Brandon Sanderson

  I recently downloaded an application on my phone that allows me to read whole novels on it. I've been reading a lot of books lately, and it has been glorious. Though I've been reading many different books and genres lately, the works of Brandon Sanderson have been the most impactful so far. 

Author of the Mistborn Series, as well as the Steelheart trilogy, Sanderson is clearly a master of the action-fantasy genre. While he shows a clear skill for writing fantastically detailed action scenes, part of his talent alsoseems to lie in the diversity of his work. The two series' by him that I have read, though both technically fitting into the action-fantasy category, are so vastly different (in terms of setting, plot, and character motivation) that his skill as a writer is clearly showcased. 

   In the Mistborn series, we're brought into the Realm of the Lord Ruler, an immortal tyrant whorules with a (literally) Iron fist over his subjects. He has subjugated the ancestors of his enemies, creating a race know as skaa- hopeless,helpless, and easily manipulated. While the upper class (those who are the ancestors of his allies) parties night after night, the skaa live in slums, fiorced to work until they die or make their living on thievery. Enter Vin. A young  skaa girl, strong and hiding behind a facade of weakness, is part of a crew of other thieves. They are not a family, they are not friends. Each of them expects nothing less than eventual betrayal from each-other, but they make do, to survive. Vin has seen countless thieves die, caught by agents of the Lord Ruler, or simply unlucky. She, however, has an advantage: 'Luck'. A power she doesn't quite understand, she is able to manipulate the emotions of her targets and make them more easily manipulable. This gift has carried Vin-and her entire crew,really- for quite some time, until she mistakenly uses her ability on a member of the Lord Ruler's personal staff, who are trained to detect emotional interference. This is an offence especially punishable for Vin because the Skaa are forbidden from using any sort of magic.

 There's more, but if I tried to encompass all of the detail that Sanderson puts into this book, I might as well just give you the book itself. It’s a great read, taking place in a dark world, with shady antagonists, gruesome violence, and a gritty yet endearing main character. Mistborn is a great example of the  Sanderson’s prowess ion this genre.

This makes it all the more amazing that the other series I read by Sanderson, the Steelheart Trilogy, has a completely different feel to it. It takes place in a world where Eopics-extremely powerful, superpowered beings- have taken over. There are no good Epics. Somehow, the process of becoming Epics (which is just as mysterious as where they came from) makes people evil. The first book of the Trilogy takes place in Newcago, the remnants of what was once Chicago. However, ten years ago, an Epic with  a slew of powers arrived in Chgicago, took over, and turned everything to steel. In addition, another Epic has used his powr to make it perpetual night. So, you’ve got this dark, noir-type setting in which the characters are perpetually afraid of just randomly being offed by superpowered beings. And yet….the book is hilarious, a completely different feel from Mistborn.Sanderson’s tonal range never ceases to amaze.