12tails
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So for those actually interested in reading any of the books I mention in this post, there will have to be spoilers in order for me to make parallels. If you don't want to read the book that's fine I'll do my best to describe why I found it uncanny. There are also Audiobooks and Graphic Audiobooks available for those who don't like reading or holding a heavy book or just really like the vibe of an old radio drama (I personally love the Graphic Audio)
Brandon Sanderson is a writer most well known for his Cosmere universe and finishing Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, both works I've enjoyed immensely for years long before learning about all of this. He is a member of the church of LDS, which I find interesting if not suspicious, if only because I'm suspicious of most things these days (he seems quite nice from the times we've met but what do I know) I think most of us already know how wonky the Mormon Temple story is, so I can't help but wonder if they are taught a completely different history depending upon how deep within the church you are. Mr. Sanderson does also write sci-fi but I find it pales in comparison to his fantasy work, which I think implements aspects of both sci-fi and fantasy seemlesssly. Especially now that this SH type information has been brought to my attention, I can't help but see elements of Mistborn, Elantris, Warbreaker, and The Stormlight Archive in this area of intrigue. He has another series but it's Y/A so I didn't read it but it wouldn't surprise me if it had some "SH" sprinkled in somewhere. I even heard him say at a book release once that he writes "our world" just through a different lens- but a lot of authors say that and maybe that's true for most if not all fantasy literature.
I will go over the plot points in the Mistborn series that connect to SH as best I can without going overboard.
In the Mistborn series, we have a world that is post-apocalyptic, ash rains from the sky constantly and an unsettling mist blankets the streets at night. People are separated into skaa and nobles, the skaa living on plantations in hovels and the nobles living in the city. The Nobles are noble because their ancestors aligned themselves with a presumably evil god, known as The Lord Ruler. TLR rules the realm with an iron fist and has a heart of steel. The magic system is dependant upon ingesting and burning metals in the gut. These metals are a very big resource in this world. AlloMancers (alloy-mancer (a practitioner of a specific type of divination)) use these metals to strengthen a specific skill like seeing very long distances, magnetically repelling off metals in order to "fly", and manipulating emotions just to name a few. Most Allomancers can only use one of these metals, Mistings, but full Mistborn can access them all. The premise of this tale is that of a young urchin who finds a home among a gang of thieves, unbeknownst to her she is a Mistborn and thus a valuable asset to this crew. The ring leader of this gang is an eccentric amoral allomancer who's only true desire is to take down the Lord Ruler- And (SPOILER) they pull it off.
That's the focus of the first book. The second and third books are spent piecing the world back together after the power structure has fallen, a typical house war ensues and giants called "Kolass" are used to fight in the war for the empty throne. Another class of beings called "Kandra" are also present in this world, they are shapeshifters of a sort, I call them plasma beings due to their veiny gelatinous form and near-immortal lifespans. There are a few other pretty unique monsters involved but the ones that struck me the most were the Kandra.
(Illustrations of Kandra)
View attachment 1465
Post Lord Ruler, we see that many people would rather be under the Lord Ruler than be free. Resentment towards the "Hero" who kills the Tyrant builds and the Lord Ruler's haunting last words ring in the hero's head, "You don't know what I do for mankind. I was your god, even if you couldn't see it. By killing me, you have doomed yourselves... " An age-old enemy resurfaces, an enemy that has the power to, oh you know just, REWRITE HISTORY. This of course causes great confusion...
The only things that cannot be re-written must be written in steel. I found this element to be somewhat akin to the Golden Plates sought by the Angel Moroni. Once these tablets are found vital information can be passed out to our heroes. There's obviously a lot of stuff that happens and characters build and develop, in the end, though, the world actually ends! A new god is chosen and this new god remakes the world as it should be, green grass, blue skies, clean water. Some people are saved by hiding in a cave and they basically become saints. Saints that were present in the "Latter Days" of the old world. There are three books that follow up on the story and indeed some of the characters from the first three books are deified or considered great heroes. There is even a partner book that watches the story from the perspective of a character who's died and is watching from purgatory because they refuse to move on. I found the entire story riveting. I can understand that it may seem slow for some or too gloomy, but I found it to be, at minimum, a good ride and definitely sparked my curiosity even further into these topics. The architecture described in the book is also immense and unique and even has towers used as a "soothing station" or "rioting station" (when all-out war breaks out in the city) depending on what side the caster is on.
Some story elements I found particularly interesting
Check this architecture out too
In the midst of these cool and relatable aspects is a great story, not perfect but what story is? It's dark, it's gritty, it's action-packed, it's emotional and it's very dramatic but personally, I loved it. The worldbuilding is complex yet enamoring, the characters are refreshing. I also enjoyed the three sequels, they were funnier, but I would say I liked them just as much if not more due to the comedic aspect.
The Stormlight Archive is also a goldmine for this type of stuff, maybe even more so, I definitely think the setting is inspired by places like Castle Rocks and The Grand Canyon. The one thing I'll say about it now is that it introduced me to the idea of buildings, encrusted in mud, that double teleportation hubs. There are of course more but I will have to put it in a separate to make it easy on me and people who don't like getting lost in crazy long posts.
As for The Wheel of Time, tons of parallels in that story but that's 15 books deep and ain't nobody got time for that, but I'm sure I will do a little piece on it in the future and maybe some of ya'll will read it or find an abridged version or video that does the series justice.
Big thanks to anyone who reads this, I realize it's not as crucial information as a lot of stuff on here but to me, this is just a new Mythology and it holds some sort of truth.
Brandon Sanderson is a writer most well known for his Cosmere universe and finishing Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, both works I've enjoyed immensely for years long before learning about all of this. He is a member of the church of LDS, which I find interesting if not suspicious, if only because I'm suspicious of most things these days (he seems quite nice from the times we've met but what do I know) I think most of us already know how wonky the Mormon Temple story is, so I can't help but wonder if they are taught a completely different history depending upon how deep within the church you are. Mr. Sanderson does also write sci-fi but I find it pales in comparison to his fantasy work, which I think implements aspects of both sci-fi and fantasy seemlesssly. Especially now that this SH type information has been brought to my attention, I can't help but see elements of Mistborn, Elantris, Warbreaker, and The Stormlight Archive in this area of intrigue. He has another series but it's Y/A so I didn't read it but it wouldn't surprise me if it had some "SH" sprinkled in somewhere. I even heard him say at a book release once that he writes "our world" just through a different lens- but a lot of authors say that and maybe that's true for most if not all fantasy literature.
I will go over the plot points in the Mistborn series that connect to SH as best I can without going overboard.
In the Mistborn series, we have a world that is post-apocalyptic, ash rains from the sky constantly and an unsettling mist blankets the streets at night. People are separated into skaa and nobles, the skaa living on plantations in hovels and the nobles living in the city. The Nobles are noble because their ancestors aligned themselves with a presumably evil god, known as The Lord Ruler. TLR rules the realm with an iron fist and has a heart of steel. The magic system is dependant upon ingesting and burning metals in the gut. These metals are a very big resource in this world. AlloMancers (alloy-mancer (a practitioner of a specific type of divination)) use these metals to strengthen a specific skill like seeing very long distances, magnetically repelling off metals in order to "fly", and manipulating emotions just to name a few. Most Allomancers can only use one of these metals, Mistings, but full Mistborn can access them all. The premise of this tale is that of a young urchin who finds a home among a gang of thieves, unbeknownst to her she is a Mistborn and thus a valuable asset to this crew. The ring leader of this gang is an eccentric amoral allomancer who's only true desire is to take down the Lord Ruler- And (SPOILER) they pull it off.
That's the focus of the first book. The second and third books are spent piecing the world back together after the power structure has fallen, a typical house war ensues and giants called "Kolass" are used to fight in the war for the empty throne. Another class of beings called "Kandra" are also present in this world, they are shapeshifters of a sort, I call them plasma beings due to their veiny gelatinous form and near-immortal lifespans. There are a few other pretty unique monsters involved but the ones that struck me the most were the Kandra.
(Illustrations of Kandra)
View attachment 1465
Post Lord Ruler, we see that many people would rather be under the Lord Ruler than be free. Resentment towards the "Hero" who kills the Tyrant builds and the Lord Ruler's haunting last words ring in the hero's head, "You don't know what I do for mankind. I was your god, even if you couldn't see it. By killing me, you have doomed yourselves... " An age-old enemy resurfaces, an enemy that has the power to, oh you know just, REWRITE HISTORY. This of course causes great confusion...
Some story elements I found particularly interesting
- Storing memories metals
- Controlling beings via metal implants, ie. Antennae (Pain(s) from Naruto functions similarly but that's a topic for another day)
- God suffering from Identity theft
- Different metals having different occult properties
- Elites being well aware of things the common folk weren't privy to
- Shape Shifters
- Giants
- Human-like beings made from the remains of other Mistborn (Hemulurgy (Hema meaning "blood" urgy meaning technique")
- Prophecies being fulfilled but in unexpected ways (I'm a sucker for a good prophecy)
- A reset of the world
- The implimentation of the Latter Day Saint concept
Check this architecture out too
In the midst of these cool and relatable aspects is a great story, not perfect but what story is? It's dark, it's gritty, it's action-packed, it's emotional and it's very dramatic but personally, I loved it. The worldbuilding is complex yet enamoring, the characters are refreshing. I also enjoyed the three sequels, they were funnier, but I would say I liked them just as much if not more due to the comedic aspect.
The Stormlight Archive is also a goldmine for this type of stuff, maybe even more so, I definitely think the setting is inspired by places like Castle Rocks and The Grand Canyon. The one thing I'll say about it now is that it introduced me to the idea of buildings, encrusted in mud, that double teleportation hubs. There are of course more but I will have to put it in a separate to make it easy on me and people who don't like getting lost in crazy long posts.
As for The Wheel of Time, tons of parallels in that story but that's 15 books deep and ain't nobody got time for that, but I'm sure I will do a little piece on it in the future and maybe some of ya'll will read it or find an abridged version or video that does the series justice.
Big thanks to anyone who reads this, I realize it's not as crucial information as a lot of stuff on here but to me, this is just a new Mythology and it holds some sort of truth.
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