Philip, I am incredibly proud, and grateful, to be able to work on The Way of Edan and bring it to Italy. It will be an extraordinary journey! Thank you for this opportunity!
Thank you for having such a positive, happy channel. We had to put our dog to sleep on Wed, and I really appreciate the distraction of booktube. I considered re-reading Rhythm of War before the new book comes out, but that's just not going to happen. I'm going to Sanderson's Dragonsteel convention in Utah in 2 weeks, and hopefully it'll be a great time.
@@akellerhouse83 I’m so sorry about your dog. I had to do the same with our dear Belladonna two years ago, and I still think about her every day. I know you gave your dog a happy home, and that is something to cherish. I wish you a wonderful time at Dragonsteel, Amanda!
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy thank you! It's been a very difficult week and all the booktube videos have really helped me. I'm having a hard time reading an actual book, but I like to hear someone talk about them. Lol
The special editions look incredible. Must be an incredible moment! Thank you so much for the discussion on The Fury of the Gods. It was an absolute pleasure! Hope you enjoy The Last Kingdom :).
Thank you, Will! You and Ed have been such amazing supporters of The Edan Trilogy, and I could not be more grateful to call you both friends. All the best!
Cannot wait for The Way of Edan to arrive next year. Gives us something to look forward to during the post Christmas blues! So many of the books you are reading are now on my TBR. So many books, so little time!
So many books, so little time should be the motto for all of BookTube! I thank you for giving some love to The Way of Edan among all the other titles out there!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy thank you, my friend, and yes, very well! I'm in the cover art design stage with my New Thing, a massively epic fantasy that draws on Bronze Age European myth and the operas of Wagner!
I feel sorry for you! No book lover likes to be taken away from their babies for too long. And thanks again for the chat, it was wonderful. Looking forward to all of your exciting plans!
Thank you, Sam! At least someone feels sorry for me. My students don't, but that might be because I assigned them all those essays in the first place . . . 😁
Philip, congrats again on all the recent success for The Way of Edan! I can't wait to get my grubby mits on the book 2 audio! I'm also excited for you to read Bernard Cornwell! And very curious about your thoughts on Rhythm of War haha
@@ZOMGfantasy Thank you, Zammar! I’m confident I’ll love Cornwell’s books. I’m not as confident about Rhythm of War, but I am determined to get to it. All the best!
you seem like a very busy man, hats off to you for balancing family, work, reading and uploading always appreciate what you have to say:) good luck with Rhythm of War, if you get to it. I also found it tedious and loaded with fabrial stuffs but the pay off was very worth it
Thank you so much! I will definitely get to Rhythm of War eventually. Sanderson has had a tremendous impact on fantasy, and I would feel negligent if I didn't at least get through this first arc of The Stormlight Archive. All the best!
Oh dang, I forgot all about the fifth Stormlight release coming up. I haven’t read Rhythm (which I also own) yet, either. Guess you’re not alone on the roadside, watching the bandwagon merrily glide by. Still wanting to get on the Wars of Light & Shadow bandwagon, though. Probably doesn’t matter as much, due to the fact that it’s all out there already. Congratulations on the special edition success and the translation! I’m really enjoying these authorial triumphs vicariously. Thanks for the inspiration. 😅 Wishing you the best with the essay grading!
I read the first 4 books of the Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin this year and loved it such a wonderful world and how the magic and the characters blended so well together. It would be great to see you do a video on Earthsea 🙂
Thank you! I have actually been in discussions of all four of those Earthsea books if you're curious. You can find them under my "Le Guin" playlist on the channel. Now it's time for me to read the short stories and the last Earthsea novel. All the best!
SO excited for you with the BB editions and I can't wait for my copy to arrive! That's awesome that Abel is going to translate. I look forward to the Weeks That Were on my Saturday mornings!
@@BrianBell7 Thank you, Brian! I’m attempting to be more regular with The Weeks That Were. Let’s see how it goes! I deeply appreciate your support and your friendship!
Another amazing episode of the weeks that were! Thanks so much for the lovely shoutout Philip! ❤ you are one of the kindest people I’ve met on BookTube, and I can’t describe in adequate words how much I enjoyed our chat - can’t wait to chat much more in the future! 😊 If you were feeling the tediousness of the magic / science described in oathbringer, it’s even more so in ROW unfortunately - on this re-read I’ve been reading slowly and in between other books and that’s helped tremendously! Congrats on the broken binding edition, bringing Edan to Italy (and soon worldwide) and the success of the audiobook!! So excited for book 3 😊
For what it's worth, I'm the prime Harry Potter generation and grew up with the books as a kid/teen, and even though i like HP for what it is, i wouldn't dare say HP is on the same level as LotR lol that will be an enjoyable video. Thanks for the content you put out, it's great stuff!
I'm really excited to get to more of Le Guin's Earthsea works as well, I have that same edition and it's just so darn beautiful. My writing professor said my work reminds him of some of the Le Guin short stories in that collection, which I think can't possibly be right, but I absolutely have to read more so I can find out how the master does it! I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on Le Guin and Earthsea!!!
I plan to read The Last Kingdom and listen to y’all’s discussion on it in December, so I’m excited about that. I’m hoping to finish Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth by the end of December. I’ve enjoyed The Stormlight Archive so far but I totally agree with you about the magic system. I too enjoy soft magic more than hard magic. I appreciate what Sanderson has done for the genre but I enjoy Gwynne’s style a lot more.
Brandon Sanderson has earned my respect, and his success didn’t happen by accident. That said, I don’t think it’s in me to ever love a story that centers around a hard magic system as much as I love the mystery and wonder of “soft magic.” Cheers, Matt!
@ Also I’m not sure if this is just a me thing but I don’t tend to get as emotionally attached to Sanderson characters as I do Gwynne’s or even yours. This may be a terrible way to say it but his characters all seem a bit plastic, if that makes sense. I enjoy his stories and world building but that’s about it.
Hi Philip. The Broken Binding edition looks wonderful. I hope your students have written a bunch of terrific essays this semester. I've been grazing through lots of miscellaneous non-fiction of late, including an autobiography of rocker Suzi Quatro, The Last Genteman Adventurer (about coming of age in the Arctic), The Ancient Mediterranean by Michael Grant. Forthcoming soon is the new novel by Haruki Murakami (The City and It's Uncertain Walls) I hope to finish Don Quixote by years end, and I'd like to at least start A Clash of Kings. Happy holidays.
You may have heard of Clarke's Law: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I hereby submit Sanderson's Law: any sufficiently explained magic is indistinguishable from science. Cross a certain line and you suck the magic out of magic. This is why people hated Midichlorian Counts in the Star Wars prequels. The one thing, however, that saves this compulsion to systematize and explain, is the fact that the most meaningful progressions in an individual's ability to wield magic in the Stormlight Archives is always pegged to internal character growth (or change, to use a word inclusive of villainous declines). Paradigm shifts in how they see themselves and others. Integrating their weaknesses and not only their strengths. This is not just Sanderson at his best, but storytelling at its best and it's this character growth that keeps me coming back. Just as there was a generation of Tolkien wannabes, there are certainly Sanderson wannabes who veer into the LitRPG/ProgFantasy of things of which I shall speak no more lest its Dark Eye fall upon me once more. I just finished Urth of the New Sun. That fixed me 😅
That being said, I found Rhythm of War quite tedious because it's the most sciencey, and they drop a few storylines for a few hundred pages. Unfortunately it seems like Sanderson is in the King Midas Phase of being treated with Kid Gloves by his editor. There is zero reason this book needed to be 1200+ pages.
With all due respect to Sanderson and his vast achievements, I'm inclined to agree with you. For me, at least, delving into the magic as if it were a science is not only uninteresting, but it also has the effect of killing the mystery and wonder that I'm hoping to experience. I know many other people feel differently, though. I very much want to read Urth of the New Sun!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Urth is delightful confusing as I have come to expect. I found your channel because I was looking into BotNS, generally, and I now use your spoiler free review as the video I send people to get them to read it!
Philip, I'm obviously a gigantic Stormlight fan and I'm definitely not gonna be done with my reread when Wind and Truth comes out. Yeah, it annoys me slightly that I won't get to be on the bandwagon right when everyone else is, but I'll be reading Stormlight anyway and really, a few extra weeks doesn't really. Don't worry about it.
Thank you, Eric! I’m definitely going to read at least the first arc (five books), and if Sanderson hits a home run in Wind and Truth, I might even read the rest. The book of his I feel like I really should read is The Emperor’s Soul, which I have heard is his most “literary.” My feeling is that he writes most of his books for the broadest possible audience, and obviously knows what he’s doing when he writes that way. But from what I’ve heard about it, The Emperor’s Soul might be his book that resonates with me the most. I aim to find out!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Personally I'm not a big fan of the Emperor's Soul relative to most of Sanderson's stuff, but mainly for reasons that are extremely subjective and honestly probably pretty odd. I think you will like it.
WHAT, Abel is going to do a translation?! That is soooo cool, he is just the best! It truly never fails to bring me tons of joy whenever you talk about all the success and exciting updates on your books, you deserve to be so proud of yourself 🥰 Also really happy to hear that OWAR is living up to the hype for you, you're making me want to re-read it haha. And speaking of re-reads, I am currently 70% into my re-read of Rhythm of War and whereas all the other 3 have gone up in enjoyment the 2nd time around, this 4th one is just still not totally doing it for me (sorry, this is probably not helping you get more excited to prioritise it haha oops). Hope all the other books on your TBR bring you lots of joy, happy reading!
@@esmayrosalyne Thank you, Esmay! In some ways, it’s good for me to go into Rhythm of War with lower expectations, so I appreciate you telling me your experience, Esmay!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy hope it helps you enjoy the experience somewhat! It's really not bad, but I don't think this book screams "Philip" to me in any way, especially with the sciency magic stuff hahah. The mental health journeys are beautiful and powerful though, so I think you could latch onto those themes and messages!
We’re not so different from it comes to Sanderson and Stormlight Archive-I also have had RoW on the shelf for a while and keep procrastinating. Earthsea is always a good use of time! If you make it to ICFA we’ll have to have a sit down (not necessarily on camera) to follow up your forthcoming video. I’m always eager to discuss Earthsea (and all things Le Guin)! If you haven’t yet read Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu, I’ve just started Grace of Kings and it is phenomenal. And Jimmy says the later books are even better! And I’m planning to read Lions of Al-Rassan by GGK next month. Isn’t that on your radar for the near-future? I’m learning that grading is a lot more time-consuming when you’re no longer a grad student and have multiple classes. Who knew?
I am going to decide soon about ICFA, and at the moment I'm hoping to be there. If that's the case, we will have to have that Le Guin chat, Paul. Best wishes for your teaching!
Every time I see that boxed set of Hobbit/LOTR paperbacks on your shelf it makes me smile. My mom gave me the exact same set when I was a kid and it sparked my love for fantasy. I still have it and it’s one of my most cherished possessions. I mentioned it to her the other day and it made her happy to know how much it meant to me. Do you recall where you got yours?
The nastiest comments I’ve gotten so far have been about my uncertainty of if/when I’ll finish Stormlight. I really liked Way of Kings but as the series went on it didn’t work as well for me personally. Also, do you have any advice on how to get a matching set of R Scott Bakkers books?😅😅
Considering the mish-mash I have of Bakker's books, I'm afraid I have no wisdom to offer. It gets harder with Aspect Emperor to even find copies, so I'm happy to live with the unmatched line of Bakker books on my shelf. Cheers, Samwise!
@ Haha. Well I suppose the mismatched sets can always be a character building lesson. Did you find Second Apocalypse to be more or less challenging than Malazan?
@ Slightly less challenging than Malazan at the level of the prose, but much more challenging in terms of bleakness. I’ll be keen to see what you make of it!
@@jasonuerkvitz3756 That is very kind of you, Jason! I have actually already signed the title page of every copy, so, unless you want something more personalized, you’re all set!
The Lord of the Rings vs. Harry Potter? That's not a fair matchup! Harry Potter shouldn't be pitted against literary fantasy, because it isn't literary (not that it's devoid of anything literary, but just on the whole it doesn't try to have the kind of prose, diction, or craft associated with the literary genres). HP vs. Sanderson seems much fairer. Conversely, HP against any other nonliterary children's/YA fantasy probably wouldn't be a fair fight either (e.g., Percy Jackson, Artemis Fowl), because that's what's special about HP-she found a way to write nonliterary children's fantasy better than anyone else. HP is a titan because, for its particular niche, nothing compares. I have great admiration for the Harry Potter books, and yet I would never push for them to win against The Lord of the Rings. That's like making me say, "Which is better, _A Christmas Story_ (1983) or _It's a Wonderful Life_ (1946)?" Why are we even comparing these things? Sure, there's a clear winner; but they're both great, and comparing them to each other isn't helping either. (Not that I'm criticizing the upcoming debate-have fun!)
@@eustacetuberson4375 I’m actually inclined to agree with you, Eustace, and I’ll likely say something similar. Even so, I’ll do my best to compare them!
I have been thinking of starting to read The Way of Edan but haven't yet due to the fact that I hear it is very anti Religion. I was hoping it wasn't a simple diatribe against Christianity. Could you possibly address this (possible) criticism? I hope I am wrong and that the series is more nuanced. Thanks.
@@JohnAndrewMacDonald Thank you for asking! It’s definitely not anti-religion or anti-Christian - not in my mind, anyway. I’m confident that anyone who has read the trilogy would acknowledge that there is nuance and plenty of the pros and cons of religion. It does portray what happens when religion becomes an excuse for aggression, which has happened too many times in human history. But I think of it as a very spiritual story that explores in the most honest way that I can the good and the bad of religion as well as its importance to humanity. I’d also like to mention that many Christian readers who have read and appreciated the trilogy have reached out to me with feedback, including a minister who counts it among his favorite fantasy stories.
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy sounds great. thanks for responding. i just grabbed the kindle and if I like it will buy physical copies. i hope I didn't come across judgemental or anything. just heard a couple comments and wanted to hear from the author's mouth.
@ You did not come across as judgmental to me at all. Your comment was respectfully worded, and I don’t blame anyone for seeking clarification before deciding to invest in a story. On the contrary, I appreciate you reaching out, and I wish you the best for the journey.
Brandon Sanderson is a hack and nothing can convince me otherwise. One of the worst fantasy writers out there. I am not trolling. I am shocked that so many are falling for his elementary school fantasy. When you have writers like Tolkien, Martin, Steven Erikson, Dan Simmons, Gene Wolfe, Robin Hobb, R. Scott Baker, Clark Ashton Smith, Tad Williams, Stephen R. Donaldson, Robert E Howard, Raymond Feist - it is a sin and an obscenity to read the embarrassing drivel of Sanderson.
@@thessarether3546 While I’m definitely not a Sanderson fan and personally prefer the books of every writer you mentioned (except Clark Ashton Smith, whose books I simply haven’t read yet), I’m glad Sanderson’s books exist. I mean this as a compliment (some people won’t take it that way): Sanderson is a talented YA author. His books hook many, many young readers (and some older ones) into fantasy, and that’s a good thing. There are virtues to his storytelling too, and even though it doesn’t have the tone I personally enjoy most, you can’t deny that it must resonate with a lot of people. Cheers!
Whether or not you like them, Sanderson's books are brilliantly plotted and executed, Stormlight being not only my favorite series but also, by my standards, probably the best written thing I've ever read - despite the fact that I also have criticisms. I will always have criticisms. No book is perfect. Now, I don't expect everyone to love every book I do, but if you've read Stormlight, for example, I can't help but seeing a failure to at least understand why Sanderson's work resonates with so many people as a mark of stupidity. It's really pretty obvious, at least if you've actually read his stuff. I believe (as does Philip) that one of the primary purposes of reading is the establishment of empathy. This failure to even attempt to understand a differing viewpoint (and one, at that, that shouldn't be particularly hard to understand) is not a sign of empathy. It seems all your pretentious reading hasn't payed off very well... maybe you should try some Sanderson... not, of course, that some of the authors you mentioned aren't great too. And Philip, obviously I greatly respect you and I don't mean any personal insult, but whether or not you mean it to be, calling Sanderson YA is reductive, at least with the connotation that "YA" has in the present day. Sanderson is no more a YA author than Tolkien or leGuin - both authors who I also love, by the way.
@@ericF-17 I just reached page 900 of "The Way of Kings" and I was leery about starting it, as I wasn't terribly fond of Mistborn. I have found Way of Kings to be VERY enjoyable. I agree that I don't consider Sanderson's work to be YA at all. I appreciate how approachable it is, and frankly, that it's clean. No swearing, no profanity. I look forward to the rest of the Stormlight Archives.
I’m so sorry, Philip, but I did finish The Unholy Consult. 🫣 Finishing The Great Ordeal was like finishing Dust of Dreams-you don’t want to stop! Your DDF with Nikhil was fabulous! I loved the whole episode. Congrats again on the Broken Binding edition and successful audiobook release! Happy reading and grading, Philip!
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Philip, I am incredibly proud, and grateful, to be able to work on The Way of Edan and bring it to Italy. It will be an extraordinary journey! Thank you for this opportunity!
I am looking forward to working with you so much, Abel! Grazie mille!
Congratulations on the Broken Binding editions and them flying off shelves!
Thank you, Andrew! It's a good place to be!
I’m so glad to be able to get a copy of the special edition and can’t wait for the rest of the series.
@@GentleGiantJason Thank you so much, Jason! I’m deeply grateful for your support!
Lots of shenanigans you're getting up to! I love it!
I will have to change my name to Dr. Shenanigans! Cheers, Jarrod!
Can’t wait to listen to the audiobook! I picked up a copy and I should get to it in December.
@@GentleGiantJason Thank you once again, Jason! I hope you’ll love Allen’s narration!
Thank you for having such a positive, happy channel. We had to put our dog to sleep on Wed, and I really appreciate the distraction of booktube. I considered re-reading Rhythm of War before the new book comes out, but that's just not going to happen. I'm going to Sanderson's Dragonsteel convention in Utah in 2 weeks, and hopefully it'll be a great time.
@@akellerhouse83 I’m so sorry about your dog. I had to do the same with our dear Belladonna two years ago, and I still think about her every day. I know you gave your dog a happy home, and that is something to cherish. I wish you a wonderful time at Dragonsteel, Amanda!
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy thank you! It's been a very difficult week and all the booktube videos have really helped me. I'm having a hard time reading an actual book, but I like to hear someone talk about them. Lol
@ I wish you peace and strength to carry the grief of your loss.
The special editions look incredible. Must be an incredible moment! Thank you so much for the discussion on The Fury of the Gods. It was an absolute pleasure! Hope you enjoy The Last Kingdom :).
Thank you, Will! You and Ed have been such amazing supporters of The Edan Trilogy, and I could not be more grateful to call you both friends. All the best!
Cannot wait for The Way of Edan to arrive next year. Gives us something to look forward to during the post Christmas blues!
So many of the books you are reading are now on my TBR. So many books, so little time!
So many books, so little time should be the motto for all of BookTube! I thank you for giving some love to The Way of Edan among all the other titles out there!
Congratulations on the Broken Binding and the Italian translation!
Thank you so much, Michael! I hope your writing is going well!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy thank you, my friend, and yes, very well! I'm in the cover art design stage with my New Thing, a massively epic fantasy that draws on Bronze Age European myth and the operas of Wagner!
A lot of exciting things coming up! I’m excited to get my copy of The Way of Edan in January or February!
Thank you so much, N.A.! Your support for the special edition means a ton to me!
@ of course Philip!
I feel sorry for you! No book lover likes to be taken away from their babies for too long. And thanks again for the chat, it was wonderful. Looking forward to all of your exciting plans!
Thank you, Sam! At least someone feels sorry for me. My students don't, but that might be because I assigned them all those essays in the first place . . . 😁
I can’t wait to have that beautiful BB edition of the Way of Edan in hand and to continue on with the series soon!
Thank you, Ben! I am extremely gratified that you're enjoying The Edan Trilogy so far, and I can't thank you enough for your support!
I appreciate you making videos during these times we are in and about to be in. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much! We've got to stick together and create the most good we can in this world!
Philip, congrats again on all the recent success for The Way of Edan! I can't wait to get my grubby mits on the book 2 audio!
I'm also excited for you to read Bernard Cornwell! And very curious about your thoughts on Rhythm of War haha
@@ZOMGfantasy Thank you, Zammar! I’m confident I’ll love Cornwell’s books. I’m not as confident about Rhythm of War, but I am determined to get to it. All the best!
you seem like a very busy man, hats off to you for balancing family, work, reading and uploading always appreciate what you have to say:) good luck with Rhythm of War, if you get to it. I also found it tedious and loaded with fabrial stuffs but the pay off was very worth it
Thank you so much! I will definitely get to Rhythm of War eventually. Sanderson has had a tremendous impact on fantasy, and I would feel negligent if I didn't at least get through this first arc of The Stormlight Archive. All the best!
Oh dang, I forgot all about the fifth Stormlight release coming up. I haven’t read Rhythm (which I also own) yet, either. Guess you’re not alone on the roadside, watching the bandwagon merrily glide by. Still wanting to get on the Wars of Light & Shadow bandwagon, though. Probably doesn’t matter as much, due to the fact that it’s all out there already. Congratulations on the special edition success and the translation! I’m really enjoying these authorial triumphs vicariously. Thanks for the inspiration. 😅 Wishing you the best with the essay grading!
I couldn't think of better company to have on the roadside, my friend! I think you will deeply appreciate WOLAS when you get to it.
I read the first 4 books of the Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin this year and loved it such a wonderful world and how the magic and the characters blended so well together. It would be great to see you do a video on Earthsea 🙂
Thank you! I have actually been in discussions of all four of those Earthsea books if you're curious. You can find them under my "Le Guin" playlist on the channel. Now it's time for me to read the short stories and the last Earthsea novel. All the best!
Clear space on that favorites list Cahill lands the plane in grand fashion!
Or perhaps he lands the dragon in grand fashion . . . Cheers, my friend!
I ordered mine as soon as I was able.
Many thanks! 😊 🙏
SO excited for you with the BB editions and I can't wait for my copy to arrive! That's awesome that Abel is going to translate. I look forward to the Weeks That Were on my Saturday mornings!
@@BrianBell7 Thank you, Brian! I’m attempting to be more regular with The Weeks That Were. Let’s see how it goes! I deeply appreciate your support and your friendship!
*Runs off to place an order with BB right now* **mission completed!**
My deepest thanks, DJ! 😊
Another amazing episode of the weeks that were! Thanks so much for the lovely shoutout Philip! ❤ you are one of the kindest people I’ve met on BookTube, and I can’t describe in adequate words how much I enjoyed our chat - can’t wait to chat much more in the future! 😊 If you were feeling the tediousness of the magic / science described in oathbringer, it’s even more so in ROW unfortunately - on this re-read I’ve been reading slowly and in between other books and that’s helped tremendously!
Congrats on the broken binding edition, bringing Edan to Italy (and soon worldwide) and the success of the audiobook!! So excited for book 3 😊
Thank you so much, Nikhil! I look forward to our next chat very much!
Thank you for your honesty on Sanderson. I feel seen haha
@@topbananatabletop7297 Ha ha! We’re a minority, but a sizable one!
For what it's worth, I'm the prime Harry Potter generation and grew up with the books as a kid/teen, and even though i like HP for what it is, i wouldn't dare say HP is on the same level as LotR lol that will be an enjoyable video. Thanks for the content you put out, it's great stuff!
@@nick_a_93 Thank you so much! I appreciate that perspective as I sometimes worry my bias is speaking. It should be a fun conversation!
I'm really excited to get to more of Le Guin's Earthsea works as well, I have that same edition and it's just so darn beautiful. My writing professor said my work reminds him of some of the Le Guin short stories in that collection, which I think can't possibly be right, but I absolutely have to read more so I can find out how the master does it! I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on Le Guin and Earthsea!!!
@@AReadersJourney What a wonderful compliment from your writing professor! Congratulations, Chris!
I plan to read The Last Kingdom and listen to y’all’s discussion on it in December, so I’m excited about that. I’m hoping to finish Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth by the end of December. I’ve enjoyed The Stormlight Archive so far but I totally agree with you about the magic system. I too enjoy soft magic more than hard magic. I appreciate what Sanderson has done for the genre but I enjoy Gwynne’s style a lot more.
Brandon Sanderson has earned my respect, and his success didn’t happen by accident. That said, I don’t think it’s in me to ever love a story that centers around a hard magic system as much as I love the mystery and wonder of “soft magic.” Cheers, Matt!
@ Also I’m not sure if this is just a me thing but I don’t tend to get as emotionally attached to Sanderson characters as I do Gwynne’s or even yours. This may be a terrible way to say it but his characters all seem a bit plastic, if that makes sense. I enjoy his stories and world building but that’s about it.
❤❤❤🤗
@@MrRorosuri Thank you, Mr. Rorosuri!
Hi Philip. The Broken Binding edition looks wonderful. I hope your students have written a bunch of terrific essays this semester. I've been grazing through lots of miscellaneous non-fiction of late, including an autobiography of rocker Suzi Quatro, The Last Genteman Adventurer (about coming of age in the Arctic), The Ancient Mediterranean by Michael Grant. Forthcoming soon is the new novel by Haruki Murakami (The City and It's Uncertain Walls) I hope to finish Don Quixote by years end, and I'd like to at least start A Clash of Kings. Happy holidays.
@@curtjarrell9710 Thank you, Curt! I really should read some Murakami myself. My best wishes for all your reads!
Didn't know the TBB one was up for sale, so I ordered one :)
Hooray! Thank you for your support from the bottom of my heart!
You may have heard of Clarke's Law: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
I hereby submit Sanderson's Law: any sufficiently explained magic is indistinguishable from science.
Cross a certain line and you suck the magic out of magic. This is why people hated Midichlorian Counts in the Star Wars prequels.
The one thing, however, that saves this compulsion to systematize and explain, is the fact that the most meaningful progressions in an individual's ability to wield magic in the Stormlight Archives is always pegged to internal character growth (or change, to use a word inclusive of villainous declines). Paradigm shifts in how they see themselves and others. Integrating their weaknesses and not only their strengths. This is not just Sanderson at his best, but storytelling at its best and it's this character growth that keeps me coming back.
Just as there was a generation of Tolkien wannabes, there are certainly Sanderson wannabes who veer into the LitRPG/ProgFantasy of things of which I shall speak no more lest its Dark Eye fall upon me once more.
I just finished Urth of the New Sun. That fixed me 😅
That being said, I found Rhythm of War quite tedious because it's the most sciencey, and they drop a few storylines for a few hundred pages.
Unfortunately it seems like Sanderson is in the King Midas Phase of being treated with Kid Gloves by his editor. There is zero reason this book needed to be 1200+ pages.
With all due respect to Sanderson and his vast achievements, I'm inclined to agree with you. For me, at least, delving into the magic as if it were a science is not only uninteresting, but it also has the effect of killing the mystery and wonder that I'm hoping to experience. I know many other people feel differently, though. I very much want to read Urth of the New Sun!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Urth is delightful confusing as I have come to expect. I found your channel because I was looking into BotNS, generally, and I now use your spoiler free review as the video I send people to get them to read it!
@ Many thanks!
Philip, I'm obviously a gigantic Stormlight fan and I'm definitely not gonna be done with my reread when Wind and Truth comes out. Yeah, it annoys me slightly that I won't get to be on the bandwagon right when everyone else is, but I'll be reading Stormlight anyway and really, a few extra weeks doesn't really. Don't worry about it.
Thank you, Eric! I’m definitely going to read at least the first arc (five books), and if Sanderson hits a home run in Wind and Truth, I might even read the rest. The book of his I feel like I really should read is The Emperor’s Soul, which I have heard is his most “literary.” My feeling is that he writes most of his books for the broadest possible audience, and obviously knows what he’s doing when he writes that way. But from what I’ve heard about it, The Emperor’s Soul might be his book that resonates with me the most. I aim to find out!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Personally I'm not a big fan of the Emperor's Soul relative to most of Sanderson's stuff, but mainly for reasons that are extremely subjective and honestly probably pretty odd. I think you will like it.
WHAT, Abel is going to do a translation?! That is soooo cool, he is just the best! It truly never fails to bring me tons of joy whenever you talk about all the success and exciting updates on your books, you deserve to be so proud of yourself 🥰
Also really happy to hear that OWAR is living up to the hype for you, you're making me want to re-read it haha. And speaking of re-reads, I am currently 70% into my re-read of Rhythm of War and whereas all the other 3 have gone up in enjoyment the 2nd time around, this 4th one is just still not totally doing it for me (sorry, this is probably not helping you get more excited to prioritise it haha oops).
Hope all the other books on your TBR bring you lots of joy, happy reading!
@@esmayrosalyne Thank you, Esmay! In some ways, it’s good for me to go into Rhythm of War with lower expectations, so I appreciate you telling me your experience, Esmay!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy hope it helps you enjoy the experience somewhat! It's really not bad, but I don't think this book screams "Philip" to me in any way, especially with the sciency magic stuff hahah. The mental health journeys are beautiful and powerful though, so I think you could latch onto those themes and messages!
@ Those character journeys are what I look forward to, for sure!
We’re not so different from it comes to Sanderson and Stormlight Archive-I also have had RoW on the shelf for a while and keep procrastinating.
Earthsea is always a good use of time! If you make it to ICFA we’ll have to have a sit down (not necessarily on camera) to follow up your forthcoming video. I’m always eager to discuss Earthsea (and all things Le Guin)!
If you haven’t yet read Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu, I’ve just started Grace of Kings and it is phenomenal. And Jimmy says the later books are even better! And I’m planning to read Lions of Al-Rassan by GGK next month. Isn’t that on your radar for the near-future?
I’m learning that grading is a lot more time-consuming when you’re no longer a grad student and have multiple classes. Who knew?
I am going to decide soon about ICFA, and at the moment I'm hoping to be there. If that's the case, we will have to have that Le Guin chat, Paul. Best wishes for your teaching!
I feel like stormlight is fantasy for sci fi fans, and I totally understandd what you aree saying
@@gustavolamego9913 Thanks! I think you’re right that Stormlight has some significant sci fi elements.
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy and they get more relevant in RoW
C'mon professor.The cosmere universe has no rival in fantasy.Not even the Wheel of Time ! 😁
Malazan maybe.Just finished Gardens of the moon.😊
I'll at least finish this first arc of Stormlight Archives, I promise!
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Im very happy to hear that.I love Stormlight so much!!!☺️
You should make sure to let people know that this edition is not just a Broken Binding book but a Broken Binding Press book - much higher quality.
@@JohnAndrewMacDonald You’re absolutely right! Thank you!
Kneel down kids
I am reading Malazan 😊
@@mahdif969 My best wishes for your Malazan journey!
Can I propose a guest for Dear Dr Fantasy? I'd love to see a chat beween you and the guy behind the channel Dutch GreyBeard.
Thank you for the recommendation!
Every time I see that boxed set of Hobbit/LOTR paperbacks on your shelf it makes me smile. My mom gave me the exact same set when I was a kid and it sparked my love for fantasy. I still have it and it’s one of my most cherished possessions. I mentioned it to her the other day and it made her happy to know how much it meant to me. Do you recall where you got yours?
Yes! Similar story. My father gave me my boxed set, and I read the heck out of it. Cheers!
@ that’s awesome. I read the heck outta mine too:)
The nastiest comments I’ve gotten so far have been about my uncertainty of if/when I’ll finish Stormlight. I really liked Way of Kings but as the series went on it didn’t work as well for me personally.
Also, do you have any advice on how to get a matching set of R Scott Bakkers books?😅😅
Considering the mish-mash I have of Bakker's books, I'm afraid I have no wisdom to offer. It gets harder with Aspect Emperor to even find copies, so I'm happy to live with the unmatched line of Bakker books on my shelf. Cheers, Samwise!
@ Haha. Well I suppose the mismatched sets can always be a character building lesson. Did you find Second Apocalypse to be more or less challenging than Malazan?
@ Slightly less challenging than Malazan at the level of the prose, but much more challenging in terms of bleakness. I’ll be keen to see what you make of it!
Hello, sir, would I be able to order a copy of the special limited edition and have it shipped to the college you work at so you could sign it for me?
@@jasonuerkvitz3756 That is very kind of you, Jason! I have actually already signed the title page of every copy, so, unless you want something more personalized, you’re all set!
RoW does have a lot of science of magic. I find I feel the same. WoK and WoR were much better than OB and RoW.
@@GentleGiantJason I hope that Sanderson will hit a home run with book five!
The Lord of the Rings vs. Harry Potter? That's not a fair matchup!
Harry Potter shouldn't be pitted against literary fantasy, because it isn't literary (not that it's devoid of anything literary, but just on the whole it doesn't try to have the kind of prose, diction, or craft associated with the literary genres). HP vs. Sanderson seems much fairer.
Conversely, HP against any other nonliterary children's/YA fantasy probably wouldn't be a fair fight either (e.g., Percy Jackson, Artemis Fowl), because that's what's special about HP-she found a way to write nonliterary children's fantasy better than anyone else. HP is a titan because, for its particular niche, nothing compares.
I have great admiration for the Harry Potter books, and yet I would never push for them to win against The Lord of the Rings. That's like making me say, "Which is better, _A Christmas Story_ (1983) or _It's a Wonderful Life_ (1946)?" Why are we even comparing these things? Sure, there's a clear winner; but they're both great, and comparing them to each other isn't helping either. (Not that I'm criticizing the upcoming debate-have fun!)
@@eustacetuberson4375 I’m actually inclined to agree with you, Eustace, and I’ll likely say something similar. Even so, I’ll do my best to compare them!
I have been thinking of starting to read The Way of Edan but haven't yet due to the fact that I hear it is very anti Religion. I was hoping it wasn't a simple diatribe against Christianity. Could you possibly address this (possible) criticism? I hope I am wrong and that the series is more nuanced. Thanks.
@@JohnAndrewMacDonald Thank you for asking! It’s definitely not anti-religion or anti-Christian - not in my mind, anyway. I’m confident that anyone who has read the trilogy would acknowledge that there is nuance and plenty of the pros and cons of religion. It does portray what happens when religion becomes an excuse for aggression, which has happened too many times in human history. But I think of it as a very spiritual story that explores in the most honest way that I can the good and the bad of religion as well as its importance to humanity. I’d also like to mention that many Christian readers who have read and appreciated the trilogy have reached out to me with feedback, including a minister who counts it among his favorite fantasy stories.
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy sounds great. thanks for responding. i just grabbed the kindle and if I like it will buy physical copies. i hope I didn't come across judgemental or anything. just heard a couple comments and wanted to hear from the author's mouth.
@ You did not come across as judgmental to me at all. Your comment was respectfully worded, and I don’t blame anyone for seeking clarification before deciding to invest in a story. On the contrary, I appreciate you reaching out, and I wish you the best for the journey.
read manga Naruto!!!
Brandon Sanderson is a hack and nothing can convince me otherwise. One of the worst fantasy writers out there. I am not trolling. I am shocked that so many are falling for his elementary school fantasy. When you have writers like Tolkien, Martin, Steven Erikson, Dan Simmons, Gene Wolfe, Robin Hobb, R. Scott Baker, Clark Ashton Smith, Tad Williams, Stephen R. Donaldson, Robert E Howard, Raymond Feist - it is a sin and an obscenity to read the embarrassing drivel of Sanderson.
@@thessarether3546 While I’m definitely not a Sanderson fan and personally prefer the books of every writer you mentioned (except Clark Ashton Smith, whose books I simply haven’t read yet), I’m glad Sanderson’s books exist. I mean this as a compliment (some people won’t take it that way): Sanderson is a talented YA author. His books hook many, many young readers (and some older ones) into fantasy, and that’s a good thing. There are virtues to his storytelling too, and even though it doesn’t have the tone I personally enjoy most, you can’t deny that it must resonate with a lot of people. Cheers!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Classy response.
Whether or not you like them, Sanderson's books are brilliantly plotted and executed, Stormlight being not only my favorite series but also, by my standards, probably the best written thing I've ever read - despite the fact that I also have criticisms. I will always have criticisms. No book is perfect. Now, I don't expect everyone to love every book I do, but if you've read Stormlight, for example, I can't help but seeing a failure to at least understand why Sanderson's work resonates with so many people as a mark of stupidity. It's really pretty obvious, at least if you've actually read his stuff.
I believe (as does Philip) that one of the primary purposes of reading is the establishment of empathy. This failure to even attempt to understand a differing viewpoint (and one, at that, that shouldn't be particularly hard to understand) is not a sign of empathy. It seems all your pretentious reading hasn't payed off very well... maybe you should try some Sanderson...
not, of course, that some of the authors you mentioned aren't great too.
And Philip, obviously I greatly respect you and I don't mean any personal insult, but whether or not you mean it to be, calling Sanderson YA is reductive, at least with the connotation that "YA" has in the present day. Sanderson is no more a YA author than Tolkien or leGuin - both authors who I also love, by the way.
@@ericF-17 I just reached page 900 of "The Way of Kings" and I was leery about starting it, as I wasn't terribly fond of Mistborn. I have found Way of Kings to be VERY enjoyable. I agree that I don't consider Sanderson's work to be YA at all. I appreciate how approachable it is, and frankly, that it's clean. No swearing, no profanity. I look forward to the rest of the Stormlight Archives.
I’m so sorry, Philip, but I did finish The Unholy Consult. 🫣 Finishing The Great Ordeal was like finishing Dust of Dreams-you don’t want to stop!
Your DDF with Nikhil was fabulous! I loved the whole episode.
Congrats again on the Broken Binding edition and successful audiobook release! Happy reading and grading, Philip!
Wow, Allen's right you're a traitor after all 😂
@ 1) it was so good that I couldn’t stop, & 2) Philip is just too popular. Unlike him, I didn’t have any other buddy reads or reading obligations. 😅
Ha ha ha ha ha! I knew it! 🤣🤣🤣It's actually fine, Johanna. I'm just sorry you have to wait for this slow old man!
I hope you like it Johanna. The Unholy Consult is such a powerful and distinct work. A genre on its own
@@Red21Viper Truly a masterpiece of the genre. Gave me a mini Existential Crisis 🤣