And especially this.
I don't really blame Sanderson. I think he probably would have done a better job had Harriet not rushed into the project. I don't even blame her for this, I understand why she felt as she felt. Ideally, I still believe she should have given Sanderson at least a year (or two, if he asked) to fully immerse himself in the series, and go to not one but a few consecutive rereads before he started working. The other mistake was to work with a (public) deadline, that sparked expectactions that Harriet then feared to disappoint. They should never have started publishing before Sanderson finished writing. They were not Jordan (and even he had problems with the larger picture, and that showed in the late series), and they deprive themselves of what writer and editor normally do, that is stepping back to look at the whole and polish it. They repeated the same mistake Jordan has made in the late series, when he built WH to climax with the Cleansing, without advancing the other storylines to that point first. Though very different in tone (and story), TOM has the very same kind of structural problems as COT, only even more important.
And also, regarding what you said about RPG stuff: I got a copy of the WoT RPG, just for any source material that might have crept into it, and there was a forward by RJ where he described moderating RPG games for his son and the son's friends. He claims that they disliked his strict rule keeping and maintenance of competitive balance and not letting them have do-overs and so forth, but though they complained about his "realism" they always came back for more and asked him to moderate their games again. It would seem your perspective of his stance on "invincible" RPG characters and their unbalancing ter'angreal would fit in with his self-described attitude towards the games.
I don't really blame Sanderson. I think he probably would have done a better job had Harriet not rushed into the project. I don't even blame her for this, I understand why she felt as she felt. Ideally, I still believe she should have given Sanderson at least a year (or two, if he asked) to fully immerse himself in the series, and go to not one but a few consecutive rereads before he started working. The other mistake was to work with a (public) deadline, that sparked expectactions that Harriet then feared to disappoint. They should never have started publishing before Sanderson finished writing. They were not Jordan (and even he had problems with the larger picture, and that showed in the late series), and they deprive themselves of what writer and editor normally do, that is stepping back to look at the whole and polish it. They repeated the same mistake Jordan has made in the late series, when he built WH to climax with the Cleansing, without advancing the other storylines to that point first. Though very different in tone (and story), TOM has the very same kind of structural problems as COT, only even more important.
And also, regarding what you said about RPG stuff: I got a copy of the WoT RPG, just for any source material that might have crept into it, and there was a forward by RJ where he described moderating RPG games for his son and the son's friends. He claims that they disliked his strict rule keeping and maintenance of competitive balance and not letting them have do-overs and so forth, but though they complained about his "realism" they always came back for more and asked him to moderate their games again. It would seem your perspective of his stance on "invincible" RPG characters and their unbalancing ter'angreal would fit in with his self-described attitude towards the games.
Yeah, and this description fits more anyway with the more sophisticated players. Steven Erikson is an example of this. His magic systems are imported straight from his elaborate RPGing in this world of his, and they're even more fluid and complex for this.
A truly more "simple" approach in Epic Fantasy as described by the original poster is Sanderson's own. He does love his rules, and to elaborate in the books on those rules. Sanderson is the antithesis of RJ in this. Sanderson finds that establishing very strict rules established from the start and to which he strictly adheres is good for his creativity, and he develops his magic systems very elaborately before writing his books. Those rules then put him in a tight spot, and force him to find more creative solutions. RJ left things more fluid, preferring to develop a logic for new rules he needed along the way to get the plot where he wanted.
I think Sanderson is really good with magic systems and they're a very interesting aspect of his books (which I'm not a huge fan of, however. They're too much action/adventure and RPGish for me. I also quite dislike how he abuse to dialogue to carry scenes, as if he was writing scripts instead of novels). But I find RJ's approach to a magic system, and his restraint in the use of the magic system in the books, more to my personal tastes.
A rebuke to Cannolli's Sanderson bashing (and some counter bashing)
- 16/11/2011 04:32:25 AM
2067 Views
Re: A rebuke to Cannolli's Sanderson bashing (and some counter bashing)
- 16/11/2011 03:23:45 PM
1242 Views
+1
- 16/11/2011 03:37:26 PM
802 Views
Re: +1
- 16/11/2011 05:29:40 PM
975 Views
I have to say I agree, and if I come across as too harsh on B-Sand, it is entirely results-oriented
- 17/11/2011 06:02:05 AM
925 Views
Re: I have to say I agree, and if I come across as too harsh on B-Sand,(,,,)
- 17/11/2011 08:19:04 AM
998 Views
Are there really people who like Sanderson's WoT better than Jordan's?
- 17/11/2011 03:44:53 AM
729 Views
Re: Are there really people who like Sanderson's WoT better than Jordan's?
- 17/11/2011 05:46:27 AM
1100 Views
+1 more
- 17/11/2011 05:47:42 AM
965 Views
Re: +1 more
- 17/11/2011 06:14:45 AM
832 Views
A considered and mature response. Or some crude name-calling - read and find out which!
- 17/11/2011 05:37:38 AM
952 Views
Re: A considered and mature response. Or some crude name-calling - read and find out which!
- 18/11/2011 02:40:04 AM
780 Views
Re: A considered and mature response. Or some crude name-calling - read and find out which!
- 18/11/2011 02:44:15 AM
727 Views
This is the stupidest thing I have ever read in my life. That B-Sand did not write.
- 18/11/2011 03:02:45 AM
898 Views
No way tGS and ToM are the worst in the series. Not the best, but not the worst.
- 02/12/2011 06:20:43 PM
1204 Views