7 ms·

Thanks for being vague, I just started The Way of Kings last week. I've read Elantris and the first Mistborn trilogy from Sanderson. I'm roughly half way into t

by vesche 5y ago

Thanks for being vague, I just started The Way of Kings last week. I've read Elantris and the first Mistborn trilogy from Sanderson. I'm roughly half way into this first book of The Stormlight Archive and I've already come to the conclusion that this likely is my favorite of his work. I very much agree with your thoughtful sentiment. I've been wondering if the story of Joseph from the Bible had influence on Kaladin's character (Sanderson is a Christian). And Dalinar's character has me thinking about re-reading texts such as Meditations by Marcus Aurelius & Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. These early assessments might be very wrong as I'm still early in the series, but the book definitely has me feeling inspired and motivated thus far.

barry-cotter 5y ago
> Sanderson is a Christian To be more specific and accurate he’s a Mormon. I’m told that the Cosmere owes a lot to Mormon theology, like the henotheism, embodiment of God and non-trinitarianism.
- xedrac 5y ago
  I was at Brandon's home just yesterday, although he wasn't present. Next time I see him, I'll have to ask him about this. I am also a Mormon, but nothing in the Cosmere stood out to me as being directly inspired by our religious beliefs. But I could certainly be wrong.
  - sshagent 5y ago
    I'll piggy back here, I'm quite an anti religion person (people doing that in their own privacy, all power to you). But i mainly say that to state that overly religious preachy stuff in books usually irks me. Stormlight archives is my favourite series I hope the above came across as positive, it was meant that way
    - kaladin-jasnah 5y ago
      I think that Sanderson's faith influences his writing but his novels are very accepting of other religions and he almost criticizes the "overly religious preachy" stuff (eg. through Jasnah's story and the hardships she faces because of her anti-religious stance) in Stormlight. Although I might be wrong.
kaladin-jasnah 5y ago
I've also read nearly every other Sanderson book after Stormlight. While they're still quite good, none of them quite compare to the depth or significance of the Stormlight Archive. I'm not Christian and as such am not familiar with Biblical stores, but I would be inclined to agree that the messages Sanderson conveys in Stormlight could perhaps be derived from those stories. However, something that strikes me is that Sanderson mentions faith and religious conflict in all his novels, but seems to transcend a singular true faith (eg. in portraying Jasnah's atheism, I've seen people mention her reasons for rejecting God are surprisingly accurate to what real people believe, and Sanderson attributed that to spending time on atheist forums to understand their beliefs better). > the book definitely has me feeling inspired and motivated thus far. I found Rhythm of War to be the most (read: exceptionally) inspirational and motivational of the four novels (followed by Words of Radiance) , so I would wager that there will be much more in terms of inspiration in the following novels. And good luck with your reading journey! The Stormlight Archive was truly a wonderful experience to read (and I've re-read it since then) and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. "Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination."

by vesche 5y ago

barry-cotter 5y ago

> Sanderson is a Christian To be more specific and accurate he’s a Mormon. I’m told that the Cosmere owes a lot to Mormon theology, like the henotheism, embodiment of God and non-trinitarianism.

xedrac 5y ago
I was at Brandon's home just yesterday, although he wasn't present. Next time I see him, I'll have to ask him about this. I am also a Mormon, but nothing in the Cosmere stood out to me as being directly inspired by our religious beliefs. But I could certainly be wrong.
- sshagent 5y ago
  I'll piggy back here, I'm quite an anti religion person (people doing that in their own privacy, all power to you). But i mainly say that to state that overly religious preachy stuff in books usually irks me. Stormlight archives is my favourite series I hope the above came across as positive, it was meant that way
  - kaladin-jasnah 5y ago
    I think that Sanderson's faith influences his writing but his novels are very accepting of other religions and he almost criticizes the "overly religious preachy" stuff (eg. through Jasnah's story and the hardships she faces because of her anti-religious stance) in Stormlight. Although I might be wrong.

kaladin-jasnah 5y ago

I've also read nearly every other Sanderson book after Stormlight. While they're still quite good, none of them quite compare to the depth or significance of the Stormlight Archive. I'm not Christian and as such am not familiar with Biblical stores, but I would be inclined to agree that the messages Sanderson conveys in Stormlight could perhaps be derived from those stories. However, something that strikes me is that Sanderson mentions faith and religious conflict in all his novels, but seems to transcend a singular true faith (eg. in portraying Jasnah's atheism, I've seen people mention her reasons for rejecting God are surprisingly accurate to what real people believe, and Sanderson attributed that to spending time on atheist forums to understand their beliefs better). > the book definitely has me feeling inspired and motivated thus far. I found Rhythm of War to be the most (read: exceptionally) inspirational and motivational of the four novels (followed by Words of Radiance) , so I would wager that there will be much more in terms of inspiration in the following novels. And good luck with your reading journey! The Stormlight Archive was truly a wonderful experience to read (and I've re-read it since then) and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. "Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination."