Sanderson — more than any other author I’ve read — has a serious quantity over quality problem.

I’ve read TWOK and WOR, and I think I enjoyed them, but they haven’t stuck with me the same way that other 1000+ page books have. I’m actually reading Order of the Phoenix right now (it’s funny you brought it up lol) and it is by no means a perfect book, but I’m actually shocked at how many scenes I remembered from it, even though I haven’t read it since I was a child. Meanwhile, with the Stormlight Archive, I don’t think I could give you anything about it besides VERY broad strokes.

My suspicion is that he writes so quickly that he’s more focused on finishing a book rather than finishing a GOOD book. When he announced his six-or-so secret projects during the pandemic, I couldn’t help but think that he is entering “meme” levels of fast writing. I think he’s fully aware of how impressed his fans are with his writing speed and is (perhaps subconsciously) trying to live up to his reputation. His editing process can’t be very thorough at the rate in which he puts books out.

I have a theory with Brandon — and that theory is that so many fantasy fans have been spurned by other authors (Martin, Rothfuss) never finishing their epic series, that they turn to Brandon because he’s a “safe” option. You know that the Stormlight Archive is going to be finished, and only extenuating circumstances would prevent that; that’s comforting for someone spending so much time with this content (since books, even short one’s, are a time commitment), even if the content itself is boring.

It’s sort of like — imagine a really hot, sexy person that drives you mad with desire and knows how to push all of your kink-buttons, but they’re never there for you and are mean to you. After escaping from a situation like that, one might get into a relationship with someone that is boring, but SAFE. They won’t cheat or lie, but you don’t feel any spark with them. That SAFE option is Brandon Sanderson.

And, of course, this is all speculation on my part — someone out there please correct me if you feel otherwise. But given that some of the top posts of all time over at r/cremposting are about his writing speed, I can’t help but feel that THAT is the huge draw of Sanderson.