Authors, Part 1

One of the greatest joys in life, in my own personal opinion, is reading. I love to sit down and read a good book for hours on end. I enjoy reading so much, that I have actually lightly considered becoming a librarian just so I could spend my entire day with books. I probably wouldn't make a very good librarian, though - I would spend too much of my time reading the books and not enough time librarianing.

The two most important factors of a good novel are the author and the subject, and let's be honest - the second one is kind of optional. I have read so many books whose plot lines sound absolutely ridiculous. The "Furies of Calderon" series, for instance, was allegedly a combination of the Roman legions and Pokemon, which doesn't sound like it would make for a very good story. But good authors can turn even the most unusual ideas into amazing, enthralling tales. The author is truly what makes or breaks a book.

Unfortunately, even good authors can make mistakes in their writing. One author that I really like is Brandon Sanderson, a creative writing professor here at BYU. He is an amazing author: he comes up with amazing stories and wonderful characters, but his greatest skill (in my opinion) is his ability to create entirely new worlds in amazing detail. All of his books take place in entirely foreign settings, with strange plants and animals and even stranger cultures. Of his books that I have read, all are based in some horribly devastated land where life has had to adapt to harsh conditions in order to survive. His "world-building," as it is called, is a large part of what draws me into his books.

Another major aspect of Sanderson's writing is the fact that the stories are far more realistic than many. Yes, the protagonists win, the forces of evil are defeated and humanity survives, but there is a cost. Central characters do die, there are casualties, and the books don't lead directly into a "happily-ever-after" ending. In his "Mistborn" series, for instance, one of the two main characters dies in the very first book - martyrs himself, in fact. And, by the end of the series the majority of the main and central characters have died and an entire species has committed mass suicide. Sounds depressing, right? It is. But it makes it that much more interesting, because it is more real.

Brandon Sanderson is able to turn a set of depressing events into an interesting and engaging story that leaves you satisfied and happy at the end. That is a mark of a good author. Not everyone can do this - some depressing stories are just that: depressing. It doesn't matter what the author does, they just can't make the story good. This is why I kept reading Sanderson's other books.

To be continued...