Friday, July 30, 2010

Looking Forward To... (13)

There are so many amazing books already on the shelves and new ones coming out.

For a list of books yet to be released I'm looking to get, you can also look on my right Sidebar at the list titled Desired Reads - just scroll down.  Of course there are tones of other new books to come out that are amazing as well, but these ones are part of series I have already started or for one reason or another caught my eye (and haven't seen much on other blogs yet).  But I will highlight one here each week.

(mentioned in order of Release Date then Alphabetical if there are more than one book coming out on the same date.)

The Next Book Is...

Way of Kings
By: Brandon Sanderson
Due out August 17, 2010

If you love fantasy books you should have heard of, if not read, books by Brandon Sanderson.  He has the Trilogy Mistborn, and a few stand alone books: Elantris and also Warbreaker.  He also has a YA series going: Alcatraz.  And he has been working on/finished the well known series by Robert Jordan: Wheel of Time.

But now Brandon is starting his own saga series.  I can't wait to get into this hefty book, at 1008 pages.  As Brandon is well known for his amazing magic systems and outstanding story telling.  This book is the first book in his saga called: Stormlight Archive.

Synopsis from Good Reads:
Widely acclaimed for his work completing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time saga, Brandon Sanderson now begins a grand cycle of his own, one every bit as ambitious and immersive. 

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. 

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. 

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable. 

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity. 

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war. 

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making. 

Speak again the ancient oaths, 

Life before death. 
Strength before weakness. 
Journey before Destination. 

and return to men the Shards they once bore. 

The Knights Radiant must stand again.

6 comments:

  1. I think what I'm looking forward to getting is the Downside trilogy. Between you and everyone else... I must get! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Melissa - You will not be sorry. I think you will love the Downside trilogy. I have the third book here, and I REALLY want to read it, but I have a few books I have to get through first (ones already started) and a few review books too. But it is really great. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really can't wait to read Way of Kings, though you probably know that already :)
    I've heard really great things about it from people that have read the book, though I don't really like that it's the first in a series that will take years to complete. One of the things I appreciated about Sanderson was his willingness to write stand-alone novels.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Simcha - :) Kind of guessed you would be waiting for the book also. :) I am hoping Brandon will do well with the long series. I think he comes up with great books quickly, and I am hoping that will help with this series. I am hoping it will come out about a year apart, and not take too long. But I do enjoy the stand alone books by him as well.

    ReplyDelete
  5. From what I understand, The Stormlight Archive is a re-write/expansion of a series he had written in the past... that may make things easier for him, as far as getting the series out. I can't complain about his turn-around on new books - the guy is a workhorse, that's for sure.

    I read a quote of his once that said something like "there's no reason author's shouldn't be able to put out a new book every year. That's what I like to hear!

    I went to a book signing last Sunday in San Diego, with Pat Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson and Brent Weeks. Got some books signed, had a great time. Anyway, they gave away a bunch of copies of The Way of Kings - what I assume were last drafts before final versions... they were complete, large softback versions. They gave 20 away and raffled off a 21st. I wasn't lucky enough to get one, sadly... there were 21 happy nerds that day, that's for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  6. David - I have to agree, Brandon is great at crunching out Amazing books at a great pace. I have loads of faith in him with this series. Oh, that would have been an amazing book signing to be at. I would have been kicking myself for not being a lucky person though. I would really have been bummed, but great to get to meet all these authors. Wild. Thank you for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete

Sorry, got 106 spam comments in less than 24hrs. Had to turn on again.

I love comments! Please share your thoughts. I will respond here in the comments back to you.

Thank you for visiting!