Friday, July 1, 2016

Sanderson, Brandon (Shadows of Self)

Unfortunately, another Sanderson that I feel like I slogged through to some degree. Why did it feel sloggy? It wasn't that there wasn't a lot of action, and there was nothing wrong with it taking me back into the world of Mistborn. I think that it boils down to these four things:
  1. I don't care about Wax! He's pompous and overblown and no one much likes him in the books either. Why should I, again?
  2. The theme of the book felt way too much like the ending to Battlestar Galactica (the remake). That is, the "here we go again" ending that everyone hated. Our protagonists are talking to the gods, and the vibe from them is "rats, I thought we'd fixed all this, but I guess we hadn't". No, no, no! I loved the trilogy precisely because it showed that even if you despair, there is still some hope things will get much better. And I loved thinking that the class system was fixed (too much to hope for, I see).
  3. It was a teeny weeny bit too religious for me. I love Sanderson's work because it talks about faith in such interesting ways. But, in this book, he seemed to be proving an agenda, and it was an agenda I didn't want forced down my throat.
  4. Also, quit it with The Village. The stereotyping is abysmal.

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