Back in February, I decided to participate in a year-long readalong for the Cosmereverse. I really do not know why they did not continue on with the readalong, but I tried my hardest to read in the given schedule on my own.
Brandon Sanderson is an author that was well-known for his fantasy books. I always wanted to pick his words, but I do not have the motivation to do so. And I think this is a good reason to finally pick up his works.
I thoroughly enjoyed some of the books, but I ended up giving up on most of it. So, here is my wrap-up and the reason (or a rant) as to what happened.
Wrap-Up
Elantris (Elantris #1)
Rating: ššššš
Finished reading: Mar. 03, 2020
ā After finishing the book, the only thing that I can think about is WOW. This book is amazing. The world is as complex as other high fantasy books but it is not that hard to understand. I did not have a hard time getting into it. I was taking my time while reading it because I want to be fully immersed in it. However, I just flew through the last part of this book because the plot was so thrilling and there are plot twist after plot twist that even though I want to put it down to absorb everything, I just can’t. I am surprised to hear that this is Brandon Sanderson’s first book. I love reading about the politics in this book and I enjoyed learning the world. And I heard some reviews about this saying that it is not as good as his other books because this is just his first novel. If this is Brandon Sanderson’s first novel, I could not wait to read the others.
The Emperor’s Soul (Elantris Novella)
Rating: ššššš
Finished Reading: Mar. 12, 2020
ā Brandon Sanderson’s mind is really brilliant. He came up with a story just by visiting a musuem and being fascinated by stamp.
The magic system is a bit complex and I’m confused at some aspect of it but as a whole, pure genius. You really don’t need a 500+ pages of book to have a good fantasy story. There are parts in some chapters of the book that seems irrelevant as you are reading it but you would know its importance as the story wraps-up. And even though this is set in the Cosmere world, it could be a stand-alone because it is a different entity from that world.
The Hope of Elantris (Elantris # 1.5)
Rating:ššššš
Finished reading: Mar. 12, 2020
ā This was a very short but quite relevant novella for Elantris. The story follows the people inside the New Elantris that we did not see in the book. It feels like a missing puzzle piece in the story and I love reading this especially the ending.
The Final Empire (Mistborn # 1)
Rating: ššššš
Finished reading: Mar. 31, 2020
ā After reading Elantris, I am excited to read this book as it was highly acclaimed. However, I was disappointed. The plot, the magic system, and the political issues of the book were okay. I enjoyed seeing it unfold no matter how slow-burn the build-up is. But I dislike Vin, a lot, and I was not attached to any characters which makes the reading experience less enjoyable. I also felt that the climax is a bit lacking and underwhelming compared to Elantris. There is a battle scene and a revelation but I feel like something is missing.
I only managed to read up until the Final Empire, and then it all went down the hill for me.
I read The Well of Ascension, and I managed to read 45% of the book before I DNFed it. Here is the thing, the storyline became more interesting as we delved deeper into the world and the magic system. But I could not bring myself to continue on, even if the plot was getting more interesting, because of the main character. I endured her character in the first book since she was not really as annoying as before. I can understand where she was coming from, and I let her trust issue slide. But boy, oh, boy.
Her character was already frustrating because she has this trust issue, but she fell in love with someone she met at a party. Fast forward to the second book, where her trust issue extends not only to her crew, but also to the love of her life. I really could not stand her character. And after reading a review of someone who shared the same sentiment as I am, I decided to DNF it.
Here is the link to the review that I read: C.G. Drew’s Review.
But I did not hate the Mistborn trilogy enough to never pick up any Brandon Sanderson book ever again. I decided to try again with Warbreaker.
Honestly, I enjoyed the book. I love the characters, especially Lightsong. But as the story progress, one of the main characters was getting on my nerves, so I have to stop. I already predicted where her character development would go, but seeing it unfold is the last straw for me. I put it down, and I planned to continue on in the future. But I feel like there is a similarity between the formula used to write this book and the Mistborn trilogy. I am not surprised by the plot twist and what was happening. Since I already know that there is more to the story than the author is letting on.
I stopped at 77%. I would pick it up when I forget the plot structure of his other books.
If you want to read Brandon Sanderson’s books, I suggest that you do not read them back to back. Because the more you read, the more you would see that it has the same flow. The magic systems and the character names would change, but it has the same vibes to it. And I think that is why I never tried to read The Stormlight Archive after that.
So that is all for this wrap-up. I hope Brandon Sanderson’s fans would not come at me after this.š
Until next time!
Mariaā¤
A Daughter of Parchment and Paper 