[cubesnooper]

I’m reading the third book right now and so far the series has been a real struggle to get through. In the first two I found the setting mildly interesting, but mixed with uninteresting characters, dialogue, and plot, with writing that was entirely too verbose and with too many repetitive phrases (like “he raised an eyebrow,“ which happens about once a chapter and sometimes even multiple times per page—see also chuckling, rolling eyes, and snorting, which occur at about the same frequency). Clearly not everybody finds this irritating but I definitely did.

I don’t think I had any problems like that with the writing of other fantasy series like Lord of the Rings and A Game of Thrones. Nor with two other trilogies I read for the first time this year, C. S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy and The Three‐Body Problem.

[Forgeties79]

I think it’s important to go into it knowing that it’s a piece of YA literature. What I enjoyed were the mechanics and chess game of “burning” magic, as well as characters like Sazed where there is just so much to unpack.

I also think it has a strong portrayal of complex, sustained trauma that is handled very well through the character of Vin. It’s something I think really has a great home in the YA genre while still being a fun page turner/action-y book.

I get what you’re saying, but I also just didn’t go looking for LOTR because I knew that wasn’t what this was. It’s somewhere between a fun summer fantasy series and LOTR. Not as thin as the former, not as rich as the latter. Pretty easy to chew through while also giving you something to savor.

[Auracle]

I find the original Mistborn trilogy to be YA-adjacent. You’re never going to get prose like Lord of the Rings out of Sanderson, but if you ever feel like reading more of his work try The Stormlight Archive. It’s his most serious work, for lack of a better word.

Part of the fun is that all of his books interconnect, even though they take place on different worlds with different-but-same magic systems.

If you’re not sure if you want to commit to more, I’d his novella The Emperor’s Soul.

[hhjinks]

The next time Vin eyes someone or something, my lid will blow. There's a whole lot of fingering going on as well. And on the Shattered Plains, there appears to be a rock formation every other step. I enjoy the books, but not for the prose.

[SamoyedFurFluff]

You might like the Machineries of Empire series instead- fascinating world building with serious depth of character and personal stakes. First book is Ninefox Gambit.