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Thornescape t1_izx0qy4 wrote

Reply to comment by Ok-Spray2 in What fictional books will make you even dumber instead of making you smarter? by oreominiest

It's perfectly fine not to like Sanderson. It's somewhat absurd to pretend that he cannot "actually write".

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Ok-Spray2 t1_izxbu5d wrote

I believe that his way of writing, devoid of any prose, can be related to the concept of "actually write". I also think the way he writes in books like Stormlight Archieve is really the best he can do, which is very poor considering how long he's been writing and the sheer amount of work he puts out.

Of all the books, genre and authors I have read, Brandon Sanderson is the only writer where I have noticed serious shortcomings when it comes to writing; both within the fantasy genre and comparing him to authors of any other genre.

And all this I am saying is only relevant if we are talking about books that make you a worse reader, as the title of the original topic suggests. I agree that it's not the same thing to dislike an author and say their work is bad. But in the case of BS: I am entertained by some of his work, other work of his I dislike, but he is clearly the worst writer I have ever encountered and I can see how his books could damage a first time reader's perception of literature.

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Thornescape t1_izxk3bh wrote

He's an award winning, well respected, prolific author who has had a profound impact on many people's lives. But you don't think that he is capable of writing at all. Sure.

Frankly, this kind of over the top gatekeeping says more about you than it does about him.

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Ok-Spray2 t1_izyc38j wrote

> Frankly, this kind of over the top gatekeeping says more about you than it does about him.

I'm not gatekeeping. I'm giving an argument over the topic of, let me quote, "What fictional books will make you even dumber instead of making you smarter?".

People can read (and do) whatever they want. It would be wonderful for them to read BS and realize his big flaws instead of beliving he is the next Nobel, even if they like what they do; and also stop beliving that all reading is good reading, as if observing words written in ink on a piece of paper were a magical act in which a torrent of wisdom enters your brain, regardless of the content you are reading. There are good books and bad books, and I think BS makes bad books if we limit ourselves to the topic under discussion in this post, as I've already arugmentated. And likewise, I think you can like his books (or anything really) without having to justify yourself to me or anyone else.

I won't chase you to stop reading his books, everyone has their own tastes and it's none of my business. But I'm not going to not say my opinion on the topic we're discussing so that a few fans won't get mad at me. Call that gatekeeping if you want.

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