I like everything Brandon Sanderson writes, but as I have been thinking through this article, I’ve realized that I don’t actually love it. He has an entire universe, the Cosmere, where his various stories are set, and frankly it is difficult to separate them. Being so prolific, his books have at times confused me about which part of the stories they are set in. I’ll be reading one series and wondering about something which previously happened, and realize I’m mixing up the series with another.
That of course is my problem, not his. As I said, he writes so much it’s hard to keep track, a problem I wish I had. On the other hand, Sanderson has been accused of being rather long-winded, and I agree with that. It’s his style, but he writes books which could easily be twenty percent shorter without losing any of the story. They are intricate and complex and captivating, but I do find myself thinking ‘get on with it’ every now and then.
What are the books about?
I’m focusing here on the Stormlight Archive, just one of the series Sanderson has written. It’s an epic fantasy set in a world where highstorms sweep across the land on an irregular basis. These violent storms destroy everything in their path, which leads to a world where everything is built just to survive them, and planning around their appearance can be the difference between life and death.
Within this world we follow several main characters, and see the results of various systems Sanderson created. There is an intricate magic system based around gems and the power taken from the storms (the ‘stormlight’ of the title). There is a well-constructed caste system, with people distinguished based on the color of their eyes (which is as dumb as anything in our world). And there are powerful weapons and armor used by the highest castes, powered by the gems, which can smash through regular people but lead to epic battles between the people wearing them.
The story follows the main characters as the world descends into battle and chaos, with political upheaval at the forefront. We see the different people and their motivations shift as allegiances change, each trying to gain advantage. The stories are compelling in their way, but I must admit I didn’t really find characters I loved. Kaladin the fighter was perhaps the most interesting (more on him below), but even so I’m not completely sold. This is a series I think I read more for the magic and the epic sweep than for the characters.
The Themes of the Stormlight Archives
Leadership
We see main characters who are leaders, or in the case of Kaladin grow to be leaders. There is an obvious difference in the way people lead and the way they are followed. Kaladin gains followers by his actions, while others have followers based on their positions. We are expecting to see these differences, and although there are some surprises it is clear who we are supposed to root for and why.
The Power of Redemption
Within the series everyone has made choices, and over time it becomes clear which of those choices are right and which are wrong. There are arcs of a character who has made bad choices, and things continue to become worse. There are also arcs where characters made bad choices but now are trying to do better, such as Kaladin, and we see his redemption in progress. The theme suggests to readers how they can do the same, and it is never too late to grow and be forgiven.
The Complexity of Morality
Everyone knows that morality is a band of gray, rather than being black and white. Sometimes you have to make the lesser choice of two bad decisions. In the Stormlight Archive this is very much a theme, with characters facing choices with different ramifications. The theme tells us that good and evil are often subjective, and how the circumstances a character is in will affect their decisions. This is a good reflection of the real world, as we’ve all seen how moral judgments are affected by the context they are taken in. If anything, this is the biggest lesson we could take away, especially in today’s political environment where for some reason everything can only be good or bad, and nuance is thrown out the window.
A Character of Great Interest
Although I wasn’t trying to do so, I have found a number of similarities between the character Kaladin and my own Petr in the Kingsmoot.
Kaladin is one of the main characters in the series, and is easily my favorite character. My opinion is that he is more rounded than anyone else, and develops most throughout the series. He began as a soldier, becomes a slave (because of his actions which are unjustly penalized by a higher authority), and through time uses his determination to rise up again.
Like Petr, Kaladin can be characterized by an unwavering sense of justice and loyalty, and a desire to protect those around him. In each of them we see the results of these attributes, although with Petr they are less obvious because at this point he is the outcome of his life, whereas we follow Kaladin for years to see him develop. (Spoiler: one day I’ll publish the Petr in his youth stories I have partially written).
Kaladin and Petr are both strong warriors who inspire others in battle, but in both we see their internal struggles with what we would call PTSD. They each try to justify themselves to themselves, and do a lot of thinking to be empathetic with other characters, which in some ways costs them part of their own humanity.
All in all, the two characters are similar, and I don’t think I intended that to happen as much as I now think it did. Again I might argue that Kaladin was in the back of my mind when I was creating Petr, but it was certainly not intentional. Perhaps it is simply the nature of the type of character, a leader who struggles internally while rising through challenges.
Other series to read
I don’t want to simply throw the Stormlight Archive into the ’epic fantasy’ category and say read some more of those. Yes, it is certainly possible, but there is so much more to it than that. You could consider it epic fantasy, or a military story, or political, or the magic system as being the most important part of the story. Or you could take each of those as separate elements.
So the recommendations below aren’t covering all aspects of Stormlight. Each might touch on one or two of them, but it might be impossible to cover all of them.
The Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson: Yes, I’m recommending another Sanderson series first. The same but different, I guess. Same universe but different magic system in this case.
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson: Robert Jordan wrote most of these, and Sanderson finished the series after Jordan’s death. A rich and interesting series, but I’ll be honest I grew tired of it around about the middle of the series as it meandered back and forth.
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss: I have written about this series, and it’s the one fantasy series I recommend above all others.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch: I also recommend Locke Lamora, which I think has a wonderful lead character. Still looking forward to more books in this series.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin: I have to recommend it, right? Complex in every sense of the word. The books are much better than the HBO series, and not just because they don’t have the terrible last season.
In Conclusion
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson is a monumental fantasy series that captivates readers with its vast world, complex characters, and thought-provoking themes. I like the world, and am waiting for more, but honestly not with the same anticipation as I do for Martin or Rothfuss books. Perhaps it’s because Sanderson writes so much in his universe, there’s always another book to be read, even if not in the same world.
Is it inspiring to my own books? I suppose so, but I don’t think I have the level of ambition Sanderson has. He wants to write multiple worlds in a non-stop way, while I just want to stick with one. His world almost appears encyclopedic, with the wide level of complexity, while mine is smaller and more focused. It doesn’t make it better or worse, just different ways of writing. I only wish I could have the slightest amount of success he does.