[molybdenum]

This may contain very minor spoilers for Brandon Sanderson's Well of Ascension.

Okay, this seems like a very strange comparison, considering that these two authors are completely different, but I always see George RR Martin getting a lot of credit for his shocking plot twists. I just finished a re-read of Well of Ascension, and I can't help but think the way Brandon Sanderson was able to twist his plots took a lot more talent than GRRM's shock value.

Now I'm not trying to say that Brandon Sanderson is a better writer, he's nowhere close in terms of characterization and world-building. But getting shock value is easy to do if you just kill off someone everyone thinks is a main character. That's what Storm of Swords twists consist of. But what Sanderson does in Well of Ascension is amazing. He leads you completely in the wrong direction, the entire time foreshadowing the fact that he's leading you completely in the wrong direction, and still surprises you at the end.

The ability to twist plots to unpredictability isn't overly difficult. It's the way Sanderson does it in basically all his books that amazes me.

Am I out to lunch here, or do people agree with me on this?

[Andols]

Thanks for adding to my to-read pile.

[goodboot]

I completely agree with you sir. No real spoilers will follow this, but if you haven't read the book, I'd still avoid reading the rest of this post.


Another difference I can spot is that Sanderson's twist left me feeling good, whereas Martin's twists normally leave me feeling pissed off. I can appreciate both, mind you. If a book can't make you feel something as you read it, it's really not worth the time, and sometimes I appreciate the books that bum me out more in the long run. However, I've been on a buzz-kill book spree lately, so finishing Well and still being in a good mood was a nice change of pace.

[pat5150]

No offense, and I'm a fan of Brandon, but comparing GRRM and Sanderson in terms of plot twists is like comparing filet mignon and ground beef. Both can be good depending on the recipe, but one is a world away from the other...

Patrick

[goodboot]

Perhaps it is an odd comparison. I was just adding my thoughts on how their respective twists left me feeling afterward. A shallow addition, perhaps, but I don't contribute much in the way of comments around here and I've been itching to post something.

[ThornofCamorr]

I read Well, but I dont think I know what twists you mean. Nothing really shocked me in those books either. I mean they were good, but the deaths seemed more like an inevitable whittling away of side characters. Maybe its because they didn't have enough time or spotlight to get the reader attached to them.

Now the red wedding... thats a f***ing TWIST. Only time Ive ever dropped a book in shock and awe. It wasn't like, oh look a meteor dropped out of the sky and killed a main character. This stuff was set up for hundreds of pages.

[goodboot]

I can definitely see your point about the deaths in Sanderson's trilogy. None of them are all that surprising. I wasn't really referring to deaths when I spoke of the twist though. It was the end that surprised me, and the identity of a certain prophesied figure spoken about throughout the books. Maybe I'm just dense, but I honestly didn't see it coming. I probably should have, but I didn't.

And sir, I wholeheartedly agree about the Red Wedding. I almost threw the book across the room when I finished with that part.

[molybdenum]

As I said, it's kind of a weird comparison, but I still think it's a valid one.

I'm not saying that GRRM twists were any less shocking then Sanderson's, in fact, the red wedding was considerably more shocking. What I'm saying is I think it's much more difficult to pull off the plot twist at the end of Well of Ascension then it is to kill off a supposed main character. GRRM's twists is SOS was brilliant, but to do what Sanderson did, have us thinking completely the wrong way for the entire book while foreshadowing that he's leading us astray, that takes a lot more talent then just killing off characters.

[Eventine]

have us thinking completely the wrong way for the entire book while foreshadowing that he's leading us astray, that takes a lot more talent then just killing off characters.

If you enjoythat type of thing I'd recommend trying some of Christopher Priest's work.

[ThornofCamorr]

Oh yeah those things with the text at the tops of the chapters. Those are pretty cool, Im kinda sad I didn't put more effort into figuring those little puzzles out. Looks like I missed something cool.