by Gary Romeo
Mistborn first appeared in 2006 and established Brandon Sanderson as a popular fantasy writer. In the introduction to the most current reprinting of the book, Sanderson states: “To this day, [Mistborn’s] modernist take on fantasy tropes, mixed with the “hard magic” that has come to define my era of epic fantasy, are both hallmarks of my career.”
I am, of course, a longtime Robert E. Howard fan. Most of the REH fans I know do not read Brandon Sanderson and do not consider him anything akin to Sword & Sorcery. Just like I think a lot of REH fans are blinkered in their approach to L. Sprague de Camp, I think they are mistaken about Sanderson.
It’s true that Sanderson novels are enormous (over 600 pages in a mass-market paperback) compared to REH’s Conan stories (the longest, The Hour of the Dragon, being only over 200 pages in a mass-market paperback) and that Sanderson’s heroes are not massive-thewed barbarians or full-breasted vixens but average men and women. The length of the books (more bang for my buck) and the lack of being body-shamed while reading (comparing myself to Conan is disheartening) are not my major reasons for liking Sanderson though. Like, Robert E. Howard, Brandon Sanderson is simply an entertaining writer.
As in my review of Elantris, I’m going to try to convince REH fans that Sanderson is worth the read. Even though Mistborn is over 600 pages I can summarize the plot rather succinctly. The story takes place on a fantasy world called Scadrial ruled by an immortal despot called the Lord Ruler. Society consists of two classes: the nobility who possess (in different degrees) magical powers, and the oppressed lower class (a mixture of slavery, feudalism, exploited laborers, and lumpen proletariat) referred to as the skaa. The main male character, Kelsier, is leading a revolution and the main female character, Vin, is a young woman who is just learning the extent of her powers.
Even though Kelsier is no iron-limbed barbarian, he is a man obsessed with hate. Hate for the Lord Ruler, the nobility, and any who would collaborate with the enemy. Sanderson provides a REH-like paragraph here:
“The guard collapsed with a slit throat. Kelsier landed lithely beside him, ears straining in the night, listening for sounds of alarm. There were none. Kelsier left the guard to his gurgling demise. The man was likely a lesser nobleman. The enemy. If he were instead a skaa soldier, enticed into betraying his people in exchange for a few coins … well then, Kelsier was even happier to send such men into their eternity.”
Kelsier is a magical superman. To my mind, the magic is well-done, but fairly complicated to completely grasp. Users of magic are referred to as Allomancers. Allomancers use metals and their alloys to perform these superhuman tasks. For those that require more detail there is an appendix titled Ars Arcanum. I was able to understand enough and enjoy it all without fussing over the details.
Sanderson refers to a character called Gemmell a few times. Gemmell taught Kelsier how to use his powers. This appears to be a homage to David Gemmell. Sanderson has referred to David Gemmell in a writing course he developed. Sanderson’s books, at least to me, have a sword & sorcery feel, so I’m not surprised to find out that David Gemmell is an influence.
I was surprised that Sanderson reminded me of A. E. van Vogt.
For those unfamiliar with van Vogt, here is a brief introduction: Alfred Elton van Vogt (April 26, 1912 – January 26, 2000) was a Canadian-born American science fiction author during SF’s Golden Age. He was a contemporary of Sprague de Camp, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov. Van Vogt’s most popular novels. like Sanderson’s, feature young people learning about their fantastic powers. For van Vogt it was psi powers (referring to powers of the mind; either passive (telepathy or clairvoyance) or active (telekinesis or pyrokinesis) instead of magic. Otherwise, the author’s storylines are pretty similar.
Brandon Sanderson’s heroes learn to harness and control magic with increasing strength and mastery. In Mistborn, Vin learns about Allomancy and becomes an incredibly skilled Mistborn. A. E. van Vogt’s heroes often find themselves confronting or encountering advanced technologies that grant them exceptional abilities which they also have to learn to use. Vin, in Mistborn, mirrors Gilbert Gosseyn in The World of Null-A, as well as other van Vogt heroes. Reading about their learning process and successes and failures enhances character development and reader identification making, in my opinion, for highly enjoyable stories.
Back to my thesis…while Mistborn is usually classified as epic fantasy, it does contain elements of sword and sorcery. Sanderson, like REH, writes fast-paced (yes, even at 600+ pages), action-oriented adventures, with a focus on world-building, combat, magic (often weird), and individual prowess. If you like REH for these things, I think there is a good chance you’ll enjoy Brandon Sanderson.
I sure do.
spraguedecampfan 
I’m a REH fan and this does sound interesting, but for me, only Tolkien can pull off 600 pages for the same story line … he has so many engaging sub-plots and even when he veers off the rails it’s still interesting (Tom Bombadil, imo).
Maybe this could be 2 x 300 pages instead?
You should give Sanderson a try. His novels read fast. Lots of dialogue and the story proceeds through characters interacting, in the main. Even at 600 plus pages his books speed along.