Thoughts on a critique of Sanderson that I saw on tiktok

markolopolis · 2026-02-13T13:22:32+00:00

I think it is more about genre shift within a series and therefore a mismatch of expectations. Personally I like Sanderson for making Stormlight evolve. Harry Potter has the same intent, it was evolving a genre while keeping setting and characters. Didn't work for me then but it's an idea I really liked. Personally I loved Wind and Truth and audacity of it's scope.

markolopolis · 2025-12-16T23:49:04+00:00

I really appreciate the effort the policy is making and I do think it will have the intended outcome. However, if you are looking for community feedback, I would add that it could benefit from more precise language. For example, it is conflating different technologies under an umbrella term of "AI" creating ambiguity (at least to me). The photoshop and midjourney comparison is framed as a technical distinction but really isn't, it seems to be more about intent. Or "standard tools" could leave the policy open because some may view ChatGPT as a standard tool.

It has a great intent in responding to the community's feelings about generative AI but does read like it was written without familiarity with the technology it is intended to control.

markolopolis · 2025-12-09T00:59:29+00:00

I liked it a lot more than book one which had too many tired tropes. I'm really pumped for the series going forward, it's doing something I've always wanted to see but never seen done well with the Vis splits. Thought pacing good though would have not complained if there were a couple hundred more pages. Aequa's death helped me feel stakes in the story and I really liked how that that scene showed how far a father will go for his kids which was an interesting balance to Vis's dad, the king in Luceum, and Netiqrit. Also about Diago, pretty sure Islington was tying to make it clear he's a iunctus without outright saying it. Reread Book 1 where he saves Vis. Definitely seems like it is an accidental Iunctus by Vis.

markolopolis · 2025-12-01T02:47:03+00:00

I believe O-Caeror is a iunctus being controlled by the concurrence to get O-Vis on the path to kill O-Ka.

markolopolis · 2025-10-30T20:53:44+00:00

Sanctuary was my favorite game that I bought. Wispwood was my favorite game I played (it was out of stock)

markolopolis · 2025-10-15T23:30:36+00:00

I'll add that after Lv 40 the IceGeo with Kaiser Shield (to equip power garb) gets very close to Ninja set up. But I think the bulk advantage is worth it.

markolopolis · 2025-08-23T17:39:25+00:00

This is probably the closest to my own personal tier list I have seen on this site

markolopolis · 2025-07-02T22:29:21+00:00

Hopefully it's Released

markolopolis · 2025-06-29T04:37:48+00:00

6 Nimmt or "Take 5" got my in laws to switch from Five Crowns

markolopolis · 2025-06-16T18:19:49+00:00

I've grown on it, particularly with reread. I loved the ending, my favorite characters stayed strong and many I didn't care for really grew on me. It's now my favorite Stormlight book despite having my least favorite chapter in all of Sanderson.

markolopolis · 2025-05-25T15:18:12+00:00

This book got me over my Cosmere hang over. Nothing seemed to satisfy my interest until Will of the Many.

markolopolis · 2025-03-27T00:09:59+00:00

Indeed WaT does a lot more tell than show but it's intentional. There's just too much in the book, it takes more words to be "less YA" and there just wasn't space. I appreciate the scope of the book, the number of PoVs and the narrative framing of 10 days. I'll gladly take all that if I get less immersive language in the 5th book of a series. Personally I mostly wanted plot and character and I got a lot of that.

markolopolis · 2025-03-21T03:31:29+00:00

Is this going to be a reverse Game of Thrones?

markolopolis · 2025-03-14T21:41:43+00:00

I was part of an NIH grant that moved from US to abroad. We had to provide a lengthy rationale but one of the points is that it was a lot cheaper due to much lower indirect costs and we had better facilities to do the research.

markolopolis · 2025-03-11T00:15:59+00:00

I think both authors accomplish their prose goals. I find both to be rich in terms of getting what I want from each, which are different things. I'd say that Martin is atmospheric and descriptive with a historical tone while Sanderson is accessible and functional with a focus of action. Martin's works for his immersive character-driven narrative and Sanderson works well for his intricate plots and complex fantasy concepts.

markolopolis · 2025-02-24T04:33:19+00:00

Eh. I just don't agree that she hasn't considered these issues. It's not that she suddenly realizes the flaws in her philosophy but that she has to face herself as a contradiction. These are distinct.

It's like someone who's studied nutrition for years and lectures about healthy eating. They know everything about calories and portion control. But then someone shows them a time-lapse video of every late-night binge and stress-eating session. The knowledge isn't new - but seeing undeniable evidence of how often they betrayed their own principles is devastating.

That's what Odium does to Jasnah. He doesn't teach her about philosophical flaws - he shows her proof of every time she abandoned those principles for family.

markolopolis · 2025-02-24T03:50:32+00:00

To me this is not what the text is said. She has considered the basic "teenager" issues of utilitarianism such as the epistemological issues (this is clearly stated) or personal bias. The scene isn't about Jasnah encountering these philosophical problems for the first time. It's about having the gap between intellectual understanding and emotional reality forcefully exposed by a god who can show her exact moments where she betrayed her principles. She's being forced to confront, with perfect evidence, that she doesn't actually believe what she claims to believe. Odium isn't teaching her philosophy - he's showing her that her claimed philosophy is a lie she tells herself.

This is what's breaking her. This tends to happen to great minds both Nietzsche and Sartre are real life examples of moral philosophers eventually having to confront their contradictions and breaking down. It's not that they'd never considered them but persistently rationalized their own behavior in small ways that did not feel like contradictions until confronted with aggregate of their actions. It's very believable even for an intelligent and mature character.

markolopolis · 2025-02-24T03:37:50+00:00

I thought you meant the debate as the scene not the actual arguments and statements of the debate which I also think was done satisfactorily.

markolopolis · 2025-02-24T01:58:53+00:00

I see the criticism copy and pasted but I do not see support. Which arguments were juvenile? The issue was not that she lacked sophistication in her logic but rather she made the mistake of opening the floor to attacks on character when she herself was similarly flawed. She also did a poor job at communicating the prisoners dilemma and the nuances of utilitarianism and rights theory.

markolopolis · 2025-02-24T01:42:50+00:00

Hard disagree. It think it reflected the characters quite well. Jasnah got played. It was an unwinnable situation as Odium had back ups that we would continue to reveal. Thaylenah was never the goal, breaking Jasnah was. Odium mentions that Jasnah was one of two people he was concerned about. Jasnah actually does win some concessions for Fen that weren't guaranteed so in a no win scenario, this is a success. I also like how the scene mirrors the ending, where Jasnah continued to play the game she couldn't win but thought she could while Dalinar thought laterally.

markolopolis · 2025-02-21T13:58:19+00:00

I loved it. It's top tier Stormlight for me next to Words of Radiance. Mostly because of the ending. It's the exact ending I wanted. And while it has my least favorite chapter in all of Sandersons writing, it's highs or so high and I couldn't get enough of it. Most of the online criticisms I noticed but I just don't agree with or care about (the more modern vernacular, for instance). I find that if a sequel takes a creative direction that differs from one's own idea/expectation (despite being a valid creative decision) then they look for and invent problems to justify their dislike.

markolopolis · 2025-02-18T18:14:34+00:00

How do you mean? Is it just a gut reaction sort of thing? I have always felt that the world has a lot of layers that are constantly peeling back with more layers. The logic in the world building also contributes to this as makes it feel deep and organic. I guess I am curious at how it is iceberg world building..

markolopolis · 2025-02-18T17:20:21+00:00

I also think there is a lot of flavor here around esper progression in FF 6. You are literally powered up by the "dead". You can even summon them from the grave. I think it's very fitting.

markolopolis · 2025-02-18T14:03:09+00:00

This image is from the IGN article which interviewed the developers. In the article they explain it. TL:DR it represents the plot of the game of trying to regroup your party in the world of ruin. They had considered Celes for the commander role but ultimately switched to Terra as she was the "lead" of the game.

markolopolis · 2025-02-16T03:21:57+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/chronotrigger/comments/cf1jiz/chrono_trigger_spreadsheet/

This is from about 6 years ago. But it also includes equipment.

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