The Lost Metal is the most significant proving ground so far that he can manage to continue to tell compelling, intricate, contained stories while integrating those stories more with the Cosmere context.
Reality-Proximal Storytelling
If we take the complete, whole-cloth invention of a new world as one extreme, and reality-proximal stories set firmly in our world as the other, then what I'm interested in talking about today is the middle ground.
The Bands of Mourning Review
While the characters, detail-level plotting, and world-building are all at Sanderson’s usual high level, the main plot felt like something out of Shannara.
Shadows of Self Review
Shadows of Self picks up a little after the events of Alloy of Law and builds on the threads leftover at the end of the first novel.
Alloy of Law Review
When I first heard that Brandon Sanderson was planning to do a second Mistborn series, set in a later era on Scadrial, I had mixed expectations.
The Naming Review
I read a lot, and I’ve been reading for a long time, especially in the fantasy genre, but something I’ve noticed since I began to make a deliberate study of writing in order to improve my own storytelling is that I've become much more critical of what I read.
Blood Magic Reflection
Maybe I could have written it sooner, but I wanted both to leave sufficient time for you to finish the series, and for me to be appropriately removed that I can attain a semblance of objectivity. Enough time has now passed that I think we can look at some lessons learned from the effort, but consider this your spoiler warning if you haven’t yet finished reading the series.
Mysteries of the Middle Ages Review
After the study of people, of humanity, the field of history might be of the greatest importance for the study of the aspiring fantasy author, and especially of the period referred to as the ‘Middle Ages.’
Dreadgod Review
Wight’s writing in Cradle is dynamic and rapid, matching his prodigious and aggressive release timeline. That is not a bad thing, and is a key feature of his style, but I do often find that I wish he would slow down and develop his stories and ideas further.
The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England Review
Considering that so much of fantasy is set in ‘medieval’ time periods (purportedly – few modern fantasies I’ve read are faithful to the period, and are arguably closer to renaissance era), Mortimer’s book ought to be required reading.
IGC Publishing 