Hacker News Reader

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.

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."

> 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.

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.

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

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.

+1 I loved Stormlight Archive so much that I read it twice and I would probably read some chapters over and over. The struggles of various characters with past failures and the way they overcome it gives me hope for myself. Not only the mental health angle is really meaningful, the whole storyline is super interesting. Anyway, I can keep going on and on about these books. You have to read them at least twice to appreciate the intricacies and subplots.

I wholeheartedly agree and I read it twice as well. It's also the only book or series I've ever had the heart to read twice. It was just that good, and every time you read it, you pick up on new details and it's just as refreshing and beautiful as the first time.

I think I read the first 3 books of this series (didn't finish the 3rd book), and if you liked it I would also recommend his Mistborn book and the A Song of Ice and Fire (the books behind Game of Thrones). I actually drifted towards Sanderson after looking for more fantasy books like Game of Thrones. The Arcane Ascension series by Andrew Rowe is also top-tier.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely look into them (especially A Song of Ice and Fire since I've received many suggestions for it from people who've seen me reading the Stormlight Archive). Never heard of the Arcane Ascension, but I'll look into it.

While not completed, I've also read the Gentleman Bastard series and the Kingkiller Chronicle which were also suggested to me since I read Stormlight and I really enjoyed them as well (although, well, not as much as the Stormlight Archive).

I have heard so much about Sanderson but never read anything. Where should I start?

I recommend starting with Stormlight, but if you want to fully understand it, you should probably read the first Mistborn book before Rhythm of War and Warbreaker before Oathbringer (Warbreaker is probably my second-favourite Sanderson book, due to its "wholesomeness"). You should also read the novellas as you get through Stormlight, but I believe Dawnshard has far more more plot significance than Edgedancer. Mistborn is pretty good, but it's not as meaningful or deep as Stormlight.

I would highly recommend it. If you wanna go systemically, look up guides on how to go about Cosmere. Or you could start anywhere. Stromlight is definitely,imo,his best work.

Wah its like going into a rabbit hole of new universe, love it!

There is a page titled "Where do I start?" on Brandon Sanderson's website: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/where-do-i-start/