). We Moash defenders have it rough!
Great article! I can't say I feel the same way since I'm only just getting into Sanderson's work, but I am starting to pick up on the same things you're saying.
Shared universe storytelling (not explicitly transmedia storytelling, but they often overlap) is one of my favourite things to watch and read, but oh man does it ever feel like it reinforces a capitalistic take on making art. I'm not sure if the Sandersonverse has fallen victim to it yet, but I definitely know that the MCU has. Like you pointed out, at some point the focus shifts from telling the story to getting units sold, which really diminishes what made the thing good in the first place. I know that post-Endgame, I've only watched a handful of MCU projects because I've disconnected with what they're trying to do now. I just don't see what the point of the MCU is anymore.
Which I really think is one of the big appeals of shared universes. It's kind of like looking at a map that's only partially revealed, or a historical event that isn't finished just yet. One of my favourite pastimes as a kid was just going down Wikipedia rabbit holes and reading everything I could, and I think this type of storytelling sits in that same vein. The issue that a lot of shared projects fall victim too is not having a definitive conclusion planned out, or not reaching that conclusion fast enough. If you've built a whole company up around this one shared universe, it's really hard to then go "and we're finished, great job everybody." There's no guarantee you'll get the same level of success with the next project, so why not extend this one a little further? It's not even a problem that's unique to shared universes, I know a lot of long running shows and movies series that fall victim to it as well.
It's just a shame since shared universes have such a big potential, but I haven't seen any of them maintain what they did at the start. Everyone of them has always pivoted into larger, not necessarily better, entities that fans just burn out on or get turned away from. While the jury might still be out on the Sandersonverse, it's not looking good as we'll be waiting another decade at least for his big epic universe to wrap up. Idk if it has enough momentum to keep going, or if the conclusion will live up to expectations.
Thanks for reading!
I also really enjoy shared universe stories, but as you say they often fall prey to capitalist thinking, and when it become a big franchise like the MCU or the cosmere the line between art and content becomes so blurry. As you say, once something becomes profitable creators stop thinking about what's the natural path of the story they are telling and they just think of it as a means to an end aka profits. I think with Sanderson there's still some genuine love for writting and fantasy, but his business thinking gets in the way of his art.
I used to deeply love the Cosmere and recommend Sanderson to everyone I knew, so it does make me sad to see the direction that it's taken. I'd love to see Sanderson stick the landing somehow, but I think the Cosmere just isn't for me anymore.
I have seen that video on my feed, though I haven’t made the time to watch it yet. The Mormon-Fantasy Literature trend is something I want to learn more about in the future so I’ll give it a watch when I get the time.
I don’t necessarily agree with magic being opposite to rules, I think there’s some merit to the idea that magic should have some sort of consequences, mostly for narrative purposes. It doesn’t mean magic needs to fall into a neat system like Sanderson does, but I think a good story involving magic must have some limitations for the sake of keeping up tension. I think Sanderson takes it a little far, and over time I’ve grown more interested in soft magic systems where things are more vague.
I think that's very comprehensive and well explained!