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Comment by warent | Hacker News Reader

Yep! Not just fiction but fantasy. It's my favorite genre, and the more fantastical the better.

I'm currently on book 9 of 12 in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Also enjoying everything by Brandon Sanderson who I believe to be greatest living fantasy writer, perhaps one of the greatest of all time.

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I came across Brandon Sanderson in another HN book thread. He's such a phenomenal author in the fantasy genre. I've read most of his series at this point and they are all great. Mistborn and Way of Kings being favorites.

Brandon Sanderson is almost inhuman in his ability to churn out books. Some of his books are better than others, but hey, I'll take imperfect but shipped series any day over a series that languishes near the finish line (cough Rothfuss, Martin)

I refuse to read something from authors that don't have track records of finishing series after reading Rothfuss and Martin. The way GoT was handled should be a good indicator for TV studios that authors who can't deliver a complete story can't deliver a complete TV series. I already lost clout from my friends for recommending anything written by them when expected sequels haven't materialized in almost a decade.

On the other hand, Sanderson's Stormlight Archives made me actually like the genre again.

Yes Stormlight series, the highlight chapter being the kid who uses her superpower of 'awesomeness', that was great.

He turned that into an entire book, Edgedancer !

That chapter worked really well in the context of the book, I'm curious if it held up as a separate book?

It was decent but not amazing. Definitely one of the weaker entries in the Stormlight Archive, but hey, it's a novella so you don't expect much. You get more backstory on the "awesomeness" character.

It's always impressive to me when someone makes it through the slog that was books 4-8. Books 10-12 really pick up the pace again. I believe that's when Sanderson took over for the late Robert Jordan.

If you enjoy somewhat grittier fiction, I would suggest Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy.

And Mark Lawrence’s Prince of Nothing trilogy, if you enjoy “gritty”.

> I would suggest Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy

Agree - I really enjoyed this. I particularly liked that many of the characters who would traditionally be the bad guys are treated sympathetically, and their 'badness' is motivated by their personal circumstance and experience. This is in contrast to the somewhat cliched representation in many stories (fantasy or otherwise) of the bad guys who are evil just because the plot demands it.

It doesn’t get better than Sanderson.

My next book will be part 4 of the way of kings (rhytm of war)! Looking forward to it!

If you haven't already read the Acts of Cain books by Matthew Stover, definitely recommend those for a cool mix of fantasy and scifi. Also the main character is a total badass.

I've heard good things about Brandon, and since you speak of him so highly, which of his books or series would you recommend I start with?

Strongly recommend either The Way of Kings or Mistborn. They're the first books in two separate series of his. The Way of Kings is epic fantasy. Mistborn is somewhere between fantasy and YA.

Way of kings is epic in scope. Try Mistborn — it’s faster pace, lower commitment, and showcases Sanderson style and magic system building nicely. Just an aside if you have kids he has a lot of great young adult novels as well. He is simply prolific and enjoyable. I worked through most of one of his writing classes he teaches and it changed how I view fnantsy fiction.

Mistborn is definitely the best place to start. It is a fantastic trilogy that wraps up so perfectly, which is rare in the world of popular fantasy. Stormlight Archive is amazing, but it might be worth waiting for the 5th book to release (maybe 3ish years from now), which appears to be a sort of stopping point before the next five books.

While Mistborn is an excellent choice, I sometimes start people on some of his YA (as a lower commitment):

- Rithmatist is my favorite, but is only one book. - Steelheart is a very fun fresh take on super powers. - Skyward is like Dragon's Blood meets Space Invaders - it's great. The third book should be finished this year.

Finally, he does have one middlegrade series which most people seem to overlook: Alcatraz vs The Evil Librarians. It is just awesome, especially for anyone who loves trope busting.

I starting way of kings. Mist born was great.

I am a huge Rothfuss fan, but dudes taking his sweet time with book 3 of king killer.

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