Brandon Sanderson is a Dirty Socialist
Cover via Amazon
There, that got your attention, didn’t it?
I’ll make my voluminous assertion more transparent in a moment, but first, let me say a few words about Sanderson’s latest novel, The Way of Kings, his first installment in a planned 10-volume (!) epic fantasy series called The Stormlight Archive. An ambitious plan, to say the least; I can only imagine how he’s tracking the story structure1.
And there seems to be a lot to structure. There are four distinct-yet-interwoven storylines going at once, following (what I see as) four major characters, and that’s a lot to track, time out and keep consistent.
After a somewhat (and perhaps purposefully) confusing preface involving some historical figures2, we’re introduced to Szeth, who seems to be an unwilling but highly trained assassin. Through him, we are introduced quickly and concisely to a good portion of the culture and magic that pervades the story. Sanderson certainly knows how to make a grand entrance, seeding action, mystery and the story’s knowledge base in one tightly-written chapter. It teaches us some history of the world without turning it into a lecture. If you like the story at that point, then you’ll be in for a treat.
The main main character, however, is (or at least seems to be) Kaladin, a soldier-turned-slave, who is surviving his fate by pure will power. Kaladin is… well… he’s Kelsier from Mistborn, and he’s Raoden from Elantris3. If I were a man to place a wager, I’d say that this character template he’s built is Sanderson’s conduit into being able to live in his stories. Not that I blame him for this– if I could put open a hole in awesome worlds that I’d conjured, into which I could put my soul for a while, I’d do the same thing. Begrudge not the man’s literary vacation home/psychological outlet.
But I digress.
Kaladin is Sanderson’s overachieving, downtrodden, inspiring rebel, someone who always knows the right thing to do, all the while complaining that he has no clue what he’s doing. He’s attempted escape from slavery enough times to earn a brand on his forehead4, and he’s destined to become cannon fodder for an ongoing war.
The other two main characters are Brightlord Dalinar, an aging general who is plagued by visions of the distant past while trying to unite the people of his realm, and Shallan, an educated and supernaturally artistic girl looking to apprentice with one of the brightest minds in the world, but with an ulterior motive.
Magic in this realm is as diverse as it is pervasive. Beings called spren are infused in just about everything. One can use the light contained in gems to alter the direction of gravity. Shards of energy become swords in hand. Through force of will and the right combination of jewels, one can change led into gold, or stone into smoke. There’s a lot going on in this world’s magic, and the depth of its power is merely hinted at in the first volume.
Sanderson has certainly set the stage for an epic with Way of Kings, proffering a rich batch of intricate cultures, vast landscapes and complex histories to explore. The arc of the first volume was clean, left me wanting more (in a good way), and I could even feel the proverbial credits rolling as the camera pulled away from the final scene in the book (you’ll know what I mean when you get there).
There’s no denying that this epic has some influence from Robert Jordan (ex. Rhuidean vs. Dalinar’s visions), but as Sanderson is a self-professed fanboy – not to mention the co-author of the last three books of the Wheel of Time series, that was bound to happen. Let’s hope that he’s learned from Jordan’s mistakes5 and will take the epic to the heights it, he and we deserve.
So what’s up with the Socialism accusations? I say this with love, whatever you may think. Here is my evidence:
1) He’s obsessed with money — Sanderson has used currency as a form of power – beyond just cash value – in many of his stories, including this one, where spheres of glass hold gems that contain magical energy. In the Mistborn series, coins were used as weapons. In Elantris, food was the currency of survival among the fallen Elatrans. Even in Warbreaker, power was bought and sold (and stolen).
2) He’s obsessed with the downtrodden — In three of his works, the main character becomes the leader of an antiestablishment force comprised of the lowest of the low. I wholeheartedly agree with the premise, mind you, but it does seem to be becoming an overriding theme. Whether this is purposeful, I don’t know.
So put these two things together – a claiming of the power of commerce and a love for the repressed proletariat, and you have the makings of a fine Socialist fist-raiser. Let’s just hope that he finishes his epic before the oligarchy takes him down.
- For some reason, I’m picturing lots of thumbtacks and red string on a big wall, except there’s no articles about the person he’s planning on assassinating [↩]
- it’s one of those kinds of things that will make sense after we’ve read through for a while, and you say to yourself, “oh, THAT’S that that was all about” [↩]
- and he’s –choke– Mat in The Gathering Storm – something that fanfolk everywhere summarily derided [↩]
- and no, it doesn’t say Poor Impulse Control [↩]
- read: Crossroads of Twilight [↩]
or, maybe he realizes that no one wants to read a novel about wealthy greedy capitalists becoming even more wealthy and greedy at the expense of others.
if your going to pick a side to write about, may as well pick the interesting one.
I absolutely loved this book and Khalidan is such an awesome character! I can’t wait for the next one.