To be fair, Sanderson isn't an industry giant. - Edit 1
Before modification by Joel at 29/11/2009 11:02:44 AM
it's the fact that it's a single word which is only used as a blunt segue to the next paragraph. as i pointed out below, it's like reading something a 15 year old would write. someone with sanderson's talent and body of work should be able to get to the next paragraph without the use of such literary blunt objects.
According to Wikipedia his first book was released in 2005, and he's a little over a year younger than I. In other words, I've been on wotmania longer than Sanderson has been publishing books. I'd say he's a talented but still somewhat raw writer, and it shows in things like this, but it's a minor thing that will sort itself out in time. It's still not as bad as all the skirt smoothing and sniffing, and Jordan had a LOT more experience (plus a live in editor) to undercut any excuses.