GiveMeASpren(I'mCrazy) Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 (Just want to preface - I have no idea if this is the right forum for this, if it's the wrong spot then just tell me how to change it) I've noticed that many of Brandon's early works, in particular his unpublished ones, consist of one long plot arc, which ultimately has a dead end about 20-50 pages before the resolution, and then one very short one based on a revelation from information mention briefly earlier in the book, usually about the magic system. For example, Mistborn Spoiler Book One: Kelsier's whole plan, and the whole plot of the book, was ultimately a dud, and they just had to realize that the LR had metalminds and remove them (not so easy, but they succeeded). Vin could have just had the metalmind conversation with Sazed in the beginning, and then either she or Kelsier could have attacked tLR right away. Book Two: The whole political plot line was just a dead end, ending with "OK, fine, democracy doesn't always work right. But nothing changes." Possibly more but I can't think of them off hand Elantris Spoiler Every one of the plot lines ultimately didn't work, until they just figured out how they had to properly draw the aons and then boom, all the problems are solved Mythwalker/Warbreaker Spoiler It's not as much of a flaw over here, but still, the trick with giving the breaths always would have worked, and once again the whole political plotline was a dead end and didn't make a difference anyay. White Sand (prose, at least. Who knows what will be in the GN in the end) Spoiler The solution for the fight was there from the beginning (the foreshadowing was right there in the first chapter), he just didn't realize that it was enough to win a fight until the end Aether of Night Spoiler The entire arc of the book ended about 50 pages from the end, and then it was just wait... we know that it is magic based, lets figure out how it works (and then the solution (putting the two opposite spectrums together was hinted at earlier in the book, like most of the magic-based solutions, but just stated as fact the first time instead of explored Steelheart Spoiler By this point it seems like Brandon was growing past this problem, but once again the actual solution had nothing to do with all of the try/fail cycles earlier in the book (this goes for the other Reckoner books too) Sixth of the Dusk Spoiler By the time Brandon wrote SotD, he did the same type of solution as in the others, but here the entire book was thematically aimed at goal of always looking for the trap in everything, and therefore it worked (for me, at least) far, far better Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan, and most of these are in by list of favorite books ever. I just enjoy seeing how he has grown as an author, and how he has built up the same plot archetype over more than 10 books, improving it all the while (and I don't think that most readers even noticed the similarities; did you?). (Stormlight, though, seems to follow a different plot structure than all of the other books. They aren't based on an understanding of a magic system, but rather on personal growth (which then affects the magic...)) Questions? Comments? Things I missed? Think I'm a blasphemer? Go right ahead. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yezrien Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 Thank you! I've been grumbling about this for years. These bloated, boring, dead-end political plotlines really bog down those early books. I'm just glad Brandon's gotten over it in recent years. In fact, I think there's a nod to this in Bands of Mourning. At the fancy mansion party, Wax has to play the lordly politics game, putting on a decorous face and ferreting out information from a bunch of privileged liars... and he just has no patience for it. This kind of a scene does not belong in a fast-paced, tightly-plotted Era 2 book, and he knows it. He's thinking exactly what I'm thinking: the plot will ultimately be resolved by action and magic, so why are we wasting our time on canapes and well-mannered barbs? Then, of course, Brandon subverts expectations by giving me and Wax exactly what we want. The party devolves into an action scene. Bravo, Brandon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiveMeASpren(I'mCrazy) Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 My point wasn't that I minded having a book with a slower pace; that doesn't bother me at all. My problem was that his plots kept on having dead ends after going on for most of the book. The one real exception to this in my opinion was Steelheart, as there there was a constant try/fail cycle throughout the whole book, and then finally something worked (but if it had been one long attempt it still would have bothered me). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy92 Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 This reminds me of that episode of the Big Bang Theory where Amy explains that Indiana Jones wouldn't be any different without Indiana Jones, because with or without him the Nazis would've still found the ark, opened it, and all died. I do understand where you're coming from, but I think this happens a lot in books and movies. If you strip away a lot of a book, you can break the core plot down to a few very important scenes. But what happens if you do strip away all the extra "fluff?" Typically what you miss out on is character development. Journey before destination. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts